Kaunas Seminary

After the January Uprising of 1863, the residence of Bishop of Zemaitija Moteyus Valančius was moved from Varnaya to Kaunas . In the same year, at the Cistercian monastery and the church of St. George was formed theological seminary. From 1863 to 1870, the number of students in the seminary was limited, since officials of the Russian Empire did not allow the enrollment of new students ^[1] .

Lithuanian poet and linguist Antanas Baranauskas since 1867 was a professor at the Coven Seminary, began to use the Lithuanian language for lecturing. Many of his students took an active part in the bookshop movement. In 1884, seminary students began to print the newspaper “Lithuania” in Lithuanian, however, fearing reprisals from the tsarist authorities, the seminary leadership closed the newspaper ^[2] . In 1892–1894 and 1909–1932, the poet and playwright Maironis taught at the Kaunas Theological Seminary, which helped to strengthen the position of the Lithuanian language in the educational process. In 1909, Mironis was appointed rector of the seminary ^[2] . From that moment, teaching at the seminary was conducted entirely in Lithuanian.

During the First World War, the seminary moved to Troshkunai , the seminary building in Kaunas was turned into a military hospital. In 1918, after Lithuania gained independence, the seminary returned to Kaunas ^[1] . Between 1926 and 1940, 3078 students graduated from the seminary ^[3] . After the annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union, Kaunas Seminary remained the only one in Lithuania, all others were closed ^[1] . The number of seminarians was initially limited by the authorities to 150, then the limit gradually decreased to 25 people ^[1] . On June 1, 1947, the seminary was, according to the report of the Chairman of the Council for Religious Cults Polyansky , 150 students and 16 teachers ^[4] . Most of the seminary buildings were confiscated; a library containing about 90,000 volumes was liquidated, both churches at the seminary, the church of St. Trinity and the Church of St. George, closed and turned into warehouses, and many priests are arrested or deported ^[1] . The representative of the Council for Religious Cults for the Lithuanian SSR, Yu. Rugenis, informed the Chairman of the Council that in 1961 it was planned to disrupt admission to the Kaunas Seminary, but 15 people submitted documents, of which 5 were admitted to exams ^[5] . Rugenis noted that the natural decline of priests was partially covered by the release of the seminary. In 1960, 16 priests died, and 6 priests were issued; in 1961, these numbers were 24 and 9, respectively ^[5] .

A slight relief came in the 1970s, seminaries were returned to the administration building and the church of St. Trinity. The buildings were repaired at the expense of the seminary’s own funds ^[1] . In the period from 1945 to 1981, 428 priests left the walls of the seminary ^[6] .

After Lithuania declared independence in 1990, the seminaries returned their former buildings; they were restored to the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1993 to Lithuania. As the opening or resumption of the activities of other Catholic seminaries in Lithuania, the Kaunas Seminary transferred its seminarians from the respective regions to them ^[1] .

Kaunas Seminary is one of the four Catholic seminaries in Lithuania ^[1] .

The seminary is designed for five years, it is preceded by preparatory courses in Šiluva . Seminar graduates receive a bachelor's degree from the University of Vytautas the Great , where they can continue their studies ^[7] . The seminary curriculum is aimed at developing the spirituality, humanism and intellectual abilities of students, and also prepares them for pastoral duties.

In 2007, there were 35 students at the seminary.

• Juozas Tumas is a writer, critic and publicist.
• Mykolas Vaitkus is a poet and playwright.
• Kazimeras Jaunius - theologian, linguist.
• Joseph Kubilis is a public figure.
• Vincentas Sladkevičius - the first Lithuanian cardinal.
• Sigitas Tamkevičius - Archbishop Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Kaunas .
• Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz - Archbishop - Metropolitan of Minsk-Mogilev , formerly head of the Archdiocese of Mother of God with a center in Moscow .
• Joseph Werth - Head of the Transfiguration Diocese in Novosibirsk .

• Official site (lit.)
• Seminary of Kaunas on the website of the Catholic Church in Lithuania