The parish and church in Orneta according to the visitation report of 1798
Andrzej Kopiczko
Wydział Humanistyczny; Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9834-2433
Abstract
The article is based on the extensive visitation report of the parish of Orneta of 1798, written in Latin. It includes information on the beginnings of the church and its equipment. It describes in detail the altars, chapels, baptismal font and sacristy. In addition, there is information on the service times and brotherhoods. Interesting data concern the structure of the population. 2500 people were obliged to receive Easter Holy Communion, but about 400 Catholics from Protestant Prussia also came to the local church. Moreover, about 60 Lutherans lived in the parish; their services were held in the town hall. The report also contains the basic biographical details about the priests: the parish priest, Rev. Tadeusz Orlikowski and three curates: Rev. Antoni Rehan, Rev. Franciszek Wegner and Rev. Jan Kolberg. The inspector checked how the school functioned, gave the names of the teacher (Franciszk Eckert) and the cantor (Andrzej Eckert), as well as the number of students (90 boys). In the town there was also a school ran by the Congregation of the Sisters of St Catherine Holy Virgin and Martyr, where 86 girls learnt to read and write; in addition, they were taught catechism and needlework. The document also mentions the following church employees: an organist (Antoni Krohnenberg), a sacristan (Jan Koless), a gravedigger (Jakub Braun) and midwives. Moreover, there is the description of the Holy Spirit Hospital and St George Hospital. The report also covers the issue of the church endowment. The parish land was leased by five people at the time: mayor Andrzej Wesler, town councillor Kazimierz Lighton, church administrator Józef Wax, town inhabitant Franciszek Kobwald and two widows: Anna Plastwich and Anna Hohsmann. A great deal of information included in the report, especially personal details, has not been mentioned in the literature so far; this means that this material broadens our knowledge about the parish and church in Orneta.
Keywords:
the diocese of Warmia, Orneta, parish, church, monuments, priests, church employeesReferences
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Wydział Humanistyczny; Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9834-2433
