Olena Zaiets (Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine)
In the second half of the 16th century, Vilnius was the capital of a multinational country located in the east of Europe. After the death of Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, known for his tolerant policy, the Catholic clergy had intensified their activities strenghtening the role of the Jesuits. In the confessional struggle for the minds of believers, the printed word became more and more important alongside the sermon. Against the background of increased Catholicization in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which also covered Ukrainian lands, the formation of national self-identification took place, including the education of Orthodox fraternities that competed with the Jesuits.
The Orthodox faith and literacy, which was provided by the fraternal schools and Grammarians, primarily the Vilnius printers, were the most important factors of national self-identification. Pavlo Alepskyi, the Archdeacon of Antioch, who visited Ukraine in the 1650s, was surprised the extremely widespread literacy, when even women read from prayer books in the church, and homeless children were taught literacy in schools. It was on the basis of this national self-identification that the Liberation War led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky took place.