23rd Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in European Russia

Novosaratovka

On February 16-17 the Synod of the ELC-ER was held in the chapel of the Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka. The theme of the synod assembly was taken from Isaiah 66.13: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”

The theme was chosen deliberately to coincide with the 2016 as the Year of the Family in the ELC in Russia. The assembly opened with a worship service during which Archbishop Dietrich Brauer preached on the theme of family.

Synod President Olga Temirbulatova in her report spoke about the work done in the two years since the last gathering. She emphasized how well the administrative work is done and the importance of the ministries of St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Moscow for the whole church. It has become a popular place in the capital thanks to the events that are organized there and there is now a whole new level of interaction with ecumenical partners and with the state.

There have been changes over the past two years in the structure and the staff of the Church. 5 congregations from Crimea – Evpatoria, Koktebel, Simferopol, Yalta and Sudak – have been re-registered and have joined the ELCER. Two representatives from the region – Rimma Milovanova (Evpatoriya) and Irina Graf (Koktebel) took part in the work of the synod as delegates. The congregations in Crimea are visited by the Dean of the Northern Caucuses deanery, Sergei Maramzin. In the future the plan is to organize another deanery there. In other changes, after the retirement of Dean Inessa Tirbach in 2014 the responsibilities of the dean of the area have been taken on by the dean of the neighboring Bashkirostan region, Sergey Golzwert. In addition new deans have been installed in the Northern Caucuses and in Kaliningrad.

Public relations work has been increased; in 2015 an internet TV station “Lutherans in Russia” (www.tvevt.com/en/channel/7988/) was founded by lay minister Artis Peterson. The “Lutheran Wave” radio program on the “Theos” station continues to be broadcast at 5 pm on Wednesdays and is led by the PR coordinator for ELCER, Yulia Vinogradova.

Archbishop Dietrich Brauer spoke in his report about the restoration of church buildings in Zorkino, Marx, Yaroslavl and Grodno, about the building projects in Saratov and Ufa, about growing cooperation with city governments in St. Petersburg and Ulanovsk, and about anniversaries celebrated in 2015 – in Gusev, Moscow, Volgograd/Sarapta, and Samara. The installation of organs in Yaroslavl and Grodno was also a great gift.

Ecumenical and international relationships continue to develop; a significant event was the “From Confrontation to Dialog” event held in the Moscow Cathedral in October 2015 with the participation of theologians from various confessions. Since 2014 the ELCER is an official partner of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saxony. In the past year Archbishop Brauer took part in the installation of a new bishop for the Church of Saxony, Carsten Rentzing. The ELCS sent Pastor Eckehard Graubner as their representative to the synod assembly.

One of the main tasks of the assembly was to elect a new synod council. There were only slight changes and most of the council was re-elected - Dean Sergey Goltzvert took the place of Dean David Rerich. Otherwise the council remains: Valery Fogel (Maiskiy), Maria Frolova (Moscow), Pastor Andrey Dzhamgarov (Saratov), and Dean Olga Temirbulatova (Samara).

Various reports on special ministries were given by those in charge of these ministries. Dean Elena Bondarenko, responsible for women's work in the church, noted that, in addition to the kind of work that has been done in the past, now woman's ministry has also become a connecting point with diaconal ministries, for example, cooperation with the “Old World” Christian charity fund. Dean Bondarenko also is in charge of a new, experimental educational project (supported by Martin Luther Bund) of training catechists in the the Central Deanery. It is possible that this experiment might be useful for other regions of the church as well.

 The coordinator of youth work in ELCER, Very Tkach, also gave a report. She suggested that there be a conference of youth leaders of the ELCER in 2017 and that a youth music book be published.

Before and after the synod assembly the ELCER leadership visited two Petersburg congregations – St. Anna and Paul (Petrikirche) and St. Catherine's.

The next synod assembly of the ELCER will be in 2 years, in accordance with the bylaws of the church.