Two Decades and Two Concerts

Berdyansk

On June 24 the congregation in Berdyansk (Zaporozhskaya obl., Ukraine) celebrated 20 years since its re-birth. On this day the celebratory worship service in the Church of Christ the Savior was led by Pastor Andrey Kuznetsov (Kiev). 10 congregational members were baptised and confirmed. Many warm words of congratulations and presents were given to the congregation by guests and friends who were not able to attend in person.

After the meal a concert of early music was performed by Andrei Pracht (harpsicord), Irina Lukyanchuk (mandolin) and Elena Richter (soprano).

That evening in the Roman Catholic Church of the Birth of the Holy Virgin Mary there was an organ concert. Elena Udras performed classical and contemporary works on the organ, including her own pieces. Both concerts were dedicated to the 500 anniversary of the Reformation.

Yuri Rykov

Artistic Album of German Russian Heritage Published in the Year of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation

Moscow

In the year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation the International Union of German Culture (IUGC) prepared a unique artistic album “From Heaven Above..." about the history of the most important Lutheran symbols of Russia – active and abandoned kirchen. The album (1000 copies of which were printed) contains historic information, prose texts, rare architectural plans of buildings and contemporary photographs, as well as digital painting by Russian German artists especially created as part of an art lab.

“This year is marked by an event of worldwide significance – the whole world celebrates the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, which had enormous influence on the development of scientific thought, art, and faith of many people and cultures. The album published by the International Union of German Culture is more than just a project that presents the history of Lutheranism in Russia. It is also a large artistic and analytical work which is meant to save that integral part of the historical heritage of our country which is the Lutheran tradition of Germans of Russia,” noted Igor Barinov, the leader of the Federal Agency of ethnic affairs.

The publication is unique insofar as it presents a living reflection of Lutheran culture of our country; in addition to historical facts, it has real artistic value. The name of the album comes from a line in the poetry of Martin Luther: “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come...” - the poetry of a person whose theses caused upheaval in the Christian world.

“On the one hand we wanted to give a sign of respect to our ancestors who started to come to Russia already in Luther's lifetime and then, in the years of Catherine (the Great) II’s manifestos inviting Germans (1762-3) when Germans settled en masse in the Russian provinces and founded more than 75 Evangelical Lutheran colonies in the Volga region alone. On the other hand we wanted to tell our fellow citizens and European society about the rich history and tradition of Lutheranism in Russia,” said the album's publisher, the first vice-chair of IUGC, Olga Martens.

At the core of the album are the results of the work of the Art Lab of the Creative Union of German Russians, especially their expeditions to the Volga. In 2016 and 2017 painters created around 30 canvases with Lutheran cathedrals of Russia as their main subjects. Some of these historical monuments have been restored; others are abandoned, having been used in the Soviet period as grain bins, auto repair shops, clubhouses, swimming pools, barns... after that tragic page in the history of German Russians began in 1941 – deportations, forced labor, eternal exile.

Even in the most difficult circumstances of repression and homelessness Russian Germans were able to retain their ties with their religion. Faith helped many of them to survive the periods of deportation and repression. The Germans of Russia were always very pious and many families saved their families' Bible and hymn books. Even today a majority of Russian Germans are Protestant. This confessional commitment played and continues to play a big role in the preservation of German culture and identity.

“The Reformation was not only a religious event. It prompted man to think about his relationship with God as well as his place in human society. The Reformation began with one person and many others were caught up in it. We are heirs of the Reformation whether we are members of Lutheran churches or not. In these kirchen the main thing that happened was that there was a Reformation of the heart. In these building songs of praise were song to the One who gives life. Here people found inspiration for transforming and reforming life around them,” said ELCR Archbishop Dietrich Brauer in his forward to the album.

The exhibition and album are intended to acquaint readers with the history of Russian Germans through the prism of the Reformation and the confessional agency, Lutheran and German architecture. The album includes never before published historical documents – architectural plans and historical information about Lutheran churches and congregations in the capitals and in large cities as well as in the areas of German settlement on the Volga. The chronology of development of Lutheranism in Russia and these historical texts about church buildings were written by the most qualified specialist on the history of Lutheranism in our country, Prof. Olga Litsenberger, Ph.D.

