KRIKŠČIONIŠKOJI RETORIKA XIX A. VIDURIO LIETUVIŲ LITERATŪROJE
CHRISTIAN RHETORIC IN 19th CENTURY LITHUANIAN LITERATURE

Summary/Abstract: Religious and secular rhetoric differ in their intentions, aims and linguistic expression. Christian values, witnessed through cultural, psychological and social factors, were dominant in the middle of the 19th century in Lithuania. The rich religious literature of that period was subordinated to the practical needs of its addressee; its strongest emphasis was on education and didactics. Cultural values, particularly reflected in public discourse, were illustrated by the genre of the sermon. Preachers of that time, who were writing under the pressure of tsarist censorship, were restricted to certain themes, interpretations and means of expression. This genre was based on baroque principles: the authors depicted the temporality of life, the cult of death, and life after death. Those general tendencies are reflected in the sermons of R. Jasikevicius, officially accredited for use in churches. The preacher explains the principles of Christian life, emphasises the temporary nature of everyday life, and advocates asceticism and constant penitence. In the sermons of R. Jasikevicius we find a very strong cult of death: the author presents intimidating images of the Inferno and awakens emotions of fear rather than love in man’s relationship with God. As a preacher, Jasikevicius orients his thought towards transcendence, thus reminding us in his sermons of baroque religious literature. Stylistically, these sermons were adapted to peasant audiences. The religious discourse of the mid-nineteenth century vaguely reflects the active social position of the Church during these years troubled by the struggle for freedom.

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