In the first centuries of the Christian Church, it was understood that a God-given calling was not dependent on a person’s gender, ethnicity, or social status—both women and men participated in proclaiming the Gospel and leading faith communities. Later, however, due to various political and religious processes, opportunities for women to serve in spiritual leadership were gradually restricted and eventually denied. For centuries, the rightness of such a decision was no longer questioned.

One turning point that opened the way for the ordination of women in the Lutheran Church was the ordination of Jantine Auguste Haumersen (1881–1967) as a pastor in the Netherlands in 1929. Today, in the majority of churches belonging to the Lutheran World Federation—82%—women are ordained as pastors and can hold senior positions such as bishop or archbishop.

In the context of Latvian Lutheranism, the ordination of women began in 1974 in Germany, in Eslingen, when Agnese Pone (1898–1977) was ordained in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (LELBĀL). The following year, 1975, the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church (LELB) in Riga ordained three women—Berta Stroža (1914–2005), Helēna Valpētere (1911–1987), and Vaira Bitēna (b. 1941).

However, in 1993 the ordination of women in the LELB was suspended. This was unprecedented: the church leadership decided to completely halt the ordination of women, a decision later reinforced in 2016 through an amendment to the LELB Constitution. This decision has sparked broad theological and societal debate both in Latvia and within the international church community, and there is no reason to think the situation will change soon.

Since the 1990s, more than twenty women have had to leave home to fulfill their calling as pastors abroad. We do not know how many were forced to abandon the path they knew in their hearts to be their true vocation.

Latvian ordained women living outside Latvia continue their work in congregations. During the years of exile, alongside their spiritual work, they preserved Latvian culture, actively engaged in public life, and participated in the struggle for Latvia’s independence. They continue to build bridges to Latvia, yet they are unable to return to Latvia and continue their work in their profession.

Today, 44 women clergy serve in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide, eight of whom live and serve in Latvia, continuing to respond to their calling under challenging circumstances.

The Church focuses on human longings for spirituality and community, while also reflecting society, culture, and the times. The question of women’s ordination and their calling is therefore not solely an internal matter for the Church. If women’s voices in church and society are not heard as clearly as men’s, and their calling to serve as ordained clergy seems uncomfortable or is better left unspoken—denying them the opportunity to work on equal footing with men—what does that tell us?