CultureGrams TM World Edition 2022 Republic of Lithuania BACKGROUND Land and Climate Lithuania is larger than its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, and is slightly bigger than the U.S. state of West Virginia. It lies on the western fringe of the east European plain and has a short coastline on the Baltic Sea. It is a green country with forests, rolling hills, and thousands of rivers and lakes. The two longest rivers are the Nemunas and the Neris. Forests cover about 35 percent of the country and are rich in wild animals, mushrooms, and berries.      Lithuania has four seasons. Summers are short and rainy, and July temperatures average 63°F (17°C). Winters are cold and snowy, with an average temperature in January of 23°F (-5°C). In winter, children are allowed to stay home from school when the temperature falls below -13°F (-25°C), which generally happens at least once a year. The general climate is comparable to that of southeastern Canada. A westerly breeze is common. History Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Union with Poland Lithuania’s first inhabitants arrived in the 10th millennium BC. The first mention of Lithuania is found in a medieval German manuscript, The Annals of Quedlinburg, in the early 11th century AD. Lithuanians began to form a distinct society in the early second century. In the mid-1200s, a tribal leader named Duke Mindaugas united several groups to form the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The new state grew in prominence, especially during the 14th century, when it annexed neighboring lands (including present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia) and was ruled by strong monarchs. During the 14th century, Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe. Vilnius became the capital in 1323.      In 1386, reacting to a serious threat from Germanic invaders, the Grand Duke Jogaila married the Polish crown princess and became king. This alliance brought Lithuania into a union with Poland, which strengthened the nations enough to defeat the German (Teutonic) invaders in 1410; this conflict was one of the biggest battles of the Middle Ages. After its union with Poland, Lithuania, one of the last pagan countries in Europe, adopted Roman Catholicism in 1387 and became increasingly open to Western culture. Poland and Lithuania tightened their association in 1569 when they united under the Lublin Union and became the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.      Russian Rule and World War I After the Polish-Lithuanian state was partitioned by its neighbors (in 1772, 1793, and 1795), the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left largely a part of the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania for more than 120 years. During this time, Russia implemented a policy known as Russification, in which it insisted that Lithuanians speak Russian and convert to the Russian Orthodox Church. Many attempts were made to regain independence from Russia, but all were unsuccessful.      During ...

1. CultureGrams
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World Edition
2022
Republic of
Lithuania
BACKGROUND
Land and Climate
Lithuania is larger than its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and
Estonia, and is slightly bigger than the U.S. state of West
Virginia. It lies on the western fringe of the east European
plain and has a short coastline on the Baltic Sea. It is a green
country with forests, rolling hills, and thousands of rivers and
lakes. The two longest rivers are the Nemunas and the Neris.
Forests cover about 35 percent of the country and are rich in
wild animals, mushrooms, and berries.
Lithuania has four seasons. Summers are short and rainy,

2. and July temperatures average 63°F (17°C). Winters are cold
and snowy, with an average temperature in January of 23°F
(-5°C). In winter, children are allowed to stay home from
school when the temperature falls below -13°F (-25°C),
which generally happens at least once a year. The general
climate is comparable to that of southeastern Canada. A
westerly breeze is common.
History
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Union with Poland
Lithuania’s first inhabitants arrived in the 10th millennium
BC. The first mention of Lithuania is found in a medieval
German manuscript, The Annals of Quedlinburg, in the early
11th century AD. Lithuanians began to form a distinct society
in the early second century. In the mid-1200s, a tribal leader
named Duke Mindaugas united several groups to form the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The new state grew in
prominence, especially during the 14th century, when it
annexed neighboring lands (including present-day Belarus,

3. Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia) and was ruled by
strong monarchs. During the 14th century, Lithuania was one
of the largest countries in Europe. Vilnius became the capital
in 1323.
In 1386, reacting to a serious threat from Germanic
invaders, the Grand Duke Jogaila married the Polish crown
princess and became king. This alliance brought Lithuania
into a union with Poland, which strengthened the nations
enough to defeat the German (Teutonic) invaders in 1410;
this conflict was one of the biggest battles of the Middle
Ages. After its union with Poland, Lithuania, one of the last
pagan countries in Europe, adopted Roman Catholicism in
1387 and became increasingly open to Western culture.
Poland and Lithuania tightened their association in 1569
when they united under the Lublin Union and became the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Russian Rule and World War I
After the Polish-Lithuanian state was partitioned by its

4. neighbors (in 1772, 1793, and 1795), the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania was left largely a part of the Russian Empire, which
controlled Lithuania for more than 120 years. During this
time, Russia implemented a policy known as Russification, in
which it insisted that Lithuanians speak Russian and convert
to the Russian Orthodox Church. Many attempts were made
to regain independence from Russia, but all were
unsuccessful.
During World War I, Germany occupied Lithuania. After
the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Germans allowed Lithuania
to elect its own officials, who in turn declared the country an
independent state in February 1918. In the interwar period
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(1918–39), Lithuania was independent and had a free-market
economy, trading agricultural products with European and

5. Scandinavian countries. It was also a member of the League
of Nations, a predecessor of the United Nations.
World War II and the Soviet Era
After the start of World War II, the Soviets dismissed
Lithuania's government and officially occupied the entire
nation in 1940. In 1941, Germany broke the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty it had made with Russia by
invading and occupying Lithuania. Gestapo forces killed
thousands of Jews and other Lithuanian citizens and brought
suffering to the entire country. Thousands of Lithuanians fled
to Western Europe and the United States. The Soviets
returned in 1944, and they incorporated the country into the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Thousands of armed guerrilla fighters, known as Forest
Brothers, fought unsuccessfully for independence in the
1940s and 1950s. During this time, Lithuania suffered major
difficulties, including mass deportations. The Soviets
deported many intellectuals and also targeted wealthy citizens

6. and their families, nationalizing their wealth. Relations were
less confrontational after the 1950s, but Lithuanians never
gave up their goal for independence. Their desires were
realized in 1990 when the freely elected legislature of
Lithuania restored independence. Weakened by various
international and domestic factors, the Soviet government
could not force Lithuania to cancel the declaration.
Independence Reestablished
After the entire USSR collapsed in 1991, Russia recognized
Lithuania's independence, already recognized by many
countries. The government, led by independence hero
Vytautas Landsbergis and members of the political movement
Sajūdis, embarked on an aggressive campaign to reform the
economy and other social structures. Hampered by a poor
global economy, soaring energy prices, and other problems,
progress was slow.
In 1992, voters rejected the Sajūdis leadership in favor of
the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party, a newly formed

7. leftist party. The new government slowed privatization and
other reform measures to soften the impact of political and
social change. Governmental efforts, however, were not
enough to prevent a banking crisis at the end of 1995 that led
to the dismissal of the prime minister.
Economic Issues and Ties to the West
The economy's sharp downturn in the wake of the Russian
financial crisis in 1998 and subsequent economic challenges
have hampered political and economic reforms. However, the
country reached major milestones in 2004, when it joined the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the
European Union (EU). The country adopted the euro as its
currency after joining the eurozone in 2015. Strengthening the
economy and reducing economic inequality remain major
goals for Lithuania.
Lithuania's growing economic and political ties to the
West have led to deteriorating relations with Russia. Ever
since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine,

8. which heightened fears of further Russian aggression in
Eastern Europe, Lithuania has prioritized bolstering its
defenses and reducing its dependence on Russian energy
supplies.
THE PEOPLE
Population
Most people (84 percent) in Lithuania are ethnic Lithuanian,
but the country is also home to Poles (7 percent), Russians (6
percent), and Belarusians (1.2 percent). Other minorities
include Ukrainians and Jews. Minority groups have generally
integrated into Lithuanian culture, but Russian and Polish
groups have their own churches and schools. All the nation's
minorities have full citizenship rights and are treated equally.
Vilnius is the capital and largest city, with a population of
over 500,000 people. Other major cities include Kaunas,
Klaipėda, and Šiauliai.
Language
Lietuvių kalba (Lithuanian) is the country's official language.

9. It is made up of gentle and melodic sounds, expressed by the
32-letter Lithuanian alphabet. As one of the oldest
Indo-European languages still in everyday use, Lithuanian
belongs to the Baltic language group, along with Latvian and
the extinct languages of Yotvingian and Old Prussian. It still
shares some similarities with ancient Greek, Latin, and
Sanskrit. The formation of standard Lithuanian was not
completed until the 19th century because Polish (and
sometimes other languages) had been used as the state
language after the 13th century. By the 17th century,
Lithuanian survived only among rural peasants.
After 1795, when Lithuania and Poland ceased to exist as
independent countries, Russian was introduced and
encouraged among Lithuanians. Printing and teaching in
Lithuanian was forbidden between 1864 and 1904. Europe's
19th-century nationalist movement, however, prompted a
revival of Lithuanian, and it became the state language during
the country's years of independence (1918–40). When the

10. Soviets took over in 1940, Russian was reintroduced;
therefore, most Lithuanians today can speak Russian. In 1988,
Lithuanian became the national language once again. Today,
Lithuanian is the language used throughout society. In
addition to Russian and Lithuanian, Polish is commonly
spoken. English and German are other popular languages.
Religion
Most Lithuanians (77 percent) belong to the Roman Catholic
Church. Under Soviet occupation, churches were closed,
clergymen repressed, and teachers forbidden to teach religion.
People practiced their faiths mainly at home, and many
silently protested the repression by setting up crosses on the
Hill of Crosses. Once a pagan worship site, the Hill of
Crosses became a place for erecting Christian crosses of
thanksgiving and petition. Though the Soviets bulldozed and
burned the crosses in 1961, 1973, and 1975, the people kept
returning with more crosses, ultimately wearying the Soviets.

