Ernsts Gliks par sevi. Teoloģiski antropoloģisks priekšvārds viņa "Autobiogrāfiskajai skicei" (1699)

The article analyzes Ernst Glück’s (1654–1705) autobiographical sketch (1699), addressed to the Swedish Livonian Governor General Erik Dahlbergh (1625–1703) and preserved in the Swedish State Archives. This unique document provides insight into the self-understanding of the first translator of the Bible into Latvian, viewed from a theological–anthropological perspective. Glück portrays himself as “a stranger in this land” who nevertheless served “non Patriae sed Livoniae with loyalty and honesty.” The sketch highlights the spiritual deficiency of the Latvian Church—the absence of the Bible in the vernacular—and explains Glück’s undertakings: the preparation of catechetical works, the establishment of schools in Alūksne, the translation of the Bible from the original languages, and even plans for the evangelization of Russian peoples. More than a biographical note, the text reveals a Lutheran vision of humanity: man as a recipient of God’s Word, as a being shaped by education and mission, and as a servant whose life becomes a doxology to God.