Lithuanian National Catholic Church
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The Lithuanian National Catholic Church or LNCC ( lt, Lietuvių tautinė katalikų bažnyčia) was a small American denomination organized in 1914 by dissident Roman Catholic
Lithuanian Americans Lithuanian Americans refers to American citizens and residents who are Lithuanian and were born in Lithuania, or are of Lithuanian descent. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in the Unit ...
mainly in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, and
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. It was also known as the independent () Lithuanian church as it rejected the papal authority. It was closely affiliated with the
Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/ ...
. The Church established several parishes, but most of them were short lived. The most successful parishes were in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
, and
Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...
. John Gritenas was consecrated on August 17, 1924, in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
, as this church's only bishop. Due to lack of archival sources, available information about the church and its parishes is fragmentary, incomplete, and often contradictory.


History


In United States

The
Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
separated from the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
due to disagreements over the resolutions adopted by the
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...
in 1869–1870. The Old Catholic Church was attractive to European immigrants to the United States due to disagreements with the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Immigrants wanted to establish their own parishes where priests would speak their language, but received little support from American bishops who were mainly of Irish and German descent. In 1884, a meeting of American bishops in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
decided that property of parishes belonged not to the community that financed it but to the diocese. Lawsuits between pastors and parishioners over the property were quite common. In protest of such policies, the
Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/ ...
(PNCC) was established in 1897. Due to the historic union between Poland and Lithuania, the Lithuanian National Catholic Church first operated as a section of PNCC. The first Lithuanian priests to joint the Old Catholic Church were , Vincas R. Dilionis (real name Vincas Petraitis), and Stasys Mickevičius who was ordained to priesthood by Bishop
Stephen Kaminski Stephen Kaminski (born Fryderyk Roeder, 1859 – September 19, 1911) was the bishop of an independent Christian diocese known as the Polish Independent Catholic Church of America. He is considered to have been an '. Early life Stephen Kaminski, ...
in 1901. The first Lithuanian National Catholic parishes were established by Dilionis in
Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...
, in 1902 and
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in 1903, but they – as well as many other similar Lithuanian parishes – were short-lived. Mickevičius established several parishes with the most successful ones in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
, and
Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...
. The parishes were established under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Carmel Henry Carfora. When disagreements arose between Mickevičius and Polish bishop
Franciszek Hodur Bishop Franciszek "Francis" Hodur (1 April 1866 – 16 February 1953) was the Entrepreneur, founder and first Primate (bishop), Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC). Ordained by the Roman Catholic church in 1893, Hodur served ...
, Mickevičius called a synod on July 17, 1917, and separated from PNCC. He was consecrated as bishop by
Rudolph de Landas Berghes Rodolphe Francois Ghislain de Lorraine de Landas Berghes St. Winock (November 1, 1873 – November 17, 1920), better known as Rudolph de Landas Berghes, was Regionary Bishop of Scotland of the Old Roman Catholic Western Orthodox Church and late ...
in 1917. However, Berghes rescinded the consecration in December 1918 once he became better acquainted with Mickevičius. While Mickevičius (died in 1923) was a vocal advocates of separation from PNCC, other Lithuanian priests, including John Gritenas and Mykolas Valadka, were more ambivalent. Gritenas was consecrated as bishop by
Franciszek Hodur Bishop Franciszek "Francis" Hodur (1 April 1866 – 16 February 1953) was the Entrepreneur, founder and first Primate (bishop), Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC). Ordained by the Roman Catholic church in 1893, Hodur served ...
in 1924. Valandka published a Lithuanian missal of LNCC in 1931. Another attempt at separating LNCC from PNCC came in 1925 when Steponas A. Geniotis, a student of Mickevičius, called the first synod independent of PNCC in Chicago on May 25, 1925. The second synod took place in Newark in 1932. Geniotis claimed that he was consecrated in 1924 or 1925 (and even elevated to archbishops in 1929), but his claims are doubtful. This group of priests worked with the Catholic Church of America and the St. John's Missionary Fathers of the Catholic Church of America (). They published several periodicals, including ''Naujoji era'' (The New Era; 1928–1930), ''Jonistų balsas'' (The Voice of Jonistai; 1942–1952), and bilingual ''Voice'' (1953–1964). LNCC never became popular among Lithuanian Americans as it lacked motivated and energetic priests. It also suffered due to lack of more centralized and organized leadership as well as due to various opportunists who swindled money by claiming to be priests. When Lithuanians migrated to the United States to escape the
Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
in the
aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...
, the new generation of immigrants did not support LNCC.


