Riga Theological Seminary

Until 1919

Formed by decree of the Holy Synod in 1850 from the transformed Riga Theological Russian-Latvian-Estonian School; in September 1851 the course of the seminary sciences itself began. ^[1] According to the proposal of the Archbishop of Riga and Mitava Plato (Gorodetsky), Archimandrite Pavel (Dobrokhotov) , who was transferred to Riga from Polotsk , was appointed the first rector of the seminary, and archimandrite Joseph (Drozdov) was appointed inspector. Estonian, Latvian and German were taught as compulsory at the seminary.

In 1859, the Archbishop of Riga Plato (Gorodetsky) requested the Ober-Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count A.P. Tolstoy, to stop access to the seminary for the children of Estonian and Latvian peasants, and an appropriate order was made. ^[2]

In 1866, the Holy Synod recognized the need to take measures to bring the Riga Theological Seminary into a position that is more consistent with both the purpose of its establishment and the local conditions and needs of the diocese. Now, one third of the pupils living at the expense of the treasury consisted of children of the local clergy, and the remaining two thirds were necessarily children of Latvians and Estonians.

Since 1874, at the insistence of the Bishop of Riga, Benjamin (Karelin) , a special commission was created at the Riga Seminary to translate liturgical books into Latvian and Estonian.

The three-story building of the seminary was built in 1877-1879 according to the project of the architect Heinrich Schel . The seminar temple was consecrated in honor of the Protection of the Holy Virgin.

In 1915, the Seminary after the German offensive during the First World War was evacuated to Nizhny Novgorod. Beginning in 1918, it was reorganized into a secular educational institution and as a theological school ceased its activities. All teaching staff remained in Soviet Russia. The seminary building in Riga was nationalized.

Resumption of the seminary (1926-1936)

The Archbishop of Riga and All Latvia, John (Pommer), has enacted a law on the legal status of the Orthodox Church in Latvia, on the basis of which the Government of the Republic of Latvia in 1926 allowed the Latvian Orthodox Church to re-organize the school. The historic Seminary building was not returned, the richest library was lost. The seminary program was designed for two years of study. The first graduation of the newly opened seminary took place in October 1928.

Since 1930, a three-year training period was introduced. From 1926 to 1933, 40 people graduated from the seminary, including 11 Latvians and 29 Russians. The best of the graduates were sent to continue their education at the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris.

The Theological Institute (1936-1940)

In August 1936, the Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church decided to abolish the Riga Theological Seminary and on its basis to open the Theological Institute, ^[3] and in 1937, at the suggestion of the government, an Orthodox branch was opened at the theological faculty of the University of Latvia (in 1937, it studied 12 students). ^[four]

Resume (1993)

On April 26, 1993, the Riga Theological Seminary resumed its activities in the premises of the All Saints Church in Riga (1868–1884, architect J. F. Baumanis ).

• 1851 - 1855 - Pavel (Dobrokhotov) , archimandrite
• 1856 - 1857 - Nikanor (Brovkovich) , archimandrite
• 1857 - 1870 - Ephraim (Ryazanov) , archimandrite
• 1870 - 1880 - Michael Drexler , Archpriest
• 1881 - 1882 - Gerasim (Yared) , archimandrite
• 1883 - 1893 - Nicholas Dmitrievsky , archpriest
• 1893 - 1895 - Joachim (Leviticus) , archimandrite
• 1895 - 1909 - Aristov Alexy , archpriest
• 1909 - 1918 - Alexey Lebedev , Archpriest
• 1918 - 1919 - Dimitry Bryantsev, archpriest
• 1926 - 1936 - John Janson , Protopresbyter
• 1993 - 1997 - Leonid Abashev, Archpriest
• 1997 — n / a. Alexander (Kudryashov) , Metropolitan

• 1887 - 1915 Leysman Nikolay , archpriest
• Tareev, Mikhail Mikhailovich

• Baltic Russians: history in cultural monuments . Riga: Institute for European Studies, 2010. Ed. A.V. Gaponenko, 736 p. ISBN 978-9934-8113-2-6 - pp. 313-315
• Tsoi S. Riga Orthodox Theological Seminary in the interwar years (1926-1936) // In the book: Latvian Orthodox chronograph. Vol. I. - Riga: Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church, 2015.S. 31-99.
• Tsoi S. Orthodox Theological Educational Institutions of the Riga Diocese at the Beginning of the 20th Century // Latvian Orthodox Chronograph. Vol. III. Prot. Oleg Pelevin (eds.). Riga: Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church, 2018.S. 17-120.
• Raudsepp A. Riia vaimulik seminar 1846-1918. Tartu: Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum, 1998.

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