The general meeting of the Catholic Church at Trident established regulations for parochial schools. In 1607, these regulations reached Lithuania in the pastoral letter of Gnezno archbishop В Maciejowski On the basis of the letter, activity of Lithuanian parochial schools was regulated by the synods of Vilnius and Samogitia at the first half of the 17,h century. At the second half of the 17th century, synods either did not occur at all (the case of Samogitia), or repeated decisions of previous synods. The aim of this article is to analyze the spread of parochial schools in the GDL in the 2nd half of the 17th century, to characterize the schools, their teachers and schoolchildren. This work is based on the archival material of visitations of Vilnius and Samogitian dioceses, and published synods’ decisions. Synods were aiming to have a school in each parish that would teach pupils basics of the Catholic faith and writing. Children had to be taught to know Catechism, to sing, serve during the Mess, as well as to read, write and count. Attention had to be paid to the discipline, behavior, knowledge and abilities of teachers and schoolchildren. According to the visitations of Samogitian and Vilnius dioceses from the second half of the 17th century, about 22-31 % parishes of Vilnius, and 23 % of Samogitian dioceses had parochial schools. In another quarter of parishes, visitors ordered to establish schools. There were found data about 16 parochial schools (11 schools were not known at all in this period) in Samogitian and 44 (mostly of them were not known) in Vilnius dioceses. Instead of teaching to write, parishes paid more attention to the social needs of the parish’s people, because there were established more hospitals then schools. About one-third of the parishes had hospitals, whereas schools existed in one-fourth of them. Parochial schools used to be established by a church and supported by a dean. Richer schools took up their quarters in separate wooden houses that used to have one or two heated rooms. Other ones were in hospitals or even in parsonages. It was the dean, who usually paid salary to the teacher. Children were not taught by a bachelor. Frequently, this job was done by a chorister or an organist. In the school, children were usually taught to know basics of faith and to read. Such knowledge corresponded to the level of basic development. There were several schools that aimed to carry out trivium program (the case of Orša school in 1654). In such a case they achieved the level of a secondary school. There used to be about 10-20 pupils in a school. Sometimes they were composed not only of children but also of adults. Parochial schools of the Catholic Church was the only organized system of public enlightenment that provided basic development in the Grand Duchy at the second half of the 17lh century.

Straipsnyje atskleidžiama Apytalaukio bažnyčios būklė 1750–1763 m., klebonaujant Pranciškui Mykolui Pranckevičiui. Klebono aktyvios veiklos dėka šiuo laikotarpiu Apytalaukio bažnyčia buvo suremontuota, sutvarkyti ūkiniai pastatai, pastatyta prieglauda ir suburtos dvi bažnytinės brolijos, daug dėmesio skirta lietuviškai kalbančių valstiečių religingumo ugdymui.

Straipsnyje atskleidžiama eilinės Lietuvos Katalikų Bažnyčios parapijos būklė carų valdžios sąlygomis. Parodoma, kokiais būdais XVIII a. pabaigoje klestėjusi Apytalaukio parapija per XIX a. buvo nuskurdinta: atimta dalis fundacinių žemių, sustabdyta mokyklos veikla, neliko prieglaudos, ribota sielovadinė veikla. Išryškinta, kaip Apytalaukio klebonai kovojo su caro valdžios suvaržymais ir kokių pasiekė rezultatų.

Straipsnyje, remiantis 1668–1669 bei 1674–1676 m. bažnyčių vizitacijų duomenimis ir atskirais XVII a. antrosios pusės kai kurių bažnyčių inventoriais, aptariama Kauno dekanato padėtis XVII a. antrojoje pusėje. Analizuojami skaudūs 1654–1667 m. karo padariniai Kauno dekanato bažnyčioms, aptariama bažnyčių būklė ir jų altoriai, apibūdinami bažnyčių klebonai, sielovada, švietėjiška ir karitatyvinė veikla.

The Implementation of the Council of Trent programme made parishes of the Lithuanian Catholic Church flourish in the 17th century. The foundation of the Šiluva church previously seized by Calvinists was returned to Catholics in 1622. Through the 17th century, most important traditions of devotion and their ways of expression took shape in Šiluva. The Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1608 turned the parish into one of the most important religious centers in Lithuania. This article discusses the growth of material facilities of the parish and evolution of devotional practices. The research is based on the visitation of the bishop Kazimieras Pacas in 1677, on the documents from the Šiluva archives and on other sources. The Šiluva parish was one of the richest in Samogitia in the 17th century. Up to 52 families of serfs (in Polish dym) belonged to it. Samogitian bishops had the right of patronage. They always paid special attention to Šiluva. The priests of the Šiluva parish through the 17th century who contributed the most to the florescence of the parish were the canon of Samogitia Jonas Kazakevičius Smolka (till 1646), the procurator of Samogitian capitula Mikalojus Sviechovskis (till 1672) and the canon of Samogitia Joakimas Skirmantas. They always had many collaborators who helped them in material and devotional issues. A new church was built in Šiluva just after the retrieval of the foundation. In 1641, it was replaced by a larger wooden cross-shaped parochial church. The miraculous image The Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child was kept in the High altar. On the sides there were the altars of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross. The latter was founded around 1643 by Gabrielius Klausgaila Skaraitis.[...].