In Lithuania

There were some limited attempts at establishing LNCC in Lithuania. Gritenas visited Lithuania in 1922 and 1927. He established contacts with some liberal and patriotic activists who wanted to lessen the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania and investigated opportunities of establishing LNCC in Lithuania. During the second visit he met with President
Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual and journalist and the first President of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was one of the ...
. These efforts were interrupted by Gritenas' death in 1928, though there is fragmentary evidence that a community of LNCC was active in
Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in "- ...
since 1925. In 1937, Geniotis visited Lithuania and claimed to have established a parish of LNCC in his native village of near
Mažeikiai Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; lv, Mažeiķi) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 43,547, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania. The city is the administrative center of M ...
. He also held meeting with the Lithuanian press and government ministers and reached out to the leaders of the
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
and the
Mariavite Church The Mariavite Church is today one of two independent Christian churches collectively known as Mariavites who first emerged from the religious inspiration of Polish noblewoman and nun, Feliksa Kozłowska (1862-1921) in the late 19th-century. In ...
in Lithuania. LNCC received sporadic attention from the Lithuanian press. It received mainly positive coverage from ''
Lietuvos žinios ''Lietuvos žinios'' (literally: ''News of Lithuania'') was a daily newspaper in Lithuania. Established in Vilnius in 1909, it was a liberal newspaper representing the Lithuanian Democratic Party. Even though its publication was interrupted by Wor ...
'' published by the
Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union The Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union ( lt, Lietuvos valstiečių liaudininkų sąjunga, LVLS) was a centre-left political party in Lithuania between 1922 and 1936. The party's leaders included the third President Kazys Grinius and three-term P ...
and more neutral coverage from '' Trimitas'' published by the
Lithuanian Riflemen's Union The Lithuanian Riflemen's Union (LRU, lt, Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga), also referred to as Šauliai ( lt, šaulys for ''rifleman''), is a paramilitary non-profit organisation supported by the State. The activities are in three main areas: milita ...
. The Catholic periodicals attacked and criticized LNCC due to its ties to PNCC (Poland was viewed negatively by Lithuanian public due to the dispute over the
Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...
) and due to behavioral issues of LNCC priests. For example, they referred to Gritenas as a
con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
and claimed that he was fined for disorderly conduct while intoxicated. Any contacts between LNCC and Lithuania were severed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the subsequent Soviet rule in Lithuania. While the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
adopted
Marxist–Leninist atheism Marxist–Leninist atheism, also known as Marxist–Leninist scientific atheism, is the antireligious element of the Bolshevism, Soviet Bolshevism-style variant of Marxism–Leninism, the official communist state ideology of the Soviet Union. Base ...
as its official ideology, Soviet officials viewed an
autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
"national church" as a tool to weaken the Roman Catholic Church.
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
sought to recruit priests for a "national church" in Lithuania as early as 1946. They managed to recruit Juozas Pilypaitis, a priest from Sudargas, but his open letter published in a regional newspaper remained unnoticed by the Lithuanian society. When
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
issued a decree excommunicating collaborators with communists in July 1949, Soviet officials attempted to force Lithuanian priests sign a protest letter and use it as the basis for establishing the national church. The effort did not gain a momentum – only 108 priests out of 933 signed the letter – and the idea of the national church was abandoned in favor of other methods of
persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of b ...
.


Ideology

LNCC did not develop a more distinct identity or mission – it was a rival of the traditional Roman Catholic Church, but offered only "bureaucratic" differences (i.e. rejection of papal authority and adoption of a more democratic parish governance) without altering the underlying religious dogmas. LNCC tried to combine two contradictory attributes – Catholic (which means "universal") and national (which means "specific to one nation"). The church practiced both individual and communal confessions and criticized
clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because the ...
, but did not develop its own coherent
dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...
or
apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
. Many writing of LNCC were focused on attacking and criticizing the traditional Roman Catholic Church. LNCC combined Catholic faith with Lithuanian nationalism and patriotism. LNCC conducted the masses in Lithuanian, but that turned out to be a disadvantage in the long-run as immigrants increasingly adopted the English language. Some of its texts show influence of
Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
and
Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...
.


