An invitation to join the Latvia government’s religious advisory council provides a valuable opportunity for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to have its voice heard, says Pastor Valdis Zilgalvis, president of the Adventist Church in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.  The invitation was extended at an August 9 meeting of the council, which is made up of representatives from eight religious denominations. As a member, Zilgalvis will represent the interests and perspective of the Adventist Church in Latvia and will be a full participant in the discussions of the council.

“This is a significant invitation,” says Zilgalvis. “It gives the Adventist Church a voice in Latvia that it previously did not have.” He adds that it is another demonstration of the Latvian government’s good faith commitment to religious freedom and to the equal treatment of different religious denominations.

The council is a consultative body, providing information and input to the country’s legislature, known as the Saeima, on issues touching on the interests of religious organizations.  Zilgalvis points out that the council is also able to propose specific legislation.  He says that plans are already underway for the proposal of a law making provision for the special needs of Sabbathkeepers in Latvia-similar to laws currently in place in Italy, Spain and Poland.  Such a law would make it easier for both students and workers to arrange for absences based on religious needs, he says.

Zilgalvis notes, however, that officials have often shown themselves willing to accommodate students in these matters. He cites the case of an Adventist student whose graduate school exams last year fell on a Saturday.  “We appealed to the minister of education,” says Zilgalvis, “and this year, the exams were not scheduled on Saturday.”

“We believe, though, that there is still a need for a law that will clarify the issue of Sabbath accommodation,” says Zilgalvis. 
Latvia, an Eastern European country located between Estonia and Lithuania on the edge of the Baltic Sea, became an independent country in 1991 after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The Adventist Church has worked in this country since 1920.