Liudas Vasarį endures the strict bell‑driven routine of his first weeks at the seminary, explores the chapel’s interior, recalls his pre‑seminary turmoil, and takes part in his first communion, feeling more like a formal duty than a spiritual revelation.
Chapter 2 details the seminary’s full hierarchy, the heated Lithuanian‑Polish language dispute, and the exhaustive daily chores imposed on novices, introducing rector Valeškevičius, inspector Mazurkovskis, dean, ceremonial master, music director, organist, apothecary, campanologist, and the first‑year guardian (formarijus), and shows Liudas Vasaris adapting to the strict routine.
Liudas discovers that intellectual arguments cannot persuade his fellow seminarians, so he relies on lived experience; he wrestles with intense conscience examinations and repeated confessions, invents a catalog of sins (pride, envy, etc.), and is labeled “closed” by the senior guardian, deepening his sense of isolation and spiritual emptiness.
Vasaris forms a tentative, conflict‑filled friendship with the cynical senior student Variokas; they discuss why Vasaris entered the seminary, the perceived hypocrisy of priestly duties, and Variokas’s personal ambition to become a corrupt cleric. Vasaris witnesses Variokas describe a drunken deacon’s lecherous behavior, is shown a provocative illustration of a bound naked woman, and later confesses this sight to his spiritual father who rebukes him. He observes that most seminarians are not genuinely pious, learns that the seminary strictly forbids close friendships between students, and becomes more critical of his vocation and the institution.
Variokas announces his imminent departure and offers his coat; Vasaris meets his parents in the parlatorium, feeling degraded by their formal address; Jonelaitis befriends Vasaris and discusses seminary monotony and private study; a secret gathering of clerks opens Vasaris’s hidden “žiu ratkininkas” chest, is interrupted by a rector/inspector, and Vasaris narrowly avoids punishment by kissing the rector’s hand; Vasaris becomes more cautious, learns quick‑hide tactics for books, and his reputation with the rector improves; rumors of Variokas seen with a girl silence further criticism of him.
Vasaris’s first vacation after his first seminary year: a vivid, almost transcendental journey through the Lithuanian countryside, arrival back in his home village, reunion with his parents, and his attempt to keep the strict seminary schedule at home (morning prayers, meditation, evening prayers, reading, attending Mass and receiving Communion). He meets his parish’s young priest (no vicar) who hosts him briefly. A few days later Vasaris travels with his fellow cleric Petryla to the Kleviškio parish for a major celebration. There he assists in the liturgy, joins a banquet of about ten clergy, and experiences a chaotic drinking episode involving the “apaštalas” (a strict vicar), broken glasses and heated arguments with the host priest. During the dinner the young coffee‑serving girl Liucė draws Vasaris’s attention, creating an awkward flirtation. These events expand the picture of parish life, clergy camaraderie and conflict, and introduce new characters (the young parish priest, the “apaštalas”, Liucė) while showing Vasaris’s ongoing struggle to reconcile his seminary formation with real‑world priestly duties.
Liudas Vasaris confronts his lingering infatuation with Liucė, the priest’s adopted daughter, during Saint Laurence’s indulgence celebrations. The chapter reveals Liucė’s background, her close musical friendship with the young vicar Zigmas Trikauskas, and the arrival of a mixed clergy‑lay gathering at Petryla’s house where ideological debates about the Lithuanian clergy’s role unfold. At the farewell (išleistuvės) Liucė greets Vasaris in a confusing, partially aggressive manner, leaving him humiliated and deepening his internal conflict.
Vasaris is ordered to vacate his second‑year dormitory and return to the “labirintas”, protests the decision, confronts the senior clerk and inspector Mazurkovskis, is rebuffed and forced to move, later confesses his dissent, and reflects on his resignation and deepening inner conflict.
During the Nekalto atindimas Vasaris is struck by a sudden vision of a mysterious woman in white at the altar, which awakens a deep, hopeful longing and temporarily lifts his melancholy. After the service he receives lively remarks from classmates about his improved mood, joins a cheerful dinner where jokes circulate about his new liveliness, and is praised for his enthusiastic singing. Later, Petryla tells Vasaris that Liucė will soon arrive at the seminary, intensifying Vasaris’s inner conflict between his idealized memory of her and the mysterious woman he has begun to idealize. Vasaris resolves to sit in the same front‑row seat at the next day’s service, hoping to catch another glimpse of the unknown woman.
Vasaris experiences a vision of a mysterious woman, writes and publicly prints his first poem, is inducted into the clandestine clerical society “Šviesa,” meets senior seminarians Petras Varnėnas and Matas Sereika, and deepens his study of philosophy and logic.
During the Christmas period Vasaris meets the visiting priest Kimša and his relative Liuce, encounters the seminary’s lay guest Liucė, and becomes emotionally entangled with her. He receives and then gives Liucė handmade gloves, endures teasing from Petryla, and faces a brief clash with the priest over duties, deepening his inner conflict about love, vocation, and his place in the seminary.
