Archbishop John ( lv, Аrhibīskaps Jānis, russian: Архиепископ Иоанн, secular name Jānis Pommers or Ivan Andreyevich Pommer, russian: Иван Андреевич Поммер; 6 (18) January 1876 – 29 September (12 October) 1934) was the first Latvian Archbishop of the

Latvian Orthodox Church The Latvian Orthodox Church ( lv, Latvijas Pareizticīgā Baznīca) is an Eastern Orthodox church on Latvia, part of the wider Eastern Orthodoxy community. The primate of the church carries the title of ''Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia'' ( ...

, serving from 1921 to his assassination in 1934. He was also involved in politics, and was the leader of the

Party of the Orthodox The Party of the Orthodox was a political party in Latvia during the inter-war period. Primarily representing Russian Orthodox peasants in Latgale, it was led by Archbishop Jānis Pommers Archbishop John ( lv, Аrhibīskaps Jānis, russian: � ...

.Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, pp459–460

Biography

His great-grandfather had been a Latvian convert to Orthodoxy, which was hoped to help any fears Orthodoxy was too Russian in orientation. He proved significant to the Church and gained its recognition in 1926. He was elected to the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...

in the 1925 elections on the Party of the Orthodox list, and was re-elected in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, serving as an MP from 1925 to 1934. This involved some controversy as the Left feared he was

Monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

while Russian monarchists feared he was a Latvian nationalist. The

's Order of the Saint Martyr Archbishop of Riga and Latvia John (Janis Pommers) is named for him.President of Latvia receives the Order of Janis Pommers from the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church of Riga and Latvia in Riga Orthodox Cathedral of the Birth of Christ On the Second Day of Easter, 9 April, 2007
president.lv

References

External links

1876 births 1934 deaths People from Madona Municipality People from Kreis Wenden Latvian bishops Latvian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox saints Eastern Orthodox Christians from Latvia 20th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops Party of the Orthodox politicians Deputies of the 2nd Saeima Deputies of the 3rd Saeima Deputies of the 4th Saeima {{Latvia-politician-stub