11. In 1990, the Act of Restitution of the Catholic Church
restored the church to prominence and allowed religious
freedom. Pope John Paul II visited in 1993, held Mass on the
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Hill of Crosses, and brought the clergy up to date on the
liturgy of the church. Many other Christian churches operate
in the country, and Muslims and Jews also have active
congregations. Some Lithuanians still practice the area's
traditional pagan religion. Lithuania has long been home to
multiple religions, and people of different faiths generally get
along well.
General Attitudes
Lithuanians tend to be hardworking, patient, and hospitable.
Most Lithuanians value education, family, the arts, nature,
and patriotism. In other people, Lithuania ns generally respect

12. skill, intelligence, and moderate thrift, though "excessive"
frugality may be viewed as stinginess. Lithuanians are often
critical of their personal faults. People tend to be nostalgic for
such things as old friends, youth, and fond memories.
Lithuanians often appear reserved, even somber. They
generally do not speak to or share their feelings with people
they do not know well. However, most Lithuanians are
sincere and full of emotion, even though they do not always
show it outwardly.
The majority of Lithuanians are proud of their heritage but
not of the Soviet period. For the future, they wish to be
politically neutral and peaceful; however, they are willing to
defend themselves to maintain national independence. They
tend to align politically with Western Europe and view it as
their duty to support democracy in other former Soviet states,
such as Ukraine and Georgia.
Many Lithuanians are openly critical and distrustful of
public institutions. They commonly describe their nation as

13. melancholy, largely because of its history. During the first
decade of independence, people were frustrated and uncertain
about the future, and many Lithuanians today believe that
their country has not progressed quickly enough.
Nevertheless, economic and social advancements have
encouraged more optimistic attitudes in recent decades.
Lithuanian Saying
Šiaučius be batụ, kriaučius be apsiausto. ("Shoemaker
without shoes, shrimp without coat.") This saying means that
when someone works hard for others, they forget about their
own needs.
Personal Appearance
Most Lithuanians deem it important to be clean and stylishly
dressed. Styles are mainly from Europe and the United States.
Although wearing the latest fashions is important, especially
for most younger people and those who live in larger cities,
individuality in dress is equally important. Many young
Lithuanians use fashion and accessories to express

14. themselves, and some embrace styles according to a particular
subculture, such as goth, punk, or hip-hop.
Because clothing is expensive and the market does not
always meet demand, Lithuanians—especially people in rural
areas and those who prefer a unique style—often wear
second-hand clothing. As Lithuania's economy continues to
integrate with the world's, the use of handmade clothing has
declined. Wealthy people often purchase clothing from
western Europe.
Wool and fur clothing is commonly worn when the
weather is cold. Older rural women wear scarves on their
heads. Most women wear cosmetics sparingly. Lithuania's
national dress is worn only on special occasions.
CUSTOMS AND COURTESIES
Greetings
Among men—less often among women—a handshake is a
customary greeting. A handshake is nearly always used in
professional contacts. Good friends may kiss cheeks and

15. embrace. Urban Lithuanians do not greet strangers passing on
the street.
The most common terms for greeting are Laba diena
(Good day), Labas rytas (Good morning), Labas vakaras
(Good evening), and Viso gero (Goodbye). Friends use the
more informal Labas (Hello), Viso (Bye), and Iki (Later).
Sveikas (for a man), Sveika (for a woman), and Sveiki (for a
group)—all roughly meaning “How are you?”—are friendly
ways to say hello.
To introduce a man, one uses ponas (Mr.) before the last
name; the female term is ponia (Mrs.) or panelė (Miss). A
person's professional title is also used before the last name
when applicable. Doctors and teachers are respectfully
addressed by title alone, and highly acclaimed artists may be
addressed as maestro. Adults do not address each other by
first name until invited to do so, but young people are called
by their first names.

16. Gestures
Eye contact is considered vital during conversation. While
conversing, physical contact is rare, and the distance between
people is usually at least the length of an outstretched arm.
Using the hands during conversation is not uncommon,
although it is less formal. It is considered impolite to talk with
one's hands in one's pockets. One might shake the index
finger from side to side to say "no." Pointing at someone with
the index finger is considered rude. Chewing gum in formal
situations is not appropriate.
In Lithuania, there are many gestures that arise from
superstitions. Fearing bad luck, one avoids shaking hands
through a doorway. To prevent something good from being
cursed, Lithuanians may knock on wood or pretend to spit
over their shoulder three times. Whistling indoors is beli eved
to cause financial problems. Many women avoid putting their
purses on the ground, fearing that their money will run away.
Visiting

17. People enjoy meeting friends in restaurants and cafés, but
visiting in the home is also popular. Spontaneous visits, even
between friends and neighbors, are not very common, though
unannounced guests are welcomed. Invited guests usually
arrive late.
On special occasions, it is customary to bring something
sweet (like a cake or chocolates) and an odd number of fresh
flowers (even numbers of flowers are reserved for funerals).
Guests should unwrap flowers before giving them to the
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hostess. Dinner guests may also bring wine.
In most formal situations, guests don't sit down until
invited or until the host sits. They may be more casual during
informal gatherings. Hosts usually offer guests refreshments,
which may include coffee or tea and cake or cookies. They

18. offer an abundance of food to indicate their home's
hospitality, and guests are expected to eat at least a little of
each food presented to them. Among both men and women,
drinking alcohol is typically part of most social visits. The
length of an evening visit depends on the occasion, and it is
considered impolite for a host to ask a guest to leave. If the
hour is late, a host may accompany departing guests outside.
Eating
Lithuanians usually eat three meals each day. Breakfast is
eaten sometime between 7 and 9 a.m., lunch between 12 and
2 p.m., and supper between 6 and 8 p.m. People in rural areas
eat meals as much as two hours earlier. The midday meal is
the main meal. People either go home, eat at work-site
cafeterias, or go to nearby cafés and restaurants.
Meals are taken leisurely and socially. Toasting is reserved
for special occasions, such as birthdays or Christmas
celebrations. Lithuanians eat in the continental style, with the
fork in the left hand and the knife in the right. Leaving food

19. on the plate is considered impolite, as it suggests that the meal
was not good.
Eating at restaurants is usually reserved for special
occasions. In a restaurant, one must request the bill from the
server and pay at the table. Though uncustomary in the past,
tipping is becoming more common.
LIFESTYLE
Family
Structure
Family is important to most Lithuanians. The average
Lithuanian family has one or two children, though families in
rural areas tend to be larger. Single-parent households have
become more common; more than a quarter of all children are
born to unwed couples.
Parents and Children
Children are expected to help out with household chores, but
they are not expected to get a job until they are 18 or older.
When young people marry, they often rely for a time on

20. financial support and housing from their parents, though they
work to gain financial independence and their own housing as
soon as possible.
Adult children are usually expected to take care of their
parents. The elderly often struggle to make ends meet because
of small retirement pensions, so many live with their children.
Lithuanians generally do not send their parents to nursing
homes unless their parents have serious medical conditions.
Grandparents usually help raise their grandchildren.
Gender Roles
The father is generally considered the head of the family, but
both parents usually work outside the home and share in
raising children. Women typically do household chores; men
handle repairs. Domestic abuse is a widespread problem,
though women are increasingly reporting abuse to law
enforcement.
Housing
Urban

21. Newer houses are commonly made of brick, while cement
blocks characterize older, Soviet-era houses. In urban areas,
poorer people live in apartments containing one to four
compact bedrooms. The living room sometimes serves as a
master bedroom, depending on how many people live in the
apartment. Many Soviet-era apartments have been renovated,
but they tend to have much smaller kitchens and bathrooms
than more Western apartments.
Wealthier people tend to live in private houses in the
outskirts of a city or in larger, newly built apartments in the
city center. In these dwellings, living rooms, kitchens, and
dining rooms are often combined into one large space.
Rural
Private houses dominate rural areas. These homes are usually
made of brick and sometimes wood. They typically contain a
single floor and an attic. Roofs are ridged and tiled. Many
middle-class and wealthy people have holiday cabins in
forests or near lakes; this tradition comes from Soviet times,

22. when city-dwellers would travel to the countryside to garden
and grow their own fruits and vegetables. Rural inhabitants
like to keep small gardens around their houses, in which they
grow fruit and vegetables.
Ownership
Lithuanians highly value home ownership. However, in
recent years, banks have tightened their lending requirements,
making it harder for some people to qualify for mortgages.
Many young people rent apartments while they save for a
down payment on their own home.
Dating and Marriage
Dating and Courtship
Lithuanians generally start dating around the ages of 14 or 15.
Young people often meet at school, on social media, or
through mutual friends. Typical dating activities include
going to movies, dining out, and sightseeing.
Marriage in Society
On average, Lithuanians marry in their late twenties, but

23. some wait until they are financially secure. It is becoming
more popular to live together before or instead of marrying.
Only foreign same-sex marriages are recognized. Most
Lithuanians do not support same-sex marriage, but attitudes
are changing among the younger generation. Legal marriages
are performed at the city hall, and many couples now have a
church ceremony as well.
Weddings
Traditional Lithuanian weddings, which now occur primarily
in rural areas, are often large and lavish. Although young
people choose their own partners, symbolic matchmakers
have an important role in wedding traditions. After the
wedding ceremony, the wedding party's way home is blocked
by “ropes” of branches and flowers. The groom's friends and
the matchmaker have to “buy” their way out with candy and
alcohol. The last rope is usually stretched across the gate of
the couple's home.
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Parents meet the newlyweds at the door with bread
(representing the staff of life), salt (representing future tears),
midus (a homemade honey liquor representing wealth), and
an evergreen wreath (representing long life). Many other
customs surround the two-day wedding celebration, including
the mock punishment—and eventual rescue—of the
matchmaker for convincing the bride to marry the groom.
In recent decades, smaller weddings have become more
common, especially in urban areas. These weddings tend to
be intimate gatherings with close friends and family.
Wedding receptions usually feature food, music, dance, and
games.
Divorce
Close to half of all marriages in Lithuania end in divorce.

25. Most people, especially young people, do not look down on
those who have been divorced.
Life Cycle
Birth
Mothers receive 126 days of paid time off work for the birth
of a child; fathers are allowed 28 days of paid leave. In
addition, either parent can take a maximum two-year leave to
tend to their child; the government pays a percentage of the
parent’s previous income during this leave. After a newborn is
taken home from the hospital, relatives and friends visit the
parents and bring presents for the baby.
The name given to the baby must be registered with the
state. Many Christian families baptize their children,
sometimes soon after birth and sometimes much later.
Baptism is often followed with a celebration.
Milestones
Lithuanians are viewed as legal adults once they reach their
18th birthday. At this age, people can vote and drive a car.

