Lietuvių tautinė katalikų bažnyčia (LTKB) Amerikoje: religinės ir tautinės tapatybės bruožai

Abstract

The appearance of a Lithuanian National Catholic Church (LNCC ) in the United States early in the 20th century was brought about by several simultaneous processes: reforms in the Roman Catholic Church and the formation of a modern Lithuanian nation. Disputes centering on church property ownership and church/parish administration caused the LNCC and the Roman Catholic Church to go their different ways. From the second decade of the 20th century to the fourth, the LNCC enjoyed a period of growth; nevertheless, its members always constituted a minority within the Lithuanian immigrant community. During this period the LNCC itself was divided between two flanks. One favored cooperation with the Polish National Catholic Church; the other pursued an entirely independent agenda and rejected any kind of ties with the Polish National Catholic Church. But both flanks of the LNCC based the content of their faith on criticism of the dogmas and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; and they both identified themselves in practice with the Lithuanian nationality (even with the Lithuanian immigrant community in America). The national allegiance of LNCC members might be described as a double one: they understood themselves to be U. S. citizens of Lithuanian descent. At the beginning of the period discussed it was their Lithuanianness that they emphasized more; in the later period, it was their being part of American society.