Persecution of Believers, 1979-1980 (56.19-1)

<<No. 56 : 30 April 1980>>

19-1. Catholics in Lithuania.
19-2. Baptists and Pentecostalists.

1. CATHOLICS IN LITHUANIA.

1.1 A Search at the Home of Grazulis.

In October 1979 and January 1980, the Prienai district soviet executive committee twice wrote to Father Antanas GRAZULIS, assistant priest of Prienai parish, warning him against allowing schoolchildren to act as altar-boys during the liturgy. 1,026 believers signed a protest against the harassing of Grazulis.

On 18 February 1980, Captain Slibinskas carried out a search at the home of Grazulis. The search took place in the absence of the owner, who had been summoned to the police station at the same time. Twelve copies of Tiesos Kelias (the “Path of Truth”, CCE 45.20 [10]) and some religious pamphlets were found in Grazulis’s house. His typewriter was also taken away. A simultaneous search was going on in the garage used by Grazulis (which he did not own); as stated in the search record, “six sheets of white metal measuring 460 x 20 x 2 millimetres” were confiscated from the garage.

On the same day Grazulis’s parents, who live in the village of Mankunai, had their home searched. Two religious pamphlets — one in English, published in 1914 — and 380 kilograms of unused paper were confiscated.

1.2 Arrests and Searches on 17-18 April

KYBARTAI. On 17 April 1980, Genovaite Navickaite was arrested in Mrs Petrikiene’s home.

During the search, a Chronicle of the Lithuanian Catholic Church (LCC Chronicle) was discovered in the process of being reproduced. Navickaite was taken to Vilnius and imprisoned in the Lukiškis Prison. On 23 April her flat in Kaunas was searched.

Sigitas Tamkevičius (b. 1938)

On 17 April the Rector of Kybartai parish, Father Sigitas TAMKEVICIUS, a member of the Catholic Committee, had his home searched. The following were confiscated: 10 issues of Tiesos Kelias, Rupintojelis No, 12, A Chronicle of Current Events Nos. 47 & 54, Kontinent Nos. 4-8, documents of the Catholic Committee, The Yawning Heights by Alexander Zinoviev, and the texts of International Covenants and Agreements.

On the same day the same investigator carried out searches at the home of Ana Draiginaite, Father Tamkevičius’s housekeeper, where copies of Perspectives 12 & 16 were confiscated; at the flat of the late Virgilijus Jaugelis, where the LCC Chronicle Nos. 40 & 41, the Chronicle of Current Events, the Messenger of the Russian Christian Movement [Vestnik RKhD] Nos, 121, 122 & 124, and documents of the Christian Committee were confiscated; and also at the home of Ona Kavaliauskaite, where Ausra No. 19 and vol. VI of the “Lithuanian Archive” were discovered. Everything confiscated in these searches was put down on the search record of Father Tamkevičius.

On that same day Veronika Sapciuviene (and Genovaite Macenskaite, who lives with her) were subjected to a search. Ausra No. 17, LCC Chronicle No. 42 and Tiesos Kelias Nos. 10 & 11 were confiscated from Macenskaite.

VIDUKLE. On 17 April a search was carried out at the home of the local rector, Father Alfonsos SVARINSKAS, a member of the Catholic Committee. Documents by the Committee and issues of Tiesos Kelias and Kontinent were confiscated.

KAPSUKAS DISTRICT. On 18 April 1980, Ona VITKAUSKAITE was arrested in the home of the Rector of Bagotoji parish. During a search, copies of Ausra No. 18 and LCC Chronicle Nos. 38 & 42 were found, the latter in the process of being retyped. Like Navickaite, Vitkauskaite is being held in Vilnius, in Lukiškis Prison. On 28 April her flat in Kaunas was searched.

KAPSUKAS. On 18 April 1980, a group of KGB officials searched a house belonging to Genovaite Macenskaite and P. Tuomiene. A typewriter and some typewritten religious pamphlets were confiscated from their tenant Yelena Babinskaya; Birute Briliute, a teacher who was visiting her at home, was also searched. A typewriter, Voinovich’s “Adventures of Private Chonkin” (in Lithuanian) and A Question of Madness by Roy and Zhores Medvedev were confiscated from her. Briliute herself was twice subjected to a body-search.

