Strangers in the Land and True Lovers of the Nation: the Formation of Lithuanianspeaking Baptist Identity, 1918-1940

How does an emerging community of faith develop its identity in the context of a semi-hostile and increasingly nationalistic culture? The story of the early years of Lithuanian-speaking Baptists provides an interesting and informative case study. This article focusses on the formative stage of the L...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Toth, Lina (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sciendo, De Gruyter 2018
In: Perichoresis
Year: 2018, Volume: 16, Issue: 1, Pages: 99-117
IxTheo Classification:CH Christianity and Society
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KBK Europe (East)
KDG Free church
Further subjects:B Lithuania Baptist identity national identity theology of culture
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:How does an emerging community of faith develop its identity in the context of a semi-hostile and increasingly nationalistic culture? The story of the early years of Lithuanian-speaking Baptists provides an interesting and informative case study. This article focusses on the formative stage of the Lithuanian-speaking Baptist movement during the interwar period of the independent Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940). It considers four main factors which contributed to the formation of Lithuanian-speaking Baptist identity: different ethnic and cultural groupings amongst Baptists in Lithuania; the role of the global Baptist family in providing both material and ideological support; the community’s relationship with the Lithuanian state; and their stance towards the dominant religious context, i.e. the Lithuanian Catholic Church. Out of this dynamic emerges a picture of the particular ways in which these congregations, and especially their leadership, navigated their understanding of loyalty to the Kingdom of God in relation to their belonging to a particular national grouping.
ISSN:2284-7308
Contains:In: Perichoresis
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2478/perc-2018-0006