26. Birthday parties are hosted by the person whose birthday it is,
and jubilee years (every 10th year) are seen as the most
special. Name days honoring the saint after whom a person is
named may also be important celebrations.
Death
Upon the death of a person, he or she is laid in an open coffin
for about a day, during which time close relatives stand watch
over the body while friends and acquaintances visit, bringing
sympathies and flowers (in even numbers). The body is never
left alone during the day, although it may be left at night. On
the next day, a Mass is held at a church and the body is buried
in a cemetery. Lithuania also has facilities for cremation, a
practice that is becoming more and more popular.
Diet
Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with eastern
European fare; it also is similar to some Scandinavian foods.
Lithuanians value traditional cuisine, and they eat special
Lithuanian dishes throughout the year. Traditional specialties

27. include smoked sausage, various cheeses, cepelinai (meat
cooked inside a ball of potato dough, served with a special
sauce), vėdarai (cooked potatoes and sausage stuffed into pig
intestines), and kugelis (potato pudding with a sour cream
sauce). People have adopted many dishes from neighboring
cultures as well, including blynai (pancakes), šaltibarščiai
(cold beet soup), and balandėliai (stuffed cabbage leaves).
Kepta duona su sūriu (fried garlic bread with cheese sauce) is
a popular snack.
Meat and poultry are more common than fish. Potatoes are
prepared in numerous ways. Soup is commonly served with
lunch. Local fruits (apples, pears, plums, and strawberries)
and vegetables (carrots, peas, beets, and cabbage) are also
popular. Lithuanians regularly eat rye bread and dairy
products. Tea, milk, and coffee are the most common drinks,
while beer is the most traditional alcoholic drink.
Recreation
Sports

28. Basketball is the favorite sport in Lithuania, followed by
soccer, boating (rowing), volleyball, cycling, tennis, and
cross-country skiing. Many men enjoy fishing. Exercising at
local gyms has become popular among many Lithuanians.
Leisure
Visiting friends and family is the most common leisure
activity in Lithuania. Many people like to relax by watching
television, knitting and sewing (for women), gardening, or
playing chess or cards. Many enjoy caring for pets (mostly
dogs and cats), reading, and going to cultural events,
including those involving national dance and song. Young
Lithuanians enjoy going out with friends and dancing at
clubs. Children, particularly in cities, often participate in
extracurricular school activities such as art lessons or sports.
Vacation
Every worker has at least four weeks of paid vacation. People
in the middle class usually spend their vacations in rented
villas located in the countryside. Camping is popular for

29. family outings, as is picking mushrooms or berries in the
forest and going to the beach. Forests, the Baltic seaside, and
the Curonian Lagoon, a large freshwater lagoon on the Baltic,
are favorite destinations. Wealthier Lithuanians can afford to
rent or own property in other countries; the coast of southern
Europe is popular. Turkey is another popular destination.
The Arts
Lithuania has both private and government-funded museums,
orchestras, theaters, and other arts institutions. Through the
Art Council, the government also provides some funding to
thousands of private organizations to ensure a vibrant art
scene. Dozens of festivals take place each year, sometimes
hosting up to 70,000 participants. The most popular festivals
focus on books, cinema, and classical music.
Folk art is respected in Lithuania. Folklore, riddles, and
local myths are very popular, and their themes are
incorporated into other forms of Lithuanian folk art.
Traditional ballads deal with nature, love, and mythical

30. creatures. Some music is accompanied by the accordion and a
harp-like instrument, but traditional multipart vocal music is
unaccompanied. Other folk arts include linen goods, straw
baskets, woodcarvings, leather goods, clay or straw
sculptures, and amber or metal jewelry.
Holidays
Official public holidays include New Year's Day (1 January),
Independence Day (16 February), Restoration of Lithuania's
Statehood (11 March), Easter, Mother's Day (first Sunday in
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May), Anniversary of the Coronation of Grand Duke
Mindaugas of Lithuania (6 July), All Saints' Day (1
November), and Christmas (25–26 December).
For the pre-Lent Užgavėnės, people dress in costumes and
children go from house to house asking for treats. Easter is

31. celebrated with family. Saint John's Day (24 June) marks the
advent of summer. All Saints' Day (1 November) and All
Souls' Day (2 November) are days to remember and honor the
dead. Families traditionally have a 12-course, meatless meal
on Kūčios (Christmas Eve). Various local festivals are held
throughout the year.
SOCIETY
Government
Structure
Lithuania is a semi-presidential republic led by a president
who is directly elected to serve a five-year term as head of
state. The prime minister, who is head of government, is
chosen by the president and must be approved by the 141-seat
Seimas (Parliament), which is the highest body of state
power. Members of the Seimas are elected to four-year terms.
The Supreme Court is made up of 37 judges, who are
nominated by the president and approved by the Seimas and
serve a five-year term. The Constitutional Court consists of 9

32. judges chosen by the Seimas from among those nominated by
the president, the Seimas chairperson, and the Supreme Court
chairperson for a nine-year term.
Although the country is technically divided into 60
municipalities and 10 counties, Lithuanians tend to identify
with one of four main regions: Dzūkija (southeast), Suvalkija
(southwest), Žemaitija (northwest), or Aukštaitija
(center/northeastern lakes).
Political Landscape
Except for the Communist Party, which is banned, political
parties in Lithuania organize and operate without government
interference. Several political parties are represented in the
Seimas. However, political parties often fail to gain a majority
of seats in the Seimas, so coalitions are usually needed to gain
and maintain power. Political parties frequently shift their
political alliances.
The dominant political parties in recent elections include
the center-right Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian

33. Democrats (TS-LKD), the center-right Lithuanian Farmers
and Greens Union (LVŽS), and the center-left Social
Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP). Lithuania's Polish and
Russian minorities are represented by the Electoral Action of
Poles in Lithuania–Christian Families Alliance (LLRA-KŠS)
and the Lithuanian Russian Union, respectively. Major
political issues in Lithuania include corruption, economic
inequality, wage growth, emigration, and foreign relations
with Russia.
Government and the People
Despite some progress in recent years, corruption among
government officials remains widespread, and most
Lithuanians view corruption as a serious problem.
Nevertheless, the government of Lithuania generally respects
civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, assembly,
and religion. In general, elections are free and fair, though
voting irregularities are sometimes reported. In recent
elections, voter turnout has averaged around half of registered

34. voters. The voting age is 18.
Economy
Lithuania is an industrial state, producing precision
machinery, manufactured fertilizers, textiles, processed foods,
and light industrial products. The country has few natural
resources, so it depends on imported raw materials. Primary
trading partners include countries in both Western and
Eastern Europe, such as Russia, Poland, Germany, and
Latvia.
After regaining independence in 1990, Lithuania suffered
through years of economic hardship as it transitioned to a
free-market economy. However, reintegration with Western
Europe and neighboring countries has increased revenue,
investment, and productivity in Lithuania. The country joined
the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and the
European Union (EU) in 2004. Lithuania today is one of the
fastest growing economies in the EU, in part because of the
government's efforts to attract foreign investment, develop

35. exports, and enact economic reforms.
Despite progress, Lithuania continues to face economic
challenges. More than 20 percent of Lithuanians live in
poverty, and about 9 percent are unemployed. Many educated
Lithuanians have moved to other countries to find work,
which has left Lithuania with a shortage of skilled workers.
The currency is the eurų (euro).
Transportation and Communications
Many families own a car, though most are purchased used.
Public transportation is convenient. Local buses and trolleys
operate in cities; bus and train services operate in the
countryside. Airlines, trains, and sea ferries connect Lithuania
with various European destinations.
Several daily and weekly private newspapers are available.
Multiple state-run and private radio and television stations
serve the country. The telephone system is extensive and
fairly efficient. Cellular phones are gradually replacing
existing phone lines because the networks are cheaper. The

36. country has one of the fastest internet connections in Europe,
and internet use is widespread. The constitution guarantees
freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and both are
respected in practice.
Education
Structure and Access
Education at public schools is provided free at all levels, and
it is compulsory from age 7 until 16. Children attend primary
and basic (lower secondary) school for 10 years. After
graduation from basic school, students may begin working,
but most students attend upper secondary school. At this
level, students can choose to focus on vocational training or
to prepare for university studies.
School Life
Most public schools do not require uniforms. In secondary
school, pupils can choose an area of emphasis, such as
humanities, social sciences, or hard sciences. Lithuanian
6

37. CultureGrams
TM
Lithuania
students of all ages receive a lot of homework, which may
take a few hours to complete each evening. Many ethnic
minorities have the option of attending schools that teach in
their language, including Russian and Polish.
Higher Education
Students must pass difficult government-administered
entrance exams before advancing to higher education.
Lithuania has dozens of public and private universities,
including Vilnius University (which is over four hundred
years old), the University of Vytautas Magnus, and Kaunas
University of Technology. The state pays for the higher
education of students who achieve high grades and entrance
exam scores.
Health

38. Lithuania has a free national healthcare system. Serious
conditions and operations are usually treated in state
hospitals. Private health clinics are also available and usually
have shorter waiting lines, but they require additional fees.
The healthcare system provides for most needs, although
newer treatments for rare diseases are sometimes lacking.
Lithuania has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe.
The quick pace of societal change is sometimes blamed, but
alcoholism and a lack of economic opportunity (especially in
rural areas) are also considered to be contributing factors. In
efforts to curb alcohol consumption, the legal drinking age
was increased from age 18 to 20 and the hours for legal sale
of alcohol were reduced.
AT A GLANCE
Contact Information
Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, 2622 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20009; phone (202) 234-5860; web site
http://usa.mfa.lt/usa/en. Lithuania Travel, web site

39. www.lithuania.travel.
Country and Development Data
Capital Vilnius
Population 2,711,566 (rank=137)
Area (sq. mi.) 25,212 (rank=121)
Area (sq. km.) 65,300
Human Development Index 34 of 189 countries
Gender Inequality Index 33 of 162 countries
GDP (PPP) per capita $36,700
Adult Literacy 100%
Infant Mortality 4 per 1,000 births
Life Expectancy 71 (male); 81 (female)
Currency Euro
CultureGrams
TM
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Toll Free: 1.800.521.3042

40. Fax: 1.800.864.0019
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to copy, reprint, store, or transmit any part of this publication in
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7
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[MUSIC] Every January, this band of rugged Russians brave the
freezing waters of the Moscow river.
>> The Russian soul is strong.
Nobody can conquer us.
We are loved by God.
Let's go for a swim.
>> This is a madness.
>> [COUGH].

41. >> Your cough will go if you take a dip.
[MUSIC] >> In my journey around the world, I've seen how
important religion continues to be in people's lives.
With ten faiths to go, I'm traveling throughout my own
continent of Europe.
I thought it might be a tale of religion as a spent force.
As I discover, it's also the story of the renaissance of
spirituality, often in the most unexpected places.
From the icebound wilderness of Northern Norway.
My journey will take me through Eastern Europe, Russia, and
on into Italy.
Sunshine, thank you, God.
I'll be visiting a European Buddhist state.
[MUSIC] Huge underground temples, nature-worshipping
shamans, and hardcore Benedictines.
These are the SAS of monks.
[MUSIC] >> Jingle bells.
Jingle bells.
Jingle all the way.
What fun it is to ride- >> I'm starting my journey in Norway.

