Omsk, Russia
The International Academic Conference entitled “Lutherans in Russia: Marking the 300th Anniversary of Lutheranism in Siberia” was held in Omsk on October 9-10. The goal of this meeting was to think about the historical role of representatives of the Lutheran church in the settlement of new Russian territories, and in its unique contributions to the material and spiritual culture of the region.
Lutherans began to move to Siberia at the end of the 18th century, especially by taking part in the building of the fort of Omsk, where Swedish Lutherans were prisoners of war; already in 1716 the first Lutheran church of Omsk was built. A stone building, St. Catherine's Lutheran Church, was built in 1792 in Omsk; for a long time it was the only Lutheran church building in Siberia and it contributed to the development of the largest Lutheran congregation in Siberia.
More than 100 people took part in the work of the conference. There were representatives from 22 cities in Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Estonia and the United States. The disciplines touched upon included ethnography (including a special working group dedicated to the culture of Scandinavian and Baltic peoples in the history of the region), history, architecture, sociology and theology.
The conference brought public attention to the role that the Lutheran church has played and continues to play in the public life of the region, including its role as a peacemaker.
On the 9th of October the papers of the conference that were submitted before hand were presented in published form; lectures and public discussions on these papers followed. Our church was represented by Pastors Anton Tikhomirov (Theological Seminary), Dimitri Schweitz (Abakan region), Bradn Buerkle (Equipping for Service project) and former seminary teacher from the United States, Chris Repp. On the 10th conference participants traveled to the Azov German National Region of the Omsk oblast, where there was the opportunity to visit a museum dedicated to the daily life of a German-Russian Siberian village and to watch a concert by local singers and dancers.
The International Academic Conference entitled “Lutherans in Russia: Marking the 300th Anniversary of Lutheranism in Siberia” was held in Omsk on October 9-10. The goal of this meeting was to think about the historical role of representatives of the Lutheran church in the settlement of new Russian territories, and in its unique contributions to the material and spiritual culture of the region.
Lutherans began to move to Siberia at the end of the 18th century, especially by taking part in the building of the fort of Omsk, where Swedish Lutherans were prisoners of war; already in 1716 the first Lutheran church of Omsk was built. A stone building, St. Catherine's Lutheran Church, was built in 1792 in Omsk; for a long time it was the only Lutheran church building in Siberia and it contributed to the development of the largest Lutheran congregation in Siberia.
More than 100 people took part in the work of the conference. There were representatives from 22 cities in Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Estonia and the United States. The disciplines touched upon included ethnography (including a special working group dedicated to the culture of Scandinavian and Baltic peoples in the history of the region), history, architecture, sociology and theology.
The conference brought public attention to the role that the Lutheran church has played and continues to play in the public life of the region, including its role as a peacemaker.
On the 9th of October the papers of the conference that were submitted before hand were presented in published form; lectures and public discussions on these papers followed. Our church was represented by Pastors Anton Tikhomirov (Theological Seminary), Dimitri Schweitz (Abakan region), Bradn Buerkle (Equipping for Service project) and former seminary teacher from the United States, Chris Repp. On the 10th conference participants traveled to the Azov German National Region of the Omsk oblast, where there was the opportunity to visit a museum dedicated to the daily life of a German-Russian Siberian village and to watch a concert by local singers and dancers.
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