On Religion and Freedom - Luther Days in Tbilisi

I arrived in Tbilisi again just before the “Luther Days 2018” held in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia, April 22nd-23th. I was especially happy to see Cuttino Alexander, our former intern and now pastor in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who six years after his internship returned to Georgia together with his wife Jessica  and small son Daniel.

Dr. Georgi Anriadze from the Georgian Academy of Sciences spoke about the theme
“freedom and religion”  from an Orthodox point of view, and Dr. Anton Tikhomirov, President of the Novosaratovka Theological Seminary, from the point of view of Lutheran theology. The question of freedom and its relationship to humankind, society and the state plays an important role in all religions. Freedom is a particularly Lutheran theme insofar as Martin Luther during his whole life sought for himself and for his fellow Christians the freedom based in faith in the forgiveness of sins. He understood that not only the state but the Church itself can become an enemy to Christian freedom when it makes a person dependent on itself; this freedom is given only by God's grace. In this regard Georgi Andriadze noted critically a number of situations in which the state and the church in Georgia meddled in one another's affairs. He also expressed his hope that the Georgian Orthodox Church would someday return to the World Council of Churches, which is left around 12 years ago.

Anton Tikhomirov laid out the Lutheran teaching on the two kingdoms, the divine and the civil, which mutually effect and complement one another. The first of these is there for salvation while the second is for the preservation of Creation.

Cuttino Alexander described the leading role of Church and Christianity in the USA for the constant renewal of the state and society and their unity in the spirit of freedom. He noted that the controversial nature of current American politics is a large challenge for the churches.

There were more people attending, including more guests from outside the ELCG this year than in previous years. It was important and useful for our church in Georgia that for the first time one of the presenters at the Luther days was a representative of the Orthodox church.

Hans – Joachim Kiderlen

The Church on a Sheet of Paper

Kvareli, Georgia

From April 20th to 22nd in the congregation in Kvareli a seminar was led by Seminary President Dr. Anton Tikhomirov from the St. Petersburg and the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Georgia Markus Schok.

The themes of the seminar were the life and theology of Martin Luther as well as our Church. It is worth noting that this was the first time that the congregation in Kvareli has had such a collection of guests. Church staff, pastors, and youth sat next to one another with an equal level of interest and engagement and this made for a lively, creative atmosphere.

The theme of the first day was the Church and our understandings of it. Bishop Schock suggested that each of the participants draw on a piece of paper how they see our church and what they would like our church to become. After this it became clear that we can “build” a Church to which people will come with joy. After all we were exceptionally unified in our vision of what the church should be - the drawings had at the center the cross, a heart filled with faith and love, the Bible, children and adults holding hands....

The theme of the second day was the life and theology of Martin Luther. Anton Tikhomirov spoke about the Medieval context of the Reformation, the daily life and religious experience that affected Luther. We saw how the Reformation developed in stages and how it became the basis for the teachings of both Lutheranism and many other Protestant denominations. Everyone took part in conversations; the youth, too, were active and tried to grow in knowledge. That means that the youth love their church and want to actively participate in its life and to take on responsibilities for ministry. This is a great sign that our church has a future.

Shamil Somkhishvili

Easter 2018

Pictures from Easter celebrations from congregations of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

Anzhero-Suzhdensk (Russia) 

Astana (Kazakhstan)

Berdyansk (Ukraine)

Grodno (Belarus)

Kazan

Krasnoturinsk (Russia)

Krasnoyarsk (Russia):

 

Moscow (Russia)

Odessa (Ukraine)

Omsk (Russia)

Rastaveli (Georgia)

St. Petersburg (Russia)

Tbilisi (Georgia)

Tomsk (Russia)

Ufa (Russia)

Ulyanovsk (Russia)

Volgograd / Sarepta (Russia)

New Bishop for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Southern Caucasus

