Orthodoxy in Latvia

The Latvian Orthodox Church (Latvian: Latvijas Pareizticīgā Baznīca, Russian: Латвийская Православная Церковь, tr. Latviyskaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov’) is a self-governing, i.e. autonomous, Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow. The primate of the church carries the title of Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia (Latvian: Rīgas un visas Latvijas metropolīts; Russian: Митрополит Рижский и всея Латвии, Mitropolit Rizhskiy i vseya Latvii). This position has been occupied since October 27, 1990 by Metropolitan Alexander (Kudryashov) (Aleksandrs Kudrjašovs).

Orthodoxy was planted in Latvia in the 11th century, when it became a mission field of the diocese of Polotsk. The country remained mostly pagan until it was conquered in the 13th century by German crusaders - the Catholic Teutonic Order. Prior to this, however, part of prominent Latgalian noblemen (e. g., Visvaldis, Vetseke) and a large part of Latgalian people in general had converted to the Orthodoxy voluntarily. There were Orthodox churches in Jersika from the evidence of Livonian Chronicle; many church-related words came into pre-Latvian languages in that time. An Orthodox presence continued after the Teutonic Order conquest at least officially, in the form of churches for Russian merchants and others, but these were small communities among a majority of Catholics before 1525 and Lutherans afterwards.

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