Jānis Vanags

The Most Reverend

Jānis Vanags
The Most Reverend; Jānis Vanags
Archbishop of Riga
	Vanags in 2015
Church	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia
Archdiocese	Riga
See	Riga
Elected	26 January 1993
In office	Enthroned 29 August 1993
Predecessor	Kārlis Gailītis
Successor	Current holder
Orders
Ordination	1 December 1985
Consecration	29 August 1993; by Henrik Svenungsson
Personal details
Born	25 May 1958 (age 65); Liepāja, Latvian SSR
Nationality	Latvian
Spouse	Baiba Vanaga
Children	Krists, Gatis, & Elizabete
Occupation	Lutheran Archbishop

Jānis Vanags (born 25 May 1958, Liepāja) is a Latvian Lutheran Archbishop. Since 1993 he has been the Archbishop of Riga in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia.

Vanags is seen as conservative on theological or moral issues and opposes women's ordination. He also opposes abortion and euthanasia, and encourages homosexual people to be chaste.^[1]^[2] He presided over the agreement of fellowship with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod of the United States.^[3]

Background and education[edit]

Vanags studied at Liepaja 5th High School (1965–1976), the Latvian State University Chemistry Department (1976–1982), and the Lutheran Theological Seminar (1984–1989). He worked as a chemistry teacher in Riga Vilis Lacis 31st High School (1982–1985).^[4]

Religious career[edit]

Vanags was ordained as a pastor in 1985. He was appointed by the Synod to lead the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia in 1993, following the death of Kārlis Gailītis, the previous archbishop, in a car crash. He was consecrated to the episcopate by the Lutheran Bishop of Stokholm Henrik Svenungsson on 29 August 1993.^[4]

Lutheranism is the leading faith in Latvia, with a quarter of the country's 2.4 million population counted by the church as active members. Vanags has returned to the historic practice of the Lutheran Church by refusing to ordain women since his appointment in 1993. The ordination of women was formally banned by the Synod in 2016.^[5]

Homosexuality controversy[edit]

Archbishop Vanags has been criticised for his perceived homophobia, particularly when he deposed (defrocked) 36-year-old pastor Maris Sants from Holy Orders. Sants was known for ministering to AIDS patients, but Archbishop Vanags deposed the priest “due to his promotion of a tolerant attitude to homosexuality”.^{[citation needed]} Through a statement by Mara Grigola, secretary to Vanags, he accused Sants of expressing in public "information that is against Lutheran doctrine".^{[citation needed]} He also stated, "Persons who accept homosexual orientation as normal cannot work in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church".^{[citation needed]} Sants told AFP that his dismissal came without warning, following an interview he gave with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in which he discussed his own homosexuality. "It's the practice in our church to dismiss people and not consult them. The church is not only conservative, but going backwards" said Sants, who added that he had been criticised by church officials for ministering to AIDS sufferers.^{[citation needed]}

Vanags contributed an essay to the 2002 anti-homosexuality book Homoseksuālisms - cilvēces negods un posts,^[6] edited by Aivars Garda, the founder of the ultranationalist Latvian National Front.^[7] "Now homosexuals are recognized as a minority so in principle after them pedophiles may also be recognized as a minority", Vanags was quoted as saying in a January 2002 article in the daily Rīgas Balss.^[8] He is also quoted as saying, "What we could actually say to our brothers and sisters who are in this homosexual orientation, is that they're welcome to receive all that the Gospel means for the church, but we cannot accept their homosexual relationships as a normal alternative to marriage".^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

^ Religious Freedom in the World edited by Paul Marshall, pg 198
^ Stanley, Alessandra (3 August 1994). "A Latvian Bars Ordaining Women". The New York Times.
^ "St. Louis Post-Dispatch Newspaper Archives". nl.newsbank.com.
^ ^a ^b "LELB - Arhibīskaps". www.lelb.lv.
^ Pongratz-Lippitt, Christa (10 June 2016). "Latvian Lutheran Church rules that women cannot be ordained priests". National Catholic Reporter.
^ Jansone, Ilze (14 December 2016). "The Story about "A Minority in Minority"". In Ozoliņš, Jānis; Vērdiņš, Kārlis (eds.). Queer Stories of Europe. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-4438-5561-7.
^ Muižnieks, Nils (9 October 2005). "Latvia". In Mudde, Cas (ed.). Racist Extremism in Central & Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-134-25253-4.
^ Āboltiņš, Jānis (2002-01-09). "Baznīca apkaro homoseksuālismu". Rīgas Balss (in Latvian). «Homoseksuālisti tiek atzīti par minoritāti. Principā drīz tam varētu sekot pedofili,» viņš teica.

External links[edit]

[1] Religious Freedom in the World edited by Paul Marshall, pg 198

[2] Stanley, Alessandra (3 August 1994). "A Latvian Bars Ordaining Women". The New York Times.

[3] "St. Louis Post-Dispatch Newspaper Archives". nl.newsbank.com.

[lelb-4] "LELB - Arhibīskaps". www.lelb.lv.

[5] Pongratz-Lippitt, Christa (10 June 2016). "Latvian Lutheran Church rules that women cannot be ordained priests". National Catholic Reporter.

[6] Jansone, Ilze (14 December 2016). "The Story about "A Minority in Minority"". In Ozoliņš, Jānis; Vērdiņš, Kārlis (eds.). Queer Stories of Europe. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-4438-5561-7.

[7] Muižnieks, Nils (9 October 2005). "Latvia". In Mudde, Cas (ed.). Racist Extremism in Central & Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-134-25253-4.

[8] Āboltiņš, Jānis (2002-01-09). "Baznīca apkaro homoseksuālismu". Rīgas Balss (in Latvian). «Homoseksuālisti tiek atzīti par minoritāti. Principā drīz tam varētu sekot pedofili,» viņš teica.

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