Since its founding in 1822 by British merchants living in Riga, St. Saviour’s has long been a popular refuge for people coming to Latvia from places abroad. We are the perfect place to join in worship and fellowship regardless of if you’re only in Riga for a few-hour layover or if you’ve decided to spend the rest of your life in here Latvia.
For travellers and tourists
Our little church is located right at the heart of the city, along the bank of the River Daugava and just between Riga Palace and the Dome Cathedral. If you are here on a Sunday, stopping in at St. Saviour’s for our 11 AM English language worship service could be a perfect, spiritually fulfilling part of a day full of sightseeing. We are just minutes away from a number of historical landmarks and objects of interest, such as museums, galleries, and other beautiful churches. There are plenty of delicious restaurants and romantic cafes right nearby for you to visit as well before or after worship. The TravelToBlank blog has a great guide to many of the things you could do in Old Riga even if you only have a day or two. If you’re here on a Wednesday, you can visit our free 1 PM lunchtime concerts, or you can check Live Riga any day of the week for lots of other exciting events and happenings in the city!
For people moving to Riga
Moving to a new country can be overwhelming — this is something that many of us here at St. Saviour’s know very well, as quite a few of us come from countries far away. Although Latvia is a beautiful country and Riga is an exciting city with so much going on at all times of year, cultural differences can sometimes make it difficult to feel a sense of “belonging” and to connect with others. If you feel yourself struggling to adapt, or are having logistical issues such as finding a place to stay, opening a bank account, etc, let us know! Many of us have gone through the same or similar issues that you are going through, and we would be more than happy to share what we have learned! Feel free to email churchwarden Joe Horgan with questions about life here in Latvia as an international person, as he would be more than happy to be of assistance.
Even better — come talk to us! We strive to be a warm and welcoming community for people from all over the world who are looking for a sense of belonging and fellowship, and we would be happy for you to join our family. Each Sunday after our 11 AM worship service, we have a coffee hour in which you can have a chance to chat with different members about their experiences living here in Latvia.
For those of you with Facebook, we can highly recommend joining the Expats in Latvia group, which is an excellent place to ask and answer questions as well as share ideas and experiences with thousands of other international people living here in Latvia. If you are interested in learning more about the day-to-day happenings here in the country, we can suggest listening to the Latvia Weekly podcast (produced by our churchwarden Joe) and following the English version of Latvian Public Media.