Varnėnas declaims Maironis’ poem “Skausmo balsas” at a seminar evening, prompting a chaotic debate over the poet’s identity; the rector confronts Varnėnas about a published article in “Draugija,” demands a pseudonymous signature and threatens expulsion; later a Lithuanian‑Polish singing contest erupts, the rector violently strikes Lithuanian tenor Marčiulis, deepening cultural tensions and fueling Kasaitis’s pessimism.
Vasaris is expelled from his second‑year dorm and forced to relocate to the “labirintas,” protests the decision and confesses his dissent. He has a vision of a mysterious woman in white during a Nekalto atindimas, which brightens his mood; classmates comment on his liveliness and praise his singing, and Petryla tells him that Liucė will soon arrive at the seminary, prompting Vasaris to sit in the front row. He writes and publishes his first poem, is inducted into the secret clerical society Šviesa, and meets senior seminarians Petras Varnėnas and Matas Sereika, deepening his philosophical studies. During the Christmas period he meets visiting priest Kimša and his relative Liuce, receives and gives Liucė handmade gloves, endures teasing and a brief clash with the priest over duties, further intensifying his inner conflict.
Vasaris enters the third‑year moral theology course, studies the treatises De actibus humanis, De peccatis and the especially hazardous De sexto et nono, and is confronted with a confessional case in which a penitent (Kajus) admits “Osculavi Caiam”. Vasaris must formulate probing questions to determine whether the act is a material grave sin, a minor sin, or merely a harmless gesture, while the professor reacts with increasing hostility, exposing the difficulty of applying moral‑theological criteria (cognitio, deliberatio, liberum consensus) in practice.
Liudas vows to become a vicar, pledging abstinence from alcohol, gambling and women; he meets his friend Eigulis who urges practical prayer, attempts poetry and receives mixed feedback from Eigulis and senior student Sereika; his father visits on April 28 bringing cookies and recounting family hardships; Liudas recalls the revolutionary May 1 1906 celebration on the Šešupė banks; on May 25 he becomes obsessed with Liucė, imagining a moonlit manor encounter and a boat ride, exposing his conflict between vocation and romance; during the second day of the seminary retreat he writes and shares two new poems, noting their warm yet melancholic tone.
The rector reads a scathing, sarcastic letter allegedly written by the expelled Radastinis and uses it to issue a formal warning that “dangerous” relationships, especially with women, will be watched with double sensitivity. Seminarians react with a mixture of fear, amusement, and speculation that Radastinis exaggerated his deeds. The rector then announces that, with the bishop’s approval, all third‑year students will receive the four minor orders; the ceremony is described in detail—the bishop blesses the candidates, an ampulla of oil is poured, a bell is rung, a key is turned in the chrismatory, and a specialist performs a precisely measured tonsure using a silver coin and pencil to outline the cut. Vasaris, still tormented by his lingering affection for Liucė and the recent vision of a woman in white, decides to sit in the front row at the next service hoping to see her again, while reflecting on the rector’s warning and his own vulnerability.
Vasaris, Liudas and Kasaitis complete their planned pilgrimage: they explore Vilnius’ Aušros Vartai, the cathedral, Gediminas Hill and the crypt of Vytautas, discuss the suppression of the Lithuanian language by church authorities, and then travel to Trakai, sail on the lake and wander among the ruined Trakai castle while debating Lithuanian heritage versus foreign influences.
Liudas Vasaris deepens his spiritual crisis by retreating to an empty chapel for prolonged solitary meditation, where the red‑oil lamp, silence, and distant saintly paintings offer a fleeting emotional lift. He then studies the dogmatic works De Redemptione, De sacramentis and De gratia, but finds them intellectually cold and spiritually barren, prompting a desperate inner question about God’s silence and a resolve to seek singular, personal methods of renewal. As spring awakens, Vasaris meticulously records the melting snow, first shoots of grass and blossoming trees; the sudden, bright chirp of a bird on a path sparks a renewed hope and gradually restores his mood, marking a subtle turning point toward emotional recovery.
Vasaris and the Šviesos members walk in a June forest and debate the newly appointed, contentious Professor Vingelevičius, whose harsh treatment of seminarians fuels Vasaris’s criticism of senior clergy and his resolve to shield the younger generation. He adopts a personal mantra of “silence, hide, conceal your dreams,” reads Tiutchev’s poem “Silentium,” and begins composing poetry, signaling a turn toward secretive self‑expression and deeper spiritual crisis.
Liudas Vasaris travels to Kleviškis for Klebonas Kimša’s 50‑year birthday and 25‑year priesthood jubilee, wears a new clergy cap, meets senior cleric Petryla and receives a warning from the newly honoured “kanauninkas”. During the service he notices Liucė, now grown and distant, and later confronts her in the salona, where their conversation reveals his lingering romantic feelings, doubts about his vocation, and the tension between his poetic aspirations and clerical expectations.