Riga, Latvia, August 15, 2023
pravoslavie.lv
On Sunday, a bishop was consecrated in Riga for the first time in 80 years.
At its session on July 24, the Synod of the Latvian Orthodox Church “considered the long overdue need to have a bishop, a Latvian by nationality, for the spiritual care of the Latvian Orthodox flock,” the Latvian Church reports.
The press service continues:
Taking into account the historical vicissitudes and complexities of the existence of Holy Orthodoxy in Latvia, in accordance with the long-standing wishes of the Latvian Orthodox population and the need to meet their spiritual needs, understanding today's historical realities, in order to strengthen, preserve and consolidate Holy Orthodoxy in Latvia and preserve the hierarchical succession of the Holy Mother Church, based on [a 2019 amendment to] the Law on the Latvian Orthodox Church adopted by the Seimas of the Republic of Latvia on November 13, 2008, according to which only a citizen of the Republic of Latvia can be a Bishop of the LOC, having lived in Latvia for at least the last 10 years, the Synod decided by its unanimous decision: Archimandrite John (Lipšāns), a cleric of the Annunciation Church in Riga, to be Bishop of Valmiera, vicar of the Metropolitan of Riga and All Latvia.
On Sunday, August 13, His Eminence Metropolitan Alexander of Riga, His Eminence Archbishop Alexander of Daugavpils, and His Grace Bishop John of Jelgava consecrated Archimandrite John (Lipšāns) to the episcopacy. He was the first bishop to be consecrated in Riga since His Grace Bishop John (Garklavs) was consecrated in 1943.
Handing the newly consecrated Bp. John his episcopal staff, Met. Alexander exhorted:
Every bishop should be a faithful guardian of the holy Apostolic Tradition. And you, beloved brother, keep intact the holy dogmas of the Orthodox faith, traditions and customs of our Holy Orthodox Church, which performs its ministry in our native Latvian land. Our traditions and customs have been sanctified for centuries and help many generations to lead a Christian life.
Today you are presented with the holy staff—a symbol of the episcopal authority, which gives you the right to guard the flock entrusted to you, to edify it and to nourish it graciously. But the episcopal authority is, first of all, a great responsibility for the preservation of the unity of the Church, for the preservation of the Church flock in peace and unanimity, for its multiplication and spiritual growth. The spiritual power of a bishop is great, but it is associated with inner humility, it is combined with spiritual and bodily feats, firmness and meekness are combined in the episcopal ministry, and the archpastor’s ministry and every act of his are always dissolved by love for God, for the Church and for his neighbor.
With peace in your soul, with a heart filled with zeal for the glory of God and the good of the Holy Church of Christ, with love for the people of God, now accept this rod, a sign of your archpastoral dignity, and invoke the Apostolic blessing on the good Christians who have been fervently praying with us for you, for your fulfillment by the grace of the Holy Spirit and the success of the coming your ministry.
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Bp. John (Lipšāns) was born in Latgale, Latvia, in 1957. During high school, he became an active Orthodox parishioner, altar boy, and chanter.
He was ordained a deacon in 1985 and a priest in 1986, and served in parishes both in Riga and in Krape. At the same time, he did correspondence studies through the Moscow Theological Seminary, graduating in 1991.
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