Taizé

Taizé Riga

Benoît — 2017-01-04T16:09:55Z

On the social media

Daily news, important links, photos and testimonials of young people will be relayed on the following social networks:

on Facebook
on Twitter, either in English or in French
on Instagram

All those who publish photos or echoes of the meeting are invited to do so using the hashtag #Taize

Photos

webadmin — 2017-01-01T08:03:40Z

Meditations by Brother Alois

David — 2016-12-31T19:00:00Z

Every evening during the European meeting, Brother Alois spoke at the end of the prayer. His meditations are published here.

Brother Alois, Riga, Saturday December 31, 2016

Our pilgrimage is coming to an end. When you go back tonight to the families who have welcomed you, tell them again our gratitude. Their hospitality will remain a light on our way.

Let us take this light home with us tomorrow. It is the light of Christ himself. It will enlighten our everyday lives. It will rekindle hope in us over and over again.

With this light we will pass through the darknesses that might discourage us. It will enable us not to give in to fear in the face of the instabilities and upheavals of the world.

The light we have found here is a light of peace. Tomorrow will be World Peace Day. Tonight we are going to pray for all those who experience violence, injustice or poverty.

On returning home, each of us can be a peacemaker, everyone can inscribe non-violence in their daily lives. Each of us could share the light of peace with one or several other people: our loved ones, a family that lives in a precarious situation, a homeless person, an abandoned child, a refugee.

Sometimes we can relieve suffering. Always we can give our heartfelt attention to another person, which is as important as material help: listening to a refugee telling his story, or a single mother who is unemployed and who does not know how to prepare the future of her children . . .

When we go very simply to those who are poorer than ourselves, we make a discovery: they give us something, they help us to accept our own weaknesses and vulnerability, they teach us the inestimable value of human goodness.

The poor of this world are, sometimes unwittingly, very close to Jesus who was poor among the poor. When we open our hearts to those who are wounded by life, we draw closer to Jesus. At the same time we understand his words better, and his light is rekindled in us. The meaning of our life becomes more evident, it is a sign of the love of God, we are made to love and to be loved.

And now I have one more piece of news to announce. There are among us young people from several countries in Asia. In a year and a half, it will be their turn to welcome a stage of our pilgrimage of trust. It will be from 8 to 12 August 2018 in the city of Hong Kong.

Like all of you, we brothers, too, are going to return home to Taizé. But on the way we will stop in the two neighboring countries. A few brothers will go to pray in Tallinn, Estonia, others in Vilnius and Kaunas in Lithuania. The Baltic countries, though very different from each other, also form a unity. They do not forget that, in order to claim their independence, they once formed a human chain that crossed the three countries from north to south.

We thank the three Baltic countries for their courage, their hospitality and, for many of their inhabitants, their faith. Thank you for the light that we have received here, it will guide us in the pilgrimage of trust in our everyday lives.

Brother Alois, Riga, Friday December 30, 2016

Since we arrived in Riga on Wednesday, our meetings and our common prayers have been filled with great joy. At the same time, we are fully aware of the gravity of the political and economic situations in Europe and the world.

Together opening paths of hope. More than just being a theme for our meeting, that is an experience we are making these days. The beautiful hospitality we have found at Riga nourishes this hope.

I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have welcomed us to Riga: the families, the parishes, the authorities of the city and the country. The different Churches have joined together to receive us, Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical. And I would particularly like to thank those who, without sharing the Christian faith, have also opened their homes.

You Latvians, you have opened your houses and your hearts to young people you did not know. Among the gifts of your people, there is that of hospitality.

Our meeting bears a message for Europe: we opt for a European fraternity that is respectful of local particularities, where the voice of every people counts. And we are committed to building bonds of friendship in Europe and beyond the borders of our European countries.

For us Christians, fraternity has also another name, that of communion. Yes, Christ unites us in one communion, with all our diversities of Christian cultures and traditions.

The year that begins will be the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This gave a deep inspiration to the Church. But it also unfortunately led to a profound division.

You, the young people who are here, Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, testify by your presence to your desire for unity. You are right: we must be together so that the dynamic of the Gospel can be revealed. Like the story about the early Christians we read tonight, we want to be one heart and one soul.

