Visuomenė ir bažnyčia Radvilų Biržų kunigaikštystėje: XVI a. pabaigoje - XVII a. viduryje
ENThe society of the part of Upytë and Ukmergë districts where the Birþai Duchy was being founded turned from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism in the 6th-9th decades of the 16th century. The religious relations were determined by the break-up of the society of the Birþai Duchy into the religious groups: the Calvinists made the majority, and the Lutherans, Catholics, Muslims, Caraites and Judaists made the religious minorities that could not compete with the majority. The clergy of the Calvinists ensured the stability and vitality of the religious relations of the society. Birþai was undoubtedly the religious centre of the region. The church of the Reformed Evangelists in the Calvinist Birþai Duchy was an important centre of social contacts. The stimulation of the ceremonies in the Lithuanian language and prohibition to go to the markets on Sundays and to miss the church service helped to control the customs of the local religious society. The lack of sources does not allow us determining how various prohibitions “de jure” of the religious life had an effect on “de facto”.
