Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kyrgyz Republic

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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kyrgyz Republic is an independent regional church in the network of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia (ELKRAS). Its seat is in Bishkek .

history

A Lutheran church in Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan) has existed since 1929. At that time Stalin had forcibly relocated the so-called kulaks from the area around Saratov ( Russia ) to what was then the Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Among the kulaks there were also people of German nationality who were Lutheran by religion.

During this time of oppression, the Christian faith with Lutheran characteristics could be preserved underground within families. A large influx came into the country in 1957 when the forcibly resettled Germans were allowed to reside anywhere in the Soviet Union (except in the hometowns from which they were deported). The Lutheran congregations grew rapidly, became more numerous, and peaked in 1980.

But with perestroika came the wave of emigration of German-born Christians to Germany. In 1980 there were 50 Lutheran congregations, in 1995 there were only 15. When Alfred Eichholz, who left Kyrgyzstan in 1988 , returned to his homeland after eleven years at the request of Bishop Emmanuel Schanz , the church in Kyrgyzstan got it back thanks to creative missionary work Boom. There are currently 17 parishes, the two largest are in Bishkek and Osh .

structure

The church center is located in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek . The bishop also resides there. The decision-making body is the Synod .

Synod

The regional synod is the supreme constitutional and decision-making body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kyrgyz Republic. The President of the Synod is Alexander Schanz .

bishop

The spiritual direction of the church is incumbent on the bishop, who also belongs to the supraregional bishops' council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia .

Previous incumbents were:

Partner church

The German partner church is the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Doris Krause: Evangelical life in the shadow of Tianshan - the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kyrgyzstan (ELKK) . In: The Evangelical Diaspora , Year 2015, Volume 84, pp. 181–202.
  2. ↑ Partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kyrgyzstan (ELKK) , ekkw.de, accessed on July 27, 2019.