It is when we journey together that the hope that comes to us from Christ manifests itself clearly. He has conquered death and hatred, he unites us today in one communion of all the baptized.

If we are united in Christ, we can be a sign of peace in a torn humanity. Yes, our fraternity, our communion can prepare peace.

Tomorrow, you will share about the fourth proposal for 2017: Allow friendship to grow in order to prepare peace. With few means, even with almost nothing, each of us can be a peace-maker, nearby and far away. All humans, and even all creation, aspire after peace. Our attention to the environment also contributes to peace.

And now I want to make a concrete proposal. Since my visit to Syria last Christmas, we have welcomed a Syrian family in Taizé as well as an Iraqi family from Bartella near Mosul. The children Manuel and Noor who are here beside me are from this Iraqi family. I keep telling them: God sent you to us.

I have also kept in touch with some people in Syria. Last week I spoke by phone with a Christian community in Aleppo. In the midst of the terrible tragedy that the Syrian people is experiencing, there are those who remain unbowed and are doing all they can to alleviate suffering. So I said to myself: we have to support them.

Through our Operation Hope, Taizé's collection, we want to financially support this community in Aleppo in Syria and also a community in Mosul in Iraq. They care for children suffering from trauma, they contribute to the reconstruction of destroyed houses. By this they help people stay in their countries. You can find on the sheet that has been distributed to you how to participate in this mutual aid.

In 2017 our pilgrimage of trust on earth will continue. In Taizé there will be the meetings each week, with a special week in August reserved for young adults from 18 to 35 years, to allow them a shared deepening of their commitment.

Elsewhere in the world, we will have meetings, among others, in Birmingham, one of the most multicultural and multi-religious cities in Europe; in Saint Louis in the United States where ethnic tensions remain high after the events of Ferguson two years ago; in Egypt where the Coptic Orthodox Church has recently had to suffer once again.

In this anniversary year of the Protestant Reformation we will be hosting a prayer in Wittenberg, the city of Luther, in the context of the German Kirchentag, and another prayer in Geneva, Switzerland.

Then there will be the next European meeting ...

To help Syria and Iraq, especially the children: www.taize.fr/help

Brother Alois, Riga, Thursday December 29, 2016

We are being welcomed so well in Riga. Again we understand that hospitality is a fundamental and universal value. All humans thirst for communion, friendship. When we experience it our life takes on a deeper meaning.

We would like to live such heart-felt hospitality not only in exceptional moments but in our everyday lives. And first toward those who are closest to us: taking time for them, listening to them, and also letting ourselves be welcomed by them.

Then let us extend hospitality beyond those close to us. In these days we are listening to the testimony of people who go towards the poorest. Those people tell us how happy they are to be able to help others, but they also tell us about everything they receive from them.

Yes, when we go toward those who are poorer than we are, even with empty hands, a joy is given. In Taizé we have experienced this often, and especially during this past year with the refugees we have welcomed. Being close to them in their distress, listening to their stories has led us to develop amazing friendships.

Of course, the arrival of so many refugees who want to enter Europe poses complex questions and no one has easy solutions. But I am convinced that we will not find a solution without personal contacts. Without such contacts, fear risks taking over, which is comprehensible.

Moreover, in all our countries for a long time populations of different cultures have been living side by side. There too, let us create personal contacts, bridges. Let us go beyond prejudices. Even with few means, with almost nothing, we can begin. Let us go toward others, in great simplicity.

Today, the tensions and upheavals of our societies are such that we must make a strong inner decision if we are not to yield to discouragement. What decision?

It consists, for us Christians, in plunging our roots ever more deeply into Christ Jesus. Faith, trust in God, cannot be a marginal reality for us. It means neither more nor less than putting Christ ever again at the center of our lives.

In the Gospel this evening we listened to his words: "Go, sell all that you have, then follow me.” What a radical challenge! But it is not impossible. All of us can begin or begin again to practice this word of Christ.

It is possible because, before he asks anything of us, Christ first draws us close to himself. He loves each and every one of us with an unconditional, even a crazy love. Even our faults do not diminish the love he has for us.

