Gustavs Tūrs (24 May 1890 — 16 March 1973) was a Latvian prelate of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (, or LELB) is a Lutheranism, Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Protestant Reformation, Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes persecuted the c ...
and Archbishop of Riga from 1948 to 1968.
Biography
He was born on 24 May 1890 to Gustavs and Anna Tursa in
Prauliena Parish "Silnieki". The family had eight children. He studied at the Lazdon Parish School (Gustavs'kola), at the Aleksander Boys' Gymnasium and St. Petersburg Alexei Gymnasium (1907-1910). He studied jurisprudence and later theology from 1910 to 1918 at the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country. .
On 20 June 1920 he was ordained to the priesthood in
St James' Church in
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, when it was still a Lutheran church. For a short time he served as a pastor in
Latgale
Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...
in the parishes of Sīķele, Borne,
Kalupe, Preiļi and
Krāslava
Krāslava (; , , , , ) is a town and the administrative centre of Krāslava Municipality. The town lies on the Daugava, upstream and to the east of the city of Daugavpils. Most of the town is situated on the right coast of the Daugava. As defined ...
. Since 1921 he has served as a teacher in Bauska and as a pastor in the Bauska parish, having been there for 24 years. He also served in areas surrounding Bauska such as Cod, Mezotne and Budberga. During and after World War II he was a pastor of
St. John's Church, Riga and of
Alūksne, Sātu and Zemītes.
On 14 March 1948 he was elected Archbishop of the LELB however he was never consecrated due to ongoing political issues. In 1959,
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
's Faculty of Theology bestowed him with an honorary doctorate. On 23 March 1968, at the 11th General Synod, Tūrs resigned from his post as Archbishop of Riga and Primate of the Church of Latvia. He died on 16 March 1973 in
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
. He was buried on 24 March 1973 in
Forest Cemetery, Riga.
"Gustavs Tūrs (Turss)"
''LELB''. Retrieved on 22 December 2017.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turs, Gustavs
1890 births
1973 deaths
Latvian Lutheran clergy
Latvian Lutheran bishops
Lutheran archbishops of Riga
20th-century Lutheran archbishops
Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga