THE HOLY SEE

The Concordat Between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See was signed in Rome, Vatican, on 27 September 1927. The Concordat (in Latin, concordia means ‘agreement/unity of hearts’ and concordatus means ‘agreed, coordinated’) is an agreement with the Holy See that specifies the status of the Roman Catholic Church in the party to the Concordat other than the Holy See. The Concordat was signed by Prof. Augustinas Voldemaras, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, and Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, Secretary of State of the Holy See23. The Concordat was drawn up in French in two copies. Antanas Smetona, President of the Republic of Lithuania, ratified the Concordat on behalf of the Republic of Lithuania on 20 October 192724 . Pope Pius XI ratified it on behalf of the Holy See on 8 December 192725. The instruments of ratification were exchanged in Vatican on 10 December 192726 and the Concordat entered into force on the same date.

The Concordat consisted of 28 articles specifying the relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Republic of Lithuania in secular and spiritual realms. The Concordat entitled the Roman Catholic Church to organise its activities in Lithuania based on the procedures of the Roman Catholic Church and confirmed the freedom of the faithful to communicate directly with bishops, the clergy and the Holy See. In order to maintain good relations between the contracting states, the Apostolic Nuncio was delegated to the Republic of Lithuania while an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania was delegated to the Holy See. The clergy were exempt from military service; however, the armed forces of the Republic of Lithuania were assigned military chaplains. The inviolability of churches, chapels and cemeteries was also established. The Concordat confirmed that any changes to the boundaries of the ecclesiastical province of Lithuania, established on 4 April 1926, should receive the consent of the Republic of Lithuania: ‘[...] The boundaries of the ecclesiastical province, the dioceses and the prelatures will coincide with the borders of the State of Lithuania.’27 The appointment of bishops remained within the remit of the Holy See. Yet the Concordat committed the Church to address the President of the Republic before the appointment of any archbishop, bishops of the dioceses, and assistant bishops, with the view to ascertaining that the President had no political objections against the candidates. Before taking office, bishops had to swear an oath of allegiance to the President of the Republic. The Concordat also included the text of the oath: ‘As a Bishop, I swear allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania before God by the Holy Gospels. I swear and promise my loyalty and respect to the Government installed under the Constitution and I swear and promise to order everyone under my spiritual authority to do the same. In addition, I swear and promise that I will not contribute to any agreement and refrain from participation in any consultation that could harm the State of Lithuania or public order. I will not allow those under my spiritual authority to participate in any such endeavours either. In the interests of the well-being and the benefit of the State, I will try to eliminate every danger to the Republic of Lithuania as soon as it comes to my knowledge.’28 Article 8 of the Concordat stated that ‘on Sundays and on the Independence Day, while celebrating the holy mass, priests will read a liturgical prayer for the well-being of the Republic of Lithuania and its President.’29 The Concordat introduced mandatory religious education at school and established the rights of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy and of Spiritual Seminaries. The Church was recognised as a legal person and was authorised to manage the metrics of birth, baptism, marriage and death as well as to confer the sacrament of matrimony. The state of Lithuania undertook to grant full freedom for Catholic organisations, including the Catholic movement Katalikų Akcija, to establish themselves and act under the bishop’s authority.

The Concordat was the first agreement between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See concluded after the restoration of the state of Lithuania in 1918 and the only bilateral agreement signed between these states until 194030

Official bilateral consultations between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See on the conclusion of the Concordat began in October 192331, a year after the Holy See recognised the

23 Konkordatas Šv. Sosto ir Lietuvos Respublikos, in: Vyriausybės žinios

24 Ibid., p. 1.

25 Konkordatas, in: Lietuvių enciklopedija, t. 12, red. P. Čepėnas, Bostonas, 1957, p. 354.

26 Konkordatas

27 Ibid., p. 2.

28 Ibid., p. 3.

29 Ibid., p. 2.

30 Dvišalių sutarčių sąrašas, p. 369.

31 Kasparavičius state of Lithuania de jure on 10 November 1922. The first draft of the Concordat was drawn up by Kazys Bizauskas, a representative of the Republic of Lithuania to the Holy See, in late 1922. Individual drafts were drawn up by the Lithuanian clergy as well32 . The successful conclusion of the negotiations on the Concordat was hampered by the unresolved territorial dispute between Lithuania and Poland over Vilnius and Vilnius Region. Lithuania strongly opposed the inclusion of the disputed territories in the Concordat Between the Republic of Poland and the Holy See. Therefore, the Concordat Between the Republic of Poland and the Holy See concluded in February 1925 resulted in freezing of the relations between Lithuania and the Holy See. Both parties temporarily withdrew their diplomatic representatives from the negotiations. The situation changed when the Apostolic Constitution, Lithuanorum Gente, published by Pope Pius XI on 4 April 1926, established the Lithuanian ecclesiastical province, putting the Catholic Church of Lithuania into direct subordination to the Roman Curia. By late 1926, Archbishop Jurgis Matulaitis, the Apostolic Visitor to Lithuania, revised the first specific draft of the Concordat 33. Later, in the first half of 1927, Lithuania’s diplomatic relations with the Holy See were officially restored 34 . On 5 May 1927, Dr Jurgis Šaulys was assigned charge d’affairs ad interim of the Republic of Lithuania to the Holy See35. His main task was to facilitate renewed negotiations on the Concordat. Finally, Prof. Augustinas Voldemaras took the initiative. In early autumn 1927, he travelled to Rome and met with the representatives of the Holy See to find a consensus on the Concordat. The Concordat Between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See signed on 27 September 1927 was modelled on the Concordat Between the Republic of Poland and the Holy See36. On 18 December 1927, the Concordat Between the Republic of Lithuania and the Holy See was solemnly proclaimed in Kaunas Cathedral37. On the same day, the Bishops of Lithuania, as provided for in the Concordat, swore allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania at the Palace of the President of the Republic of Lithuania in Kaunas38. Despite the commitments to comply with the provisions under the Concordat, some legal acts subsequently adopted by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning organisations, the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy of the University and schools failed to meet the provisions under the Concordat.

