St. Petersburg, Russia
The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the St. Catherine's Swedish Church in St. Petersburg was a significant event both for the Lutheran Church and for the friends and partners of the parish.
On November 28 and 29 representatives from partner churches and organizations as well as from diplomatic circles attending opening events. On December 13th the service was closed with a service led by Archbishop Dietrich Brauer.
From the History of the Building and the Congregation
The St. Catherine's Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in 1767-69 and held 300 people. Tsarina Catherine the II gave an offering of 7000 rubles towards its building. The rather small, two-story building was dedicated on May 29, 1769 in the name of the holy protector of the Empress. The altar was decorated with images of the Crucifixion and Last Supper and there was a wonderful silver baptismal font in the rococo style. The roof was crowned with a small cupola on a large drum. After 100 years the building had become too small and the church was rebuilt and significantly expanded in 1863-1867. Some of the money for this was given by the church warden – Swedish Graf A. Armsfelt and 5000 rubles were given by Emperor Alexander II. The new church held 1200 people and was dedicated on the first Sunday of Advent in 1865. Among its most famous congregational members were Karl Faberge and the Nobel family, and the future Finnish Field Marshall K.G. Mannerheim was married there. The church was closed in 1936 and rebuilt into a gymnasium.
The renewal of the life of the parish
After 55 years, on the 3rd Sunday of Advent on December 15, 1991 worship services in the already-registered congregation were began. The presider and preacher was Pastor Eero Sepponen from Turku, Finland. At a general meeting of congregational member in 1993 Pastor Sepponen was elected as the parish's main pastor. He fulfilled this service without compensation together with his main work in the Swedish congregation in Abo. It is in large part thanks to Pastor Sepponen that the congregation continued to live and develop. Worship services are held in Russian, Swedish or in both languages. Translation into Russian is provided by the vice chair of the congregational council, Valery Volodin. The Swedish congregation is an autonomous congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia.
The congregation has a big library of Christian literature and it is open to the public. An important part of congregation life is music. There is no organ in the church, but the synthesizer is played by Tatyana Smirnova-Zenchenko, a graduate of the Novosibirsk conservatory, and the acoustics in the sanctuary are not bad. The “Cantarella” choir led by Olga Ulitina frequently sings at worship and on special days.
Because of its “athletic” past in the Soviet period the interior of St. Catherine's church has changed quite a bit. The interior has been split into two stories. In both the “upper” and “lower” sanctuary there are still lines for sporting events painted on to the wooden floor. The entire interior of the church is in serious need of restoration. If you don't count St. Anna's church, which suffered from a fire in 2003, St. Catherine's is in the worst shape of all the Lutheran churches in the city.
Celebrations
There was a full program on the first two days of the celebration: worship Saturday and Sunda, the “Kantarella” choir and it's children's group, the “Klara Rester” choir from Stockholm, a symposium with historians from Russia, Sweden and Finland. The conclusion of the celebrations was the worship service on December 13 (Advent 3) led by the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, Archbishop Dietrich Brauer, during which Andrey Kuzin was blessed as vicar for the congregation. Assisting was the Dean of the Northwest, Michael Schwartzkopf, who is the mentor of the new vicar, and Pastor Eero Sepponen. Of course the culmination of the event was the celebration of St. Lucy's Day. Students of Scandinavian languages at St. Petersburg State University always are happy to take part in this event. The sanctuary was overflowing with those wanting to watch this beauty procession of young girls in light-colored cloths with a band of burning candles attached to their heads.
Pastor Sepponen wrote the following in the brochure about the church anniversary: “Bishop Michael Agricola wrote in his prayerbook published in 1544 that on St. Catherine's Day Christians pray for wisdom. May the Lord of the Church bless our parish and give it wisdom for its activities in the future.
The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the St. Catherine's Swedish Church in St. Petersburg was a significant event both for the Lutheran Church and for the friends and partners of the parish.
On November 28 and 29 representatives from partner churches and organizations as well as from diplomatic circles attending opening events. On December 13th the service was closed with a service led by Archbishop Dietrich Brauer.
From the History of the Building and the Congregation
The St. Catherine's Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in 1767-69 and held 300 people. Tsarina Catherine the II gave an offering of 7000 rubles towards its building. The rather small, two-story building was dedicated on May 29, 1769 in the name of the holy protector of the Empress. The altar was decorated with images of the Crucifixion and Last Supper and there was a wonderful silver baptismal font in the rococo style. The roof was crowned with a small cupola on a large drum. After 100 years the building had become too small and the church was rebuilt and significantly expanded in 1863-1867. Some of the money for this was given by the church warden – Swedish Graf A. Armsfelt and 5000 rubles were given by Emperor Alexander II. The new church held 1200 people and was dedicated on the first Sunday of Advent in 1865. Among its most famous congregational members were Karl Faberge and the Nobel family, and the future Finnish Field Marshall K.G. Mannerheim was married there. The church was closed in 1936 and rebuilt into a gymnasium.
The renewal of the life of the parish
After 55 years, on the 3rd Sunday of Advent on December 15, 1991 worship services in the already-registered congregation were began. The presider and preacher was Pastor Eero Sepponen from Turku, Finland. At a general meeting of congregational member in 1993 Pastor Sepponen was elected as the parish's main pastor. He fulfilled this service without compensation together with his main work in the Swedish congregation in Abo. It is in large part thanks to Pastor Sepponen that the congregation continued to live and develop. Worship services are held in Russian, Swedish or in both languages. Translation into Russian is provided by the vice chair of the congregational council, Valery Volodin. The Swedish congregation is an autonomous congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia.
The congregation has a big library of Christian literature and it is open to the public. An important part of congregation life is music. There is no organ in the church, but the synthesizer is played by Tatyana Smirnova-Zenchenko, a graduate of the Novosibirsk conservatory, and the acoustics in the sanctuary are not bad. The “Cantarella” choir led by Olga Ulitina frequently sings at worship and on special days.
Because of its “athletic” past in the Soviet period the interior of St. Catherine's church has changed quite a bit. The interior has been split into two stories. In both the “upper” and “lower” sanctuary there are still lines for sporting events painted on to the wooden floor. The entire interior of the church is in serious need of restoration. If you don't count St. Anna's church, which suffered from a fire in 2003, St. Catherine's is in the worst shape of all the Lutheran churches in the city.
Celebrations
There was a full program on the first two days of the celebration: worship Saturday and Sunda, the “Kantarella” choir and it's children's group, the “Klara Rester” choir from Stockholm, a symposium with historians from Russia, Sweden and Finland. The conclusion of the celebrations was the worship service on December 13 (Advent 3) led by the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, Archbishop Dietrich Brauer, during which Andrey Kuzin was blessed as vicar for the congregation. Assisting was the Dean of the Northwest, Michael Schwartzkopf, who is the mentor of the new vicar, and Pastor Eero Sepponen. Of course the culmination of the event was the celebration of St. Lucy's Day. Students of Scandinavian languages at St. Petersburg State University always are happy to take part in this event. The sanctuary was overflowing with those wanting to watch this beauty procession of young girls in light-colored cloths with a band of burning candles attached to their heads.
Pastor Sepponen wrote the following in the brochure about the church anniversary: “Bishop Michael Agricola wrote in his prayerbook published in 1544 that on St. Catherine's Day Christians pray for wisdom. May the Lord of the Church bless our parish and give it wisdom for its activities in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment