Lithuanians - Last to be Christianized in Europe

[bleedingheart]

http://www.wcer.org/members/europe/Lithuania/history.htm

Okay, I am interested in this particular topic because I am half Lithuanian, however I find it very fascinating that they were the last to be Christianized and in fact King Mindaugas converted only to stop the bloodshed of the crusade against them.

From my own experience my family is not very religious and my cousins in Lithuania have also stated that in general most Lithuanians aren't terribly religious and that many of our customs have more of a pagan leaning than a christian one.

http://www.balticsww.com/crisis_of_faith.htm

"Lithuania was the last nation in Europe to be Christianized—1000 years after France—and this late turn to the Christian God has always been evident in the way even the Church so readily mixes Christian with pre-Christian symbols. Nevertheless, the actual resurgence of Lithuania’s old pantheistic religion has alarmed some Church leaders.
One of the biggest pagan revival movements is the so-called Romuva, which harkens back to the gods of the sun, water and forests, emphasizing man’s oneness with nature.
Asked about the Church’s concern over the pagan revival, one member of the Romuva movement pointed the finger back at the Church, accusing it of Soviet-style heavy-handedness that it once fought. "

As a result of my amateur research on this topic I have learned a fair amount about my ethnic history....perhaps some of you may find it interesting as well.

[WMliberal]

1. you'd enjoy reading Henry of Livonia's story of the Crusade there.

Also discusses ethnicities wiped out during the 1200's, the eastward movement of German crusaders (what Aleksander Nevsky is about), and some of the pagan practices of the Baltic peoples.

[bleedingheart]

2. i will have to check that out..

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. I'm part Latvian, and the Latvians were Christianized just before

the Lithuanians.

I don't recall the exact process, but the Latvians wore their Christianity very lightly. My grandfather grew up in a Latvian village, and the clergy were all German and acted like some sort of aristrocracy. He said that the people had to stand outside the church and wait until the pastor rode up in a fancy carriage. They had to bow as he walked into the church and then follow behind.

If you look at Latvian folk songs, you can see definite traces of pagan beliefs, such as a winter solstice song about God riding over the mountains in a silver overcoat or a song about the sun bathing in the river with her servants.

I understand there is a pagan revival going on in Latvia, too.

[bleedingheart]

4. The Latvian customs are very similar to those of the Lithuanians

In fact, many years ago I attended a Solstice festival at a Lativan household.

[MountainLaurel]

6. How interesting

One of my coven sisters is half-latvian, and once she talked about her role in a ceremony after her grandmother's death. She served as the midwife, ushering her grandmother out of this life. It doesn't get any more pagan than that.

[Jara sang]

5. I just found this out recently and was fascinated by it.

Check out a book called The Monks of War It explains the different Christian Orders and the crusades they participated in. The three main orders were the The Knights Templar, The Knights Hospitallers(Knights of Malta) and the Teutonic Knights. I believe it was the Teutonic Knights that were involved in the "Baltic Crusade". This is part of the background history for the Kingdom of Prussia and how it became so powerful.

[bleedingheart]

7. cool...I will have to check out that book

[Jed Dilligan]

8. Their pagan reputation was long-lasting

Napoleon had a unit of "Lithuanian Tartars" in his Imperial Guard.

There were actually parts of Ireland that remained pagan into modern times, but without political authority it's hard to make the comparison.

[On the Road]

9. Thank You -- I Didn't Know That

and I have never heard of the Baltic Crusades.