Brill published the short monograph “The Reformation in Lithuania: Origins and Developments up to 1570“ (2025), written by Professor Dainora Pociūtė, a faculty member at the Institute for Literary, Cultural, and Translation Research in the Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University. This is the first English-language study dedicated to the Reformation in Lithuania.
Professor D. Pociūtė emphasized that she had to shape her narrative within the scope specified by the representatives of the publishing house, who had offered her the opportunity to publish the work. Therefore, she decided to present an analysis of the early development of the Reformation in Lithuania. In her view, this period represents the most independent stage of Lithuanian Protestantism, during which the autonomous Lithuanian Evangelical Church was established and operated, incorporating influences from various Western confessional traditions.
According to the insights of the peer reviewers, the monograph fills a gap in the Anglo-Saxon market, where no work of this type has been available until now. It represents an excellent synthesis of existing academic research and provides a comprehensive account of the Reformation within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, meticulously compiled from primary sources.
In each chapter, a chronological framework is applied to outline the biographies of key figures and illuminate their roles within the broader context of the Reformation. Its accessible and concise prose ensures readability without compromising depth, making it equally engaging for scholars and general readers alike.
Moreover, its coherence and cohesion are commendable. This is achieved by crafting a narrative centered on pivotal events and key figures that structure the historical account.
Link to the monograph.