Vilnius is famous for its religious cultural expression. From ancient times Vilnius is called Northern Jerusalem. The temple of Jerusalem is symbolically established in the residential area of Vilnius, called Jerusalem, or Kalvarija (Calvary). This shrine is symbolized by a complex of thirty-five buildings of the Cross of the route of Christ’s suffering (chapels, gates), or stations / places, established in the beginning of the 17th century in the Verkiai district of Vilnius. Today, this shrine is within the boundaries of the city of Vilnius and is called the Way of Cross of Vilnius Calvary. The way of cross of Vilnius Calvary is one of the devotional practices of Catholic folk in Lithuania. The practice of Catholic piety is one of the parts of the liturgy of the Catholic Church in Rome, called paraliturgy, or the accompanying worship, or the practices of piety, which are publicly performed not through the mass and in the language of local people. This has been done since ages and today it is presented in dedicated books as: Prayers, hymns, rituals. In Lithuania, only the devotion and practice of the Way of the Cross of Vilnius Calvary is presented in a manual or textbook. The author of the monograph, according to the directives drawn up by the research to select the way of cross of Vilnius Calvary, has chosen 35 stations of the way of the cross of Vilnius Calvary as the object of the monograph research: the problem of origins, development and expression of differences is being analysed. The aim of the analysis is to analyse the published literature about 35 stations of the way of cross of Vilnius Calvary from the year 1826 till 2018 on the basis of the history of the Church, the liturgy, and musicology.[...]

Niniejszą edycję Przewodnika autor oparł na poprzednich wydaniach i materiałach źródłowych, a także na rezultatach swoich letnich wypraw badawczych, na osobistym, jako śpiewaka i wykonawcy muzyki religijnej, doświadczeniu. Cały materiał modlitewny (teksty, pieśni, modlitwy Drogi Krzyżowej w Kalwarii Wileńskiej) w miarę możliwości został zredagowany według współczesnych zasad języka polskiego i po raz pierwszy w przewodniku umieszczono zapis nutowy śpiewanych przez pątników pieśni oraz przybliżono zwyczaje i tradycje obchodzenia ścieżek Kalwarii Wileńskiej.