Lituanistinė tradicija evangelikų bažnyčių knygose (Juodkrantės bažnyčių knygos) XVIII a. vid. - XX a. vid

ENNearly four-centuries-long activities of Protestant pastors on the Curonian Spit left an indelible imprint on the region. One of the most important results of their work was deep religious devotion that characterised the local fishing community – this feature was noted by everyone who wrote about the Curonian Spit in the 19t h century and the first half of the 2 0 l h century. The history of parishes on the Curonian Spit bores out the fact that the process of intense cultural interaction that had been taking place for centuries in Prussian Lithuania (or Lithuania Minor) was also salient on the Curonian Spit. One consequence of such interaction was that, following the Protestant tradition, the Lithuanian language started to be used in the churches of the German state. This process also created favourable conditions for pastors' initiatives to engage in the field of Lithuanian studies, which added distinctive aspects to the pastors' spiritual and cultural mission. In the 18th-19th centuries this kind of religious and cultural view was reflected in all parish books in the town of Juodkrantė.