Let us, too, welcome Christ with love. Let us offer him our hospitality. He beholds us with trust. Then fear gives way to courage. The impossible becomes possible.

We welcome him in a simple and even poor prayer, in his word and in the sacraments. And we welcome him for sure also whenever we have a personal contact with one of the world's poor people. Jesus himself said to us, "Whatever you did to one of the least of these, it was to me that you did it."

Tomorrow you will discuss the second proposal for 2017. Christ invites us to simplify our lives in order to share. Yes, to choose a life of simplicity is a source of freedom and joy. We must not hesitate to make or re-make this choice without delay.

Brother Alois, Riga, Wednesday 28 December, 2016

What a joy it is to be welcomed in Riga! We have come from all over Europe, from Portugal to Russia, passing through Poland and Ukraine. Some have even come from further afield, from other continents, notably from South Korea and Hong Kong.

Faced with the instability of today's world, we need to come together in a great brotherhood that transcends borders. That Latvia, one of the Baltic countries, is welcoming young people from all over Europe, is a sign of hope that sustains us.

I would like to say a big thank you to the Latvians. And I think I am doing so on behalf of all of you, surely?

Dear Latvian friends, like the other Baltic countries, you are a small nation. By coming to you as pilgrims, we would like to indicate that, in the concert of European voices, your voice counts. By your warm welcome you make that voice heard throughout the continent.

In the past you have suffered and you have loved. Those who are older among you can still testify to that. Your often painful history has prepared you to be a land of reconciliation, a bridge between different parts of Europe. We support the courage with which you respond to this calling.

Together opening paths of hope - this is the theme of our meeting that begins tonight. I brought it back from Benin in Africa, where we had a continental meeting in September. With 7500 young people from different countries we experienced the fact that hope arises when we come together.

Why in Africa? And why, in other years on other continents, has our small community of Taizé undertaken a pilgrimage of trust across the earth?

One of the reasons is globalization, the interdependence of countries and continents. And we would like to contribute to a globalization of brotherhood. But this is not the deepest reason.

Another reason is to be better able to listen to the youth of the various regions of the world and to uphold them in their trust in themselves, in their countries and in the future of their countries.

But the most essential reason for us is in the faith that Christ came for all humanity, he wants the fullness of life for every human being. He unites us all in one human family.

What I would like to convey to you from the African stage of our pilgrimage of trust is the vitality of the young people of that continent, their ability to persevere in trust even when the horizon darkens.

And I would like to communicate an appeal that these young Africans address to Europeans: they ask us to bring about more justice in international economic and political relations.

Faith, trust in God, is alive in Africa. We too, during these days in Riga, want to go to the sources of faith. You have received the four proposals for 2017. Tomorrow morning you will exchange on the first: "Stand firm in hope: it is creativity."

To strengthen our hope, beyond a naive optimism, let us dare to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us lean on him, even if he is invisible. He is present in our hearts and in the world.

The meeting seen by the participants

Benoît — 2016-12-22T08:35:59Z

Panoramic view from the common prayer in the Lutheran Cathedral Dom of Riga during the Taizé European Meeting. Photo by Pozsgay Benedek also published on Facebook.

A few echoes of the preparation

Xavier (India)

I came to Latvia five months ago, just after my high school. I am studying Bachelor in Aviation Engineering in Riga Technical University. On my second month, when I was usually going to the church for the holy mass, I met the volunteers from Taizé. As soon as they told me about Taizé and just after taking part in the prayer, I took a decision to help prepare the meeting. So, whenever I was free from lectures, I ran to the preparation centre to help them, as much as I could. And now, after attending the meeting, I am feeling really proud and happy.

Mikaela (Sweden)

My journey started in the village of Taizé as a volunteer in the end of last summer. When I came home, full of the new experience, there were quite a few things that I couldn't hold onto in everyday life. So I just knew that I wanted to go to Riga to get even more strength for my life! I live nearby the harbour in Stockholm, and every day I can see ferries coming from the sea. It was exciting and fun to travel to Riga by boat. Here we met some other pilgrims and volunteers. So the boat even became our small temporary “Taize meeting place” on the way to Riga.