42. Where I'm meeting the enigmatic leader of a faith that, every
year, just gets more and more popular.
>> Mr. Claus?
>> [LAUGH] Hello, please come in.
Hello, there.
>> Hello, Santa.
>> Welcome, have a seat.
What's your name?
>> My name is Peter.
>> Peter. >> Yes.
>> And where you from?
>> I'm from Sussex in England.
>> Sussex in England.
We have quite a few visitors from Sussex in England.
>> I know that you bring joy, but have you ever thought you
also serve represent really the sort of soft side of materialism?
And that's a good point.
That's a good point.

43. Yeah, I think more softness is needed.
But what do you think?
>> I think your beard looks very soft.
>> So does your hair.
[LAUGH] So you've been good this year?
>> I was hoping you were going to tell me that.
>> [LAUGH] >> I decided to get out of the Santa's confessional
only to find myself in the Santa shop surrounded by Santa icons
and Santa devotees rushing to buy them.
I mean, really Santa Claus is a gift to the business community.
It's the same, but as far as I'm concerned as, as a Christian
priest, he sold out.
Santa have sold out This is about spending money.
This is about spending as much money as you can.
>> Six euros.
>> But is the public veneration of Saint Nicholas a faith, and is
this the church of Santa?
I mean, it's all very ritualistic.
We're just asked to become children again, and believe that if
we are good, we'll be rewarded.
>> Five, four, three, two, one!

44. >> [SOUND] >> I would be disappointed if the worship of
Santa was as close to faith as Europeans get.
>> But I wonder if the demise of religion has not been a tad
exaggerated.
[MUSIC] I'm heading off to the land Land of the Sami, nomadic
reindeer herders, now converted to Christianity.
[MUSIC] Their legends and way of life inspired much of the
Santa Claus legend.
[SOUND] Would you look at that.
Look at that, Christmas card.
[SOUND] This Protestant church deep in what use to be the in
the Sami homelands caters exclusively to the Sami.
And today they are all wearing traditional costumes because
their priest is performing a baptism.
This little boy has fourteen godparents.
This area has been Protestant for hundreds of years.
[MUSIC] But these aren't the only people that I have come here
to see.
Further North there are Sami's who are still practicing the faith
of their pre-Christian ancestors.
[MUSIC] Well this is about as far north as you can get.

45. We're on the northern coast, just about of northern Norway,
high up in the Arctic Circle and it's about ten past 12 in the
afternoon.
I'm here in the icy wilderness because I've arranged to meet
Sami who's still in touch with a shamanic past.
They practice the last surviving remnants of European animism
which is nature worship.
Nature religion or religion based in the natural world and this
way of seeing the sacred, would have been common to all
European
people before the arrival of Christianity.
Would have been practiced right up here, right the way down to
southern Sicily.
Nila Zombi is one of the last links to the Sami faith.
He's trying to revive it with courses for novice shamans from all
over Europe.
I'm joining them just in time to witness the performance of joik,
an old Samis spiritual invocation.
This one to Nelasse's long dead grandfather.
>> He was very small but very, very strong.
[SOUND] >> The sami drum is central to shamanic practice.
And the rhythm of drumming is used to reach a trance like state
during which shaman believed they can consult with their
ancestors and the greatest spirits of the landscape.

46. >> I didn't hear anything.
Maybe my drum was.
So now I see that they didn't hear.
>> [LAUGH] >> Yes, yes!
[LAUGH] >> [SOUND] >> I can't say the Sami came naturally
to me.
So I wanted to compare notes with Jamie McGowan.
Who has come all the way from England to join camp.
>> I thought for me spirituality is being close to nature.
I do think if you're going to know God or know the creator it's
through what's under your feet.
What's around you.
>> Do you think in the West as men.
We're sort of, we're a bit embarrassed about all this.
We're a bit embarrassed about spirituality.
>> Of course, of course, it's a wild experience, enjoy
[INAUDIBLE] back to where I was from.
I came to pubs and people say to me, what have you been doing
recently?

47. >> [LAUGH] >> Well, I- >> What have you been doing
recently?
>> [LAUGH] [MUSIC] Woah.
The next day, Nilas took me off into the wilderness surrounding
his camp.
Central to Sami faith is the belief that gods and spirits reside in
all natural things.
Anilas had a spiritual exercise that he felt it was important for
me to try.
>> I want you to listen to the river, river sounds.
Can you hear anything?
Messages, songs?
But then we just have to be very quiet and let the river talk.
>> Many different layers of sound, I have not seen before.
Some very high notes and some very low notes.
>> It's like in the human world also, some are more noisy than
others.
>> What does the river say to you?
>> For me the river says that it is a hope that people will start
listening to the nature.

48. [MUSIC] Beautiful moon.
>> Beautiful.
After two days in the winter wilderness the Sami reverence of
nature spirits makes complete sense to me.
But I was very aware that Christianity as a whole has not
always been so comfortable with the worship of the natural
world.
Christianity very wary of this.
Monotheism has always been incredibly wary of polytheism
because its almost impossible to control.
There's a god in the water.
There's a god in the trees.
There's a god in the sky.
There's a god in the wolf.
[MUSIC] And I don't find it worrying in any way or necessarily
enchanting.
It's just natural, I just find it natural.
This conflict between monotheism and Sami nature worship
came to a head with the arrival of Christian missionaries in
Norway.
>> I asked Nilas to explain what effect this had on the Sami.

49. >> It it is like a real war against your culture.
If you didn't believe that, they killed you.
And it's not so long time ago the last person was killed in a
town nearby here.
>> I was unaware of the degree of persecution that the Sami
people have suffered.
Their Shaman's been killed.
The instruments of their worship, the drum.
The drums have been burned.
They've been banned from singing the yoik.
And really, it's part of the great sort of march of monotheism.
And it doesn't make me feel particularly good to say the least,
about being a Christian priest, but that's the truth though, isn't
it?
[MUSIC] Thankfully, we live in a time when seekers like Nilas
are rekindling ancient faiths back to life.
[MUSIC] But shamanism isn't the only victim of persecution.
[MUSIC] I'm now traveling South to Lithuania, where an even
more systematic attempt to wipe out a religion has blighted
European history.
Lithuania used to have 200,000 Jews.

50. They were part of the 9 million strong Jewish population of
Europe, after the Christians, the most important religious group
in the
continent.
[MUSIC] The Nazis killed 6 million across Europe, but in
Lithuania, 91% were killed, both by the German occupiers and
the local
people during the Second World War.
Amongst the hundreds of abandoned synagogues is this unusual
wooden one.
I think she's still outside her house.
I am told that a 82 year old lady holds the keys to it.
You have the key?
>> [COUGH] I can't find the key.
[LAUGH] There's a hole in my pocket.
[LAUGH] Let's go Mr. Twister.
>> Okay, what's your name?
>> I can't understand you.
>> Eventually, I worked out her name is Agrippina, that she is
an Orthodox Christian, and she witnessed what happened to the
Jews of her village.
>> The women were upstairs.

51. The men were here.
The priest was here.
Everybody was praying.
The Jews were taken to the forest and shot.
It was just 500 meters from us.
I could hear everything.
>> Were there people from this village that took part in the
killing?
>> They were locals, they were given the property of anyone
they shot.
They were happy to shoot the Jews.
If they were ashamed, they wouldn't have shot them.
How much property did they take from the Jews?
My God.
>> Are some of the families that did this, are they still here?
>> Yes, they do live here.
Where else can they go?
We need to show people what happened here.

52. Let's hope it never happens again.
God don't give us this again.
[MUSIC] Goodbye.
>> [INAUDIBLE] >> And good luck.
[MUSIC] >> There are still Jews living in Lithuania.
But I'm going to have to go to the capital, Vilnius, to find them.
Before the Second World War, there are about 100 years in the
thriving Jewish community here in this time of the Second
World
War decimated that population.
And many of the traditions that went with them, there's now
only one, one that remains.
I am joining the congregation as they prepare for their Friday
worship.
These leather straps and small boxes containing scripture are
called tefillin.
They're strapped over the forehead heart and hand to focus the
worst thoughts and feelings on God.
[SOUND] >> [FOREIGN] >> Given what the Jewish people
went through and the choice of immigrating to their new
homeland in
Israel, I'm amazed that anyone decides to stay, but many do like
Simone Galvickis.
>> [FOREIGN] >> [FOREIGN] >> This service is the start of

53. Shabbat, which commemorates the day that God rested after
creating
the Earth.
But Friday prayers is only the beginning of this weekly ritual.
>> Later you will come to my home, [INAUDIBLE] tonight we
will have Shabbat.
>> Tonight?
>> Yes.
>> I'll take you up, I'll come tonight.
>> Yeah, great, thank you.
>> Thanks for your invitation.
>> See you, see you, bye bye.
>> See you.
[MUSIC] Simone's invitation had a profound effect upon me.
Something had been troubling me since I arrived in Lithuania
and his kindness made me realize that I had to address it.
The source of my worries were the words of the founder of my
own church, Martin Luther.
[MUSIC] He had some fine things to say about our
understanding of our relationship with God, but he also had
some very dark

54. things that he said.
Especially about the Jewish race, the Jewish people.
I was reading this morning and he said that the Jews were a base
whoring people, that is low people of God.
And their boast of lineage and circumcision and law must be
accounted as filth.
He goes on to say that they should either be set to forced labor
or banished, exiled, forever.
Not a very pretty picture, that one, neither graceful nor holy,
law loving, law forgiving.
And look, if we're gonna make this journey, we have to confront
things like that, we can't just pretend they didn't exist.
And the Christianity is all about songs of praise and lisping
vicars and some of the lovely things that it has to offer.
There are darkness in its closet.
I'm gonna talk about it tonight, right?
But it's all right to talk about it tonight [INAUDIBLE] [MUSIC]
The most painful part of all of this for me, is that these words
of Luther
were used by the Christian Nazis to justify the Jewish
Holocaust.
>> Hello Peter, my lovely neighbor.
>> Hello, lovely neighbor, hello.

55. >> Hello, how are you?
>> Very good, please come in.
>> Thank you.
>> Here's my grandfather.
Shabbat Shalom.
>> Shabbat Shalom.
Shalom.
>> Shabbat Shalom.
>> Shabbat Shalom.
Before the family can eat, we must ritually wash our hands in
silence.
Amen.
>> So the head of the family is giving to everybody the piece of
Challah.
And nobody is allowed to speak till they take the piece of
Challah.
You can take it and the meal normally start.
>> The founder Protestant's perspective.
>> Yes?

