Prūsijos Lietuvos kunigų 1660 m. vasario 26 d. laiškas dėl Danieliaus Kleino giesmyno

The article introduces the letter from six Prussian Lithuanian priests dated 26 February 1660 regarding the manuscript of the new Lithuanian hymnal Naujos Giesmju Knygos (Königsberg, 1666) by Daniel Klein (1609–1666), a priest of Tilžė (Ger. Tilsit), sent to the local Prussian government, or rather the High Council in Königsberg. The document is currently kept at the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage (Ger. Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz) in Berlin (shelf mark: GStA PK: XX. HA Hist. StA Königsberg, EM 91 d, Nr. 3). This archival source adds new details to the history of Klein’s hymnal. The letter from Prussian Lithuanian priests featured in the article was a reply to the decree by the High Council dated 20 June 1659, which was published together with Klein’s letter of 19 June 1659 by Liucija Citavičiūtė in the science journal Archivum Lithuanicum, vol. 11 (2009). In his letter, Klein asked the High Council to appoint a new commission to assess the hymnal (it was for the first time approved in 1652); as a result, the decree obligated a handful of Prussian Lithuanian priests to meet with Klein and discuss the matter of hymnal production, as well as present some hymns that had been translated or created by them. The newly discovered document confirms that, acting in compliance with the obligation set forth in the decree, the Prussian Lithuanian priests several times did meet in Tilžė, where Klein, the maker of the new Lithuanian hymnal, lived and served as a priest.