Šv. Bonifaco kankinio relikvijos Valkininkų bažnyčioje
Relics of martyred St Boniface in Valkininkai Church

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on historiographical and iconographic sources of the 17th and 18th centuries, the article attempts to raise the issue of the perception as well as religious and aesthetic consideration of the relics of saints. Attention is focused on the relics of martyred St Boniface, which are preserved in the Valkininkai parish church, and on the material relating to them: a description of the visitation act, the hymn created on the occasion of relic translation and wakes in honour of the saint, and a graphical representation of St Boniface relics.The relics of St Boniface were brought to the Loreto chapel in the Valkininkai Franciscan church (built in 1635-1636) in 1765. Following the closing of the Franciscan church and convent in 1832, they were hidden and lay neglected for many years. Found only a decade ago, the bones of St Boniface were placed on one of the side altars of the Valkininkai parish church.This article seeks to present and provide an introductory analysis of the relics of St Boniface and related material with the aim to include the fact of their presence in the discourse of the history of Lithuanian culture and art. On the basis of other historiographical and iconographic sources of the 17th and 18th centuries (M. Moscicki's Study of Sacred Relics, examples of graphical representation of relics), it addresses also the issues of the perception of sacred relics and their aesthetic and religious meaning and discusses the aspects of their presence in culture and in the public consciousness.

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