The conception of divinity in the old Lithuanian religion still is not always clear to modern scholars. A number of them suggest that Lithuanians had a pantheistic concept to their religion. This concept, according to the ideas of modern researchers, had to include the following:
recognition of multiple divine beings, that are on a different level of the main God or, in other words, hypostases of the single God.
recognition of direct participation of the single God in lower levels in the shape of lower beings. The known later sources give an exclusively human shape to the God, but it may be a limitation added by Christianity. The told manifestations of the God have features of modesty, fairness, chastity, delicacy etc., that show some moral priorities of ancient Lithuanians.
However, this understanding excludes the conception of a pantheon or of some other possible council of gods in the old pagan Lithuanian religion. Many well-established sources concerning Lithuanian mythology do not contradict this conception, although there is not much data available. The lack of data leaves a wide gap for interpretations, and as a consequence, many scholars do not agree on all of the points above. For example, a historian of the early 19th century, Theodor Narbutt, took the presence of the pantheon in Lithuanian mythology as an axiom. And, in spite of being subsequently criticized that his sources were unreliable, and that his interpretations did not always concur with evident data from Lithuanian folklore, Narbutt's mythology was presented in a pictorial and detailed way. His works had a certain influence on the thinking and ideas of some scholars. Gintaras Beresnevičius noted that Dievas assumed a position of a non-active divine being - deus otiosus - therefore his cult among the Balts was doubtful and that sacred places devoted to Dangaus Dievas are not even mentioned in the Baltic mythology. Concerning the God in the old Lithuanian religion, modern interpretations lack sources too. Regardless, that the conception of the single Chief God was acknowledged by Lithuanians is well documented and is not in doubt. The word Dievas itself seems to be omitted respectfully or changed to its epithets in Lithuanian: Aukščiausiasis, Visagalis, Praamžis or Pondzejis and in Prussian as Occopirmzts.
Manifestations
Many of the descriptions of Dievas are known from early Christian texts from Lithuania, which are presumably not a reliable source for earlier times. No earlier sources that describe Dievas in detail have been found. The myths describe Dievas manifesting in the shape of man only, particularly the shape of an old male sage or an old male beggar. But the linguistic data, e.g. the name for the Southernwood in Lithuanian, Diemedis, literally the God-tree, as well as some hints in historical legends suggest, that the manifestations might be believed to take other forms besides the human, like forms of animals, birds or plants.