Matĕj (Czech Republic)

Matĕj arrived in Riga in the beginning of December to help with the last phase of the preparation. “Two years ago I welcomed the pilgrims of the European Meeting in our Evangelical Brethren Church in Prague. As we knew very little about Taizé, we had to collaborate with a nearby Catholic parish. Before the Meeting we had hardly contact with them, but welcoming together the pilgrims from other countries brought our two churches closer. Two years after the meeting we still do things together from time to time.”

The travel to Riga

Eduardo (Portugal)

Among the young people who made the longest journey, two Portuguese have sent some news and pictures of their three days' bus journey. We set out from Algarve, Portugal, to participate in the Riga meeting. We left on Dec. 25 in the early morning, ready for a long bus ride. After crossing Spain during the night, we were already in France for breakfast on the morning of the 26th! Then we continued our journey through France and then Germany. We visited the city of Berlin, then resumed our journey via Poland and Lithuania. And on the afternoon of the 28th, we finally arrived in Riga.

Yulia (Ukraine)

Volunteer in Taizé for 9 months, originally from Donbass, Yulia came to Riga from Ukraine. With our group of 62 people, we celebrated Christmas in Vilnius in Lithuania in a Greco-Catholic church. They invited us to celebrate the Nativity with them. For our group, it was a great experience before immersing ourselves in the European meeting.

Edgar (Guatemala)

Edgar came to Riga by bus with the volunteers from Taizé, after 36 hours of travel. When I heard about the trip to Riga for the first time, I was afraid - such a long journey! But then, during the travel, I started to like it. Especially the prayers, the movies and meals, the things we shared together with brothers. Everybody tried to keep their spirits up during the exhausting trip.

The morning programme in the host parishes

Mira (Germany)

One morning, some of the small groups in our parish outside of Riga were invited to a day center for people with disabilities. When we got there we were warmly welcomed by everyone - the social workers and the people attending the day center. After everybody found a place, one of the social workers told us about the house, the people, the programme and how important Jean Vanier is to them. Our sharing groups had prepared some Christmas carols and some Taizé songs to sing. Singing "Svetita Tauta" with our international group for Latvians felt so special in that moment. Very soon many of the people of the day center joined in, one woman even had tears in her eyes. For me, it was one of the best experiences during the meeting.

Tanya (Ukraine)

Our local parish was very welcoming. The animator of my sharing group, from Croatia, managed to rekindle conversations, to help the participants to speak up, no matter our differences. We noticed that we did have a lot in common. Thus, that kind of cross-cultural interconnection was of great importance for us.

Panoramic view by Bence Pozsgay originally published on Facebook.

The common prayers

Tera (Belarus)

Arriving at Riga as a volunteer on 26 December, I was looking forward to when the prayers would begin. The first prayer which I attended was held in Kipsala. In front of me was the Image of the Mother of God; the chants, the warm atmosphere filled with prayer. I had the feeling that the soul was touching a source of living water.

Katrin (Germany)

When I saw by chance that the common prayer was being broadcast from Riga via “Facebook Live”, I stopped everything and kept singing and praying with all of you. While doing so I wrote to a friend of mine from Portugal and he responded directly – we decided to sing together.... I was so happy to know one friend in person who was with me the same way. Often in Taize I thought about how much technology is keeping me away from the things which are actually important in my life. But at the moment I am just so happy to be connected with you in this way.

The afternoon workshops

Marta (Slovenia)

For me as a chemist, the workshop about quantum physics was very interesting and satisfying. I enjoyed listening to his view about science and also about religion. The crucial moment was when he explained how in life nowadays we can see the Light of creation, we can see it as a waving noise, as a part of the first light in the Universe. Especially I was impressed by the thought at the discussion about ethics and science that God doesnt want to hide anything from us, but that it is important what we do with the discoveries and in what way we discover them.

Patrick (England)

In the National Library of Latvia, a workshop took place on the theme “Europe today: what can we do for the unity of the continent?” Patrick shared his feedback.

