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.

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