Congratulations to the new PhD  Nerijus Pipiras on the successful defence of his doctoral dissertation: The Written Legacy of Archbishop Mečislovas Reinis in Supporting the Ideas of Education and Upbringing in the Independent (1918-1941) and Restored (since 1990) Lithuania (Education Science (S 007),  scientific supervisors : academic. Algirdas Gaižutis, assoc. prof. dr. Asta Meškauskienė).

The dissertation is available at the Vytautas Magnus University and the Lithuanian National M. Mažvydas Library.

The dissertation is available at  11 Studentų  Str., Academy., Kaunas district.

A short annotation of doctoral dissertation is presented below :

Archbishop Mečislovas Reinys is not only a zealous pastor, but also an active public figure, who has participated in the activities of Catholic organisations as well as in politics, and who has been active in speaking out on issues that are sensitive to society. In this dissertation, the periods chosen for the analysis of Archbishop Mečislovas Reinis’s written legacy and educational ideas in independent (1918-1940) and restored (since 1990) Lithuania are not accidental. At the beginning of the 20th century, Lithuania was emerging from the grip of Tsarist Russia and the conceptual foundations of the education system were being built, while at the end of the century, after breaking free from the ideological dependence on the Soviet school, the Lithuanian education system was being rebuilt, taking into account not only the progressive experience of foreign countries, but also the achievements of earlier times. When examining Archbishop Reinis’s articles on education and upbringing, it has become clear that the Archbishop presents the process of education as a “work of the soul” involving the family, the state, the Church and various organisations. From the Archbishop’s point of view, the essence of the educational process lies in the development of the pupil’s mental cognitive powers, the development of the will, the formation of character, conscience, and the formation of a world view. For the formation of a worldview, the harmony of natural sciences, philosophy and theology is important, corresponding to the divine virtues. These three elements, open to Don Bosco’s preventive system of youth education, require direction, and point to pedagogy as a unique environment for personal growth, which Archbishop Reinys, also combining the ideas of Cardinal Mercier and the Russian thinker V. Solovyov, proposes to integrate into the emerging Lithuanian education system: the culture of the nation, modernity, humanism and religious practice are the central pillars of the entire educational process. An analysis of Archbishop Mečislovas Reinis’s articles on education and upbringing has shown that Reinis calls for connections throughout the whole educational process, from the natural sciences, which enlighten the mind and answer many cognitive questions, to philosophy, which encompasses not only cognition, but also truth, to theology, which leads to the Great Cause through the raising of existential questions.

Dissertation Defense Council:

Chair – prof. dr. Sigitas Daukilas, Social Sciences, Education S 007, Vytautas Magnus University,
prof. dr. Irena Stonkuvienė, Social Sciences, Education S 007, Vilnius University,
assoc. prof. dr. Emilija Sakadolskienė, Social Sciences, Education S 007, Vytautas Magnus University,
prof. dr. Rita Vaičekauskaitė, Social Sciences, Education S 007, Klaipėda University,
prof. habil. dr. Margarita Teresevičienė, Social Sciences, Education S 007,Vytautas Magnus University.