I am mainly here to hear the opinions of other EU-countries on the immigration and refugee issue. Hopefully, some ideas will be shared of how we can better help EU-countries to work together for the common good. I am concerned, because after Brexit we will not be part of a team anymore - that is what the EU is to me, a team. In my opinion, we are required by faith to actively assist other people. We have the obligation to help, to work for equality. I really hope for a better 2017.

Panoramic view taken by Benedek Pozsgay during the workshop about the feast of Hannukah with the Jewish community of Riga.

The hospitality of a whole city

Janis Vanags, Lutheran Archbishop of Riga, and his wife Baiba

In cooperation with the Anglican parish we welcomed six young people from Poland and one from Sweden. We developed very good cooperation with the parish. All of our guests were wonderful young people - that is our experience. We celebrated the New Year in the tower of the Riga Dome cathedral. We hope that the young people will remember Riga as a place they would like to revisit. We organized lunch on the 1st of January together with our neighbours who also welcomed two pilgrims. Thanks to Taizé we had a reason to work together and become friends with our neighbours. We set the table at our home and together shared a meal of friendship and thanksgiving.

Praise (India), Ace and Jay Mark (Philippines)

Today in our host family, we went to drink some tea and coffee with our host Digna (Latvian) and her friend Irina (Ukrainian). After a little small talk, Irina, in her curiosity, wanted to hear us speaking in our respective mother languages. Instead of just talking about random things, we decided to answer a sensible question using our local tongues. The question was: “When did your faith experience start?” Words that were totally foreign to each of us came out freely in the air. Surprisingly, even though we weren't really able to understand each other, it sounded like a normal conversation where one understands what the other is saying.

Valentina (Switzerland)

With two other girls from my group from Tessin, I was hosted in a family with two children. They were all very polite with us. Our “father” told us much about the history, the war, but also about the Latvian culture – it was really interesting. I think that the advantage to be in a host family is that you can have a direct contact with the culture. And of course it was also a sharing : for example I cooked a traditional cake from Switzerland and I taught them to play some card games. We really had a good time with the family.

Jonathan (France)

Riga was my first Taizé European meeting. Before the journey, I was a little worried about living for a week with strangers, who have been so generous as to welcome us but whom we do not know. And yet, the week in the host family in Riga was wonderful. There were three of us staying with three young women who live in a shared flat. From the very first day, we began to discuss over a cup of tea, all kinds of topics and especially about life in Latvia, our job, our activities, our beliefs ... As the days went by, the exchanges lasted ever later in the evening and became more natural. Finally, a real bond of friendship was created. We danced together at the Feast of Peoples for the start of the New Year, it was wonderful. And on the day we left, our hosts prepared a delicious traditional dinner with a chocolate cake that will long remain in our memories.

Ana, Jelena, Martina and Ivana (Croatia)

After two long days of travelling we finally came to Riga. We were placed in the parish of St.Gertrude's Old church. A few hours later we finally got to meet our amazing host family, young parents with two little boys. They hosted us with generosity. They didn't only give us a place to sleep, they gave us a home. We felt welcomed and loved. Every night after the prayer and lunch distribution we would go back to our host family where we were talking with the parents and playing with the boys. Although the boys spoke only Latvian so we couldn't comunicate that way, we understood each other perfectly through songs and games. The hospitality of our host family in Riga was great and we will always be grateful for it.

Francesca (Italy)

On December 29th, 2016 at 7am I woke up on the sofa of a young family in Salaspils – a suburb of Rīga – when their 4-year-old son Ernest came to sit at his place to watch some cartoons before going to kindergarten, as he is used to do every day. The evening before, we had arrived very late and could not meet him, but only his parents. But, that morning, under his blue pillow with butterflies, he actually found my feet! Probably, he was too sleepy to see me lying on the couch! I slowly put my face out of the duvet, so not to scare him, and well aware that we had no shared language to communicate. While I was expecting him to be scared and cry, to the stranger invading his house he answered back with a huge smile and crawling over my legs to come and hug me. This is my dream for Europe, for the world : my dream of trust and welcome.

Panoramic view taken during the common prayer at Arena Riga.

A short history of Latvia (2)

Matthew — 2016-11-18T08:40:16Z

This article is the second part of a text written by a brother on the history of Latvia. For the first part click here.

