The first parish of the Seventh day Adventists in Latvia was founded on May 14, 1896 in Riga. The first Adventists were Germans by ethnicity.

The activities of the Adventists were not legal in Russia until 1905, when religious freedom was declared. In 1906 the Minister of the Interior informed the state institutions that the Adventists should be treated like Baptists in accordance with the Law of 1871. The Union of Adventists of Russia was created in 1908.

The first Adventist preacher of Latvian ethnicity - Jānis Sproģis b. 1871 was ordained in 1908. The first magazine for Adventists was started in 1906 and the editor was Jēkabs Šneiders b. 1877.

Serious problems for the Adventists arose with the beginning of the WW1. Strictly speaking, their beliefs did not allow them to take part in warfare, but at the same time they also wished to be patriotic. As far as it is known, this contradiction caused problems within the Church.

I was surprised to learn that for this reason some emigration took place. S.Vahramejevs informed me that his uncles - members of the Adventist Church - Alberts and Roberts Kauliņš emigrated to the USA before the WW1, because they did not wish to be conscripted into the Army for religious reasons. Please, have a look at this family history.

Adventists started their activities in independent Latvia as soon as it was established. The Chairmen of the Union of the parishes were:

J.Šneiders, chairman 1920 - 1921
K.Sutta b. Feb. 16, 1873, chairman 1922 - 1928
K.Roze b. June 8,1896, chairman 1929 - 1930, 1936
J.Birziņš b. July 8,1891, chairman 1931 - 1933, 1935
H.Linde b. Jan. 10, 1894, chairman 1934 - 1935
J.Oltiņš b. May 10, 1902, chairman 1937 - 1940

The names of other preachers in 1938 not mentioned in this list are: A.Jurkevics, E.Krievs, E.Klotiņš, A.Eglītis, K.Linde, A.Čolders, P.Purmalis, E.Tiesnesis.

In 1938 there were about 3000 Adventists in Latvia. They had good international cooperation and took part in missions. At this time Latvian Adventist parishes existed also in the USA, but, as far as I understand, they did not organize emigration from Latvia to other countries.