The presentation of the first paintings from the exhibition of German Russian artists entitled “From Heaven Above....” first took place in the Temple of Jesus Christ in the village of Zorkino (Zurich) on August 28, 2016 – the 75th anniversary of the deportation of Soviet Germans. Then the pictures were sent to the Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow as part of the Forum of Germans of Russia in October 2016.

The ceremonial presentation of the album and the mobile exhibition took place as part of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation events in the city church of Bayreuth (Bavaria, Germany) on May 22, 2017. Visitors will be able to see the exhibition in other German cities as well – in Augsburg and cities of Saxony-Anhalt, after which the exhibition and album will be presented in various places in Moscow.

Original text from the site: www.rusdeutsch.ru

New Organ Makes a Joyful Noise in Petrikirche

St. Petersburg

On June 4, Pentecost, the congregational members of St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (Petrikirche) first heard their new organ. It was tuned just a few days before. Now all the time and effort searching for an appropriate instrument as well as funds for its purchase, transport and installation are in the past. The Willi Peter organ was a gift for the congregation of St. Anna and St. Peter during this 500 anniversary of the Reformation.

”Three years ago the pastor of St. Gertrude congregation in Stockholm asked me if the newest of their three organs would fit for Petrikirche,” Pastor Michael Schwartzkopf explained, “their old organ was going to return to its former place while the Willi Peter organ, given to the congregation in the 1970s, was to be put in storage.”

After getting acquainted with the instrument and making a decision about whether or not it was the best option, the process of gathering funds began. Congregational members made offerings as did friends of the congregation. But most of all the project was able to happen thanks to the agreement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany to take on the main financial burden. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this was another source of finances. Petrkirche’s partner congregation - St. Michael's in Hamburg - made a significant contribution as well. In October 2016 St. Gertrude's congregation Stockholm began to take down the organ in order to transport it. In January 2017 the reconstruction of the organ gallery began in Petrikirche in order to prepare a place for the new instrument.

After the building was closed in 1937 the historic organ was taken away, and for many decades that space was empty. The Walker organ had been installed in St. Peter's church in 1840; it had 63 registers, three manuals and one pedalboard.  After the church's closure the organ was given to Moscow, where it was installed in the Tchaikovsky concert hall. But then in the 1950s the organ was taken apart; some of its registers remained in Moscow and the other part, having been taken to Czechoslovakia, turned up in Donetsk – then called Stalino - where the organ was installed in the regional philharmonic orchestra.

In 1997 a small, 10-register organ was installed in the altar area of Petrikirche; now it will have a worthy companion in the large Willi Peter organ (1972-73) with 43 registers and three manuals. The “new resident” of the cathedral came in April, during Easter week, and then after assembly, it was tuned by experts from the Beckerath company in Hamburg.

On July 1 the organ was officially “opened” at a concert at which two Petersburg musicians performed – the organist of Petrikirche Sergei Silaevsky and the organist of St. Catherine's Evangelical Lutheran Church Grigory Varshavsky. Now concerts of organ music will be performed in the cathedral a few times a week, while the blessing of the instrument will take place on September 28, and will be celebrate together with representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Northern Germany.

Historic organ (lost)

New organ for Petrikirche

Reformation Conference in Moscow

On May 30-31 an ecumenical conference dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation was held at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow. Representatives of the Moscow government, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant groups spoke at the opening event.

“This anniversary year challenges us to cleanse and to heal memories and to restore Christian unity in accordance with the Gospel,” said the Papal Nuncio in the Russian Federation, Archbishop Celestino Migliore. He reminded everyone that Christianity is the only world religion that has an ecumenical movement. According to him among Christian denominations “consensus is growing regarding understanding Christian unity as reconciled diversity.”

