Iconoclastic riots in Livonia

File:SAPUNOV(1893) -84- p607.jpg, Riga Cathedral, St. Peter's Church]]

Initially, the Reformation affected mainly the German-speaking population of the Baltic, but by the 1520s, some Latvian and Estonian congregations emerged in urban centers, with services in native languages. However, significant religious publications in Latvian and Estonian did not appear until much later.

After Martin Luther publicly denounced the Pope of Rome in 1521, the Diet of Worms of the Holy Roman Empire declared Luther a heretic. On August 20, 1522, Riga City Council's secretary Johann Lohmüller sent a letter to Luther, asking him to become an apostle “to Livonia, the farthest land in northern Europe and almost unknown to the Christian world."Leonid Arbusow, jun. Die Einführung der Reformation in Liv-, Est- und Kurland (Quellen und Forschungen zur Reformationsgeschichte, Bd. III), Leipzig 1921. In 1523, Luther sent a message to Riga titled: "To the Elect Beloved Friends of God, All Christians in Riga, Reval (Tallinn), and Dorpat (Tartu) in Livonia, My Beloved Lords and Brothers in Christ."

In 1523, in the town of Wolmar (Valmiera), a furrier named Melchior Hoffmann began preaching the doctrines of Luther and the Wittenberg Reformation.{{Cite web |title=Hoffman, Melchior (ca. 1495-1544?) - GAMEO |url=https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hoffman,_Melchior_(ca._1495-1544?) |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=gameo.org}}{{Cite web |title=Hoffmann, Melchior |url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc05/htm/iii.xii.xxix.htm |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=www.ccel.org}} He urged not only disobedience to the Pope (which had already taken root) but also active attacks on Catholics. Influenced by these sermons, unrest began in several cities across Livonia.

Meanwhile, in 1524, the German Peasants' War erupted in the Holy Roman Empire. Simultaneously, unrest began in Riga as members of the Brotherhood of Blackheads attacked their own altar in St. Peter's Church. During the riots—or possibly later during the Calendar Riots in Riga—the famous altarpiece created by Albrecht Dürer in 1520 was lost. In the following days, the destruction of altars and icons at St. Peter's and St. James's Church became widespread, and soon extended to Riga Cathedral, which housed twenty altars.

File:Plaza del Ayuntamiento, Riga, Letonia, 2012-08-07, DD 24.JPG and House of Blackheads in the 21st century]]

Taking advantage of the situation, the Riga City Council in November 1524 banned services in the cathedral, confiscated property belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, and closed both the cathedral and the monasteries. Only the Cistercian and Franciscan convents for women remained in operation. Later, Lutherans looted the cathedral again. The bronze tomb monument of former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Riga Jasper Linde was melted down to make cannons. Paintings from the Virgin Mary’s altar were subjected to a so-called “witch test” — floated down the Daugava River and then burned.{{Cite web |last=Grīviņš |first=Valters |title=XII nodaļa. REFORMĀCIJA |url=https://www.historia.lv/raksts/xii-nodala-reformacija |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Historia |language=lv}}

After Melchior Hoffmann expulsion in 1526, a more moderate Lutheranism took hold, retaining some Catholic traditions. Catholic bishops remained in cities like Reval and Dorpat.

A severe blow to the Catholics came with the confiscation of church treasures, the seizure of hospital and cathedral chapter properties, the destruction of monastic libraries, the mass destruction of artworks, and the expulsion of clergy, monks, and nuns from Riga. St. John's Church was converted into a warehouse. Later, it was leased to councilor R. Schulte, who turned the altar space into a stable for horses, and later also for cows and pigs. After lengthy and complex litigation, the council terminated the lease around 1554. Following the restoration of the roof and tower, the church was cleaned in October 1555 and then repurposed as the city arsenal, since a cannon foundry was located in a nearby former monastery building.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-26 |title=Vēsture |url=https://www.janabaznica.lv/par-mums/vesture/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Rīgas Sv. Jāņa baznīca |language=lv-LV}}

Gradually, the destroyed churches were taken over by Lutheran congregations, while monastic properties were absorbed by the Riga City Council.

The first Lutheran catechism in Estonian was printed in Germany in 1554. The first Latvian book, a Catholic catechism by Jesuit Peter Canisius, was printed in 1586. Soon after, Lutherans published a Latvian handbook in Königsberg.

By 1600, most Lutheran clergy in Courland were still German, though some began learning local languages. The first original Latvian book was Lettische Postill by Georg Mancelius, finished in 1639 and published in 1654. A complete Latvian Bible wasn't available until 1685.

• Beeldenstorm

• Rubenis, Andris. The Culture of the Renaissance and Reformation Era in Europe. – Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2000.

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071208181503/http://www.historia.lv/alfabets/L/LI/Livonija/monografijas/klishans/012.htm Klišāns V. Livonia XIII–XVI Century, Chapter XII: "Reformation"]
• [http://web.archive.org/web/20010525031636/http://www.ailab.lv/Teksti/Senie/Zeiferts/6.otr/1-4.html Zeiferts T. History of Latvian Literature: The Lutheran Period]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20241103035601/http://lelb.lv/lv/?ct=reformacija The Reformation Period in Latvia]
• [http://web.archive.org/web/20160305003905/http://www.nra.lv/articles/print.htm?id=485 Antra Gabre. Mysteries of the Madonna]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080409231802/http://gertrude.lv/lv/iepazisties/vesture From the History of the Old St. Gertrude Church in Riga]

Category:Livonia

Category:1520s in Europe

Category:Religion in Latvia

Category:History of Latvia

Category:Iconoclasm