Tbilisi, Georgia

November 12 was a memorable day in the history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia and Southern Caucasus (ELCG). A new bishop was installed at Sunday worship at the Church of the Reconciliation. Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wortemburg, Markus Schock became the 5th bishop of the ELCG. His predecessor, Hans-Joachim Kiderlein, was the head of Georgian Lutherans from 2008 to 2017.
The installation service was led by the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kyrgyzstan, Alfred Eicholtz; he was assisted by Bishop Hans - Joachim Kiderlen, the Bishop Emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia Abroad Elmars Rozitis, Bishop Emeritus of the ELG Johannes Launhardt, Klaus Rieth from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Wurttemberg, Dean Olga Timurbulatova, Pastor Irina Solei and Pastor Viktor Miroshnichenko.
The 51 year old Schock was elected bishop at the synod assembly of the ELCG a year ago, in November 2016. Bishop Schock is familiar with ministry in the post-Soviet context; he worked for 5 years as the pastor of the German Evangelical Lutheran congregation in Latvia, and earlier (beginning in 2000) he had worked for 4 years as the pastor of St. Georgia's in Samara (Russia).
The new bishop was greeted by representatives from other confessions, from government structures, from the German embassy and the partner church in Wurttemberg. Klaus Rit from the Wurttemberg church inspired the small Georgian church to be a “lighthouse for society.” Bishop Eicholtz, representing the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches – mentioned that it was a special blessing for him to take part in this installation insofar as he himself is a direct descendant of the Swabian emigrates who founded the first Lutheran congregations in Georgia. He quoted 1 Cor 4.15 as he reminded Bishop Schock of the need to love the church that has been entrusted to him and to lead it like a father.
The Area Dean for Samara Olga Temirbulatova read the congratulations written by the Archbishop of the ELCR, Dietrich Brauer, and added on her own that she has been acquainted with Pastor Schock for a long time, and knows that he is very capable of building on past developments and has the gift of consolidation and reconciliation. She sees him as a person “with a big heart,” and sees it as a blessing that he is serving in this new capacity.

The Best Gift is a Book!

Tbilisi

The working group of Hans-Joachim Kiderlen, Kristina Hummel, Pastor Irina Solei and Elena Ilinets worked hard to prepare for the 200th anniversary of our church. On April 8 I had the honor of presenting a publication in which articles were gathered about the history of Swabian settlers from 1817 to 1991. The authors told in an accessible and interesting way why the Swabians immigrated, about the foundation of their colonies, their everyday lives, the tragedies and triumphs of this hard-working people,  as well as their cultural and religious life. In this memorial publication the deportation of Germans in 1941 and the re-birth of the Lutheran church in the 1990s are also reflected.

Usually when you hold a book in your hands you don't think much about what a difficult and long path it takes to publication. Our working group walked that path. The first issue of our “Church News” in 3 languages was printed in July 2001. It looked very primitive, but with time our working group creatively developed and improved our skills in publishing. With time the monthly “Church News” publication steadily transformed into a higher quality product; we've also published brochures and booklets.

And now the chance came along to try out printing a book. Of course it wasn't easy and it was even a bit scary – do we have the skill and strength enough to meet the challenge of printing something of professional quality? It took time to prepare for printing; as usually, we didn't have enough of it. It took us two months to prepare the publication while usually books in such a format take significantly longer to prepare for publication.A three-language publication is not by any means an easy thing! The translation always needs stylistic corrections since we hold to the norms of literary translations.

Having received and edited the translations we were able to start with the design, with the choice of font and finding photos that fit in terms of theme and quality. 

I want to first and foremost thank the authors who responded to our call and made a contribution to this anniversary publication – the Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Wurttemberg  Frank Otfried July, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Georgia Heike Paich, the chair of the foundation for the assistance of the ELCG, Juergen Helwig, Christina Hummel, Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen, lector Temuri Bardavelidze, Pastor Irina Solei, Pastor Garri Azikov, the President of the Association of Germans of Gerogia Garri Augst. Vera Nesterova and Natalia Bairamova from the Church of the Savior in Baku, and Architect-Restorer Nestan Tatarashvili.

