The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Great Britain
The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Great Britain was established when Latvian refugees arrived in Britain after the Second World War. Nowadays we have seven congregations with three full-time pastors, a non-stipendiary Dean and a retired Dean emeritus. The work of each congregation covers a wide area, with services held in several locations, mainly in England, but also, in the case of one of our congregations, in Wales and Guernsey. Our members are mainly Latvians and their families. Because of this, our services are predominantly in Latvian, but the pastors, church workers and members of the congregations, many of them British born, also speak English and welcome non-Latvian speaking visitors and family members. Increasingly, since Latvia became a member of the European Union, our congregations are being joined by recent immigrants from Latvia.
The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church
Abroad
After the Second World War, when Latvia was under Soviet occupation, the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church was split into that part of it that was operating in Latvia under the constraints imposed by the Soviet regime and that part of it that was abroad in exile, each with its own archbishop. This split in our church between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad remains to the present day. Nevertheless, since the fall of the Soviet Union, despite some differences in outlook, our two churches have been able to recognise each other openly and work together more closely. Both regard themselves as being in succession to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia that existed before the Second World War.
The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Great Britain is part of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad, which has congregations all over the world and is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches. The largest congregations are in the USA and Canada, but there are also congregations in Australia, South America and in other European countries. Our archbishop, Elmārs E. Rozītis, lives in Germany.
Relations with the Church of England
From the establishment of our church in Britain, relations with the Church of England have been based upon the 1938 Agreement of Intercommunion between the Church of England and the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Estonia and Latvia. The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad was also closely involved in the process that led to the Porvoo Declaration, where the representative of both branches of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Latvia and abroad, was the then Dean of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Great Britain. However, by the time that the Porvoo Declaration was signed in 1996, Latvia had regained its independence, and it was the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia that was invited to sign the Declaration, although it declined to do so. Both the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad now have observer status with the Porvoo Communion.
The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Great Britain is also a member of the Lutheran Council of Great Britain, which has ecumenical relations with the Church of England, as expressed in Canons B43 and B44 of the Church of England. The Lutheran Council of Great Britain also maintains ecumenical relations with other denominations, as shown, for example, by its membership of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
