# Mindaugas of Lithuania baptised (1251)

URL: https://christianity-history.com/timeline/1251-mindaugas-of-lithuania-baptised
Location: Lithuania
Themes: Mission

Grand Duke Mindaugas accepts Latin baptism and is crowned king of Lithuania in 1253 with papal approval. After his murder in 1263 the country returns to its old gods for more than a century. At this point in the timeline (1251), the Bishop of Rome was Pope Innocent IV (25 June 1243 – 7 December 1254).

## Why it matters
It was Lithuania's first, short-lived turn to Christianity; lasting conversion came only in 1387.

Pope at the time: [Pope Innocent IV](https://christianity-history.com/popes/pope-innocent-iv)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Mindaugas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindaugas)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Mindaugas of Lithuania baptised](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Mindaugas+of+Lithuania+baptised)
- [Wikipedia — Medieval Church (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Catholic_Church#Middle_Ages)