Catholic Committee for the Defence of Believers’ Rights

DOCUMENTS

No. 27 – A protest against the arrest of Julius SASNAUSKAS (CCE 55.6).

No. 28 – Concerns the ban on schoolchildren attending funerals which include religious rites (many teachers forbid this).

No. 29 – On the difficulties placed in the way of clergymen visiting hospitals when invited to do so by patients or their relatives, in order to carry out religious rites.

(All three items dated 13 January 1980.)

No. 30 (7 February 1980) – An appeal to the Pope to extend “moral support to one who for many years generously helped others” (Andrei D. Sakharov) and to give his support to the arrested Orthodox priests Gleb YAKUNIN (CCE 54.1-2) and Dmitry DUDKO (CCE 56.9).

Miscellaneous

According to LCC Chronicle No. 42, P. Anilionis, Commissioner for the Council for Religious Affairs at the USSR Council of Ministers (with responsibility for the Lithuanian SSR), and A. Cesnavicius, Deputy chair of the Lithuanian SSR Council of Ministers, held a meeting with Catholic bishops and administrators of dioceses On 28 January 1980.

Anilionis expressed disquiet concerning the situation which had arisen within the Catholic Church in Lithuania. He was particularly worried, he said, about the following problems:

The existence of ‘secret’ priests (i.e. those ordained without the authorities’ permission), who were greedy, ignorant and had criminal records. The question was: Who ordained them?
Extremist attitudes among the clergy. This was proved by the erecting of crosses on the Hill of Crosses, the pilgrimage to Siluva and prayer-meetings in the open air. Cesnavicius threatened that Fathers Mocius and Kriksciukaitis, who had participated in these and other activities, would be made to answer by the procurator’s office.
The activities of the Catholic Committee for the Defence of Believers’ Rights, which gathered signatures by terrorizing priests. Particular dissatisfaction was expressed concerning the Committee’s Document No. 5, which was also signed by 552 priests and two bishops (CCE 53.23, CCE 54.18).

Cesnavicius stated that this situation would no longer be tolerated. The Church must condemn the extremist priests. Cesnavicius then withdrew and the bishops began to discuss what had been said. Bishop R. Kriksciunas, in particular, said:

“We are called ‘reds’ and subjected to blackmail … It would be interesting to know who finances them. Colour photographs of the Catholic Committee worth two roubles each are being distributed without charge.”

At the end Anilionis spoke:

“Priests don’t give information about baptisms, weddings, and so on. The parishes will be made to answer for this disgraceful lack of order… We must fight against drunkenness.

“However, the letter about this from Catholic priests in Vilnius speaks about ‘Hastening to take part in the movement for the spiritual rebirth of the nation, the first aim of which is temperance’. And what will be the second step, and the third? That is what worries us …”

In conclusion, Anilionis called on those present to place greater trust in the Soviet authorities.

The same issue of the LCC Chronicle has published “a plan for an intensified struggle against religious extremists and for checking on the correct fulfilment of the laws on religious cults” drawn up by the Lithuanian Communist Party’s Central Committee.

The plan mentions the following aims:

Control is to be established over priests and other representatives of religion, so that they cannot participate in religious education of children (particularly in teaching the catechism or preparation for confirmation);
Persons who have been noticed violating the laws on religion are to be warned in writing or orally;
Anti-religious propaganda is to be increased and ‘extremists’ are to be exposed;
Children from ‘extremist’ families are to be registered.

On 9 March 1980, Anilionis and Jonas Anicas, Rector of Vilnius Teachers Training Institute, appeared together on Vilnius television.

They attacked ‘extremist priests’ and mentioned the names of Catholic Committee members Svarinskas, Tamkevicius and Kauneckas. According to the speakers, they were slandering Soviet reality, sending libellous information abroad and in general being used as weapons of world imperialism, which in this case was acting through the Vatican.

A petition from the believers of Ignalina parish, asking for permission to rebuild fundamentally their present tiny church, has been sent to the government authorities of the Lithuanian SSR and the USSR. The declaration is dated 10 November 1979 and 10,933 signatures were collected under it. A copy of the petition was sent to the Catholic Committee.