The Rev. Dr. Yanis Alfred Smits, commonly known as Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 Smits, is a Latvian theologian and pastor. He was persecuted for his political and religious activism against the Soviet rule over Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

 during 1956-1976. His personal story has aroused global interest in the Christian community in his struggle for basic human rights and social justice. He would eventually be elected as Bishop of the Latvian Baptist Union.

Ministry

Yanis and Ruth Smits were both born in Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

, Latvia. Life for Christians under a communist regime was not easy. Yanis was baptized in a river at night. He was unable to study theology because of government restrictions, so he studied agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. Ruth's father was a pastor and she met Yanis when he attended Bible studies in her parents' home.
Yanis began preaching in 1961, but in 1974 Soviet authorities revoked his preaching license because of his evangelistic efforts. Threatened with imprisonment or worse, the family emigrated to Canada in 1977 where Yanis was involved in outreach to Latvians through pastoral ministry and radio. He has made numerous visits to Latvia to do evangelism and leadership development. In the mid-1990s he returned to Latvia to serve as the pastor of the historic Salvation Temple in Riga. In the early 2000s he was elected Bishop by the Latvian Baptist Union, whom he served for 2 terms. After the completion of his terms he resigned his pastorate and returned to Canada.