News
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia is to pay an official visit to Latvia (29-31 May) and to Estonia (31 May - 2 June). The main topics of the agenda will be the role of churches and the ecumenical challenges in secularized, post-communist societies which have recently regained independence. Press conferences are scheduled in both countries (see below).
In Riga, the Latvian capital, Kobia will meet the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, the only WCC member church in the country. He will also take part in an encounter with heads of the Orthodox, Catholic, Baptist and Pentecostal churches.
The agenda of the visit includes a meeting with top government officials, including Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, an ecumenical celebration and a visit to the Museum of the Occupation, which looks at the conditions of life under both the Nazi and Soviet occupations of the country between 1940 and 1991.
In Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Kobia will meet the leadership of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, the only WCC member church in the country. An encounter with representatives of the member churches of the Estonian Council of Churches is also on the agenda.
Kobia will travel to Tartu to attend events celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. There he will meet President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Kobia will be accompanied by WCC central committee member Ms Kristyna Mlynkova, from the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, and WCC staff Rev. Matti Peiponen, responsible for European regional relations and the Ecumenical Solidarity Fund, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
Press conferences:
Riga: Wednesday, 30 May at 16:00, at the premises of the consistory of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (M. Pils iela 4, Riga).
Tallinn: Friday, 1 June at 15:00, at the Pirita Convent (Merivälja tee 18, Tallinn).
Media contact: Matti Peiponen +358-50-33-87-052
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (only in Latvian language)
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (in English)