Ateitininkai emigracijoje – dvasinio atsinaujinimo nešėjai
“Ateitininkai” in exile – the initiators of spiritual renewal

Summary/Abstract: Ateitininkai retreated to the West together with the first wave of Lithuanian emigrants of the Second World War. The organization, regenerated abroad, followed the ideas and principles of its predecessors. During the years of the First Lithuanian Republic as well as in emigration, the leaders of “Ateitis” maintained the disposition that the purpose of the organization is to arouse spiritual renewal of the Lithuanian nation. In the years of independence this idea was maintained by S. Šalkauskis. In exile, the ideas by S. Šalkauskis, originated in the movement of “Alive Spirit”, were developed further. They enhanced the attention of ordinary members of the organization to personal intellectual, religious and creative self-development. The major ideologists A. Maceina, S. Yla and others invited to maintain the major features of ateitininkai movement. They fostered separate members to focus their efforts not as much to the increase of the number of organization members and its structural development, but to the members’ cultural active participation and response to the chalenges of social environment. „Ateitis” movement, according to S. Yla, had to perceive its activity as a service mission, following the best example shown by the originator of Christianity – Jesus Christ. The motto “To renew everything in Christ serving God and Motherland” was realised by the members of “Ateitis” movement within their own organization as well as in the perspective of the Catholic Churh and objectives of the Lithuanian nation. The Second Congregation of Vatican exerted a huge impact upon Catholic predispositions of ateitininkai. The members of the organization were very active in supporting the reforms in the Catholic church and contributed to their implementation by their activities. Ateitininkai valued the processes of churh modernisation, democratisation, opening the doors to the world of laymen and nonbelievers. They also addressed the issue of the importance of laity apostolicism. In the seventh decade the resolutions of schoolchildren Ateitininkai Congress invited the members of the organization to contribute to the church reforms in parish and within their organizations. According to the evaluations by some members of ateitininkai groups these resolutions had been incompletely implemented owing to the conservativism of the members of the organization or due to preference of attention to national affairs.

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