The Secretary of the division for external church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Archpriest Stephan (Igumenov) greeted Lutherans in the name of the Russian Orthodox Church. Speaking of the Reformation he noted that “these events far away from Russia” all the same during all these 500 years have influenced our country. He mentioned that Lutherans have been in Russia more than 400 years and have a “dignified place in the multicolored palate” of the country and wished the “relatively small, but vivid” Lutheran congregation prosperity.

During the concert dedicated to the opening of the conference works by Bach, Mozart, Frank and Barber were played by the chamber orchestra “Instrumental Cappela” and the «Soli Deo Gloria» chamber orchestra of organ and soloists directed by Oleg Romanenko. A special treat of the concert was the performance of the III and IV parts of Symphony #5, the “Reformation” symphony of F. Mendellsohn-Bartholdy, which was played in Sts. Peter and Paul for the first time.

”Today all those church leaders and representatives of government structures mentioned that the Reformation taught us a lot. It taught us to value the common root that is the source of our hope, our faith in Jesus Christ” – said Archbishop Dietrich Brauer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in summing up the first day of the conference. “We are to be reconciled with one another, to go together along the path of peace and harmony with those people who represent various peoples, various convictions. We are all united by the One who invites us to follow Him, our one common Lord.”

During the second day of the work of the conference there were a number of papers dedicated to the heritage of the Reformation. ELC Seminary President Anton Tikhomirov spoke about Protestantism in Russian poetry. Pastor Bradn Buerkle's theme was the canonicty of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia. Participants heard from Ulrich Heckel of Tubingen University about Martin Luther's understanding of the Church in an ecumenical context.

The historian Pavel Gnilorybov presented his book “Five Centuries of Moscow Lutherans.” This book about the history of the founding and development of the Lutheran congregation in Moscow came out specially for the Reformation anniversary year. The book follows the lives of Protestants in the Russian capital; in its pages – famous teachers and pastors, philanthropists and patrons, the main addresses of Moscow Lutherans, and all the ups and downs of the relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the state. The publication is illustrated by photographs and by a series of 12 graphic works by the famous artist Andrey Sergunkin.

ELCR General Synod Elects a New President

Moscow

Archbishop Dietrich Brauer, in his sermon at the opening worship service of the Fifth General synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, spoke about his recent experience at the worldwide LWF gathering: “The influence of the Reformation is not limited to only European countries. The large gathering of the Lutheran World Federation was held in May of this year in Africa, in Namibia.  The entire host country was caught up in great joy - the president of the country – a Lutheran – organized a warm welcome for guests. On one of the days there were testimonies given by ministers of the church from various regions. Delegate Vera Tkach told the story of St. Mary Lutheran Church in the Petrograd region of St. Petersburg. In the years of the blockade the wooden church was disassembled and used for firewood to warm people's homes. In this way the church continued to serve people. Everything changed a century ago and this century left scars. Today, though, we are traveling on the road to His coming kingdom, trusting our Lord.”

This report helped give context to those gathered in Moscow for the General Assembly. 20 delegates, elected to 6-year terms by local and regional leaders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in European Russia (ELCER) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East (ELCUSFE), took part in the event that included: the Archbishop's report, the vice-president's report from Tatyana Muramtseva and the report of the president of the Theological Seminary, Anton Tikhomirov.

Maria Khudenko and Viktor Weber spoke about the results of the new state registration of the church's constitution; the process has been completed and the Church should receive the confirmation documentation soon.

A second, no less important aspect of the meeting was the election of a new president. Two years ago Waldemar Bentzel was elected president, but he moved to Germany for a new place of service; in the meantime his responsibilities were passed on to Tatytana Muramtseva, the vice-president. The Dean of the Saratov Deanery of the ELCER, Andrey Dzhamgarov, was elected as the new president, with Dean of the Central Deanery of ELCUSFE, Vladimir Vinogradov, elected vice-president.

The audit commission was also elected: Elena Lobova from Omsk, Olga Smykova from St. Petersburg, and Lidya Reichert from Samara.

At the prayer service at the conclusion of this most authoritative meeting of Russian Lutherans Archbishop Brauer blessed Andrey and Vladimir in their new ministries.

