The community here, with priest V. Sikorsk, called “our Toliat” by the parishioners, has made the town a center of attraction for several years. A wonderful church has been rebuilt by the hands of the parishioners, where special masses take place even from the big cities.
This year, the community came together for a beautiful initiative, during which not only illuminated their town, but also produced a 15-meter illuminated sign of the Crab, which was built and visible on the Kaunas-Alytus road. All drivers reduce their speed because it’s pretty nice, you don’t even need a speedometer. And so the hackers proclaim the message about themselves – we are and are shining! What’s going on at the Breakout?
The parish rose like a phoenix
“I have always envied a friend from Vilnius that they have a popular spiritual guide – priest Algirdas Toliatas. His st. I listened to the mass broadcasts remotely, read A. Tololia’s books. I still dreamed of going to his sacrifice on St. Mass live. However, if the student is ready, the Master appears. This is what happened to us – the inhabitants of the parish. The priest who came to us three years ago showed that he just has to believe that he can turn his life into a wonderful time. And not by waiting for something, but by acting, because only by acting do we grow, ”said designer Kristina Grybaitė.
She said there were fears a few years ago that the church would have to close because the faithful did not keep it. Everything changed dramatically when three years ago a priest, Dr. V.Sikorskas, Head and Director of Liturgy and Art of Kaunas School of Sacred Music.
A priest with a high level of professional music education (he is the only one in Lithuania with a master’s degree in Gregorian choir – 15min past.) decided the dilapidated St. To make the Church of the Virgin Mary, Christian Relief, a center of attraction not only for the faithful.
The Church of the Exhaustion, which has been exhausted for a short time, has been completely renovated, with many works of art, and a recently won project to build a park around the church. Received more than 90 thousand. euro funding. The church was built on the foundations of the former manor of Counts Tiškevičiai, in the territory of the park. It is a miracle for an ordinary village. But the priest said that the Breakout must be known first and foremost for its spiritual culture and arts, events, plein airs, and not for its fish.
“Fantastic masses are taking place with us, students and teachers of the school of sacred music are coming, our choirmaster is a well-known performer Kazimieras Ivanovas. People go to Mass as to concerts. Runs from all surrounding areas, from Kaunas. Gathered, dressed up as for a feast, for the church itself is so decorated as if the priest were waiting for the most precious guests. In the summer, they ride to the meadows with their young people and pick flowers together to make beautiful bouquets. He is interested in history, and we have been introduced to it, even though it should have been the other way around, ideas are constantly spinning in his mind. All we have to do is connect with our energy and finances. Those who cannot contribute with sacrifices can do some work – plant roses, scrape the walls, lay the tiles.
The priest said that the Breakout must first be known for its spiritual culture and arts, events, plein airs, and not for its fish.
Although he has many responsibilities and matters, he can always be approached, always listened to and assisted. Before Christmas, we tossed money to decorate the center of our town. After all, the annual cultural budget of our eldership is 1,200 euros. This means giving 66 inhabitants 66 cents, as we joke, “on beer”. So we divided the families: who makes the angels, who decorates the ark, who – the fir trees and the fence at the church. And the priest, in support of us, released fantastic, uplifting music from the rectory. His subtle communication is in everything. It is a real gift of God to us, so we protect it, we love it and we try to support it every step of the way, ”K. Grybaitė did not lack praise.
Photo by Lukas Balandis / 15min / Interior created by Kristina Grybaitė
–
The church was renewed in less than 3 months.
Sikorsk, speaking about his activities, admitted that what had happened during these three years surprised him, so he thanked God for all this on a daily basis, and good practices began to flow to other parishes on the principle of snowball. After receiving his appointment as a second position in addition to leading the school, the priest could simply withstand Mass on Sundays and so on, only caring for the church and religious duties, but decided to become actively involved in the community itself, involving him in the implementation of his ideas.
“I had good examples in my life – I had to study in Italy and live in a monastery in France for 7 years. All the experience gained “lay back” in this parish. I am deeply immersed in the world of music, so I would continue to develop musical and cultural activities, which is why people from Kaunas started coming to us. However, we were a little ashamed that people were coming from everywhere and the walls of the church were peeling away from old brown oil paint covered in mold. We felt a little shabby.
Before quarantine, I tried to go on Christmas during my vacation, I collected about 7 thousand. and last year the churches were closed due to quarantine, but after the second day of Easter, April 14, I decided to start the repairs with the funds I had. At a distance of about 200 m from the church, local youth gathered, let’s say, with a character that some might even enjoy. I started calling them for help – invite one and he would call a friend, etc. So we had 6-8 young people working every day, led by a professional painter hired. We shaved the walls with the young people, cut off the oil paint with axes, and cleaned them. And we restored the interior of the church with our own hands.
