Liudvikas Rėza and the struggle of two ‘mysteries’

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the works of a professor from the University of Königsberg, Liudvikas Rėza (1776—1840), a prominent figure in the history of Lithuanian culture acclaimed for his work in collecting, studying, and publishing Lithuanian folklore. Rėza was the first to publish Donelaitis’s poem The Seasons in Lithuanian with a German translation, which happened in Königsberg in 1818. Despite his renown, Rėza remains a true mystery for researchers, being a serious scholar, a poet, and a theologian. This mystery is identified as an ideological opposition of one of the most macabre mysteries in Christianity — the ‘mystery of lawlessness’, as it was formulated by Paul the Apostle.

Keywords

• rėza
• discourse
• theology
• god-centrism
• enlightenment
• königsberg
• baroque
• freemasonry
• kant