Orthodoxy in Latvia is one of the three largest religious denominations, along with Catholicism and Lutheranism . The number of Orthodox is about 320 thousand (about 16% of the population) [1] [2] .
In modern Latvia, Orthodoxy mainly confesses the Russian-speaking population of the country , although there are many Orthodox Latvians in the country.
Content
History
The Russian philosopher Slavophile Yu. F. Samarin believed that the Byzantine rite first came to the lands of modern Latvia as early as the 11th century , from the Pskov lands , and became historically the first form of Christian religion on the lands of Latvia and the Baltic states as a whole [3] .
By the beginning of the XIII century, in the east of the country there existed specific princedoms subordinate to Polotsk , while in Gertsyk , according to the testimony of The Chronicles of Livonia , there were “churches” (number not specified) with icons and bells. However, by 1215, these vassal principalities and their temples ceased to exist.
Beginning in the late 12th century, under the influence of the Crusaders (the Order of the Sword ), most Latvians in the west and north of the country converted to Catholicism, then converted to Lutheranism . In the east of the country ( Latgale ), which became part of the Commonwealth , Catholicism spread. It is practiced mainly Latgalians and Latvian Poles .
In the second half of the 17th century, Orthodox churches appear in Jacobstadt (now Jekabpils ). Soon, the Orthodox Holy Dukhovsky Monastery was founded here, which was renewed in 1996.
The wide spread of Orthodoxy in the Latvian lands began after the Baltic states joined the Russian Empire in the 18th century .
In 1836, the Riga Vicariate of the Pskov Diocese was established, which since 1850 was allocated to an independent Riga Diocese . During this period, there was also a massive conversion of Latvians to Orthodoxy. In the lean, hungry year of 1841, on June 9, a group of peasants turned for help to Bishop Irinarkh , the first Riga vicar of the Pskov diocese . The latter gave them alms and sympathized by expressing mercy. The sympathy of Bishop Irinarkh to the misfortunes of the Latvian population led to the fact that already in July, from all over Livland, the peasants submitted to Bishop Irinarkh about 30 requests for protection and conversion to Orthodoxy from several thousand peasants [4] . Such actions caused discontent among landowners, Germans and Lutheran pastors. Governor-General Matvey Palen , supported by the chief of gendarmes of Livonian German Benkendorf, is seeking from Emperor Nicholas I on October 12, 1841, the removal of Bishop Irinarkh under secret arrest in the Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery allegedly “to prevent peasant unrest”.
According to 1850 , Orthodoxy professed about one-eighth of the Baltic Latvians and Estonians [5] . In addition, since the end of the 17th century, Old Believer communities of Russian settlers appeared in the east of the country and in Riga.
In modern Latvia, Orthodoxy is represented by the Latvian Orthodox Church , which is under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate , and several dozen Old Believer communities, mostly belonging to the Pomorian consensus . The largest Old Believers community in Latvia is the Riga Grebenshchikov community .
See also
- Religion in Latvia
- Latvian Orthodox Church
- Old Believers in Latvia
Literature
- Riga Old Believers = Rīgas vecticībnieki = Old believers of Riga. Comp. I. Ivanov, N. Pazukhina, text writer A. Podmazov. Riga: FSI, Latvijas Vecticībnieku biedrība, 2010. 136 lpp. ISBN 978-9984-49-020-5
Notes
- ↑ Table: Christian Population in Numbers by Country . Pew research center
- ↑ Latvia. Religions // CIA. The World Factbook
- ↑ Samarin Yu. F. Works. - T.7. - Letters from Riga and the History of Riga. - M., 1889. - p. 4.
- ↑ Samarin Yu. F. Works. - T.7. - Letters from Riga and the History of Riga. - M., 1889. - p. 5—8, 150—153
- ↑ Orthodoxy in Latvia