"During the First World War, the October Revolution of 1917 broke out in Russia. The communists seized power and Russia withdrew from the war. Latvia, together with the other Baltic States, declared its independence in 1918, but still had to wage a war of independence and had to wait until 1921 for that independence to be recognised.

The recognition of the Latvian Republic meant that the country found its place on the map of the world for the first time in 1921. Karlis Ulmanis, a hero of the independence struggle, became Prime Minister and instigated a system of parliamentary democracy. He went on to hold several ministerial posts. In 1934, he suspended the Constitution and declared himself nationalist President of the country. The regime was authoritarian with the cult of personality playing a big role.

Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the Baltic States were placed in the Soviet zone of influence. In 1940, the Soviets invaded Latvia. On 25 March 1941, the first mass deportations to Siberia took place. Then in July 1941, the Nazis broke the pact and took the Baltic States.

At the beginning of the Second World War, there was a population of around 2 million Latvians. During the Second World War, approximately 200,000 died. There was a large Jewish population and around 75,000 Jews died. In 1944, the country was reoccupied by the Soviets and about 250,000 people left. At the end of the Second World War, the Western countries, wishing to appease the Soviet Union, returned around 80,000 Latvians to the Soviets. The country lost therefore a third of its population in 10 years. The wounds remain. Those who were thought to be friends often betrayed throughout history.

From 1945 on, there was also a massive immigration of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarussians. Many came in good faith, being offered a better life and jobs in newly opened factories. They came or were sent to help in the progress of the Union. But it was also official policy to try and ensure that Latvians were not the majority in their own country. It almost succeeded.

On 20 June, 1945, the second mass deportation of Latvians to Siberia took place. In total around 150,000 were sent to the gulags, the forced labour camps, in Siberia between 1945 and 1952. Sandra Kalniete, former foreign minister for Latvia, was born in the camps. Her autobiography “With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows,” tells the story of her family. Which was deported and only able to return to Latvia in the 1950s.

In 1989, there were 52% of ethnic Latvians in the country, the rest of the population came from elsewhere. So, Latvians were barely in a majority.

With glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, the changes in Eastern Europe, the Baltic States expressed their desire for renewed independence. In 1988, a human chain was formed between Tallinn and Vilnius, passing through Latvia, setting in motion the Singing Revolution. In these countries where traditional song has always played an important role, musical gatherings brought people together and empowered them.

Latvia declared its independence on 4 May 1990, but it was only on 21 August 1991 that independence was restored with the fall of the Soviet Union after the attempted putsch. In the old town of Riga, near to the Catholic Cathedral, the monument to the demonstrators killed by the Red Army can be seen.

The National Day is 18 November, the original date of the declaration of the independence of Latvia, a way of expressing that the Soviet Occupation was illegal, as if it never existed and that the first declaration of independence remained valid.

In 1990, the population was around 2.7 millions, but today it is less that 2 million. Latvians continue to leave their country, now mainly for economic reasons, to go to the United Kingdom, Ireland, the US, Australia,… . In the countryside, often grandparents are to be found with their youngest grandchildren. The parents and older children have left.

At the last census, Latvians numbered 62% of the population, 25% are of Russian stock and Ukrainians, Belarussians, Polish and Lithuanians are between 2 and 3% each.

In the big towns, there are large numbers of Russian-speakers. Just under a million people live in Riga and around half are of Russian stock. Daugavpils, in Latgale, the majority Catholic region, is the country's second city. Out of 100,000 inhabitants, 78.8% are Russian-speakers. Today, young people of Russian stock learn Latvian and the majority have Latvian nationality.

Lutherans make up 35% of the country's population, Catholics 24%, Russian Orthodox 18% and smaller percentages of Old Believers, Baptists and Pentecostals.

Riga had the only Catholic seminary outside of Lithuania for the Soviet Union, so all the Catholic priests from the other republics passed through Riga. The two biggest churches in Riga were turned into concert halls and museums. The Lutheran Cathedral was returned to the Lutherans but still serves as a concert hall. St Peter's is still a museum. The Orthodox Cathedral was converted into a planetarium during the Soviet period. All Churches suffered harsh repression during the time of the Soviet Union.

