About the Church
The Church of St Roch in Akmenynai stands in the village of Akmenynai, about 9 kilometres west of Kalvarija, in Kalvarija district municipality. The history of this modest rural parish recalls the hard years of war and the Soviet period.
The first church here appeared during the Second World War: in 1941 Soviet soldiers withdrawing from Akmenynai left behind a large barrack, which the inhabitants bought. Supported by the Kalvarija parish priest Mykolas Krupavičius, they built a 27×12-metre wooden-frame church designed by the engineer Kazys Garmus, and held the first Mass there on 24 May 1942. This building was demolished by the Soviets in 1944.
For a long time a school operated on the site of the former house of prayer. The parish was re-established in 1989, and the present Church of St Roch was built in 1991. It continues the long, though repeatedly interrupted, tradition of prayer of the local faithful.
The first church here appeared during the Second World War: in 1941 Soviet soldiers withdrawing from Akmenynai left behind a large barrack, which the inhabitants bought. Supported by the Kalvarija parish priest Mykolas Krupavičius, they built a 27×12-metre wooden-frame church designed by the engineer Kazys Garmus, and held the first Mass there on 24 May 1942. This building was demolished by the Soviets in 1944.
For a long time a school operated on the site of the former house of prayer. The parish was re-established in 1989, and the present Church of St Roch was built in 1991. It continues the long, though repeatedly interrupted, tradition of prayer of the local faithful.