The Wolf and the Cross
An Orthodox Christian Pilgrimage in Lithuania
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Richard Rohlin make an Orthodox pilgrimage to the Baltic country of Lithuania, telling the centuries-long story of the Church there, learning its legends, meeting its saints, and encountering the people bringing the gospel to their own people. This long-form documentary features interviews, music, and storytelling that will take you on a journey into this little-known land that stands at the crossroads of east and west.
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Donate NowThursday, August 29, 2024
05 - The Cross and the Empire
The story of Lithuania in the Russian Empire is complicated. This tumultuous era saw numerous uprisings, religious persecution, the conversion of many Greek Catholics to the Orthodox Church, mass emigration, and the suppression of Lithuanian identity. Would Lithuania survive? What about its Orthodox Christians? In the midst of more than a century of upheaval, we meet Fr. Andrew’s ancestors, and bright lights for Christ shine in the darkness.
Friday, August 9, 2024
04 - The Cuckoo and the Serpent
Taking a departure from the historical narrative, Richard and Fr. Andrew take the listener on a tour of Lithuanian mythology and fairy tales while themselves taking a walk on the legendary, liminal Curonian Spit, a long sandbar that is said to have been thrown out into the Baltic Sea by a giantess protecting her home from storms thrown by an angry suitor.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
03 - The Eagle and the Knight
From 1569 to 1795, Lithuania was joined to Poland in a single state, a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-religious empire stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea – the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this episode, we look at Lithuania’s role in this state and especially at the tale of its Orthodox Church, which in this period suffered a massive loss in an event known to history as the Unia.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
02 - The Scepter and the Spear
As Lithuania accepted Christianity and expanded in the medieval period, it became more prominent on the international stage, entering into a union with Poland and becoming even more multi-cultural and multi-religious, including a large population of Orthodox Christians, alongside Catholics, pagans, Jews, and Muslims. Grand Dukes Vytautas and Jogaila give a final defeat to the Crusaders and ponder life on the border between East and West.
Monday, January 2, 2023
01 - The Wolf: Lithuania Before the Cross
This first episode introduces the history, language, and people of Lithuania, beginning with its ancient pagan history, recounting some of its earliest legends and leaders, describing the coming of Christianity to the country, and telling the tale of its first martyrs.
Contributors
Richard Rohlin
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
