The subject of the article is the personality of priest (father) Alojzy Osiński, important but rather forgotten scholar living at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, well educated in human sciences, who was one of the precursors of working out the large-scale studies and great synthesis in the field of historiography of literature and church historiography. And there are some of his activities and works which are worth reminding and presenting. The article deals with two great works prepared while his staying in Vilnius. These works are the excellent example of the attitude of documentary patriotism typical for Polish elites during the period after all of the partitions of Poland and show us how researchers tried to cope with the problem of suitable methodology for new type of large-scale studies and what ideas of solution were successful and what were not. The aim of the research is also to show cause and effect relations between historical situation, the state of culture, the atmosphere in elite circles and the ways of putting intentions into practice, the ambitions, plans and works of individual people.