We would also like to thank the translators and editors and all who contributed to the design. Shamil Somhishvili in particular suggested an interesting idea for the cover and made it himself – a circle made of portraits of pastors (including the first pastor, Johann-Bernhart Saltet and the last pre-Revolutionary pastor, Richard Maier) and bishops of the ELCG around the Luther rose. It ended up being a wonderful symbol that unites the past and present of our church.

For me it was especially interesting to do something with such a high degree of responsibility – publishing a book. How well it worked will be for our readers to decide.

Elena Ilinets

200th Church Anniversary in Georgia

Tbilisi
The celebration of the 200 years of the establishment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia began on Saturday, April 8. A summer cafe (“The Martin Luther Cafe”) was opened up in the garden on the terrace; this was possible thanks to the equipment given to us by a congregation from the German city of Heppenheim. This cafe with live accordion music for accompaniment was at the center of the next two days’ events, even if the prices there didn't fully cover expenses. The children from the congregation in Rustaveli performed a German dance and two of them played on the flute. In the yard in the evening when it was cold and dark, music by a jazz trio was muffled by a storm.
In the first half of the day Temuri Bardavepidze and 12 representatives of the youth used Georgian to tell the story of the history of our church starting with German settlers in 1817 until 1917; they did the same thing in the evening, only in Russian. In the second half of the day Pastor Irina Solei spoke about the very difficult times between 1917 and 1991. She invited Nina Mindiashvili, the granddaughter of the last pastor from Tbilisi, the martyr Richard Maier, to join her for conversation. Earlier in the entryway an exhibition of artistic black and white photos was set up that, together with items from everyday life of German settlers, helped tell the history of the church.

Elena Ilinets presented her tri-lingual (Georgian, German, Russian) publication, the first attempt of our newsletter publishing team to print a book. Then Irina Solei and Kristina Hummel spoke about the time of rebirth of the church since 1991. Pastor Albina Zotova led evening prayer.
A joint worship service of all the congregations of the church was held on Sunday morning, April 9, also in 3 languages (or four if you count the prayer in Azerbaijani that was part of the service as well). Pastors Irina Solei, Viktor Miroshnichenko and I led the service which lasted two hours. Among those in attendance were a group of tourists from the Evangelical congregation in Heppelheim. The Tbilisi congregation shared the offering from that service with the congregation in Baku, which was represented by 4 congregational members.
Many people say that the celebrations went really well. 
On the morning after the celebrations, I sat down to write a letter to the President of Georgia expressing my disappointment that the national government sent no state representatives even to the Saturday evening event. The only country represented was Germany – by Ambassador Heike Paich. However the Georgian Orthodox Church honored us with its presence in the person of Protopresbyter Georgia Zviadadze, who welcomed us with great appreciation for our tradition. Also with us were our friends from the Evangelical Baptist, the Armenian Apostolic. Roman Catholic, and Adventist churches. Of course Pastor Varlam Ramishvili from Batumi and Beka Mindiashvili from the Committee of Religions were also there. 
Hans-Joachim Kiderlen

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.

Resurrecting Memory

Shamkir, Azerbaijan

On July 23, 2016, the congregation of the Savior in Baku experienced a touching moment of solidarity with their ancestors. I as a pastor had the opportunity to lead a Lutheran worship service in the building of the Annenfeld church and to return to this historical monument, even if for just a few hours, living prayers to the Lord.

Having resolved all the formalities with government structures and having received permission from the Azerbaijan State Committee on Religious Affairs, 16 people from the congregation went to this historical place, the city of Shakmir.

As early as the V century Shakmir was established as a large craft and trading city in Persia. This medieval town also had close historical ties with German settlers. In 1818, 67 families from Wurtemburg established the Annenfeld village and found in Azerbaijan a new homeland.