56. >> Said some quite terrible things about members of the Jewish
faith.
As a Protestant Christian, I feel guilty about that, when can we
move on?
>> I believe when somebody understands, the guilt for his own
previous generations, as soon as this happens, this is the
beginning of a new era.
For them the Jewish people will never blame somebody, but as
soon as somebody starts thinking, I feel very bad for what my
grand grandparents or neighbors of my grand grandparents did.
As soon as we come to that point, this is the beginning of a new
relationship.
>> Okay, we'll shake.
>> [LAUGH] I hope you- >> Shalom, shalom, shalom.
>> So right now I know that in Britain, I have got one more
friend.
I need to write your address and when we come we'll just
continue.
>> And we can just continue where we left off.
>> [LAUGH] Yes, yes, yes, yes.
>> [LAUGH] Wow, there we go then.
[MUSIC] By Simone saying this evening look, we've
acknowledged that those dreadful words of Luther are quite

57. wrong and they
are quite wrong.
By acknowledging the wrongness of those words, you liberate
yourself from them.
You disassociate yourself from them, you recognize that they
are incredibly hurtful, and have proved to be catastrophically
harmful.
[MUSIC] It wasn't just the Jewish faith which came to close to
being wiped out in Lithuania.
Another totalitarian ideology was sweeping through Eastern
Europe.
Soviet communism tried to enforce Atheism over its people.
[MUSIC] It unleashed a storm of terror that killed over 1
million Catholics.
[SOUND] I've come to an extraordinary place of pilgrimage in
Northern Lithuania.
When epic battle was played out between Catholics and
Atheists.
[MUSIC] It's a Hill of Crosses, literally tens of thousands of
crosses.
The very first went up 200 years ago, they stood for Lithuanian
Catholicism against the imperial ambitions of the Russian czar.
By the middle of the 20th century, there were thousands.

58. But in 1961, the Russians decided that the hill should be
destroyed.
The Communist response was to bring in the bulldozers and just
flatten the entire place thinking if we take out this powerful
symbol of faith, then this will demoralize everyone.
In fact, the opposite happened.
What it did was inspire the local population to come back at
night and rebuild it.
And this game of cat and mouse, went on for years.
>> Shall we go?
40 years ago, Adolphus Stratus was one of the original
defenders of the hill during the Battle of the Crosses.
>> After this desecration, we needed to show the world that it
was impossible to destroy the Hill of Crosses.
It was dangerous to build in the daytime, so we built at night.
>> Okay. >> Once Adolphis realized I was a priest, he wanted
us to hang a cross together.
>> Up on there, do you think?
>> Yes.
>> As a symbol of Christian unity.
Okay, marvelous, thank you.

59. >> I believe the true value of the cross lies in the heart of the
man who erects it.
[MUSIC] >> Today there are more than 50,000 crosses and the
resistance here in Lithuania is typical of the restoration of
Catholicism in the former Eastern Block.
But I wondered what has become of the atheist ideals of
Communism in the motherland.
Tomorrow, I'm on my way to Moscow, home of the Russian
Orthodox Church.
All the way the paper bag was on my knee.
Man, I had a dreadful flight.
I'm back in the USSR.
[NOISE] You don't know how lucky you are boy, back in the
USSR.
[NOISE] [MUSIC] Before the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917,
the Russian Orthodox Church had 80,000 places of worship and
100
million adherents.
But then the Soviet Union became the first state officially to
purge religion.
Believers were persecuted, atheism was taught in schools and
churches were confiscated.
[MUSIC] And yet today the Church is thriving.

60. [MUSIC] This is Saint Saviour, the biggest Orthodox cathedral
in the world.
But it isn't the original, that was blown up by the Communists
in 1931.
This exact replacement was only finished in 2001.
This is really a statement about the power of the idea of eternity
and the power of the idea of everlasting life and the power of
the
idea of the victory of goodness over evil.
These are powerful ideas and this creation speaks about the
victory of those ideas over really atheism.
[MUSIC] To come in, out of the cold, grey, mist of Moscow
into here, not only is it warm, but it is sensuous, sensual, full of
color.
And if this was happening underground while the communist
regime was in power, no wonder it survived here.
>> [MUSIC] >> The churches across Moscow are packed today
because of the Feast of Epiphany, commemorating the baptism
of
Christ and today holy water is the big theme.
Soon the priests are throwing it around, to be drenched is to be
blessed.
We all were blessed by the water, wonderful chaos.
Hundreds of thousands of orthodox Christians across Russia are
queuing for bottles of holy water to take home with them.

61. They believe that it could cure all manner of ills.
It seems like the feast of the plastic bottle to me.
Really, it's like going to a jumble sale in South Kingston,
there's just an awful lot of elbows, an awful lot of pushing and
shoving, an
awful lot of, [SOUND] and a lot of shouting as well.
Water is a purifying agent.
If you can sense that the Christian tradition, the Jewish
tradition, the Islamic tradition have all emerged out of the
desert
essentially, and therefore water is seen as an agent of life, an
agent of purity.
So that is why within the Christian tradition we have baptism
and why water is regarded as a rejuvenator, a healer.
The epiphany celebrations and the Russian reverence for holy
water continues, even in the bitter cold outside.
Beautiful hole being cut out in the ice.
And some madmen and women that are just about to go
swimming.
[MUSIC] And I was going to be one of them.
I managed to pick up chest infection and the Russian doctor
said, on no account are you to do this.

62. So I have been spared.
Because the cold is incredible.
So what it's like in that water, I just can't even bear to think.
[MUSIC] These hardy souls believe that by bathing in the
consecrated water, they can both harden their constitution and
purge
themselves of sin.
>> The Russian soul is strong.
Nobody can conquer us, we are loved by God.
>> I can see that there are many people who would think that
you're completely mad.
>> Russia's greatest power is the immortal spirit.
>> I think if I took all my clothes off, I'd turn blue.
>> My skin is all right, no goose-pimples.
Touch me.
>> No, no, yeah, it's warm, it's warm.
>> I'm ready for another swim.
Your cough will go if you take a dip.
>> Okay, the Russian doctor said on no account was I to go,
because I have a chest infection.
>> The best doctor is cold water, let's go.

63. The wind is blowing.
Let's go for a swim.
>> This is a madness. No, I cannot go, the doctor has said no.
[MUSIC] But not everybody in Moscow is celebrating Christ's
baptism.
The spirit of the Bolshevik revolution is still alive amongst
some of its grandchildren.
[MUSIC] I meet Alexander Novikoff, on the street outside the
rebuilt cathedral.
[MUSIC] Alexander's belief system is that there is no god, he is
an atheist.
I am keen to hear what he makes of the religious revival, so I
buy him a coffee.
[MUSIC] >> It's quite cold today, I would say minus 10, minus
13.
>> Religion is also like cold weather that freezes social
relationships.
It preserves the Middle Ages, this is my deep conviction.
The Communism sponsored atheism as the official creed of
Communism.
We have been in three churches this morning, they are packed.

64. What's happening, what's going on?
>> Ordinary people in general don't know how to manage their
lives and they need to be guided this is true for the majority.
So now the old Communist dogma has been replaced by the
Church.
They are slaves their life must be devoted to someone else so
they must sacrifice themselves to something.
It can be an idea or a leader.
>> But all movements, including atheism, have their own
leaders.
>> We have no authorities, our authority is science.
[MUSIC] >> Alexander told me about an atheist debating
society meeting that evening.
[MUSIC] I was keen to know more about what contemporary
atheism had to offer.
I think this must be it.
I wasn't expecting the grinding boredom that was to follow.
>> One way to make society more moral is to use the experience
of the older generation in a practical way without religion.
>> To see the great idea of atheism and humanism reduced to an
upstairs room, full of what, 12, 15 old men are sure during the
height of Communism they thought this is gonna last forever.

65. Atheism will be here forever and ever.
Ask someone in 1965 whether in 50 years time all the churches
would be reopened in Moscow.
They would have laughed.
They would have laughed at you.
The Buddhists perhaps have the answer.
Believe in permanence at you peril.
[MUSIC] The tide of atheism may have receded here in Russia.
But I do know there are hundreds of millions of people
worldwide who believe there is no God.
[MUSIC] Religion has been making the most remarkable
comeback here in Russia.
Not just orthodoxy, but 1,000 faiths imported by missionaries
from all over the world, all struggling to gain the heart and the
soul
of new Russia.
>> [APPLAUSE] >> Here we are, on typical Moscow street, in
the middle of January and there's a Hare Krishna procession
coming
towards us.
[MUSIC] >> Harre Krishna is an old Hindu sect which hit the
big time when hippies brought it west in the 60s.

66. Devotees believed that the Hare Krishna Mantra brings about a
higher state of consciousness.
I think I've got the walk, so.
[MUSIC] So much more movement, so much more open
heartedness in the [INAUDIBLE] What do you think?
[MUSIC] What do you think you can say?
No meat, no gambling, no intoxicants, no alcohol, no caffeine.
No sex at all unless you're actually married and want to have
children.
And on the surface of that, that seems like a pretty dark
religion.
But to be in the midst of it, it seems like not at all, it doesn't
feel like that at all either.
[MUSIC] I wondered whether this religious tolerance extended
to the backwaters of the Russian Republic.
[MUSIC] I'm heading a 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow to
the edge of the Caspian sea to the vast ice bound tundra plains
of the
Kalmyk Republic.
It's home to descendants of nomadic Mongol herders.
[MUSIC] Before the Russian Revolution, this was the only
corner of Europe in which the leading faith was Tibetan
Buddhism.
The Kalmyk people originally came to this area of Russia in the

67. 17th century during the Second World War.
Stalin reported the entire population to Siberia with 50% from
Paris.
They returned here in 1957, and really, this whole landscape
must have seen familiar to them.
Must have reminded them of the Mongolian steps from where
they came.
And once again the Kalmyk people can proudly boast to be the
only Buddhist state in Europe.
They revere the Dalai Lama and frankly, you could be forgiven
for thinking you were in Tibet.
From a grey Russian winter to tropical color.
How wonderful.
[MUSIC] >> The idea behind repeating the same chant is to
actually fall into a meditative state where almost the words of
the
chant become immaterial.
And by taking it in, you are cleansed from Samsara, which is
what the general state of being human, the joy, the anguish, the
pain,
the dichotomy, the frustration.
And this process of meditation, meditate and chanting, and
banging of cymbals cleanses you and leads you into a state
where

68. you're free.
>> [SOUND] It's remarkable to see Tibetan Buddhism
flourishing far away from its homeland.
But even Russian tolerance has its limits.
Recently they have been denied permission for the Dalai Lama
to even visit, despite having built an enormous apartment on top
of
the temple.
Just for him.
[SOUND] This is very swish.
>> It is, but he hasn't even seen it.
>> Dalai Lama bedroom.
>> Yep.
>> Dalai Lama bathroom.
>> And Dalai Lama meditation.
>> Yep, the meditation, and flat-screen television, DVD,
wonderful.
>> No-one else is allowed to stay here, we've been very
privileged to be able to come here.
But he hasn't been here yet, it's been sitting here for two years.
No-one's sat on the sofas, no-one's turned the telly on, no-one's
turned the kettle on yet.

