Two Beginnings

In 1907, Herman Babbel and Gottlieb Klinger of the German-Austrian Mission traveled to Memel. They held weekly cottage meetings and laid the foundation for a branch to be organized two years later, in 1909. When missionaries were evacuated at the beginning of World War I, Friedrich Schulzke was called to lead the branch.

After the war, Lithuania gained independence and in 1923, Memel—known as Klaipėda in Lithuanian—became a part of the country. The Klaipėda Branch was the first branch of the Church in Lithuania. In 1926, Friedrich Schulzke was called to lead the branch again, and when the branch lost their meetinghouse in 1932, they met in the Schulzke home. In 1933, Schulzke was ordained a high priest—the only local member in the region to hold the office. There was no contact with the branch during World War II and the Soviet period. Whether any Church members remained in Klaipėda during this time is unknown.

In 1992, soon after Lithuania gained independence from the Soviet Union, the new government welcomed Hans B. Ringger, President of the Europe Area. Based on Ringger’s recommendation, the first missionaries, Robert and Ruth Rees, arrived in November, and four Russian-speaking missionaries arrived a month later. On February 20, 1993, Sergei and Aleksandr Semionov became the first converts to be baptized in Lithuania since before World War II. In 1993 and 1994, branches were organized in Kaunas and Vilnius.