Latvia

In 1522, Riga, the most important city of what was then called Livonia (present-day Estonia and Northern Latvia) turned Lutheran, with St. James Church becoming the first parish. Andreas Knöpken, who had for some time been an assistant of the German reformer Johannes Bugenhagen at the school in Treptow, East Pomerania, played an important role in spreading the ideas of Lutheran Reformation in Riga. In 1523 Martin Luther sent a letter to Livonia entitled “To the chosen, dear friends of God, all Christians in Riga, Reval [Tallinn] and Dorpat [Tartu] in Livonia”, followed in 1524 by the interpretation of Psalm 127, both written at the request of the city council in Riga. By mid-17th century the Lutheran church became well established in most parts of the present-day Latvia except in the region called Latgale which was under Polish rule and predominantly Roman Catholic. As in many other regions, Reformation played an important role in the development of local literary language. 

Visit Member Church