Songs from Magadascar in the Congregation in Yaroslavl

On April 22 a long hoped-for event took place – the trip of the French-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Moscow to Yaroslavl. The youth choir prepared a special paschal program for their performance in the “kirche.”

Despite the biting cold in the church (since it is still under construction there has been no heat for many years ) the sanctuary was full. Members of the congregation came; they prepared tea and snacks for guests from the city. The vice mayor of the city, Vyacheslav Gavrilov, welcomed the guests. The choir, for their part, gave him souvenirs from Madagascar (where most of the members of the congregation are from) as a sign of thankfulness for his support. Area Dean Elena Bonderenko, Pastor Ivan Shirokov from the Yaroslavl congregation, and preachers Artis Petersons and Mamy Rakotonitama each said a few words of their own.

The choir, directed by Fara Rakoto, performed traditional French Easter hymns, Malagasi and contemporary Christian songs. The choir was accompanied by the pianist of the Moscow Protestant Congregational Jacquis Steve Andriamampiarintsoa and his spouse Farrah Ramboarifina (the director of the MPC choir) also joined the performance. On that day that French-speaking congregation took with them a new paschal candle to light it from the candle of the Yaroslavl congregation. This candle became a symbol of the light of the Gospel which believers share with one another, confirming in this way that victory of the Risen Christ.

Elena Bondarenko

Easter 2017 in Congregations of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Azovo (Russia)

Baku (Azerbaijan)

Berdyansk (Ukraine)

Chelyanbinsk (Russia)

Grodno (Belarus)

Krasnoyarsk (Russia)

Moscow (Russia)

Odessa Ukraine)

Omsk (Russia)

Saratov (Russia)

St. Petersburg

 Tjumen (Russia)

 Tomsk (Russia)

Ulyanovsk

Yalta

Yaroslavl (Russia)

God's Promises Hold! - Dean Elena Bondarenko Preaches at LWF General Assembly Opening Worship

From the website of the Lutheran World Federation. 

WINDHOEK, Namibia/GENEVA, 10 May 2017 - The survival of the church through tribulations is the fulfilment of God’s promise, participants in the Twelfth Assembly of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) were reminded during the opening worship.

“God’s promises concern life and everyday existence, our daily bread and all our works, God’s promises open for us a truth that everything makes sense, all our deeds and even thoughts and feelings have a meaning, and the ultimate goal is that we, with all our thoughts and deeds, can be saved.” This was the message from Rev. Dr Elena Bondarenko of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in European Russia, in her sermon at the Assembly eucharistic worship.

The service attended by some 800 people was held in a worship tent erected on the grounds of the Safari Court Hotels and Conference Center in Windhoek, where the highest decision-making body of the LWF is meeting, jointly hosted by the three member churches in Namibia. A mass choir and musicians from the local churches accompanied the hymn singing.

Preaching on Isaiah 61: 1-4, Bondarenko urged the congregation members from around the world to trust in God. “God’s promises are really held. For 2,000 years the Christian church has been teaching, proclaiming the gospel and administering Holy Sacraments. […] The church is victorious because Jesus promised it.” 

The worship tent, which will be the meeting point for most of the assembly worship and prayer services, has an altar table, font and pulpit made of wood from fallen trees collected in Namibia.

The assembly host churches namely, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia - German Evangelical Lutheran Church, bring together some 1.2 million people. They join hands under the banner of the United Church Council of the Namibia Evangelical Lutheran Churches, through which they collaborate to enhance church unity in the country.

God’s gifts are not for sale

Bondarenko’s reflections on the Assembly theme, “Liberated by God’s Grace,” and sub-themes elaborating that salvation, human beings and creation are “not for sale” also set the tone for the Sunday, 14 May, global event to commemorate the Reformation anniversary at the Sam Nujoma Stadium.

She suggested the sequence: creation-human beings-grace-salvation, to affirm the order of biblical history, and the most important of God’s promises. “God’s gifts are not for sale. God gives us freedom and grace in abundance. God comes to save us in our time. And it is time to rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated, it is time to worship God according to the tradition, but also with our own, new song,” she added.

