International Scientific Conference on bringing St. Josephat’s Activities and Martyrdom up-to-date
On the 13th-14th of October 2023, an international scientific conference titled ‘Josaphat Kuntsevych: History, Legacy, Memories’, dedicated to commemorating the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of this saint from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania took place at Vilnius University. The international event was organised by the Faculty of History of Vilnius University, the Faculty of Humanities of the Catholic University of Ukraine and the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. The event was attended by the Rectors of Vilnius and Ukrainian Catholic Universities, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania, and the highest-ranking Greek rite Catholic Church clergy from Italy, South America, the Ukraine and other countries. About 20 scholars from Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Polish, Austrian scientific and memory preservation institutions (universities, academies, libraries, institutes) who conducted research into the activities of St. Josephat in Vilnius, political, religious and cultural realities of his time in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania delivered reports at the conference. The reports covered a wide range of topics, from the attitude of the residents of the Ruthenian part of Vilnius at the beginning of the 17th century towards the idea of the Church Union, to charitable activities of the future saint in Vilnius, his martyrdom in Vitebsk, and the spread of practices and places of worship of St. Josaphat throughout Europe. See the programme of the Conference in the English language.
The event attracted wide international interest, with abound 500 people from Lithuania and Ukraine participating in person and on line. The international scientific conference was complemented by a cultural program for the public, including an exhibition organized by the Vilnius University Library showcasing the activities of Josaphat Kuntsevych in Vilnius and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as well as an exhibition on iconography and rare prints, along with the presentation of reconstructed vestments of the bishop and the monk.
The international scientific conference was held implementing Resolution No. 1298 On the Approval of the Plan for the Commemoration of the Year of Saint Josaphat in 2023 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 21 December, 2022.