Lietuvos santykius su Šventuoju Sostu, abi valstybės kuriam laikui atšaukė savo diplomatinius atstovus. Situacija ėmė keistis, kai 1926 m. balandžio 4 d. popiežiaus Pijaus XI išleista Apaštaline konstitucija „Lithuanorum Gente“ buvo įkurta Lietuvos bažnytinė provincija, o Katalikų Bažnyčia Lietuvoje tapo tiesiogiai pavaldi Romos kurijai. Tų pačių metų pabaigoje pirmąjį konkretų konkordato projektą suredagavo apaštališkasis vizitatorius Lietuvai arkivyskupas Jurgis Matulaitis33 Po kurio laiko, pirmoje 1927 m. pusėje, buvo oficialiai atnaujinti Lietuvos diplomatiniai santykiai su Šventuoju Sostu 34 , o 1927 m. gegužės 5 d. Lietuvos Respublikos laikinuoju reikalų patikėtiniu prie Šventojo Sosto tapo dr. Jurgis Šaulys35, kurio pagrindinė užduotis buvo parengti sąlygas deryboms dėl konkordato sudarymo atnaujinimo. Galiausiai iniciatyvos ėmėsi prof. Augustinas Voldemaras, kuris 1927 m. rudens pradžioje nuvykęs į Romą ir susitikęs su Šventojo Sosto atstovais rado bendrą sutarimą dėl konkordato. 1927 m. rugsėjo 27 d. pasirašyto Konkordato Šv. Sosto ir Lietuvos Respublikos pagrindu tapo konkordatas, sudarytas su Lenkija 36. 1927 m. gruodžio 18 d. konkordatas buvo iškilmingai paskelbtas Kauno arkikatedroje bazilikoje37, tą pačią dieną Lietuvos vyskupai, kaip ir buvo numatyta sutartyje, prisiekė ištikimybę Lietuvos Respublikai Respublikos Prezidento rūmuose Kaune38. Nepaisant įsipareigojimų laikytis konkordato nuostatų, kai kurie vėliau Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės priimti teisės aktai dėl organizacijų, universiteto Teologijos-filosofijos fakulteto ir mokyklų su šia sutartimi nederėjo.

33 Konkordatas, Rytas, 1927-12-20, p. 1.

34 Kasparavičius A. „Lietuvos ir Vatikano santykiai“, p. 331–334, 336.

35 Ibid., p. 336.

36 Konkordatas, in: Lietuvių enciklopedija, p. 354.

37 Iškilmės dėl konkordato sudarymo, in: Rytas 1927, gruodžio 19, p. 1.

38 Lietuvos vyskupai po jų duotos priesaikos Lietuvos Respublikai š. m. gruodžio 18 d. Respublikos Prezidento rūmuose [nuotrauka], in: Kardas, 1927, Nr. 35–36, p. 513.

32 Ibid., p. 304–306.

33 Konkordatas, Rytas, 1927-12-20, p. 1.

34 Kasparavičius

35 Ibid., p. 336.

36

37

38

Konkordato Šv. Sosto ir Lietuvos Respublikos ratifikavimo aktas

Vatikanas, 1927 m. gruodžio 8 d. Aktą pasirašė popiežius Pijus XI (1857–1939).

Popiežius Pijus XI – 259-asis Romos katalikų popiežius. Popiežiumi išrinktas 1922 m. vasario 6 d. Nuo 1918 m. paskirtas apaštaliniu vizitatoriumi Lenkijai ir Lietuvai. 1920 m., kaip apaštalinis vizitatorius, lankėsi Lietuvoje.

Popierius, spauda, rašalas, audinys; 26 x 37 cm, 52 x 37 cm

Lietuvos centrinis valstybės archyvas, f. 383, ap. 8, b. 1360, viršelis, l. 1, 6 a. p., 7

Vatican, 8 December 1927

The document was signed by Pope Pius XI (1857 –1939).

Pope Pius XI was the 259th Roman Catholic Pope. He was elected Pope on 6 February 1922. In 1918, he was appointed an apostolic visitor to Poland and Lithuania. In 1920, he visited Lithuania as an apostolic visitor.

Paper, print, ink, fabric; 26 x 37 cm, 52 x 37 cm

Lithuanian Central State Archives, Stock 383, Series 8, File 1360, cover, p. 1, 6r, 7