Bringing meaning to life

A church dean, who has been involved in reconciliation work with congregations in the Ukraine amid the Crimean crisis, Bondarenko noted the 500th Reformation anniversary also coincides with the 100th anniversary of two Russian revolutions that brought persecution to Christians there.

She asked the congregation to imagine what it was like in Russia to live under official atheism for almost 90 years, “without our faith in God” and “without the beauty of the Holy Scriptures and church liturgy [or] God’s guidance and support in the chaos of times.”

Emphasizing that God’s promises hold, she said, “When everything was done to make the church silent and dead, it is a real miracle that the Bride of Christ, the church survived.”

Her message to Christians today, facing new challenges and questions to which they might not have many answers: “Let us humbly confess our ignorance and trust in God our Creator. What is in our power is to be honest and honestly to proclaim God’s grace and to preach that creation and salvation are not for sale. This was the basis of the Reformation 500 years ago, this is the principle that we renew in a modern way nowadays,” she added.

ELCRN Bishop Ernst //Gamxamub presided at the Eucharist, which was distributed at different points in the tent.  Other liturgical parts of the service were led by Bishop Dr G. Raja Socrates Sathyachandar from the Arcot Lutheran Church in India, and Church of Norway Presiding Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien, who is also LWF Vice-President for the Nordic region.

After the service, participants moved from the tent to the conference center plenary hall to begin the Assembly business sesions, which today will include the address of the LWF President and presentation of Messages from the Women and Youth Pre-Assemblies.

Full text of the opening worship sermon

High resolution photos from the Opening worship

Council of Bishops Meeting

Omsk

On April 24th at the end of the celebratory events related to Bishop Scheiermann's installation, the annual meeting of the Council of Bishops of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (ELC) was held in the Christ Church Center. Tradition has it that the meeting takes place every year in a different member church of the Union. This year attending were: ELCR Archbishop Dietrich Brauer, Bishop Alexander Scheiermann of the ELCUSFE, Bishop Alfred Eicholtz from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, and the chair of the Union, Bishop Yuri Novgorodov from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan. The other bishops of the Union – Hans-Joachim Kiderlen from Georgia and Sergei Mashevski from the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, had scheduling conflicts that did not allow them to attend.

Church Construction in Saratov

“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them“ (Ps. 111:2)

Dear brothers and sisters, as of April I am no longer Deanfor the Saratov region. But I am happy to to bring an update to those who care about our church building, who are praying for us and helping with the current progress.

Since the end of 2016 work has been done on the church hall: the cry room, the balcony and the church walls. The plastering has been be done as far as possible in the large church hall. With two to four people, a few dozen bags of plaster mortar, a compressed air-driven plastering machine and mobile scaffolding, etc., quite a few things could be done.During and after Easter the work in the church hall went on “pause.” Since then the work joyfully continues. It is hoped that the plastering will be completed in the near future, and then the ground tiles will be done.

Further, after Easter, the room for the planned diaconal clothing store in the lower floor was equipped with wooden shelves so that Sister Maren can soon begin this important work. Thanks for all the help!

Alexander Scheiermann, Michael Weise

Installation of Alexander Scheiermann as Bishop of the ELCSUFE

Omsk

It was a weekend full of significant events for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East.

At worship on the 23 of April in the sanctuary of the congregation in Omsk around 200 people came together in order to witness to the blessing and installation of Bishop Alexander Scheiermann.

Congregation members, representatives from the city administration, and guests from various churches and countries all took part in this festive day.

The church was honored to have present the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia Dietrich Brauer, the Vice Consul of Germany in Novosibirsk Lucia Griunich, Arend de Fries, the Vice President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, representatives of other partner organizations and missions, the representative of the mayor of Omsk Marina Schterger - the head of the department for religious and ethnic affairs, Bishop Yuri Novgorodov - the chair of the Council of Bishops of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kazakhstan, Alfred Eicholtz, the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kyrgyzstan, as well as pastors from congregations from the Urals to the Far East and representatives of churches from the USA, Germany, Switzerland and the CIS.

