Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East (ELKUSFO) is a diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia (ELCR), which is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia (ELKRAS). It is based in Omsk .

history

The ELKUSFO is by extension the largest Lutheran church in the world. It has existed since 1992. At that time, the Synod in Omsk elected Nikolaus Schneider (1920–1996) as superintendent . Schneider had been provost of this area since 1988, and he knew the Siberian congregations from earlier times: Since the 1950s, he preached in Lutheran congregations in the Omsk region and used his work as a truck driver to visit congregations.

In 1993 there were reports of over 200 Lutheran congregations in Siberia. 76 municipalities are said to have existed in the Omsk region alone. However, a large number of Russian Germans still emigrated to Germany and the church shrank in numbers.

A particular problem is the isolation of the parishes, which results from the huge distances and the lack of pastors. The isolated small parish groups represent an extreme problem. In 1997, provost Rudolf Blümcke “discovered” 30 Lutheran parishes near Krasnoyarsk and in Khakassia, about which he and the church did not yet know anything.

structure

center

The center is located in the Christ Center in the Siberian city of Omsk 644020, Roshdestvenskogo 2/1.

The center represents the first new church to be built by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia since the October Revolution. The Christ Church in Omsk with an attached event and meeting center as well as the parish guest house were built between 1990 and 1994. Superintendent Schneider was supported in the construction by the Lutheran World Federation, German sister churches, diaspora organizations, the German federal government and the city administration of Omsk. Planning and construction management was carried out in cooperation with church authorities in Germany and with the Omsk city architect Karimov by the Göttingen architect Hansjochen Schwieger. In August 1994, the building was inaugurated by the Hanoverian regional bishop Horst Hirschler .

In 1996, the Omsk Church and Cultural Center won 3rd prize at the All-Russian Architectural Competition in Moscow.

Synod

The supreme constitution-giving and decisive organ of ELKUSFO is the regional synod , headed by the president. The current president is Konstantin Pavlenko.

ELKUSFO also sends representatives to the general synod of ELKRAS.

bishop

The bishop is the spiritual leader . The bishop is part of the ELCRAS Council of Bishops.

Official:

structure

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East has over 150 parishes and parish groups. They are looked after by 17 pastors as well as over 100 preachers and church leaders.

The extensive area is divided into four regions (provosts):

partner

Non-material and financial help come from partners of ELKUSFO such as the partner church Evangelical Lutheran Regional Church of Hanover , the Liebenzeller Mission , the Hermannsburg Mission , the EKD , the Gustav-Adolf-Werk , the Lutheran World Federation , the Martin Luther Bund and the Missionsbund Licht in the east .

literature

  • Helmut Tschoerner (ed.): Church ordinances and statutes of Evangelical Lutheran regional churches in Russia and other countries (= contributions to the history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia , Vol. 4, Part 3). Martin Luther Verlag, Erlangen 2009, ISBN 978-3-87513-165-9 , pp. 43–65: Statute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East (ELKUSFO) .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM Hermannsburg): The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East , accessed on June 28, 2019.
  2. ↑ Helmut Tschoerner (Ed.): Church orders and statutes of Evangelical Lutheran regional churches in Russia and other countries . Martin Luther Verlag, Erlangen 2009, ISBN 978-3-87513-165-9 , pp. 43-45.
  3. ↑ Alexander Scheiermann is the new bishop of the Siberian Lutherans , idea.de, news from October 16, 2016.
  4. ↑ ELKRAS / ELKUSFO: Regional Bishop from Hanover as guest , martin-luther-bund.de, message from May 13, 2013.
  5. ↑ Lutherischer Dienst , 52nd year, 2016, issue 3, pp. 3–6
  6. ↑ Брэдн Бюркле введен в должность пропста Дальнего Востока | Евангелическо-лютеранская Церковь. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Bishop Otto Schaude: Interview with IDEA , idea-pressedienst.de, from February 11, 2014 (PDF; 193 kB).