Chapter 1
At 5 am the nine strikes of the “devyni kieti, plieniniai skambalo smūgiai” wake Liudas Vasarį from a confused sleep. He discovers it is a cold winter morning, sees his neighbour Jonas Variokas already up, and hurriedly gets dressed. Together with the other first‑year seminarians (“labirintas”) in room 17, he walks to the garden for a breath of fresh air before returning to the dormitory to fall into the seminary’s rigid daily schedule, which is punctuated by a series of bells:
- 5 am – nine strikes to awaken.
- 5:30 am – three strikes summon the morning meditation.
- 6:30 am – bells call to Mass.
- 8 am to 12 pm – three‑strike hourly signals mark the start and end of lessons.
- 12 pm – brief bell for Examen conscientiae, followed by the lunch bell.
- 2 pm – free recreation time.
- 2 pm – a single strike “silentium” begins work, followed by a five‑strike break and another work bell.
- 6 pm – three strikes lead to the great auditorium for the rector’s moral lessons.
- 7 pm – five strikes announce dinner.
- 7:30 pm – three strikes summon the chapel for evening prayers and confession.
- 8 pm to 9 pm – “sacrosanctum silentium” for personal spiritual work.
- 9 pm – nine strikes announce the end of the workday; the seminarians return briefly to the refectory and then retire.
The chapel is described in vivid detail: a narrow, long, dimly lit space illuminated by a foggy sunrise, two candles (one beside the spiritual father, one beside a chanting monk), a weak oil lamp on the altar, and large paintings of Saints Aloys Gonzaga and Stanislaus Kostka that dominate the walls. Liudas feels reverence mixed with an unsettling fear, imagining what it would be like to stay alone in the chapel at night. He notes the silence, the faint scent of incense, and the mystical aura surrounding the saints’ halos.
Interwoven with the present narrative are Liudas’s memories of his earlier life. During his gymnasium years, the 1905 revolutionary unrest affected him and his peers. One friend tried to bring communion to prove a miracle, causing a scandal; another friend later committed suicide after contracting a venereal disease, shaking Liudas’s conscience. He also recalls belonging to a secret society that discussed evolution and natural science contrary to Church teaching, which contributed to a personal spiritual crisis and pushed him toward entering the seminary.
Literary influence is also highlighted: reading Maironis’s poem “Jaunąją Lietuvą” awakens patriotic zeal and the desire to write for Lithuania. A meeting with his newly ordained priest cousin, who glorifies the clergy’s role in nation‑building, reinforces his decision to pursue the priesthood.
The chapter describes the humorous struggles of first‑year seminarians adjusting their black cassocks and white surplices, especially the colaratka (waist belt). Liudas and his peers fumble with buckles, causing comic mishaps that are teased by senior students.
The narrative culminates with the first communion service. The rector presides; candles burn; incense wafts; the choir sings; and the seminarians line up in their cassocks and surplices. Liudas approaches the altar, feeling a mixture of solemnity and detachment. He experiences the ritual more as a formal duty than a profound spiritual encounter and quickly leaves the chapel afterward, eager to return to his dormitory. Throughout, he reflects on his past, his new routine, and the paradox of seeking deeper faith while feeling emotionally distant from the ceremonies.