JÄnis Vanags
Jānis Vanags ( born May 25, 1958 in Liepāja ) is Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, which belongs to the Lutheran World Federation.
Biography
After leaving school studied Jānis Vanags from 1976 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1989 at the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia in Riga. On 1 December 1985 he was ordained and chosen on August 29, 1993 Archbishop of his church.
Importance
During his tenure, the reorganization of the Lutheran Church of Latvia fell after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In addition to the restitution of church buildings and their repair followed a confessional Lutheran Archbishop Vanags course of his church. This shows, inter alia, to on the withdrawal of the ordination of women. With the election as archbishop he rejected the ordination of women on the grounds that she was with the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions not consistent and contrary to this. Following the withdrawal of women's ordination funds have been cut from the Lutheran churches in Germany. Vanags maintains close contacts with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church. Between the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia and the Missouri Synod full churches and altar fellowship has been established.
Criticism
Vanags is in the liberal churches ( for example, regional churches in Germany, Church of Sweden, the Danish state church ) controversial, since it has significantly against women's ordination and liberal theology that prevail in these churches, pronounced. This criticism is rejected by him on the grounds that the Lutheran Church of Latvia is independent and able to manage their affairs themselves.