Problems with the implementation of the Tridentine reforms in the bishopric of Vilna in the sixteenth century

The text concerns the problem of the implementation of the reforms of the Council of Trent in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, mainly in the case of the diocese of Vilna (Vilnius, Wilno). On the basis of sources originating from the cathedral chapter (now preserved in the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences) and transcripts (preserved in the Czartoryski Library in Kraków) the question has been addressed of the resistance among the clergy - nominally associated with Vilna Cathedral - to the implementation of the Tridentine reforms. The existence of the phenomenon is attested indirectly by examples of breaches of discipline by clergymen, including problems of drunkenness and relations with women. Among the factors contributing to the resistance of the chapter to the Tridentine reforms we can count the plural tenure of benefices. The effects on parish life of the accumulation of benefices can be discovered from the records of visitations. The problem of non-residence can be considered one of the main factors which led to group disintegration, and also to the changing roles and social functions of clergymen