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Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Latvia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca, or LELB) is a Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes persecuted the church harshly before religious freedom returned to Latvia in 1988. In contrast to Estonia, where state atheism reduced the once 80% Lutheran majority to barely 10% by 2011, the Latvian Lutheran church saw its membership drop to around 20% but has recovered and now includes approximately 30% of the population. The church reports having 250,000 members according to the Lutheran World Federation. History The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia sees itself as being in a continuous tradition of Christian life since the earliest recorded Christian missionary work in the area, in the 12th century. Latvia was highly influenced by the Reformation and the style of Lutheran church which emerged followed the more Protestant German-type ...
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Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be growing Criticism of the Catholic Church, errors, abuses, and discrepancies within it. Protestantism emphasizes the Christian believer's justification by God in faith alone (') rather than by a combination of faith with good works as in Catholicism; the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by Grace in Christianity, divine grace or "unmerited favor" only ('); the Universal priesthood, priesthood of all faithful believers in the Church; and the ''sola scriptura'' ("scripture alone") that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. Most Protestants, with the exception of Anglo-Papalism, reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, ...
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Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation, Protestant Reformation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the ''Ninety-five Theses'', divided Western Christianity. During the Reformation, Lutheranism became the state religion of numerous states of northern Europe, especially in northern Germany, Scandinavia and the then-Livonian Order. Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state. The split between the Lutherans and the Roman Catholics was made public and clear with the 1521 Edict of Worms: the edicts of the Diet (assembly), Diet condemned Luther and officially banned citizens of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagatin ...
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Dean (Christianity)
A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assistant is called a sub-dean. History Latin ''decanus'' in the Roman military was the head of a group of ten soldiers within a '' centuria'', and by the 5th century CE, it was the head of a group of ten monks. It came to refer to various civil functionaries in the later Roman Empire.''Oxford English Dictionary'' s.v.' Based on the monastic use, it came to mean the head of a chapter of canons of a collegiate church or cathedral church. Based on that use, deans in universities now fill various administrative positions. Latin ''decanus'' should not be confused with Greek ''diákonos'' (διάκονος),' from which the word deacon derives, which describes a supportive role. Officials In the Roman Catholic Church, the Dean of the Colleg ...
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Martin Luther Cathedral, Daugavpils
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Martin Luther ( lv, Mārtiņa Lutera evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca) or Martin Luther Cathedral is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Daugavpils, Latvia. Design The cathedral was designed by Wilhelm Neumann, one of the most influential architects in the current landscape of Daugavpils. It is built in a brick neogothic style and was completed in 1893. Diocese of Daugavpils The cathedral is the seat of the Lutheran Bishop of Daugavpils in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. The current bishop is Einārs Alpe, born 11 November 1963, who was ordained in the Lutheran Church in 1991, and was consecrated and enthroned as Bishop of Daugavpils on 13 October 2007.Biography of bishop aofficial website(in Latvian). Gallery File:Daugavpils luterāņu baznīca 03.JPG, Cathedral doors File:Daugavpils luterāņu baznīca 02.JPG See also *Ss. Boris and Gleb Cathedral, Daugavpils The Saints Boris and Gleb Cathedral (russian: links=no, Бор ...
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Holy Trinity Cathedral, Liepāja
Liepāja Holy Trinity Lutheran Cathedral ( lv, Liepājas Svētās Trīsvienības katedrāle) is a historical Lutheran cathedral in Liepāja, Latvia. It is the seat of the Bishop of Liepāja, and principal church of the Diocese of Liepāja. History The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1742 and on December 5, 1758, the church was solemnly consecrated. The church interior and exterior architecture is built in the late baroque style with classic features. The cathedral interior is characterized by its Rococo features and luxurious furnishings with wood carvings and gold plating. The altar is 13 metres high and the cathedral is particularly notable for its organ with 131 stops, 4 manuals and over 7000 pipes, making it the largest mechanical organ in the world until 1968. It was the first large mechanical pipe organ in Latvia and was built by Henrich Andreas Concius in 1779. In 1865–1866, the building underwent its first major reconstruction – the original draft tower wa ...
