The Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius (Lithuanian: Vilniaus lietuvių savitarpinės pašalpos draugija) was a mutual aid and cultural society active in Vilnius, then part of the Russian Empire, from 1904 to 1915. It originated from the illegal social club known as the Twelve Apostles of Vilnius which formed around 1895. The society was an integral part of establishing Vilnius as the cultural center of the Lithuanian National Revival.[1]
The club organized Lithuanian cultural evenings and distribution of the illegal Lithuanian publications, but its major accomplishment was obtaining the Church of Saint Nicholas for the needs of the Lithuanian community in Vilnius. Before, there was no church in the city that held masses in Lithuanian. Starting in May 1896, members of the club submitted repeated petitions to various religious and civil authorities until their demands were met in December 1901. The Church of Saint Nicholas remained the only church in the city that provided Lithuanian-language services until 1939.[2]
In 1904, the club decided to establish the legal Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius chaired by Antanas Vileišis. It was the first legal Lithuanian organization in Vilnius. It was active until the German occupation of Vilnius during World War I. Many of the society's activities led to the establishment of separate more specialized Lithuanian societies. The society continued the fight for the Lithuanian language in public life; its efforts eventually led to lessons of the Lithuanian language at the Vilnius Priest Seminary and several schools in the city as well as religious instruction in Lithuanian at primary schools. The Mutual Aid Society founded and continued to run a five-year Lithuanian school, the first Lithuanian school in Vilnius, which continued to operate until May 1918. The society also supported Lithuanian female servants who went on to establish the separate Society of Saint Zita in 1912. To raise funds for its activities, the society organized Lithuanian cultural events (theater performances, concerts, dances, etc.). These cultural activities diminished after the establishment of the Rūta Society in 1909.