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Curriculum Vitae
Janis Vanags was born on 25 May 1958
in Liepaja, Letvia. After he completed his schooling in his hometown he studied chemistry
at the University of Riga. Till 1985 he was the chemistry and physical science teacher at
the Middle school in the capital city of Latvia.
In the same year he was ordained as
the Pastor of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Latvia. He was responsible for different
congregations of his country.
In 1993 the synod appointed him as
archbishop.
In the time of political change, when
Latvia, a former state of the Soviet Republic, became a free state, Janis Vanags was a co-
founder of the Christian Movement "Rebirth and renewal".
He is an advisor for religious rights to the justice administration.
The President of the Republic has awarded him for his contributions.
He has consequently steered in the
direction of the Reformation of Martin Luther; he founded in Riga the Lutheran Academy. Dr
Jobst Schoene, former Bishop of the independent Evangelical Church (SELK) in Germany
supported him in his convictions.
For his consequent theological stand
and his engagement as church leader, in 1997 the Concordia University of the Lutheran
Missouri Synod in Fort Wayne, USA, awarded him the honouree doctor Title DD. In this way
his influence on the spreading of the Lutheran confession in the East block and the
promotion of the Lutheran theology in Lettand was honoured.
Archbishop Vanags is married to Baiba
Vanags. They have 3 children. Different forms of music belong to their hobbies. In his
limited free time he relaxes on a farm, which he inherited from his grandfather. |