69. It's like a castle without its king.
[MUSIC] >> After three weeks of darkness, snow and ice in the
Northern and Eastern flanks of Europe.
I'm finally heading south to Italy for some sun and warmth.
[MUSIC] Sunshine, thank you, God.
[MUSIC] This is the heartland of the oldest and largest faith in
Europe, Catholicism.
[MUSIC] It's fact that the conversion of barbarian Europe to
Christianity was largely led by Benedictine monks.
So I've come to a monastery founded over 1,000 years ago.
I'm so sorry I'm a bit late, always late.
>> Hello.
>> Thank you.
>> Luigi.
>> Father Luigi?
>> Nice to meet you.
>> Wonderful to meet you.
>> Welcome in Sacro Speco of Saint Benedict.

70. >> Thank you, Father.
>> Now are have vespers.
>> Vespers, yes, of course.
I'm so late that Padre Luigi has to hurry me off to vespers, the
evening prayer.
>> [FOREIGN] >> Benedictine monks have to vow to stay in
the monastery and give absolute obedience to the abbot.
>> [FOREIGN] >> They live by a strict timetable, praying
seven times a day, seven days a week, starting with vigils at
five in the
morning.
The time given to God must not be wasted.
>> [FOREIGN] Now the monks have gone into what they call
the great silence.
Which means that there is no talking in the monastery
whatsoever, so we got to nip outside.
And though I think that after breakfast they're allowed to speak
again, but they don't speak a great deal.
They tend to wander around in silence most of the time and
when they say hello, it's a brief sort of, and that's it.
So you just [INAUDIBLE] I find these environments very
lacking in intimacy, and this is meant to be an intimate
experience of the
love of God.

71. But for me I find them in some ways quite cold, they're quite
cold places to be in.
[SOUND] >> The monks start praying at five every morning.
[SOUND] >> Everything here has to run by the absolute minute,
these are the SAS of monks.
These are the hard guys, these are the hard-cases.
When you're a little boy, if you want to be a monk, this is the
monk you want to be, because these guys are the toughest
monks.
All dressed in black, in their hoods.
This way of life is for someone who actually thrives on order.
[MUSIC] At the height of its powers in the 14th Century, the
Benedictine Order had 37,000 monasteries across Europe.
Today there are just over 150 left.
How many novices at the moment?
>> One, only one.
>> One? >> This is the Korean, >> The Korean?
>> Yes, we don't have much vocation for the moment.
>> No young men?
>> No. >> No young Italian men?

72. >> No, not for the moment, they don't want to enter in a
monastery for the moment.
Because they prefer to be in life, instead of to come inside and
to be alone in quiet.
>> But what happens in 20 years time?
Many of the brothers here are quite old.
>> Yeah, we have to pray that our Lord will send us vocation.
>> Okay.
>> We have to pray.
>> Yeah.
[MUSIC] >> And it's a lesson to all religions, once you have
hardened, once you have finished building your chapel and
laying your
marble floor.
And once you have set your day into an Order, you have
effectively stopped creating.
So in 50 years time, unless they reinterpret this tradition, not
continually celebrate a world that is gone, it will die.
[MUSIC] >> A deeply spiritual, if extreme way of life seems to
be fading.
But as it does, another is showing signs of growth.
[MUSIC] I've been invited to the biggest spiritual community of

73. its kind in Europe, it's called Damanhur and it's just outside
Turin.
[MUSIC] Inspired by New Age principles, Damanhur was
founded just over 30 years ago.
And it already boasts over a 1,000 members.
Espiride is my guide to the Damanhur experience, she has been
part of the community for 15 years.
>> In this area what you're seeing is the very first attempts that
we made 30 years ago to create our own artistic style.
So every citizen would join a team, and then they would, all
together, create pieces of theater, or statues.
>> Why is art so important?
I mean, look at this.
>> Because we believe that is so essential to this community.
>> We believe, well, art is beautiful and if you are surrounded
by beautiful things, we also become more beautiful.
>> What's he got in his knapsack?
>> [LAUGH] This is a representation of a spheroself, and this
spheroself is a device that we create here.
To convey energies that can interact with us and the
environment, for instance for healing.

74. Or for creating a harmonious environment to work on your
dreams.
>> I haven't got my head around this one yet, I mean there are a
1,000 people living in this community.
And there's a temple, but they say that they're not a religion,
they're a spirituality.
There's definitely a great deal of creative energy happening.
[MUSIC] But I want to know more about that strange device in
the man's rucksack.
[MUSIC] Is this what this man had in his backpack?
>> [LAUGHS] Yes, he was actually just one of the spirit cells.
But yes, something similar.
>> It just, it looks like something out of Mad Max.
>> [LAUGH] It might look like that.
Yes, you are right.
>> I mean, this is extrodinary.
What is that?
>> This one, do you see for instance is called an environmental
transformer and it's function is to keep the atmosphere, the
energy of an environment where people live in harmony.
>> I mean, a lot of people are going to look at that and just say,
that's just very wacky.

75. >> They can think what they want.
>> To Marian's belief that we are surrounded by energy fields,
and that those energies affect how we are, how we behave, how
we
feel.
Okay, I mean there are certain Christians, Catholic Christians,
that believe by sitting in church for 45 minutes, by singing
some
hymns, by saying some prayers, by reciting a creed.
They will bring themselves to a point where a priest blesses
some bread and some wine.
At that point the bread is changed into the body, the actual body
of Christ and the wine is changed into the actual blood of
Christ.
And then they will go and eat the bread and drink the wine.
I mean how weird is that?
Most religions have some pretty wacky stuff within.
We just been socialized into accepting, yes, there are certain
group of people who believe that and that's okay.
Is it okay?
I mean, I think it's okay, we should all believe what we want to
believe.

76. As long as it doesn't hurt others.
[MUSIC] >> [LAUGH] >> But devices aren't the only form of
research being explored at.
The residents of the local treehouse village have been busy, as
well.
Just to explain, what we are about to hear is music made from
plants.
>> Yes.
>> Okay, let's hear it.
[MUSIC] >> Yes?
>> She plays.
[MUSIC] >> So this is music written by nature.
>> This is written by nature, yes.
[MUSIC] Plants can learn to modulate sound.
[MUSIC] >> My Kingdom listen to classical music.
They learn to use it better and better.
>> Does it respond to human touch?
>> Yes, you can try.
[MUSIC] There is an interaction between our thoughts, and the
plant, and the vegetable.

77. [MUSIC] >> I didn't for one minute believe that the plants were
writing their own music.
But I think what's interesting, is it's about the entire view of
nature.
I mean, we started this journey high up in the arctic in northern
Norway, with a Sami shaman saying, listen.
Listen to the river.
Listen to the music being made by this river.
And here we are 3.000 miles south of northern Italy listening to
young people saying, listen to the plants, listen.
So here is a modern interpretation using technology.
Of really what is very ancient, very old tradition.
Tonight, I'm staying with a Maherian version of a family made
up of 15 people, usually totally unrelated, who have chosen to
live
together.
>> How did the teenagers rebel?
So they go off into Turin and get jobs in Bankley >>
[FOREIGN] >> What's interesting is that they made it work.
This isn't something that they just started doing, this is
something that they've been living like this for 33 years.
So I mean it's clearly a concept that works.

78. Before leaving Damanhur, I'd been invited to see the stunning
temples at the heart of this community.
30 meters below the ground are eight enormous structures.
Drawing religious inspiration from the East and the West,
ancient and modern faith.
>> This is the Hall of Mirrors, and it is dedicated to light and to
spirituality.
[MUSIC] Welcome to the Hall of Metals.
And symbolically, this hall is dedicated to the different ages of
our lives Life.
[MUSIC] >> The current structure represents only 10% of what
is planned.
[MUSIC] >> This is the labyrinth and it is dedicated to the
union and the harmony of all the divine forces of our planet.
Each window represent a different god or a goddess.
[MUSIC] >> The history of divine forces hasn't really being
that harmonious.
>> Well exactly.
It hasn't been.
And that's why we're creating this space where we can represent
them with the idea that harmony is possible and respect for
differences is possible.

79. Judaism, Buddhism- >> Buddhism.
>> Christianity.
>> It's very interesting to see your faith embodied as one of
many.
It's a sort of quite uncomfortable feeling because as a human
being I've invested so much in this little window.
But then to come into a place like this, I am forced to recognize
that there is something much bigger happening here.
And that my window is part of it, but then so are all of the
others.
But no where along the line have I heard the notion of harmony
That we can live in harmony.
I haven't heard this in Christianity.
I haven't heard this in Judaism.
I haven't heard this in Islam.
They're all very self-centered.
From this perspective, from standing in this room, that's what
they appear to be.
[MUSIC] My year long journey through at faith has come to an
end.
And it's given me much to consider, much to reflect on.

80. On my doorstep in the sausage stance is an ancient place I'm
always drawn to [MUSIC] The long man of Wilmington.
What he says to me, is that my ancestors, our ancestors, have
been involved in this quest for the divine.
As long as we have been walking around on this planet.
[MUSIC] I can't pretend that religion isn't the vehicle for so
much conflict, but the religious pulse of the planet is still
beating hard.
Faith seeks to help us to understand our purpose here.
It helps us to retain some hope in the face of suffering.
It allows us to entertain the language of feelings, the language
of intuition and the language of love and I don't personally need
empirical proof that God exists.
Faith is a journey inwards, and those who have made that
journey come back and say, look what I found!
Look at this, isn't this extraordinary?
These words I heard, this vision I saw.
[MUSIC] What was so extraordinary about this year was human
beings.
And their generosity, their humility, their grace, their
imagination and in every single quarter in the far flung corners
of this
extraordinary planet, you do find a welcome, a love.

