LEONARDS LATKOVSKIS
AGLONA:
A HISTORY OF THE CHURCH AND MONASTERY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword.................................................................................................. 7
Introduction.............................................................................................. 10
Chapter 1. The Aglona Region
Location: Historic Region of Ancient Hill-Forts............................... 13
The Aglona Region............................................................................ 14
The Origin of the Name..................................................................... 14
Chapter 2. The Historical Background
The Early History of the Region....................................................... 17
The Origin of Christianity in Latgale ............................................... 18
The Later Medieval Period.............................................................. 18
Chapter 3. The Original Church and Monastery
The Founding of the Church and Monastery..................................... 21
The Original Church.......................................................................... 22
The Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary ...................................... 23
The Monastery................................................................................... 24
The Icon of Our Lady of Aglona ....................................................... 24
The Legends ..................................................................................... 30
Miracles ............................................................................................. 31
The Early Years of the "White Fathers" ............................................ 32
Chapter 4. The New Church and Monastery
The Construction of the New Church and Monastery ...................... 35
The Theological Seminaiy................................................................. 37
The Monastery Land.......................................................................... 37
The Aglona Spring............................................................................. 39
The Church Crypt and Cellars........................................................... 41
Cemeteries ........................................................................................ 41
The Dominican Monastery Library .................................................. 42
Chapter 5. Aglona in the Nineteenth Century
The Renovations................................................................................ 46
Tsarist Russia's Restrictive Policies ................................................. 47
Chapter 6. Pilgrimages
Dominican Liturgies ......................................................................... 50
Aglona's Popularity as a Pilgrimage Site ......................................... 50
A Pilgrimage in 1900 ........................................................................ 51
Pilgrimages in the 1920s and 1930s ................................................. 55
Aglona's Role ................................................................................... 60
Chapter 7. Aglona 1900 to 1918
The Latgalian Awakening ................................................................. 65
World War I ....................................................................................... 66
Aglona Under Threat of Bolshevik Terror: 1917 to l919 .................. 67
Chapter 8. Aglona in Independent Latvia 1918 to 1940
Seat of the New Diocese ................................................................... 71
The Consecration of Bishop Springovičs ......................................... 71
The Work of Nikodems Rancāns and Aloizijs Broks ....................... 74
The Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus and the Jaunaglona School ....... 77
The Aglona Parish ............................................................................. 79
Aglona's Role as a Latvian Catholic Cultural Center ....................... 79
Chapter 9. The First Soviet Occupation 1940-41
Communist Actions in Aglona........................................................... 84
NKVD Terror Against the Students................................................... 86
The Priests in Danger ........................................................................ 86
Chapter 10. World War II: German Occupation
German Rule in Latgale..................................................................... 90
Nazi Atrocities in the Aglona Area.................................................... 91
The Arrest and Deportation of Aloizijs Broks................................... 91
The Evacuation of the Icon................................................................ 95
The Aglona Shrine in Danger............................................................ 96
Chapter 11. Soviet Communist Rule - The Postwar Years 1944 to 1957
The Return of Communist Rule ........................................................ 100
Communist Hostility Toward Aglona................................................ 101
Chapter 12. Atheistic Excesses 1957 to 1970
The Intensified Atheist Attack on Aglona ......................................... 105
The Expulsion of the Nuns ................................................................ 107
The Destruction of the Historic Library and Archive........................ 109
The Devastation of the Historic Aglona Church Property................. 110
Anti-Aglona Propaganda................................................................... 114
The Monastery and Aglona Shrine Under Duress............................. 115
The Aglona Parish and its Pastors in the Soviet Period..................... 116
Chapter 13. The Later Soviet Communist Period 1970 to 1985
Pilgrims During the Communist Occupation .................................... 124
Aglona's 200th Anniversary and Designation as Basilica ................ 126
Chapter 14. The Last Years of Communism 1985 to 1991
Soviet Reform: Glasnost, Perestroika and the Waning of Atheism 1985
to 1991 ............................................................................................... 128
Remarkable Changes in 1989 and 1990 ............................................ 129
Aglona's Resurgence......................................................................... 130
Chapter 15. Independent Latvia: Aglona's Renovation and Renewal The Ecological Issue:
Reversing Soviet Environmental Damage .... 132
Restoration and Reconstruction........................................................ 133
The Visit of Pope John Paul II........................................................... 134
Status as National Religious Site....................................................... 139
Afterword: Aglona's Hitorical Role......................................................... 141
Leonhards Latkovskis.............................................................................. 144