Academic Conference for Reformation Day “The New Apostle of Livonia: Johann Fischer (1636–1705)”
On the eve of Reformation Day, Luther Academy invites you to discover a man whose name is little known in Latvia, even though the fruits of his work have become part of the foundations of Latvian Christian culture.
An academic conference dedicated to Reformation Day, “The New Apostle of Livonia: Johann Fischer (1636–1705),” will take place on Friday, 30 October, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Johann Fischer was the General Superintendent of Livonia during the period of Swedish rule. He oversaw the publication of the first Latvian Bible, founded the Royal Printing House in Riga, and sent teachers and books to peasant households so that even farmhands and maids could see the Word of God “with their own eyes.” He was a friend and correspondent of Philipp Jakob Spener, one of the founders of German Pietism. His contemporaries called Fischer “the New Apostle of Livonia.”
Fischer’s work brought together theology, church politics, education, and a very practical concern for people. He wanted faith to be more than the domain of clergy; he wanted it to reach ordinary people in their own language. He was an heir to Luther’s legacy and a sharp-witted polemicist who knew how to argue both under his own name and behind a mask.
Three papers will explore Fischer from three perspectives: his life, his theology of history, and his struggle for freedom of conscience. Through the portrait of one man, the conference will shed light on an era in which the foundations of Latvian Christian literary culture were laid.
Conference programme:
Notes on the Biography of Johann Fischer — Dr. philol. Beata Paškevica
Historia Salutis in Livonia: Johann Fischer’s Theology of History in the Preface to the 1694 Latvian Bible — Dr. theol. Guntis Kalme
Conscience versus Truth: Johann Fischer and Angelus Silesius in a “Duel” of Masks — Dr. theol. Uģis Sildegs
The evening will also include congregational singing and fellowship.
Admission is free.
