Lutheranism in the Grand Duchy The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania dates back to the
Reformation, when
Kaunas, a large town in
Lithuania, accepted the
Augsburg Confession in 1550. In the 16th century Lutheranism started to spread from the two German-controlled neighbouring states of
Livonia to the north and the Protestant
formerly monastic, Teutonic State of Prussia to its south. A united reformed church organization in Lithuania's church province can be counted from the year 1557 at the Synod in Vilnius on December 14 of that year. From that year the Synod met regularly forming all the church provinces of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at first from two and later growing to six districts and representative district synods. It sent its representatives to the General Polish/Lithuanian Synods; however in its administration it was in fact a self-governing Church. The first Superintendent was Simonas Zacijus (Szymon Zacjusz, approx 1507–1591). In 1565 the anti-Trinitarian Lithuanian Brotherhood who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity separated from the church. The parish network covered nearly all of The Grand Duchy. Its district centers were Vilnius, Kedainai, Biržai, Slucke, Kojdanove and Zabludove later Izabeline.
Prussian Lithuania Since 1945 the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania has included Lutheran congregations in the formerly German
Klaipėda Region, the northern part of
Lithuania Minor, where Lutheranism dates back to 1525. The majority of
Prussian Lithuanians living in East Prussia and in Memelland (what is now the
Klaipėda Region of modern Lithuania) were members of the
Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, and most of them were resettled in the
Federal Republic of Germany along with the rest of the East Prussian
German inhabitants after
World War II. Since 1525 Lutheranism started spreading among Lithuanians in Lithuania Minor, which comprised about a quarter of
Ducal Prussia, the first state to officially adopt Lutheranism as state religion. Ducal Prussia emerged from the Roman Catholic
Teutonic Prussia, which, however, only had superficially missioned the rural, mostly Lithuanian population and thus only erected few churches. The
Prussian Lithuanians were only thoroughly Christianised starting with the Reformation in Prussia, the
Prussian estates established the Lutheran Church in Prussia by the
Church Order decided on 10 December 1525. '' by
Martynas Mažvydas (1547) was the first book published in Lithuanian More refugees from Lithuania proper followed and became pastors in various parishes, such as
Martynas Mažvydas, who published the Lutheran
Catechismusa Prasty Szadei in 1547. Thus the Reformation brought to Lithuania Minor and Lithuania proper the first printed book in the
Lithuanian language, the Lutheran Catechism (1547), and later (1591) the first Lithuanian Bible, which was not printed before the 18th century, however.
Counter Reformation and decline of the Church in Lithuania's capital
Vilnius With the dwindling of Protestantism in Lithuania proper after the 17th century, the Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran clergy consisted mostly of natives, many of German language, who had learned Lithuanian only as a second language. By the end of the 17th century, the number of Lutheran parishes in Lithuania Minor reached 112, with 68 offering Lithuanian services before the
great plague (1709–1711), which killed about half the population and reduced the parishes with Lithuanian services to 59.
Lithuanian Lutheranism between the wars Before
World War II there were 80
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania congregations in Lithuania proper, and 72
pastors were serving about 25,000 members. Whereas in the Klaipėda Region (a Lithuanian autonomous region between 1924 and 1939) 40 pastors, many maintaining services in Lithuanian, served about 137,750 mostly Lutheran parishioners (among them 35,650 Prussian Lithuanians) in 1930. The parishes formed the Memel deanery, the
Heydekrug/Šilutė deanery and the new
Pogegen/Pagėgiai deanery, comprising since 1919 those parishes of the deanery of Tilsit, itself remaining with Germany, which were located north of the
Memel/Nemunas river and thus disentangled. Both parties had stipulated that the Lutheran parishes and the single Reformed congregation in Memel should form the
Regional Synodal Federation of the Memel Territory () with its own consistory led by an elected general superintendent. However, the evacuation started too late since the Red Army approached much faster than expected and could cut off the territorial connection with German-held territories by January 26, 1945. Many refugees perished due to Soviet low-flying strafing attacks. With the emigration of many Lithuanians to overseas or the assimilation of the remaining Lithuanians and Prussian Lithuanians, who hold German citizenship, in West Germany the number shrunk to a mere one,
Litauisches Gymnasium/Vasario 16-osios gimnazija (Lithuanian High School) in
Lampertheim in Hesse. The remaining inhabitants of Lithuania Minor underwent terrible years under the Soviet annexation, especially those in the Russian
Kaliningrad oblast. They were generally robbed and plundered, many imprisoned in labour camps, some
deported to Siberia, and generally refused any access to ordinary food supplies causing most of them to perish. An exception were those Prussian Lithuanians surviving in or returning to the Klaipėda Region, which became part of
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic on 7 April 1948. They could return to their homes, which, however, had often been taken by immigrants from Lithuania proper. There were generally considered second class citizens. The Lutheran parishes in the Klaipėda Region were revitalised by the laymen
sakytojai, since all pastors had perished or remained exiled in the west. The first Lutheran service is recorded for 9 January 1945 in
Priekulė (Prökuls). With time 27 Lutheran parishes were registered in all of Lithuania, with 12 located in the Klaipėda Region, to wit in
Katyčiai (Koadjuthen),
Kintai (Kinten), Klaipėda (Memel),
Lauksargiai (Launen),
Pašyšiai (Passon-Reisgen),
Plikiai (Plicken), Priekulė,
Ramučiai (Ramutten),
Saugai (Sausgallen), Šilutė (Heydekrug),
Vanagai (Wannaggen),
Vyžiai (Wiekschnen). They form a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania since. When in 1958 the Soviet Union allowed Prussian Lithuanians to revert for their prior annulled German citizenship many emigrated to
West Germany until 1967. So after war-related death toll and flight, perishing under Soviet post-war occupation, and the emigration in the 1950s and 1960s a mere 7,000 to 8,000 of the 137,750 mostly Lutheran Protestants (among them 35,650 Prussian Lithuanians; as of 1930) continued to live in the Klaipėda Region. During the changes of World War II, also many congregation members from Lithuania proper emigrated, were exiled, or were killed. The churches that remained without pastors were closed and used for other purposes or were destroyed. During
Soviet occupation of Lithuania proper from 1940 to 1941 and again 1944 to 1990, religious instruction was forbidden and church membership entailed public penalties. With Lithuanian independence in 1990, the ELCL began to receive back church buildings and properties that in Soviet times were nationalised and used for various
profane purposes. Churches and property were returned throughout the 1990s. ==Primates==