After a while, with the emergence of new funds donated by people, we put together a real granite heated floor with molded mold in place of the broken wooden floor. With the help of the decorator, we restored the altar, sculptures, paintings, and the women and children renewed the benches, which have not changed for 50 years. So we did most of the work with our own hands. The organ, which has not been played for 30 years, was also renewed with the help of my familiar families in Kaunas. Everything went very fast – on July 2nd. we have already opened a renewed church, ”said the priest.
It seeks man to discover greatness
The priest is pleased not with the help he won in the project to improve the environment in the community of the village of Užlau.
“There are paths, flower beds, a fountain so that a person who comes here can find a place to walk and sit. We are interested in the archives of Tiškevičiai manor park, so we correspond to the idea of the former manor park. We later dream of real, authentic church cellars that have not been touched by civilization for 160 years. We want to equip them with educational spaces, expositions of religious goods, the Fish of the Wreck, and the edge of the town. The church from the ruins of the manor was built 88 years ago, so it is not a simple village church, but specific, manor house.
Photo album of personal album / Vilius Sikorskas
–
I taught the liturgy for seven years, so I wanted it to be of high quality in our country as well. Famous musicians and vocalists take part in our mass. We have one of the most famous tenors – Vaidas Vyšniauskas, Rokas Laureckis has sung, etc. In order to adjust to the format of the performers’ works, we look for suitable works for them, if necessary, we prepare arrangements and rehearse before Mass. That’s why a really quality show is happening. We also organize concerts and cooperate with the Prienai Culture Center, which has wonderful halls, but organizes some of its festivals with us, ”the interviewee shared.
Alongside all this cultural movement, the Public Institution “The Manor of the Broken God” is being created, to which not only parishioners but also all Lithuanian people and professionals in various fields are invited to join.
“While in this church, I realized that it was not necessary for the Mother of God to weep, as happened in Šiluva, Lourdes or elsewhere, for the sanctuary of that place to become famous. By restoring works of art and music, I think we are becoming a truly beautiful manor of God, whose goal is to nurture human spirituality. We are all looking for greatness in our lives. You want a person to feel it when you come to this medium. And we are lucky. Realizing that we are not individual members of the community, but our power in unity, we have grown beyond the framework of the local community. People are going to the Church of the Crossroads “, V.Sikorskas discussed.
According to him, such an allegorical narrative exists. If a parish priest is holy, the parish is not necessarily holy, but devout because he sees the priest holy. If the priest is not holy, but only worshiped, the parish is not necessarily worshiped, but believed, for he sees the priest in worship. If a priest is not a devout man, but a believer, his parish is ungodly. In other words, the priest must live by what he says. Only then will others follow him.
“It simply came to our notice then. There must always be fruit. I’m sure everyone has some talent that bears fruit, most importantly to use it. God has given me a talent for music, art, so I focus on music, I decorate the altar with country flowers. Although I am a man, I have had such positions in France for several years
Of course, we priests are also human beings, so you will always be right in correcting us if we are wrong or untrue, and we will be grateful for that. My holiness as a priest depends on the community. Community and the priesthood are a means for me to follow the path of my vocation. It is impossible to show faith in any other way than through one’s own works. “If faith is without works, then we say that the devils are also believers, because it is just a theory,” said the interlocutor.
According to K. Grybaitė, today, thanks to the priest, the parishioners can enjoy the coziness of the heated church, instead of cold dressing more than one layer of warm clothes. You can sit relaxed and let faith into your heart, knit a spiritual conversation with God, be in yourself and in your thoughts, even though you have forgotten about your life for a while and feel cold and uncomfortable. The old floor, already covered with mushrooms, has been replaced with new, granite slabs that are heated.
“We want to continue to create the gardens of God’s manor, we want to live in God’s care straightened, with bright thoughts and open hearts, the growth of the spirit, the presence in ourselves, the experience of being surrounded by aesthetics and beauty,” said the interlocutor.
The community is currently raising funds for the production of church doors as the old ones are already starting to crumble.
Anyone interested is invited to contribute:
Recipient: Scrap parish
LT26 7044 0600 0793 4715
AB SEB bankas.
Purpose: for church doors
– .
:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/X333CJ32GJAL3EUKXOSHQDKPTY.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)