ANTANAS BRUNDZA, (1838-1892), Roman Catholic
priest, born in the province of Suduva on June 17, 1838. He completed the
Theological Seminary of Seinai in 1862 and was appointed curate of the
parish of Berzninkas. He participated in the 1863 rebellion against the
Russians. When the rebellion was suppressed, he ascaped to Lithuania Minor
(East Prussia) and settled in Tilze (Tilsit). In 1867 he was assigned to
serve in the church of the village of Robkojai, on the German-Russian
border. He established contacts with Bishop Motiejus Valancius of Samogitia,
and helped to print the latter's political and religious brochures and to
smuggle them into Lithuania proper, where Lithuanian publications were
banned by the Russians. When the Russian authorities traced him and demanded
his extradition, he was arrested by the German police on July 30, 1870 and
surrendered to the Russians. He was imprisoned in Vilnius
for 11 months and was subsequently deported to the district of Arkhangel'sk,
near the White Sea. He died an exile in Russia.
Literature:
ENCYCLOPEDIA LITUANICA I-VI, 1970-1978, Boston