Alexander Scheiermann was born in the Omsk oblast and has enormous experience in congregational ministry. Alexander and his family lived for a while in Germany, received theological education in Switzerland and then served as a pastor in congregations in Moscow, Omsk and for quite some time as Area Dean in Saratov. In October 2016 he was elected Bishop at the 25 Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East.

Long before the beginning of the service the sanctuary was filled with congregation members, and at noon Pastor Evgeny Filippov opened the celebratory worship service with the traditional Lutheran greeting. After the ceremony of installation Alexander already gave his sermon as the Bishop. He and his wife received congratulations and gifts from guests, colleagues, and partners. A special surprise for everyone was the presence of unexpected guests – Alexander's school classmates, who also were there to congratulate him.

Many warm words were shared during the worship service, and all the members of ELC add support and prayers from afar that God would bless and guide Alexander in this new stage of his ministry.  

Third International Academic Conference “Lutherans in Russia”

On April 22 and 23, 2017, the Department of Civic Relations and Social Politics of the city of Omsk, the Omsk State Technical University, the Omsk State Regional History Museum, the Omsk German Ethnic-Cultural Society, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and Far East hosted an academic conference. More than 150 people from many cities in Russia (including: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Ekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk and others) and foreign countries (Germany, USA, Switzerland) took part.

The seminar's participants were greeted by the vice governor of the Omsk oblast, V.B. Kompaneishchikov, ELCR Archbishop Brauer, the Vice-consul of the Federal Republic of Germany from Novosibirsk Ms. Gruenich, the Vice-President for theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hannover, Arend de Fries, Rainer Bekker - the director of the Marburg Mission - and Bishop Yuri Novgorod, the chair of the Council of Bishops of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kazakhstan.

The plenary session was opened by Arend de Fries with his paper: “Celebrating the Anniversary of the Reformation in the Era of Ecumenism: voicing hurts, healing memories.” He focused on the main ideas of Martin Luther as they were reflected in the theology of the Reformation, the influence of the ideas of the Reformation on the mindset of Christians, on social relationships and on the understanding of God (doctrine of justification). Interconfessional dialogue, the rethinking and reshaping of Christian faith, and the eventual drawing closer together of the the Evangelical and Roman Catholic Churches is a result of Lutheran theology.

L.M. Dmitrieva, Ph.D., head of the Philosophy department at Omsk State Technical University, drew participants' attention to the influence of Protestantism on European civilization in the 17th-18th centuries.

The director of the regional history museum, P. Vibe, Ph.D., in his paper explored the mindset and activity of German colonists on their adaptation to the conditions of Siberia; he used the Omsk region as an example. (19th-first third of 20th centuries).

Professor A.N. Gumenyuk of Omsk State Technical University gave a deep analysis of the traditions of Protestant church architecture based on the example of St. Catherine's Lutheran Church in Omsk (1790-1792), noting the signs of late “Petrine Barocco” of the end of the 18th century.

Dr. Anton Tikhomirov, President of the Novosaratovka Theological Seminary, in his paper looked at the basic principles of “dramatic homiletics” - an important movement in Western approaches to preaching.

After a small concert by the Omsk Ethnic-Cultural Society, the conference continued its work in the following round-table groups: Protestant philosophy and theology, the cultural/ historical role of Protestantism, and Germans of Siberia: church, family, traditions. The conference participants were very active and asked many questions of those who gave their papers during the plenary session and roundtables.

The first day of the conference ended with a concert of German composers performed by the Chamber Orchestra of the Omsk Philharmonic.

On April 23 the conference continued its work in the Omsk State Museum of Regional History, where participants had the chance to get acquainted with exhibits and the museum's recently issued, 300+ page album entitled: “The History of Russian Germans in the Collections of the Omsk State Regional History Museum.” At the same time the exhibit “Here I Stand and I Can Do No Other – the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation” opened to great interest.

The papers of the conference were published.

It is worth noting the warm atmosphere that could be felt at the conference.

Professor Dr. L.M. Dmitrieva, chair of the organizing committee.