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Primate (bishop)
Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (title of honour). Roman Catholic Church In the Western Church, a primate is an archbishop—or, rarely, a suffragan or exempt bishop—of a specific (mostly metropolitan) episcopal see (called a ''primatial see'') who has precedence over the bishoprics of one or more ecclesiastical provinces of a particular historical, political or cultural area. Historically, primates of particular sees were granted privileges including the authority to call and preside at national synods, jurisdiction to hear appeals from metropolitan tribunals, the right to crown the sovereign of the nation, and presiding at the investiture (installation) of archbishops in their sees. The office is generally found only in older Catholic countries, and is now ...
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Riga Cathedral
Riga Cathedral ( lv, Rīgas Doms; german: Dom zu Riga) formally The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, is the Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Riga, Latvia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Riga. The cathedral is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Latvia, and is featured in or the subject of paintings, photographs and television travelogues. Like all of the oldest churches of the city, it is known for its weathercock. The church is commonly called the Dome Cathedral, a tautology as the word 'Dome' comes from the German ''Dom'' meaning 'cathedral'. History and architecture The church was built near the River Daugava in 1211 by Livonian Bishop Albert of Riga, who came from Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany. It is considered the largest medieval church in the Baltic states. It has undergone many modifications in the course of its history. David Caspari was rector of the cathedral school in the late 17th century. His son Georg Caspari also served at the cathedral. F ...
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Diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, provinces were administratively associated in a larger unit, the Roman diocese, diocese (Latin ''dioecesis'', from the Greek language, Greek term διοίκησις, meaning "administration"). Christianity was given legal status in 313 with the Edict of Milan. Churches began to organize themselves into Roman diocese, dioceses based on the Roman diocese, civil dioceses, not on the larger regional imperial districts. These dioceses were often smaller than the Roman province, provinces. Christianity was declared the Empire's State church of the Roman Empire, official religion by Theodosius I in 380. Constantine the Great, Constantine I in 318 gave litigants the right to have court cases transferred from the civil courts to the bishops. This situ ...
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Consistory (Protestantism)
In Protestant usage, a consistory designates certain ruling bodies in various churches.''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'', J. Gordon Melton (ed.), New York: Facts On File, c2005, p. 162. The meaning and the scope of functions varies strongly, also along the separating lines of the Protestant denominations and church bodies. History Starting in 1539 the term was used for a body taking over the jurisdiction in marital matters, and later also church discipline, so that Protestant consistories can be regarded as successors not to the papal consistory in Rome but rather to the courts of Roman Catholic bishops.''The encyclopedia of Protestantism'', Hans J. Hillerbrand (ed.), New York: Routledge, 2004, . In the Lutheran or Reformed states of imperial immediacy in the Holy Roman Empire episcopal offices were not staffed any more and the secular government assumed the function of the bishop (summepiscopate, summus episcopus), looked after by the consistories. Not all Protestant churches ...
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Supermajority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but they can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises in the times action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. Parliamentary procedure requires that any action of a deliberative assembly that may alter the rights of a minority have a supermajority requirement, such as a two-thirds vote. Related concepts regarding alternatives to the majority vote requirement include a majority of the entire membership and a majority of the fixed membership. A supermajority can also be specified based on the entire membership or f ...
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Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bishops. Those of the Anglican, Church of the East, Eastern Orthodox, Hussite, Moravian, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Scandinavian Lutheran traditions maintain that "a bishop cannot have regular or valid orders unless he has been consecrated in this apostolic succession". These traditions do not always consider the episcopal consecrations of all of the other traditions as valid. This series was seen originally as that of the bishops of a particular see founded by one or more of the apostles. According to historian Justo L. González, apostolic succession is generally understood today as meaning a series of bishops, regardless of see, each consecrated by other bishops, themselves consecrated similarly in a succession ...
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Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in particular to papal authority, arising from what were perceived to be errors, abuses, and discrepancies by the Catholic Church. The Reformation was the start of Protestantism and the split of the Western Church into Protestantism and what is now the Roman Catholic Church. It is also considered to be one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe.Davies ''Europe'' pp. 291–293 Prior to Martin Luther, there were many earlier reform movements. Although the Reformation is usually considered to have started with the publication of the '' Ninety-five Theses'' by Martin Luther in 1517, he was not excommunicated by Pope Leo X until January 1521. The Diet of Worms of May 152 ...
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