The oldest Lithuanian wooden churches contained the rectangular nave part and a narrower presbytery. They had a high pitched roof with a small tower on it, in the centre. From the third decade of the 17th century churches cruciform in plan used to be built. They had a sacristy on the right side and a small tower in the crossing. Between the 15th century and the first half of the 17th century the solutions of the churches were created, later, they became traditional.

In the second period ­ the second half of the 17th century to the year of 1795 folk-style and professionally-designed wooden churches were built. The layouts of folk churches remained rectangular and cross-shaped. Sacred buildings, multi-angular in plan, have also appeared. Cross-shaped churches acquired the form of a Latin or, nearly, that of a Greek cross. A small number of polygonal churches consisted of the main prolonged octagonal volume with some lower projections attached to it.The volume type of churches was diverse throughout the ethnic regions of Lithuania. Sacred buildings dominating in Samogitia were cruciform in plan and, in Eastern Lithuania, they were rectangular.

The exterior of folk churches of the second half of the 17th century to the 18th century was characteristic of monumentality and heavy proportions. The roof was dominant in the composition of the buildings. The height of the roof equalled the height of the walls, or it was even higher, double slope or whipped. The main facade ended in a triangular pediment or a slope of a hipped roof. Just as earlier, one or some more towers with helmets bearing the silhouette of Baroque continued to stand out on the roofs.

The interior architecture of sacred buildings is not complex. The space of the nave and presbytery was dominant in the interior of tri-nave churches. It was separated by a beam with a crucifix or a wide triumphal arch. At the end of the nave part, above the main entrance, there was the choir gallery. Under the choir boxes for singers were fixed to the wall of the nartex.

In the 18th century the influence of Baroque was observed in the architecture of folk churches, especially, in the arrangement of their interiors. The interiors of sacred buildings became highly ornate and rich. Devotional articles acquired a decorative colourful composition and, not rarely, added much to a harmonious artistic ensemble. The interiors were enriched by polychromic paintings on the walls and the ceiling, by plastic altars painted illusively and being rich in carvings and also by decorative pulpits and fonts.

The layouts and volumes of wooden churches designed according to the compositional principles of Baroque and influenced directly by the style. were almost equal to those of brick buildings; the arrangement of facades and interiors was also alike. However, the proportions of wooden buildings became heavier, the walls being plain in surface and the forms of the exterior being more generalised. Wooden Baroque churches mainly used to be built on the sites of Eastern Lithuania. Very often the fronts of the churches had two square towers with graceful helmets in several tiers. Between the towers there used to be the pediment outlined in the shape of a triangle or of a wavy form.

In the third period (1795­1918) the number of traditional folk churches decreased. The construction of sacred buildings designed professionally, according to the principles of the styles became more intensive. There was little difference between folk sacred buildings and the buildings of the earlier times, however, the number of the variants of their solutions has increased. The exterior of the churches became less monumental. The roofs of the majority of sacred buildings became lower, and the style forms have increased in number in the facades. The decor of interiors became more simple.The composition of devotional articles remained of the style of Baroque, though their forms were not so rich and plastic as those of the 18th century. Distinctive order elements are often found.

At the beginning of the period 1795­1918 classicism was dominant in the professional architecture of Lithuania. The continuous rectangular layout and tri-nave interior space were inherited from brick churches. The main facade of the churches consisted of the four-columned and, more rarely, the six-columned portico. The columns of wooden porticoes were slender than those of brick ones, the slopes of pediments steeper. Above the pediment a small tower is frequent. The interiors of classical churches feature folk style mainly. Only single order elements can be seen in them.

In the middle of the 19th century the solutions of wooden order sacred buildings acquired new colours from Romanticism. The spread of Romanticism in the wooden architecture of Lithuania occurred in 1840­1877. Folk traditions were accumulated by this style, and various style forms were imitated by it. However, the pureness of the styles was not accepted. Sacred buildings constructed according to the principles of one style featured folk elements from another style as well. Very often the interiors and exteriors of the churches featured the elements of different styles. Consequently, the composition of the churches of Romanticism can be divided into such style groups as „folk“, „classical“, „neo-Baroque“, „neo-Gothic“.

During the Historicism epoch (1875­1914) the tendency of bringing all the past styles to the architecture was steadily growing. The majority of wooden churches as well as brick ones were built according to the designs. At the turn of the century neo-gothic, neo-Baroque, neo-classical and eclectic wooden sacred buildings were built. The layouts of all style directions in wooden churches are rectangular and in the shape of a Latin cross. The volumes are basilica, pseudo-basilica, hall-type and single-nave.

During the Historicism epoch the variety of churches solutions was wider. The forms acquired from secular buildings occurred in church architecture.