In 1826 the German village was destroyed by Persians, and its residents were made to leave their homes to find a place in another colony. For the next decade they suffered from a lack of land and from disease, but in 1836 they were able to return to Shakmir and restore their homes and their land.

In 1909 the colonists built a new church in the Neo-Gothic style; worship services were held there until 1941, when the Germans were deported. In the postwar years the building was first used as a “house of culture,” and then the regional historical museum. Thanks to help from Germany and the support of the state, the building was restored.

And now in 2016 the congregation had the unique opportunity to hold a Lutheran worship service in this historical place. We were overjoyed! The residents of the city and the local government met us in a friendly way and a few of them joined us for worship. The “kirche” has an organ in it, and we sang and prayed in the space where wonderful acoustics strengthened the sound of our voices. It was as if we were transported into the past, resurrecting the history of Swabian settlers.

After worship we were shown the city. We think that this day might be our congregation's small contribution to the program of the planed celebration of the 200^th anniversary of Germany settlers coming to the Southern Caucasus. If God grants it we will be able in those days of celebration to all pray together in the church in Annenfeld.

Pastor Menzer Ismailova

A Congregation Bubbling with Life - Borjomi

Borjomi (Georgia)
The Evangelical Lutheran congregation in Borjomi was founded by Bishop H. Hummel in April 2003. At their first meeting there were 65 people present, many of whom had German family names – Bayer, Bormann, Schwentke, Meier, Dinner, Kraus and others. That meeting took place in the home of Nana Kapanadze, where today they continue to meet once a month for worship services with Holy Communion presided at by Pastor Viktor Miroshnichenko from Tbilisi. On other Sundays the congregation has Bible study. At present there are 42 members of the congregation, 14 of which have been confirmed, with 11 young people and 17 children. This year the congregation has gained 2 new members. For Sunday school there are 3 teachers who teach the Bible, music and crafts. The church council meets once a month to plan events such as worship, the World Day of Prayer, or an ecumenical women's group meeting. The only disappointing thing that congregational members report is that sometimes their Orthodox neighbors question their right to exist and call them “sectarians.”
  Holidays are particularly important for the congregation; for Christmas gifts are brought to shut-ins and on Easter they invited children from underprivileged families situation as well as orphans and the homeless to their feast. On Easter they also went to clean up the cemetery of German prisoners of war.  
  A large part of the congregation's work is diaconal work; young people are very active in this area - they help the elderly by chopping wood and bring medicine and groceries to the immobile elderly. In 2015 the congregation again bought wood for 8 members of the church who needed it for heating in the winter. Every month the congregation helps those congregational members who need it by giving out groceries and medicine. 
  The most important for this congregation is that the love of God and care for one and respect for one another rules. They want to thank the Lord and all the people who insured that the congregation in Borjomi exists.

Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia

Tbilisi

The Annual Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia was held on November 21. Honored guests of the assembly were representatives from the Armenian Apostolic and Georgian Orthodox churches and Klaus Rit from partners in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wurrtemburg. 

The main work of the synod consisted of hearing the 2015 reports from the synod council as well as adopting a budget for 2016. 

The offerings and expenses for 2016 are not expected to change much, and that means that the ELCG remains dependent on outside sponsors. Something new this year is the transfer of additional funds from the central office to congregations for diaconal work among congregational members. As usual the Synod listened to reports from church council presidents and from the coordinators of womens', mens' and children's work as well as the head of the summer camps committee. 

The synod assembly made a number of important decisions:

1. Gayan Melkonya-Chikhradze took over for Nanya Menteshashvili as the representative of the Rustaveli congregation in the synod council. 

2. The make up of the Presidum was changed to include the treasurer, insofar as it is critical for this church officer to take part in important decisions of the Presidium.

