Die Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Litauens 1915–40 (Fortsetzung)

Abstract

The article, based on church documents and publications of leading church members, traces the renaissance of the evangelical-reformed (Calvinist) Church in Lithuania during the interwar period. Few Lithuanians know that the Reformed Church was founded in 1555 in Vilnius at the height of the Reformation during the reign of Sigismund II Augustus and under the protection of Lithuania's chancellor Nicholas Radvila (Radziwi??). It was called Unitas Lituaniae, to distinguish it from the Reformed Church founded in Poland. It was given a carefully planned synodal-presbyterian structure which stood the test of time and withstood centuries of adversity during the Counter Reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and, after the partitions, under Tsarist rule.

Purely ethnic Lithuanians resided in northern Lithuania in areas of Birzai and Kedainiai, historical residences of the now extinct Protestant branch of the Radvila family. It is to this day a stronghold of the Lithuanian Reformed Christianity. At the time of the Lithuanian independence in 1918, the Church represented a small but tenacious minority which, reclaiming its historical name, vigorously reasserted its presence in the new Republic. With Vilnius falling under Polish control, the Church leadership chose Birzai as its new (temporary) center. In the first decade of independence, the Reformed Lithuanians, despite their small number, were disproportionately represented in the professions and in government. Discriminatory tendencies did not appear until the thirties. The powerful Catholic Church, acting under its new Code of Canon Laws, revived historical theological hostilities and stereotypes and identified nationality with Catholicism. This shaped public opinion for years to come and was especially galling to Reformed Lithuanians, who were proud of their historical roots. These attitudes still exist and present a challenge for the future.