81. And all of that is informed by the faith systems that have
evolved in those particular corners.
[MUSIC] I've learned two things this year.
The first is that those religions that demonize other individuals
for not believing in their way, one is to be very wary of, I think.
And the converse of that is that those religions who are open to
the learning and understanding and teaching within other
religions
are ones to learn from.
I've looked forward to two things, being away.
One was to be back in the churches that I serve, and the other
was a point of ale.
[MUSIC] So I'm going to take a service, and then I'm going to
the pub.
[MUSIC]
Lithuania
from Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices
View article on Credo
POPULATION 3,043,429
ROMAN CATHOLIC 77.2 percent

82. ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN 4.1 percent
PROTESTANT (COMBINED) 1.1 percent
OLD BELIEVERS 0.8 percent
NEOPAGAN 0.2 percent
MUSLIM 0.1 percent
JEWISH < 0.1 percent
OTHER 0.2 percent
NOT REPORTED 10.1 percent
NOT AFFILIATED 6.1 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
Lithuania is a small and predominantly Roman Catholic country
located on the Baltic Sea. It shares a
border with Latvia to the north, Belarus on the east, Poland to
the south, and the Kaliningrad region of
Russia to the southwest. Lithuania has a primarily flat terrain,
and much of the territory is composed of
workable land and forests. Its total land area is 24,200 square
miles (62,680 square kilometers).
Lithuania was one of the last areas of Europe to be
Christianized. In 1385 Jogaila (c. 1351–1434),
grand duke of Lithuania, agreed to submit his nation to Catholic
baptism when he accepted the crown
of Poland. For several centuries, Lithuania and Poland were

83. united as one kingdom, and the Catholic
Church subsequently became by far the largest and most
influential religious organization in Lithuania.
The Polish-Lithuanian state was partitioned in 1795, and most
of the territory of present-day Lithuania
fell under Russian rule. Lithuania was again established as an
independent country in 1918. It was
annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, and from 1940 to 1990 it
was one of the Soviet Union’s 15
republics. Since the reestablishment of its independence in
1990, Lithuania is a parliamentary
democracy. It became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the European Union in
2004.
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Lithuanians and Poles make up 84.1 and 6.6 percent,
respectively, of the country’s population, and
both mainly profess Catholicism. Russians comprise about 5.8
percent of the population, with the
majority being Russian Orthodox and the historical minority
Old Believers. Russian Orthodox believers

84. are mainly concentrated in cities, while Old Believers have
traditionally lived in both city and
countryside communities primarily in the eastern part of the
country. Lithuania also has Evangelical
Reformed (in northern Lithuania) and Evangelical Lutheran (in
southwestern Lithuania) minorities.
Religious Tolerance
Lithuania does not have a state religion. The constitution
guarantees freedom of conscience and
religion, and there are amicable relations between the various
faiths. The constitution and the Law on
Religious Communities give special status, however, to nine
religious groups: Latin Rite Catholic,
Greek Rite Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Old Believers,
Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed,
Jewish, Sunni Islam, and Karaite. These so-called traditional
religions are eligible for governmental
financial assistance and enjoy privileges such as enhanced tax
exemptions, permission to teach
religion in public schools, and time on national television.
Other religious communities are able to freely
operate in Lithuania, but their establishment is regulated more
extensively and they have fewer rights.
Major Religion
Roman Catholicism
DATE OF ORIGIN 1387 CE
NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS 2.3 million
History
Roman Catholicism in Lithuania began with the baptism in 1251

85. of Mindaugas (d. 1263), the first ruler
of a united Lithuania. This was followed more than 100 years
later by the legal acts of Grand Duke
Jogaila, who ordered the baptism of the area’s inhabitants in
1387. During the Reformation—a
religious and political movement in western Europe during the
early 16th century whose aim was to
reform certain practices of the Catholic Church and to make the
church more accessible to all people—
Protestantism was initially successful, especially among the
nobility. However, because of the
missionary and academic activities of Jesuits, it failed to put
down lasting roots, and the Catholic
Church had secured its prevailing position by the end of the
16th century. A series of laws adopted
from 1632 to 1669 put various restrictions on non-Catholics.
The constitution of 1791 declared
Catholicism to be the dominant religion, and Catholics were
prohibited from converting to another faith.
After the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian state in 1795,
the Russian Empire annexed most of
Lithuania, effectively preferring the Orthodox faith over
Catholicism. Until World War I (1914–18), the
Catholic Church played a significant role in the Lithuanian
independence movement, including
unsuccessful uprisings in 1831 and 1863, and in preserving
national identity.
Lithuania was an independent state from 1918 to 1940, a period
when all existing faiths were
recognized or at least tolerated. The Catholic Church held a
dominant position in society, and a
concordat (agreement between the pope and a sovereign state
for the regulation of church affairs) was
signed with the Vatican in 1927. The concordat recognized the
freedom of the Catholic Church in

86. Lithuania to conduct its matters according to Canon Law and
also focused on military exemption for
clergy, compulsory religious instruction in state-run schools,
tax exemptions for houses of prayer,
taxation of the church, and various property issues. The
concordat was canceled, however, following
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Soviet occupation in 1940. The rights of churches as legal
entities were rescinded, religious education
was banned in schools, property of religious communities was
nationalized (permitting limited use of
church buildings to the parishes), and pastoral care in hospitals
and prisons was abolished. Catholic
priests and bishops were routinely repressed, and the Catholic
Church again became a symbol of
underground resistance and fight for human rights.
In 1987 the 600th anniversary of Lithuania’s baptism was
observed in Rome simultaneously with
celebrations in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, although the
latter were strictly censored by Soviet
authorities. Political reform movements in the late 1980s eased
restrictions on religious practice, and
the restoration of independence of Lithuania in 1990 abolished
the restrictions altogether. The Catholic
Church regained much of its property during the 1990s, except

87. for the land, which was not returned. In
2000 three agreements were signed between the Holy See and
the Lithuanian state, symbolizing the
importance of the Catholic Church in independent Lithuania.
One agreement was focused on the legal
relations between the church and the state, recognizing the
freedom of the church to operate
according to Canon Law; another established the rules of
operation and financing of chaplaincy in the
military; and the third agreement regulated issues of education
and culture, such as religious
instruction in public schools and financing of the seminaries.
Early and Modern Leaders
Saint Kazimieras (1458–1484) is the only Lithuanian to have
been canonized. He was the son of
Kazimieras IV (1427–1492), the grand duke of Lithuania and
king of Poland, during whose reign the
Catholic Church flourished. Saint Kazimieras is considered the
patron saint of Lithuania and is
respected for his exemplary chastity and piety.
An outstanding 20th-century Catholic leader was Archbishop
Jurgis Matulaitis (1871–1927). He is
honored for his efforts in charity and social justice, for the
reviving of the monastic Marian order in
Marijampole, for the administration of the Vilnius diocese
during the tumultuous period from 1918 to
1925, and for the preparation of the first Lithuanian concordat.
Matulaitis was beatified by Pope John
Paul II (1920–2005) in 1987.
A notable figure in the post-Soviet Catholic Church of
Lithuania is Archbishop and Cardinal Audrys
Juozas Bačkis (1937– ), who is known mainly because of his

88. leadership in the church and because he
has been a capable negotiator with the state authorities on
church issues. The son of a Lithuanian
diplomat, he was educated and became a priest and a bishop
outside Lithuania, but returned after the
end of the Soviet era. Untainted by collaboration with the
Soviets and unharmed by their repressions,
Bačkis proved to be an able leader in the church. During the
period of 1992–2012, he served as the
archbishop of Vilnius, where he was instrumental in
establishing a seminary, and helped rebuild the
organizational aspects of church life.
Major Theologians and Authors
The Jesuit order played a distinctive role in the development of
academic and theological studies in
Lithuania. In 1570 the Jesuits established a college in Vilnius
that later became a university. It was
influential throughout the Baltic region and beyond, as far east
as Moscow.
The writings of Archbishop Jurgis Matulaitis are widely known.
His book Užrašai consists of reflections
and inspirations, reports on visits to Rome, and recollections of
major events from his years as bishop
of Vilnius. While not strictly theological in its content, Užrašai
is honored as a source of spiritual
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education.
A number of Roman Catholic priests and bishops have been
influential writers in Lithuanian society.
Bishop Motiejus Valančius (1801–1875) and priests Jonas
Mačiulis (1862–1932) and Antanas
Baranauskas (1835–1902) have been influential not as
theological writers but as important figures in
Lithuanian literature.
Houses of Worship and Holy Places
In Lithuania, as in other Catholic countries, the primary place
of worship is the local parish church,
which is often dedicated to a specific saint. The cult of the
Virgin Mary is especially widespread among
Lithuanians. One of the oldest shrines to Mary is the image of
Our Lady of Trakai, which is venerated
as a protector of Lithuania.
Motiejus Valančius
Motiejus Valančius (1801–1875), bishop of Samogitia from
1849 to 1875, was known in Lithuania
not only as a religious figure but as an educator, a prose writer,
and an organizer of the temperance
movement. He was born to a family of rich peasants and had
three siblings. Valančius studied in a
Dominican school in Žemaičiu Kalvarija before entering the
Varniai seminary in 1822. He later
studied at the highest priest seminary in Vilnius and was
ordained in Vilnius Cathedral in 1828.
Valancius served as a school chaplain and then became a

90. professor at the Spiritual Academy of
Vilnius. After briefly moving to Saint Petersburg, he returned to
Lithuania in 1845 due to poor health
and became a rector at the seminary in Samogitia.
It was in Samogitia that Valančius started a temperance
movement to stop peasants from drinking,
established Lithuanian schools for children, and encouraged the
spread of publications from the
illegal press in Prussia. After the failed uprising against Russian
rule in 1863, the government
moved the bishopric to Kaunas, where Valančius had limited
possibilities to communicate with
believers. At this point, he began to write—about 70 books and
stories in all. His writings were not
theological but didactic in nature, all written in Samogitian, a
dialect of Lithuanian language.
Although the temperance movement was banned in 1964 after
another failed uprising against the
government, it helped bring people together to cherish
Lithuanian national consciousness. Valančius
died in 1875 and was buried in Kaunas Cathedral.
The tomb in Marijampolé containing the relics of Jurgis
Matulaitis is also venerated.
The 19 small chapels located on the hills surrounding the town
of Žemaičiu Kalvarija (Samogitian
Calvary) represent the Stations of the Cross. Believers go to
Žemaičiu Kalvarija to retrace Jesus’s path
to Calvary, climbing from one hill to another and singing the
song “The Hills of Žemaičiu Kalvarija.” The
location of the chapels and the number of steps to get to them
correspond to the original path of
Christ’s sufferings in Jerusalem.