Parishes


Scranton, PA

Lithuanians in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
, feuded with their priest of the St. Joseph parish and Bishop of Scranton since 1895. In 1910, when a court decided that the church and other parish property was in a trust and not outright owned by the bishop, the bishop excommunicated the parish committee and closed the Church of St. Joseph. The LNCC parish of the Providence of God in Scranton was established by Stasys B. Mickevičius in 1913 and continues to operate. Scranton was also the stronghold of PNCC. The parishioners collected funds and purchased two plots of land, one for the church and the other for the cemetery. A temporary church was erected in 1915. Mickevičius left the parish in 1916. It became more active when it was taken over by bishop Jonas Gritėnas in 1919–1928. The parish purchased a farm, established a shelter for the elderly (named after
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
; established in 1924 and closed after Gritėnas' death in 1928 due to financial difficulties), built a clergy house and a hall for parish events (named after Grand Duke
Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...
). Gritėnas also organized a short-lived priest seminary. At the time, the parishioners numbered about 300 families. They organized various events, including frequent picnics in a park behind the cemetery. Gritėnas was replaced by Mykolas Valadka who arrived from Uruguay in 1929 and continued to work at the parish until 1972. He was one of the leaders of LNCC and worked with other parishes as well, including working to establish a parish in Wilkes-Barre, PA. During his tenure, the parish in Scranton built its own church in 1930 which put the parish into long-term debt. The parish also had a Sunday school with children's theater and a choir which sang in Lithuanian even though some members were third generation immigrants. After his death, the parish priests were of Polish origin: Edward Ratajack (1974–1984), Jerzy Urbanski (1983–1987), L. Lazarski (1987–1990), Stanislaus Stryz (1990–2002), Walter Placek (since 2002).


Lawrence, MA

The Sacred Heart parish in
Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...
, was established by Stasys B. Mickevičius in 1916. He exploited the disagreements between pastor Antanas Jusaitis and the congregation of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Francis. He worked in the parish until 1918. In November 1917, the parish began publishing a monthly newspaper ''Atgimimas'' (Rebirth), edited by Kostantinas Norkus, but it lasted only seven months. The parish purchased a brick church, clergy house, a park in which it established a cemetery and which was also used for picnics. Mickevičius established a priest seminary which prepared Steponas A. Geniotis, Stasys Šleinys, Žvalionis and S. Tautas for priesthood. In 1918, he was replaced by Stasys Šleinys who died in 1927. Šleinys was not very liked and there were lawsuits between him and the parishioners over the cemetery. The parish had a choir which also staged amateur performances of operettas, dramas, etc. In 1933, the choir had about 70 members. When Mykolas Valadka (1932–1936) was the parish priest, it attempted to reestablish its newspaper as ''Tautos balsas'' (The Voice of the Nation; 1931–1932) and ''Tiesos balsas'' (The Voice of the Truth; only four issues appeared in 1933). Valadka also purchased a farm with 30 milk cows and established a shelter for the elderly. The farm was sold when Valadka moved to Scranton. The parish continued to function until 2002.


Other known parishes


See also

*
Slovak National Catholic Church The Slovak National Catholic Church was an American denomination affiliated with the Polish National Catholic Church. In 1968 the church had "about 6000 members." In February 1963, a synod was held that appointed Eugene Magyar as bishop. In 2015 ...


References


External links


Providence of God Lithuanian National Catholic Church
(former cathedral)
Lithuanian National Cemetery
Justice, Illinois Justice is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, established in 1911. Per the 2020 census, the population was 12,600. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Justice has a total area of , of which (or 98.44%) is lan ...

Saint Mary's Lithuanian National Catholic Cemetery
Bensalem, Pennsylvania Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The township borders the northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Bensalem, Bridgewater, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, Flushing, Oakford, Sil ...

Lithuanian National Cemetery
Chinchilla, Pennsylvania
Lithuanian National Catholic Cemetery
Methuen, Massachusetts Methuen () is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of ...

Unofficial website
{{Authority control Christian organizations established in 1914 Christian denominations established in the 20th century Old Catholic denominations in the United States Lithuanian-American culture in Pennsylvania Lithuanian-American history