In 2022, married couples belonging to the circles of the Domestic Church of the Light-Life Movement in the Gliwice diocese celebrated their 40th anniversary. During the commemorative celebrations, which, due to the pandemic, were only organised in autumn 2023 in five districts within the diocese, the members of the movement shared their experiences of the many years of evangelising activity, which they carried out with successes and failures during the difficult period of the Solidarity upsurge and the recovery of freedom, the post-industrial system changes and the time of increased emigration, and finally during the post-secularisation period, the time of the pandemic and the crisis of the Church in the most recent period. It was also noted that the community does not yet have a methodically compiled history, but only a chronicle, the record of which was kept up until 2007.
The aim of this paper is to present the history of Domowy Kościół (Domestic Church) groups in the Diocese of Gliwice, which have been presented in the pastoral space of local parishes since 1982. The scientific discourse, whose background will also be the presentation of the history of this secular association in the Church in Poland at present, will be supported by methods of analysis of historical sources and available scientific studies and pastoral aids. Since no attempt has been made so far to write any kind of synthesis of the history of the movement in the territory of the Gliwice diocese, the work is part of the current to save from oblivion those events which animated the lay communities after the Second Vatican Council in the reality of political, cultural and social changes. The results obtained only confirm how poor the history of the local Church would be without the Domestic Church groups of the Light-Life Movement (Ruch Światło-Życie).
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