The Latvian Orthodox Churrch in the interwar years
After the formation of the independent Baltic States the eparchy of Riga was divided into two parts – Estonian and Latvian. On 27 February 1920 the All-Latvian Assembly of the Orthodox Church elected Johann Pommer as the Archbishop of Riga and all Latvia. Before he left Soviet Russia, Johann Pommer had a meeting with the Patriarch of all Russia Tikhon, from whom he received a document confirming the independence of the Latvian Orthodox Church which maintained subordination to the patriarchy of Moscow only in canonical matters
After the death of Archbishop Johann a battle raged around the legal status of the Latvian Orthodox Church. On 7 November 1935 an agreement was reached with the patriarchy of Constantinople on the transfer of the Latvian Orthodoxy to its jurisdiction. Augustins Petersons was elected the new Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia
In 1936 the Orthodox Theological Institute began its work. An Orthodox Department was opened the following year within the Faculty of Theology at the University of Latvia
In 1939 there were 77 Russian, 6 Latvian and Russian, 74 Latvian, 1 German and 1 Estonian Orthodox parishes functioning in Latvia.
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