3. Natali Kaiser was named the ELCG treasure; her qualifications include having a degree in economics and being fluent in German, which is important for contacts with German partners. In this way all of the responsibilities of Christina Hummel have been split among three persons: the chair of the Evangelical Lutheran Diaconal Service of Georgia Larisa Babaeva, the accountant of the ELCG Tima Aresheva and the ELCG treasurer Natali Kaiser. We wish God's blessing to this team of servants! 

Synod delegates considered two documents - "A Petition to the City Council (Sakrebulo) of Tbilisi Requesting Renaming a City Street in Honor of Martin Luther" and "A Resolution Concerning the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine (GELCU)." The request to the city council is made upon the basis of the contribution of German immigrants to the culture, architecture, industry and agriculture of Georgia and is tied with two anniversary - the 200th year anniversary of immigration of Swabians from Wurttemburg to Georgia and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The resolution related to the GELCU is tied with the situation of the church in Ukraine and the loss of unity in the church. Both documents were approved unanimously by synod delegates.

The work of the synod assembly was done in a constructive atmosphere in which it was clear that everyone was looking for decisions that would be for the good of our church and to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Irina Soley

First Hymnal in Azeri Published

Baku, Azerbaijan
  “Isa Rabbim” is translated from Azeri as “Jesus is my Lord.” That is the name of one of the songs in the hymnal published in the Church of the Savior in Baku. It came out on May 7th with a run of 250 copies.
  Menzer Ismailova, pastor of the congregation, says: “in Azerbaijan in all churches we usually sing songs and pray prayers in a foreign  language. A year ago we decided to make more available in our native tongue and started working on a project to that purpose.
While working on the hymnal Martin Luther's Small Catechism and his morning and evening prayers were translated into Azeri. Hymns from various Christian confessions (some of which were already used in the congregation) were included, and Menzer herself wrote a few poems that were then put to music by composer Galib Gasanov.
  The 129 page hymnal included 42 songs. It's publication was made possible thanks to the help of the Lutheran congregation in Kvinstal (Norway) and the Finnish Lutheran Overseas Mission.
  “Today I am so thankful to hold in my hands this hymnal, even if it is small,” says Menzer. To be able to sing and pray in my native language is a great joy.”

The Unfinished Business of Ecumenism

Tbilisi, Georgia

  The theme of the 2015 “Luther Days,” held February 10-16 in the Church of Reconciliation, was “The Reformation and Ecumenism.” The main presenter was Siegfried Kasparick, the Dean of Wittenburg, the city where Martin Luther lived and worked. Who else knows so much about the preparations for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 as he does? And who else is so capable of explaining the significance of this event for the ecumenical world, that is, for other Christian churches? The 95 Thesis hung on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg on October 31, 1517, were not a call to split the church, but simply one of many attempts to renew the Church through returning it to its roots – to the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Lutheran church that arose as a result was called to witness to the this.

  One of the central events of the “Luther Days” was the round table discussion that took place with the participation of leaders of various religious confessions – a priest from the Armenian Apostolic Church, Narek Kushyan, the Bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church Malkhaz Songulashvili, the Dean of the Roman Catholic University in Tbilisi Vazha Vardidze, Beka Mindiashvili – a representative of the Center of Tolerance, and Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen. The Georgian Orthodox Church, unfortunately, did not accept the invitation that was extended to them. The whole discussion was led by Nino Lezhava, the director of the Heinrich Boell Foundation in Georgia. Two themes were repeated brought up during this long discussion - “Christian love” between Christian churches and “Christian responsibility” in society. Also ecumenism should be part of the lives of church members, of ordinary believers.

  This time the annual reception that the ELCG organizes for representatives of the state, society and religious organizations was held as part of the program of the “Luther Days.” Dean Kasparick read a paper on the theme “The 500th anniversary of the Reformation from the viewpoint of the Churches.” The evening's entertainment was provided by a choir directed by Nataly Chaganava. Unfortunately there weren't as many people in attendance – from the ECLG, from other churches, from government and non-government organizations - as the church had planned. Yet the organizers of the Luther Days remain convinced that their work is not in vain; it has is bearing and will continue to bear good fruit. 

