Juozapas Arnulfas Giedraitis

Juozapas Arnulfas Giedraitis (; June 24, 1757 – July 5, 1838), was a Lithuanian clergyman, translator, writer, and a key figure of the early Lithuanian National Revival. Giedraitis was a Doctor of Canon Law from 1790, and the Bishop of Samogitia from 1803. Chairman of the Lithuanian Educational Commission from 1797. Giedraitis was the first to translate the whole of the New Testament into Lithuanian in 1816. The that he began lead to the broader Lithuanian National Revival.

Biography

Early life and education Giedraitis was descended from the Lithuanian princely Giedroyć family. His father Jonas was a captain in the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army. He studied at the College of Nobility in Vilnius. At the age of 23, Giedraitis graduated in 1780 from the Samogitian Seminary in Varniai, and as a cleric he was already appointed a Livonian canon.

Priesthood and European travels In 1781, he was ordained a deacon on January 6, and a priest a few weeks later on January 24. From 1781 to 1785, Giedraitis traveled around Europe, spending the longest time in Rome. He traveled through the Italian states and the Kingdom of France, spending a year in Paris, and returned to his homeland via the Netherlands and Germany.

From 1785, he was a member of the chapter of the Samogitian diocese. In 1788, he became a prelate archdeacon. In 1789, he was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus by King Stanisław August Poniatowski. In 1790, he was made a Doctor of Canon Law. He was chosen as a coadjutor bishop with the right of inheritance on December 4, 1790, and then confirmed on April 11, 1791. As coadjutor bishop, he was a member of the confederation of the Four-Year Sejm. He was also appointed the titular bishop of Orthosias in Caria on April 11, and then ordained on June 19.

After the third partition of Poland–Lithuania in 1795, he was elected delegate of the Duchy of Samogitia and went on a mission to Empress of Russia Catherine II. As a token of her appreciation, she presented him with a diamond cross.

Bishop of Samogitia From 13 May 1802, Giedraitis was the Bishop of Samogitia. However, he had already practically ruled the diocese from 1801.

He moved the diocese's general consistory from Alsėdžiai to Varniai, and lived in Alsėdžiai himself. He took great care of the education of priests and parochial schools, so that by the 1820s, more than 70% of parishes in the Samogitian diocese operated them. Due to these schools, he maintained relations with Vilnius University. Giedraitis took care of the development of the Lithuanian language, communicated with writers, and patronized Lithuanian literary figures.

At the request of Tsar Alexander I, he participated in the work of the Biblical Committee operating in St. Petersburg since 1813.

During the uprising of 1831, he urged Lithuanians and Samogitians to support the insurgents and assigned chaplains to their units. After it was suppressed, he was removed from direct control of the diocese by the Russian administration.thumb Sarcophagi of the Samogitian bishops Giedraičiai in the basement of the Church of St. Peter and Paul in VarnianIn the 1800s, with the help of Dionizas Poška, he translated Italian poetry (the prologue to Torquato Tasso's drama "Aminta", published in 1965). On his initiative, the Gospels were edited and published in 1806. At the request of the Bible Society that he was in, he wrote the study "On the Lithuanian Nation, Language and Literature" (published in 1994). His most important work is the first translation into Lithuanian of the entire text of the New Testament for Catholics (1816, 2nd ed. 1906). His translation contributed to the formation of the common Lithuanian language.

In 1832, after the uprising was brutally crushed, he translated from Polish a short catechism prepared by Bishop on the subjects' respect for the Tsar.

Legacy The Russian historian Alexander Polovtsov wrote about Juozapas Arnulfas Giedraitis that he was:one of the most remarkable Lithuanian figures. When Lithuania came under Russian rule, he taught by word and example that spiritual and intellectual activity and public education in Lithuania should come from educated Lithuanians. Until his death, he was occupied with finding means to educate the Samogitian people: he founded parish schools, district schools, and gymnasiums.

Awards 50x50px Awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus by King Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1789. 50x50px Awarded the Order of Saint Anna, 1st Degree, in 1829.