The Genesis and Evolution of Non-Collegiate Canon Chapters at the Cathedral Chapter in Vilnius (1388-1945) and in Białystok (1945-1993)

Abstract

This study discusses one of the aspects of the history of the cathedral chapter in Vilnius and its continuation in the post-war period in Białystok. It directly concerns the circumstances of the formation and development of the canonry outside the strict chapter body, i.e. the functions of coadjutors and honorary canons in general. This issue has so far been neglected in historiography. The capitular body in Vilnius in the pre-partition period consisted of six prelates and twelve canons. The function of a non-collegiate coadjutor appeared for the first time in the 17th century. It reached its peak in the 18th century. During the partitions, as a result of the gradual reduction of prelate and canon offices by the tsarist authorities, temporary coadjutors began to be established, and as repressions against the Catholic Church increased – honorary coadjutors and honorary canons. The current constitutional and organizational shape of the chapter is mainly the result of the continuous evolution of the offices and dignities throughout the nineteenth century, in response to the dynamic changes in the partitioner’s policy towards the Church and the needs generated by them.