Mečislovas Reinys (1884 in Madagaskaras,

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate ( rus, Ковенская губеpния, r=Kovenskaya guberniya; lt, Kauno gubernija) or Governorate of Kaunas was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas (Kovno in Russian). It was formed ...

– 1953) was a Lithuanian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

archbishop, a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was kn ...

, a Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mečislovas Reinys was imprisoned by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

s after refusing to collaborate with the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

and sent to Vladimir Prison, where he died in 1953.

Biography

Mečislovas Reinys was born on a farm in the

Zarasai Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the north – Lake Zarasaitis, to the southeast – Lake Baltas, and the east – Lake Griežtas. Lakes Zaras ...

region on February 5, 1884. In 1900 he graduated with honors from a gymnasium in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

. From 1901 to 1905 he studied in the Vilnius divinity school; two years afterwards he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Reinys continued his studies in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, receiving a master's degree in 1909 from the

Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy The Imperial Roman Catholic Theological Academy (russian: Императорская Римско-Католическая Духовная Академия) was an institution of higher education preparing Roman Catholic theologians in the Russ ...

. He successfully defended his

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

in Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1912. With his fellow students he worked at organizing a Lithuanian students' league. After returning to Lithuania, Reinys became a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

in Vilnius in 1914. Between 1916 and 1922 he lectured at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow an ...

; between 1922 and 1924 he lectured at the

Kaunas Priest Seminary Kaunas Priest Seminary ( lt, Kauno kunigų seminarija) is the largest seminary in Lithuania serving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. It is part of the Faculty of Theology of Vytautas Magnus University. Its current rector is Aurelijus Žu ...

. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during 1925 and 1926, and was then consecrated as a titular

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Tiddi. In 1942, after bishop Romuald Jałbrzykowski was arrested by the Germans, he was appointed titular and auxiliary archbishop of Vilnius and administered the diocese of Vilnius. He did not show solidarity with the Polish clergy of the diocese of Vilnius who were arrested en masse and sent to concentration camps, and took advantage of the situation to put Lithuanian clergy in their place. Mečislovas Reinys was arrested by Soviet authorities on 12 June 1947; he was accused of anti-Soviet activities, and investigated for six months in the Vilnius

office. He was sentenced to eight years in jail and sent to Vladimir prison, where he died on 8 November 1953. In the 1990s a committee was formed to establish the grounds for

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

of Reinys along with

Teofilius Matulionis Teofilius Matulionis (22 June 1873 – 20 August 1962) was a Lithuanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was consecrated a bishop in secret and spent most of his years as bishop in prison. His death was likely due to poisoning by official ...

and

Vincentas Borisevičius Vincentas Borisevičius (23 November 1887 – 18 November 1946) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic bishop of the Telšiai Diocese. The process of his canonization was initiated in 1990. Born to a family of well-off Lithuanian farmers, Borisevičius ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

mentioned these three in a 1993 speech at the

Hill of Crosses Hill of Crosses (Lithuanian: ) is a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. The precise origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain, but it is believed that the first cross ...

. A diary of Reinys' expenditures during the 1920s is part of the case; it documents his donations to 48 different societies, foundations, unions, museums, newspapers, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and parishes, in addition to his support of his family. Documents in the

Lithuanian Special Archives Lithuanian Special Archives is an archive in Lithuania for the storage of documents from the period 1940–91. Numerous KGB and Lithuanian SSR Ministry of Interior documents were left in Lithuania after it gained independence from the Soviet Union ...

reveal the course of his interrogation; many of his relatives had been

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

n labor camps, and the KGB offered to release them in exchange for his cooperation.KGB interrogation
/ref> Reinys refused. Mečislovas Reinys published works in the fields of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...

References

BiographyBiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinys, Mecislovas 1884 births 1953 deaths People from Zarasai District Municipality People from Novoalexandrovsky Uyezd Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Lithuania Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Vilnius University faculty Vytautas Magnus University faculty 20th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops Lithuanian people who died in Soviet detention People who died in the Gulag

Biography

See also

References