Kėdainiai Catholic parish in the 17th century: support and conflicts

Abstract

Kėdainiai was a multicultural city in the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From the second half of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century Protestants made up the majority of the population. The article sets out to analyse the material situation of the Kėdainiai Catholic parish in the 17th century, the relations between Catholics and Protestants, as well as the relations within the Catholic community. It aims to reveal the problems faced by the priests of the Catholic parish in the administration of the parish situated on the border between Vilnius and Samogitian dioceses and between Catholic and Protestant communities. The research was carried out on the basis of the material from the Archive of the Kėdainiai Catholic Parish, the data of visitations and inventories and other manuscript sources.