The final weekend of October 2014 turned out to be windy and cold in Crimea, but bad weather did not take away the joy that local Lutheran congregations felt thanks to the visit of Archbishop of the ELC and Bishop of the ELCER, Dietrich Brauer, and pastor of the Moscow congregation and head of the administration of the ELCER, Viktor Weber.
Despite the fact that the visit lasted only two days, Archbishop Brauer and Pastor Weber were able to attend worship in Feodosiya and in the capital of the Republic of Crimea, Simferopol, where almost all local Lutherans gathered to meet.
After worship with Holy Communion there was an interesting discussion about the inclusion of the congregations of Crimea into the legal framework of the Russian Federation and the process of re-registration. At the same time, as Dietrich Brauer clearly said that spiritual ties with the GELCU will remain. It is also possible that there will be fruitful cooperation and joint projects. The main goal of the re-registration of congregations is to use the new opportunities that arise for them in Russian Crimea; the most important of these is the possible return of historical buildings to the church.
Despite the fact that the visit lasted only two days, Archbishop Brauer and Pastor Weber were able to attend worship in Feodosiya and in the capital of the Republic of Crimea, Simferopol, where almost all local Lutherans gathered to meet.
After worship with Holy Communion there was an interesting discussion about the inclusion of the congregations of Crimea into the legal framework of the Russian Federation and the process of re-registration. At the same time, as Dietrich Brauer clearly said that spiritual ties with the GELCU will remain. It is also possible that there will be fruitful cooperation and joint projects. The main goal of the re-registration of congregations is to use the new opportunities that arise for them in Russian Crimea; the most important of these is the possible return of historical buildings to the church.
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