Did Lithuania receive baptism through Poland?

Do Lithuania was baptised through Poland? Baptism The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (as Lithuania was called in those days) was carried out much, much later than baptism of Poland. It took place only in 1387-1388, i.e. almost 400 years after Mieszko made the sign of the cross for the first time. It should be noted that not all of Lithuania was baptized at once, but it happened in stages. Žemaitija, the last of the five ethnographic regions of the then Grand Duchy of Lithuania, converted to Christianity only a quarter of a century later, in 1413.

At that time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the only non-Christian state in all of Europe. However, even here there are some inaccuracies, because only the indigenous Lithuanian lands, or about 10% of the whole territory, are considered a pagan state at that time. All the rest was Christianized together with the Ruthenian lands in 988 in the Orthodox rite. Thus, only a small part of the Lithuanian State remained pagan. The ruler of the Lithuanian lands himself, Ladislaus II Jagiello, was a Christian ruler because he received Orthodox baptism immediately after his birth. Later he was also baptised in the Catholic Church.

It is said that the immediate reason why the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was baptised was the threat from the Teutonic Order. Lithuania, being the only pagan country, was an easy target for the Teutonic Knights, who saw themselves as defenders of the faith and used this as the main reason for their attacks. Paganism did not put Lithuania in a positive light in the rest of western Europe either. It became such a nuisance that the Lithuanians decided to be baptised through Poland. The ruler of the principality, Ladislaus II Jagiello, by the Union of Krevo in 1385 pledged that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania would be baptised through Poland.