The bishops of Vilnius and Lutsk

The need for the printed word was also recognized in the environment of the highest Catholic hierarchs of Lithuania, the bishops of Vilnius and Lutsk.  Among them, worthy of notice are the Bishops of Vilnius Albertas I Taboras (ruled the diocese in 1492–1507), Albertas II Radvila (ruled in 1507–1519) and John II of the Lithuanian Dukes (ruled in 1519–1536), as well as Paulius Alšėniškis, Bishop of Lutsk (ruled the Lutsk diocese in 1507–1536, the Vilnius diocese in 1536–1555).
These Catholic hierarchs contributed to the appearance of some of the earliest publications in Lithuania. It was at the behest of Albertas Taboras that a Vilnius canon, Marcin of Radom, wrote “Agenda” published in two versions in Gdańsk in 1499. On the request of this bishop, Jan of Oświęcim (also known as Sacranus), the most prominent Polish theologian of the turn of the 15th–16th centuries, wrote a theological work entitled “Elucidarius errorum rithus Ruthenici” (“Elucidation of Errors in the Ruthenian Rites”). Written in Lithuania, this treatise was published in Cracow in 1501 and later reprinted several times in Europe, in excerpts. Albertas Radvila earned the gratitude of posterity having published, in 1515, the first compendium of statutes of the Vilnius Cathedral Chapter. By the efforts of the Lutsk Bishop Paulius Alšėniškis, “Statuta dioecesana pro dioecesi Luceoriensi”  (“Diocesan Statutes for the Lutsk Diocese”) were published in Cracow in 1519.
The accomplishments of Vilnius Bishop John of the Lithuanian Dukes are discussed separately in more detail.

A letter of the Vilnius bishop Albertas Taboras, in which he establishes eight positions for mansioner priests and another altar for the Chapel of Bishops of the Vilnius Cathedral.

A letter of the Vilnius bishop Albertas, in which he appoints Jan Petrowski parish priest of the Lipa church.

Letter of Grand Duke Sigismund the Old, in which he grants to the Luck bishop Paulius Alšėniškis a right to present to the Bishop of Vilnius candidates for the posts of archdeacon and canon at the Vilnius Cathedral.

A letter of the Lutsk bishop Paulius Alšėniškis, in which he confirms the ownership rights of his servant Albertas Dubas for the land given to his father in the estate of Volpa and additionally gives him three peasants with families, land and rent.