Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church (Lithuanian: Lietuvos evangelikų reformatų bažnyčia; Latin: Unitas Lithuaniae; Polish: Jednota Litewska) is a Calvinist denomination in Lithuania which uses a presbyterian polity.
History
The church was founded on December 14, 1557, during the Synod of Vilnius. The General Synod met annually in Lithuania from that date. Started with 2 and later grew to 6 district Synods. The church's Latin name is the Unitas Lithuaniae shortly UL. It sent its representatives to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, the UL was an independent denomination. The parish network covered all parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first superintendent was Szymon Zacjusz. In 1565, the anti-trinitarian Lithuanian Brotherhood separated from the Calvinist church.
In 1695, Samuelis Bitneris by the order of the Vilnius Synod began translating the New Testament into the Lithuanian language and completed the majority of this task.
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