Inter-confessional Dialogs on Religion and Peace

Tbilisi / Moscow
  In Tbilisi in October 2014, 10 leaders of various religions (including not only Christians but also Yazidis, Jews and Muslims) were invited to visit with Georgian President Georgii Marvelashvili and his wife about violence in Georgian society, including violence against women, and what religious communities might do about it. Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen represented the Lutheran church there. The reason for the president to issue this invitation was the wave of violent murders of women that have shaken up Georgian society over the past few months. These acts of violence were committed in the family, and the Georgian president asked the opinions of religious leaders about the reasons for this. The common opinion was seen as being the tension in society between traditional society, which puts men in the foreground, and the reality of the situation on the ground, where many men are not together with their families or are out of work and women take on the responsibility of supporting the family. Bishop Kiderlin noted that it was very interesting to see that none of the religious leaders disagreed with the position of the representative of the Muslim community, who said that religions do not support the traditional privileges of men and moreover, that all religions, including Islam, support equal respect and equal rights between men and women. The president also agreed and asked participants to find ways to call their congregational members to respect women and to maintain equal access to education. Bishop Kiderlin pointed out the need for congregations to do pastoral care in order to find a way of solving problems without violence.
  In Moscow on October 16th Archbishop Dietrich Brauer took part in the conference organized by the city of Moscow - “Religion and Peace.” The theme of the conference were the questions of peace and war and also the place of religion in modern large cities and the service work of denominations. Dietrich Brauer presented the work of the St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Moscow and spoke about the contribution of the Lutheran church to the life of the city – kindergartens, Christian theater, a place for exhibitions and organ concerns. In this way the Lutheran church is not only developing its own, individual spiritual life, but also is strengthening the ties among people, uniting them in Christian community and spreading the good news in contemporary secular society.

Family Camp in Georgia

  From June 9th to the 16th the second annual family camp was held in Kvareli (Georgia), with 6 mothers and 10 children (4-13 years old) attending. One of the mothers there said - “The Sunday School children and their parents had been dreaming all year about summer camp, and we were thrilled when it came to be! For 8 days the 'two Irinas' (Pastor Irina Soley and volunteer Irina Mamisashvili) led us through a great program; every morning started with physical exercise and then 'spiritual exercises' - Bible study, songs and prayers that set the tone for the day. The Bible studies for the week were focused on the the stories of Joseph and his brothers. Pastor Irina not only opened up for us the complex relationships between family members there, but also made us think about the problems of our own lives. We also played board games, did crafts, took an excursion to a mountain monastery and winery, made a group poster together.... our readings every night from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry gave us warms feelings toward all God's creations and also reminded us that 'you become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed.' Unfortunately nearby Lake Ily was not open for swimming, but the kids were thrilled for the chance to use the pool! I would like to say a huge 'thanks' to all who made this camp possible, and I hope we can meet again next year.”

Luther Days 2014

Tbilisi, Georgia
  The value of human life and the heavy price of sin were the themes of “Luther Days 2014” at the
Church of Reconciliation. Bishop Hans-Joachim Kiderlen, Pastors Viktor Mirioshnichenko, Irina Solei and Albina Zotova were heavily involved, as were members of the local church council and ecumenical guests.
  Every evening 20-30 members of the congregation gathered to take part. Themes included were:  “The Biblical Basis for the Central Aspects of Luther's 'Grace Alone' and 'Faith Alone'”; “You  Can't Buy Creation with Money!”; “You Can't Buy People with Money!”; “The Congregation and the Church that Live according the Principles 'Grace Alone' and 'Faith Alone.'”
  The discussion that followed confirmed the fact that these are important themes for our church and our country and how important it is that our congregations be a “light unto the world” as we support one another, sharing the talents that God has given to us. (Mt 10.8)