On the occasion of the 1000 th anniversary of the mention of Lithuania’s name or the bringing of the Gospel to Lithuania we are glad to be able to present to our readers the 32nd volume of the “LCAS Annals” at the end of this jubilee 2009 year. Some of the articles in this volume were prepared on the basis of reports read at the conference “The History and Commemoration in Lithuania of Saint Bruno-Querfurt” at the Pažaisliai monastery on June 19, 2009. These articles at least to some extent fill the gap when in the events and publications in 2009 there was interest only in noting the mention of Lithuania’s name, but absolutely no attention to Saint Bruno-Querfurt and his personality. In the texts published in this volume the speakers at the conference in Pažaisliai extend and supplement the authentic historical sources noted in the work of Viktoras Gidžiūnas, OFM “The Monks of the St. Benedict Order in Lithuania“ (Rome, 1985, pp. 45–57) and also provide the first consecutive account of the life of this saint in Lithuanian historiography. Gidžiūnas entitled the part of the article devoted to St. Bruno “Saint Bruno-Boniface – Missionary to the Jatvingians”. LCAS Academician Zigmas Zinkevičius has also published in “Voruta” and other publications interesting ideas, which affirm that the place of the martyrdom of St. Bruno was in the territory formerly inhabited by the jatvingians. We hope that Zinkevičius will in the future expand this topic in future “LCAS Annals”.

The other authors of this volume continue their previously begun investigations; Monsignor dr. Algirdas Jurevičius analyzes the intricacies of lay and deacon services in Lithuania’s Church.

Valdas Pruskus presents another propagator of the Church’s social teaching doctor of philosophy Rev. Simanas Šultė (1876-1920). The new article of Pruskus is not only the continuation of the topic analyzed by the author for many years, but also a supplement to the articles published in LCAS publications about Prelate Mykolas Krupavičius and Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis.

The article of the Polish Marian Rev. J. Kosmovski nicely supplements the publication of A. Katilius in the 17th volume of the “LCAS Annals”, devoted to the personality of the saintly living and avid missionary in Siberia Marian Kristupas Švirmickis.

The articles of A. Katilius, V. Jogėla, and I. Šenavičienė can be considered to be continuations of the investigations published this year in the LCAS work “The Clergy and the 1863 Uprising in the Lands of the Republic of Two Nations”. The article of R. Laukaitytė about the situation and restitution of the property of the Church in Lithuania after 1990 is interesting although also controversial.

Presenting to readers this 32nd volume of the “LCAS Annals” we hope that the article published here will contribute to further investigations useful to the Church and society and fruitful scholarly discussions.

Bishop Jonas Boruta, SJ
Chairman of the Editorial Board