Lotyniškas Lietuvos krikštas ; Lithuania's baptism into the roman catholic church-the road towards Western Europe

Abstract

Before becoming a Christian nation, Lithuania had a choice between the Latin and Greek churches and elected Rome instead of Byzantium. The Western Church showed greater missionary fervor in her evangelizing and sanctifying work, that Lithuania chose to integrate itself into Western Europe by accepting baptism into the Roman Catholic Church. Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, was baptized in 1251 and in 1253 was crowned King of Lithuania. This established the foundation for a Lithuanian nation. His death, however, brought great turmoil to the nation until the reign of Vytenis. The Grand Dukes Vytenis, Gediminas and Algirdas understood the historical significance of becoming a Catholic nation, but it was only under the reign of Grand Duke Jogaila that it was accomplished. Jogaila was baptized in 1386 and became the King of Poland. In 1387, Jogaila with a number of clergy and noblemen arrived in Lithuania where he appointed his cousin, Vytautas, as his successor there. Together they built churches and Christianized the ethnic Lithuanian population.The year 1387 is considered the year Lithuania became a Christian nation. However, many parts of the nation were still pagan for a number of years. It was only in 1417 that Samogitia was confirmed as converted. Becoming a Catholic nation had many political ramifications. Even though Jogaila could have been baptized in the Eastern Church, his choice to become a member of the Roman Catholic Church became a turning point in Lithuanian history. The Church's influence extended to almost every aspect of Lithuania's economic, political, cultural and defense spheres. Presently, after many years of Soviet occupation, Lithuania has returned to being an independent nation and a member of the European Union. Its' strong Christian identity helps to monitor the principles and objectives of the European Union to which it belongs.[.].