The Military Ordinariate of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos kariuomenės ordinariatas) is a

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military ...

of 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 ...

. Immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, it provides

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from re ...

to Roman Catholics serving in the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service ...

and their families. The military ordinaries have the rights and duties of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and participate in the Lithuanian Bishops' Conferences.

Establishment

The relationship between Lithuania and the

was regulated by the Concordat of 1927. The Vatican did not recognize the occupation of Lithuania by 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 nationa ...

in 1940 and the concordat remained in effect. After Lithuania regained independence in 1990, Lithuania reestablished official diplomatic relations with the Holy See and concluded three agreements on 5 May 2000. One of these agreements concerned pastoral services to members of the

and agreed on the establishment of the

. This agreement was modelled after the agreement to establish the

Military Ordinariate of Croatia The Military Ordinariate of Croatia ( hr, Vojni ordinarijat u Republici Hrvatskoj) is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the Croatian Ar ...

in 1997. According to the agreement, the ordinariate is established by the Holy See and is headed by a military ordinary appointed by the Holy See. The ordinary appoints

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term '' ...

s. The Ministry of National Defence provides funding for the ordinariate and the military chaplains. The agreements were ratified and became effective in September 2000. The military ordinariate of Lithuania was established by the apostolic constitution ''Christi discipuli'' issued on 25 November 2000. After a year-long delay, a bilateral commission was formed to issue regulations on the new agreements. The work on the ordinariate's regulations went smoothly perhaps because there were already ample examples among other

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

countries and the regulations were adopted in August 2002.

Places of worship

On 23 November 2004 (the day of the Armed Forces of Lithuania), the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola in

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 urba ...

was dedicated to the military ordinariate (it acts as the seat of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

and

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of the ordinariate). Built in the 17th-century, the church was neglected during the

Soviet period The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominanc ...

and underwent extensive renovations in 2001–2004 at a cost of 1.14 million

litas The Lithuanian litas ( ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural ''litai'' (nominative) or ''litų'' (genitive) was the currency of Lithuania, until 1 January 2015, when it was replaced by the euro. It was divided into 100 centų (gen ...

paid by the Ministry of Defence. The dedication ceremony was attended by many officials and dignitaries, including President

Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamkus' ...

, Minister of Defence Linas Linkevičius, cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis, papal nuncio

Peter Stephan Zurbriggen Peter Stephan Zurbriggen (27 August 1943 – 28 August 2022) was a Swiss archbishop of the Catholic Church, who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1993 until his retirement in 2018. He was Apostolic Nunzio to Austria fr ...

, and others. In addition the church in Vilnius, the ordinariate also has chapels at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, at the military bases in

Rukla Rukla is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. In 2011 it had a population of 2,098. Administrative centre of Rukla Eldership. The national Refugees Reception Center hosts all refugees coming to the country. Military base Five di ...

and

Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far fro ...

. The military also uses the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Kaunas.

Activities

Military chaplains are both clergymen and military officers (they have

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in ...

s, usually major or captain). They receive salaries from the ordinariate which is financed by the Ministry of National Defence. The military ordinary earns a salary equal to that of a first-year

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

. In 2005, there were 17 military chaplains who served all military units of the Armed Forces of Lithuania as well as two military education institutions. Chaplains also participated in the international military missions, including in Afghanistan. Roman Catholics are the only religious group to provide chaplains to the military. In September 2014, the

Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church The Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania or latin: "Unitas Lithuaniae"; polish: "Jednota Litewska" ( lt, Lietuvos evangelikų reformatų bažnyčia) is a Calvinist denomination in Lithuania which uses presbyterian polity. History The church w ...

concluded an agreement with the Ministry of National Defence regarding pastoral services in the military. However, since the ministry would not finance such services, the church lacks financial resource and staff to implement the agreement in practice.

Personnel

Military ordinaries

* Eugenijus Bartulis (appointed on 25 November 2000 – resigned on 19 June 2010) *

Gintaras Grušas Gintaras Grušas (born 23 September 1961) is a Lithuanian–American prelate of the Catholic Church. A bishop since 2010, he has been the archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania, since April 2013. Biography Grušas was born in Washington, D.C., on 23 ...

(appointed on 19 June 2010 – named Archbishop of Vilnius on 5 April 2013)

Chief military chaplains

* Alfonsas Svarinskas (1990–1996) * (1996–2000) * (2000–2009) * Saulius Kasmauskas (2009–2010) * Rimas Venckus (acting 2010–2011, permanent since 2011)

References

External links

*
Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Lithuania
(Vatican website) {{authority control

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Roman Catholic churches in Lithuania 2000 establishments in Lithuania Military of Lithuania Military Ordinary of Lithuania