Latvia has been part of the European Union since 2004 and from 1 January 2014 adopted the Euro as its currency.

All of this gives some background to our European Meeting. Throughout all of its struggles to exist, to survive hostile occupations and policies, this little country has managed to preserve a rich and authentic culture. Being an integral part of Europe, Latvians live with their past, but are justly proud of all that they have achieved over the past 25 years. The Churches and people of Latvia are preparing a warm welcome and there is so much that we can receive from them. We are called to listen and to support."

A short history of Latvia (1)

Matthew — 2016-11-16T17:22:03Z

A brother writes:

"When I was young, one of my friends at school was called Ēriks. It wasn't a typical Yorkshire name. His family was Latvian. The parents had left Latvia in 1940 and there was quite a large Latvian community in our town. Every weekend, he went to the Latvian school to learn the language and the traditions of his country. So since my childhood, Latvia was always present through Ēriks, at a time when many people in the West were unaware of the existence of this country, which had been absorbed into the Soviet Union.

Latvia is bordered by Estonia to the north, Russia to the east, Belarus in the south-east and Lithuania in the south. But these borders are quite recent and Latvia is made up of four provinces – Vidzeme, Latgale, Zemgale and Kurzeme – each of which has their own history.

The long river Daugava, with its source in the Russian marshes near to Smolensk, flows into the sea at what is now Riga. From the earliest times, it became a communication route for commerce. The tribes which came to make up the Latvians arrived in the area around 3,000 years BCE.

Only towards the end of the 12th century were the first Christian missionaries sent to these regions. In 1184, St Meinhard went on the Daugava as far as Iksile. He lived there and learned the language but his mission didn't take root. So, in 1193, Pope Celestine III launched a crusade in Northern Europe to convert the pagan tribes living there. This was the time of the Order of Livonian Knights. Christianity came from outside in the form of conquest.

The lands colonised by the Knights was inhabited by the Livs and called Livonia, but its first title was Terra Mariana – a land dedicated to Mary. It comprised what is today Latvia and Estonia.

The city of Riga was founded in 1201 and Bishop Albert laid the foundation stone of the Cathedral 10 years later. Riga became a great port of the Hanseatic League. Through this and the Livonian Order a German presence and influence began.

The major regional power at this time was Poland-Lithuania, two countries bound in alliance together. In the middle of the 16th century, the Livonian War broke out pitting the Tsardom of Russia against a coalition including Poland-Lithuania, the latter taking control of Latgale, the eastern part of today's Latvia.

The Lutheran Reformation arrived in Riga at the end of the 16th century, above all in the German communities.

During the 17th century, there was war between Poland-Lithuania and Sweden. Sweden rose in power and at the beginning of the 17th century, most of today's Latvia fell under the Swedish crown. Riga became the biggest city of the Swedish Empire.

Thus, from 1629, the Reformation was consolidated in Vidzeme, Zemgale and Kurzeme. Latgale remained under Polish control and evolved differently. Latgalian, a cousin of Latvian, is still spoken in the region today, which remains strongly Catholic. The Marian pilgrimage on August 15 to the little town of Aglona in Latgale draws people from all over Latvia, but also from Lithuania and Poland.

A century later, Russia began to rise in power under Peter the Great. He vanquished the king of Sweden, Charles XII, at Poltava and Vidzeme was integrated into the Russian Empire. Latgale remained a further 80 years under Polish domination before too being absorbed into the Russian Empire.

Kurzeme and Zemgale became an autonomous duchy within the Poland-Lithuania until 1795 when they were integrated into the Russian Empire, even having colonies in the Caribbean in Tobago and in Gambia, where there was a commercial trading point.

In the middle of the 19th century, the national awakenings in Europe had begun. From the time of the occupation by the Order of Livonian Knights, and even under Swedish and Russian rule, the big landowners in the Latvian lands were of German stock. The Latvian nationalist movement in the 19th century linked together with the slavophiles, of Russian stock, against the German landowners. In 1905, the first Russian revolution took place and the nationalist movement, socialist in nature, grew in strength. But this revolution faltered and the Russian Empire survived."