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Lithuania has various shrines to honor the Virgin Mary. At a
chapel in Vilnius, this image of the Blessed
Virgin Mary is visited by many people every year.
©PARYS RYSZARD/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM.
A notable center of Marian piety is Šiluva, where an apparition
of the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared
during the 17th century. A painting of Mary—believed to be
miraculous—is housed in the Basilica of
the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Šiluva draws pilgri ms to
the town each year for a feast.
What Is Sacred
In addition to those objects generally venerated by all
Christians, there are sacred items particularly
identified with Lithuania. These include wayside crosses,
chapels, and religious statues known as
Rūpintojèlis (depicting a folk version of Jesus weeping over
Jerusalem), which are prevalent
throughout the landscape. Lithuania has become known as the
“Country of Crosses,” due in part to the
Hill of Crosses, a unique site near the town of Šiauliai. The hill
is covered with approximately 60,000

92. crosses that have been stuck into the ground by pilgrims as
expressions of faith, love, gratitude, or
hope for healing. Many more thousands of crosses are hung by
tourists and pilgrims on the other
crosses.
Holidays and Festivals
Of Lithuania’s 12 national holidays, four are explicitly religious
festivals. These are Easter, Assumption
Day (August 15), All Saints’ Day (November 1), and Christmas
(December 24–25). Two more national
holidays have religious connotations, but they are rarely
recognized as religious holidays. They are
Saint Mary’s Day (January 1) and summer solstice, called
“Rasos” or Saint John’s Day (June 24).
Christmas Eve is the most popular festival in Lithuania and is
considered even more important than
Christmas Day itself. The Catholic Church has abolished the
requirement of fasting, but Catholics still
follow the custom, abstaining from meat at least on Christmas
Eve, while some also fast during
Advent. Before Christmas, the house is cleaned, bed linens are
changed, and a handful of hay is
spread on the table as a reminder that Jesus was born in a
stable. On this day, all family members
must be home for a special meatless supper called Kūčios.
Afterward, the adults attend a midnight
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Mass, which is called Berneliumišios (shepherd’s Mass).
Catholic traditions are still frequently fused with pre-Christian
customs in Lithuania. The feast of Saint
John in late June (also called Rasos), for example, is celebrated
with bonfires, play on swings and
seesaws, and dances—all manifestations of an ancient
midsummer festival. Assumption Day is also
known as the celebration of meadow grass. Even Easter, the
most important annual church event,
includes many elements of folk tradition that symbolize the
rebirth of nature after winter. Easter
customs include coloring eggs, playing various games with them
(like rolling competitions), and eating
them.
All Souls’ Day (November 2) is celebrated throughout
Lithuania. Both believers and nonbelievers visit
family grave sites to decorate them with flowers and candles,
and requiem Masses are held in
churches.
Mode of Dress
Catholics in Lithuania do not follow any special dress code,
although historically most people would
dress up for church. In contemporary Lithuania, people wear
mainly Western-style clothing. Generally
there is no special dress associated with church attendance or
church festivals, and there are no
differences between the clothing of the Catholic clergy in
Lithuania and those in other countries.

94. Dietary Practices
Some Catholics in Lithuania fast or abstain from meat on
Fridays during the seasons of Lent and
Advent.
Kūčios, the traditional meatless supper on Christmas Eve, is
still observed in Lithuania. It begins with
the passing of wafers and with wishes for each family member.
To represent the 12 apostles, 12
different dishes are normally served. The principal dish is
traditionally kūčia, a porridge made of wheat,
barley, and oats and eaten with poppy seed milk. Other common
dishes are fish (pike or herring), a
compote of dried fruits, a salad of pickled vegetables, beet soup
with dried mushrooms, oatmeal
pudding with sweetened water, potato pancakes, kūčiukai
(biscuits served with poppy seed milk), and
thick, sour kisielius (cranberry jelly). It is essential for a person
to taste everything since it is believed
that whoever skips any dish will not survive until the next
Christmas Eve.
Rituals
The tradition of pilgrimages to sacred places remains very much
alive in Lithuania. In addition, many
churches have special wall panels covered with silver or gold
hearts on which names have been
inscribed. People bring the hearts as an expression of thanks to
Jesus or the Virgin Mary for healing,
rescuing, and other blessings.
Death and burial are important in Lithuanian religious culture.
Cemeteries are peaceful places situated

95. on hills and covered with trees. In Lithuanian folklore the term
“high hill” is synonymous with the word
“cemetery.” The deceased are dressed in their best clothes, and
religious articles such as rosaries and
pictures of saints are placed inside the coffin. Three handfuls of
earth are poured over the coffin as a
reminder that people come from dust and return to dust. Inviting
everyone from the cemetery to a
funeral dinner is seen as a way of carrying out the last wishes of
the deceased.
Rites of Passage
Children of Catholics in Lithuania are baptized soon after birth
in the presence of godparents, usually
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giving them holy names.
First Communion is an obligatory Catholic sacrament that is
usually observed in Lithuania shortly after
a child’s seventh birthday. It follows a preparatory period of
learning the basic tenets of faith. The
sacrament of confirmation represents the conveying of the Holy
Spirit to those who have already
undergone baptism and hence symbolizes the entering of a new
stage of life.

96. Church marriage is obligatory for Catholics who wish to be
married. Some couples opt for a civil
marriage, which is later solemnized in a Catholic ceremony.
Membership
Most Lithuanians are Catholics by birth and by cultural
identification. For a person to consider himself
or herself Catholic it is generally enough to be baptized, to have
received First Communion, and to
attend Mass on Christmas and Easter.
At the Hill of Crosses near Siauliai, Lithuania, pilgrims have
left thousands of crosses as a sign of
dedication to the Christian faith.
© JASRIM/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM.
The Catholic Church encourages an affiliation with a particular
parish, regular attendance at Mass, and
certain financial contributions to the church. In Lithuania,
however, 50 years of atheistic policy under
the Soviet regime challenged this sense of belonging. According
to European Values Survey data, 18
percent of Catholics attended services at least weekly in 1999;
in 2008 only 14 percent attended
services each week.
The Catholic Church generally does not proselytize in
Lithuania, although campaigns of evangelization
and catechesis, including the internationally popular Alpha
Course, have recently been organized,
directed primarily at nominal Catholics. Key Web sites for the
church are Bernardinai.lt
(www.bernardinai.lt) and Katalikai.lt (www.katalikai.lt). The

97. daily radio program Mažoji Studija (Small
Studio) also reaches a Catholic audience.
Social Justice
Generosity to people in need is a general teaching of the
Catholic Church, a doctrine of social justice
that has been a tradition since the early 20th century. Under the
Soviet regime, however, the church in
Lithuania was forced to refrain from charitable and other social
activities. In the early 21st century, the
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major Catholic charity organization is Caritas, which is
subordinated to the Lithuanian Catholic Bishops’
Conference. Its programs focus on such matters as the reduction
of poverty, the strengthening of the
family and community, and education. The Malta order and the
Lithuanian Community of Samaritans,
known for ecumenical cooperation in charitable activities, offer
relief services, and monastic orders
such as the Salesians, Congregation of Saint John, and Sisters
of Mother Theresa work in various
social justice areas.

98. Social Life
Before World War II, various Catholic lay organizations had
about one million members, one-third of
Lithuania’s population. From 1940 to 1990, however, the
Communist authorities implemented policies
that isolated the Catholic clergy from believers, resulting in the
loss of a sense of social community
within the church. The formation of lay movements, as well as
the fostering of the Catholic Church’s
role within society, has been among the highest priorities in
independent Lithuania. Youth, catechesis,
and family centers have been established in all Catholic
dioceses, and organizations like Actio
Catholica Patria aim to involve young people without an interest
in religion itself in various church-
sponsored educational and charity projects.
The implementation of decisions of the Second Vatican Council
(1962–65), which dealt with the
modern policies of the Catholic Church on various social issues,
was belated in Lithuania because of
the Soviet occupation. Hence, Lithuanian Catholics demonstrate
more conservative attitudes on
questions such as marriage, family, and the role of women than
do their counterparts in western
Europe or in North America.
Political Impact
Under Communism, active participation in lay Catholic
activities was seen as an expression of political
dissent in Lithuania, and the movement Eucharistijos Bičiuliai
(Friends of the Eucharistic) became a
unique, underground Catholic association. In contemporary
Lithuania, despite the constitutional

99. separation of church and state, Roman Catholicism is a de facto
part of politics and society. The
Catholic Church is the only religious organization whose
relations with the state are regulated by official
agreements. The subjects of the agreements signed in 2000 are
the juridical aspects of the
relationship between the church and the state, of their
cooperation in education and culture, and of the
pastoral care of Catholics serving in the army (only the Catholic
Church has clergy in the Lithuanian
army). Further, a person designated by the Catholic Church
occupies the position of government
adviser for religious affairs.
While the Christian Democrat parties, which were active in the
1990s, have shrunk and merged with
other political forces, the Catholic Church continues to support
political parties, primarily the
Conservative Party. The church has influenced political
decisions in matters such as preventing the
legalization of cohabitation, alcohol advertisements, and
artificial insemination, along with decisions
related to church activities, such as taxation of religious
organizations and restitution of church
property, adding exemptions to churches from equal opportunity
legislation. There is an active bilateral
commission of state and church officials that is discussing the
remaining issues of the implementation
of the agreements with the Holy See.
Controversial Issues
A controversial issue in Lithuania is the relationship between
church and civil marriages. According to
the constitution, both are valid, but there is no legal provision
for divorce in the case of those church

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marriages that have not been registered by the state. From the
viewpoint of Catholic canon law, the
state cannot terminate church marriages. The courts can declare
that the civil consequences of a
church marriage are no longer binding but will not officially
rule on the termination of a church
marriage. Thus, the consequences of divorce in church
marriages remain purely in the religious
sphere.
Another controversial issue is the relationship between church
and state, particularly the question of
whether the church should have a say in public about issues of
politics. Recently the church has
become less vocal about its political preferences, while still
continuing to lobby for favorable legislation.
Cultural Impact
Catholicism has had a significant impact on Lithuanian
sculpture and painting, which are closely
connected with church architecture. The Cathedral in Vilnius is
recognized as an outstanding example
of the harmony of architecture with the arts of sculpture and
painting. Of the country’s various folk arts,