Excerpt from Protestantism in Eastern Middle Europe (Classic Reprint)
The cornerstone to the written language and literature of the Esthonians and the Letts was laid by Lutheran parsons, who had to serve bilingually, german-esthonian or german-lettish. It was particularly Gotthard Kettler, from 1559 to 1562 the last Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia, and Duke of Courland after the partition of Livonia, who promoted the religious instruction of the Letts in their own mother tongue.
Supported by the Poles, the Counter Reformation tried to gain influence in Livonia: The Jakobi Church in Riga was made Catholic again; the Jesuits started their counter reformational activity from 1583 on. Violent dispute-s arise in Rig-a between the Evangelical camp, led by Hermann Samson, and the Jesuits. Poland intervenes in favour of Catholicism and things take on dangerous forms for the Evangelical population and Hermann Samson, who is indicted by the Poles. The dangerous consequences are, however, evaded, when Gustav Adolf conquers Riga in 1621.
Already under Gotthard Kettler an exemplary establishment of Evangelical church life had been undertaken in Courland; during the Swedish times a similar basis for an evangelical-lutheran church life is built in Esthonia (1561 — 1710) and in Livonia (1621 Sol-id legal grounds were provided for the organisation and the material possessions of the church, as well as for the position of the clergy. These legal provisions remained valid even after Esthonia and Livonia were put under Russian rule.
Starting in Germany, the pietistic movement made itself impressively notice-able in the Baltic States, favoured to some degree by direct contact, such as existed between the Livonian General Superintendent Johann Fischer and Philipp Jakob Spener. In particular the parsons, tutors and students, coming from Germany, brought with them pietistic thoughts and ideas. The pietistic influences increased noticeably after the Baltic provinces had passed into Russian possession. During the twenties and thirties of the 18th century the Baltic States came into contact also with the pious movement that emanated from the Herrnhut Unity of Brethren. Count Zinzendorf stayed in Livonia and Esthonia in 1736. The Unity of Brethren and the national church were on friendly terms until 1832, when a new churdi law curbed the activity of the Unity of Brethren. The following decades brought an increasingly sharp dispute, that was conducted by the national church with a view to church unity.