Lithuania is located in Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia.
Lithuania, like its Baltic Sea neighbors Latvia and Estonia, was absorbed into the Soviet Union by force in 1940 and continued under communist rule until its declaration of restored independence in 1990. During this period, as in the rest of the Soviet Union and the other countries of the communist bloc, education was strictly governed by Marxist ideology, including a commitment to atheism. Even though the collapse of communism was followed by important reforms, educational philosophy and practice in independent Lithuania as well as its neighbors continued to be plagued by consequences of the preceding decades’ ideological control.
To meet this situation, in 1991 Lithuania Christian College was founded as a four-year Protestant Christian liberal arts college, located in Klaipeda. It represented an innovative effort to bring quality education with a Christian perspective to young men and women of Lithuania and neighboring countries as their nations were emerging from the decades of repression. It continues to fulfill this task with the participation of dedicated faculty members from North America as well as from Lithuania.
Beyond the limitations imposed under communism on the society as a whole, even more stringent restrictions governed the life and witness of the churches of Lithuania, both the dominant majority Roman Catholic Church and the small minority Protestant churches. For the Protestant community’s mission to express a vital and relevant faith in this changing society, Lithuania Christian College is a vitally important resource.
Pray for: The faculty and students of Lithuania Christian College, as they work to bring new values into the life of their society.
The churches of Lithuania in their continuing effort to proclaim a faithful Christian witness following the repression of the past.
Population (2014 est) – 3,505,738
Area – 40,580mi
Capital – Vilnius
Ethnic Background
- Lithuanian – 84.1%
- Polish – 6.6%
- Russian – 5.8%
- Belarusian – 1.2%
- Other – 1.1%
- Unspecified – 1.2%
Exports – refined fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, plastics
Imports – oil, natural gas, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, chemicals, textiles and clothing, metals
Life Expectancy (2014 est) – M 71 years, F 81 years
Infant Mortality (2014 est) – 6 deaths/1,000 live births
Adult Illiteracy Rate – .03%