Relation of religious pilgrimage objects of Agluona and Vilnius region

Atliktas tyrimas pristato Agluonos ir Vilniaus krašto religinės piligrimystės objektų sąlyčius. Tyrimo rezultatai pagrindė darbo pradžioje išsikeltą hipotezę, kad Agluonoje ir Vilniaus krašte (Trakuose) esantys religinės piligrimystės objektai (Dievo Motinos su Kūdikiu paveikslas, mažųjų kalvarijų Kryžiaus kelias, arba 14-os stočių Kryžiaus kelias, ir viena iš jo stočių – Trijų Kryžių monumentas (kalnas), taip pat šventieji šaltiniai, lankomi per Sekminių ir Švč. Mergelės Marijos ėmimo į dangų šventes) liudija pamaldumo praktikų sąsajas, pristato tarptautinį religinio turizmo dialogą.All three Baltic States are Christian, but only Lithuania and Latvia have their own Catholic culture. Their ethnic religious heritage consists of sacral objects and folk devotion practices. There are many unique sacral sites that are visited by pilgrims from all over the world, such as the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai in Lithuania or Agluona shrine in Latvia. Long-standing personal practice has led to one of these phenomena becoming a research object – religious pilgrimage objects of Agluona and Vilnius region. The aim of the research is to reveal the relation of religious pilgrimage objects of Agluona and Vilnius region. Tasks of the research are: firstly, to present briefly aspects of historic origins of religious pilgrimage in Agluona and Vilnius region; secondly, to investigate reasons for relations between religious pilgrimage objects and devotional practices of Agluona and Vilnius region. Results of conducted research allow drawing these conclusions: firstly, historic origins of visiting sacral sites in Agluona and Vilnius region are identical, i.e. visiting of the painting Madonna with Child (both copy and original), completing little calvaries or 14-station Way of the Cross, visiting of springs that have healing and grace giving features, celebration of Triduum of Pentecost and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Secondly, the origins of these relations lie in the culture of Dominican friars. Thirdly, reasons of the origins of sacred sites and their devotional practices in Agluona and Vilnius region are geopolitical. The conclusions validate the hypothesis and the proposition that religious pilgrimage objects in Agluona and Vilnius region (in Trakai) (painting Madonna with Child, the Way of the Cross of little calvaries or 14-station Way of the Cross and one of its stations – the monument of Three Crosses (the hill), also sacred springs attended during Pentecost or the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) indicate relations of devotional practices and present the dialogue of international religious tourism. This research could help to reveal and present religious pilgrimage objects, encourage similar international and cross-border research of devotional practices