Church of the First Martyrs and Archdeacon Stefan (Essen-Stoppenberg)
The Church of St. Erstmärtyrer and Archdeacon Stefan. ( Serbian : Црква Светог првомученика и архиђакона Стефана / Crkva Svetog prvomučenika i arhiđakona Stefana) is a Serbian Orthodox Church in the North Rhine-Westphalian city Essen in Germany and is dedicated to St. Erstmärtyrer and Archdeacon Stefan consecrated .
The church belongs to the parish of Essen in the deanery of North Rhine-Westphalia of the Eparchy of Frankfurt and all of Germany to the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The former Roman Catholic St. Anno Church was a church of the parish of St. Nikolaus. It was built from 1976 to 1982 and was used by Roman Catholics until 2008.
location
The church of St. First Martyrs and Archdeacon Stefan is in the street Im Looscheid 27 in Essen 's Stoppenberg district .
history
The Roman Catholic St. Anno Church
Heinz Dohmen was responsible for the architecture . The construction work on the tent church in the modern style was carried out by Legge & Legge-Suwelack from Bonn . Construction began on October 21, 1976. On January 24, 1982, the inauguration took place by Bishop Franz Hengsbach .
It was profaned on March 16, 2008 for economic reasons , and the last Roman Catholic service took place on the same day. Almost all of the church inventory was put to a new use in the newly founded Carmelite monastery near Riga in Latvia .
The Serbian Orthodox Saint Stephen Church
History of the Church and Parish of St. Stephen
The parish extends over the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen , Gladbeck and Bottrop .
On March 9, 2001, the parish of Essen was founded with a blessing and at the suggestion of the then episcope (bishop) of the Eparchy of Frankfurt and all of Germany (then Eparchy Central Europe) Konstantin (Đokić).
The establishment of the parish is in accordance with the canon of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The parish was created by assignments of territory by the parishes of Düsseldorf and Dortmund . The parish books have been kept since the parish was founded.
Sretoje Dušanić was first priest of the church from 2001 to 2002. 2002 assumes priest Dragan Čolaković the Essen church that begins to develop, and increases in size. Since at that time the parish did not have its own place to celebrate the divine liturgy, it was a priority to find it. The parish found its first place in the evangelical Lukaskirche in Essen-Holsterhausen , where the first holy divine liturgy could take place on August 19, 2002. The Lukas Church had to be profaned in 2008.
After discussions with the Roman Catholic Church and the diocese of Essen , the Serbian parish of St. Stefan in Essen was assigned its own liturgical location in Holsterhausen from 2003 to 2008.
In 2008, the Serbian Orthodox parish of St. Stefan received the former St. Anno Church from the Essen diocese for permanent use. The first service of the parish of St. Stephen took place in the provisionally prepared church interior after the Orthodox Easter in May 2008.
On January 9th, the holiday of the Holy First Martyr and Archdeacon Stefan, the church was inaugurated by the episcope of the Eparchy of Frankfurt and all of Germany (then Eparchy Central Europe) Konstantin (Đokić).
In 2013, 21 baptisms , two weddings and one funeral took place in the church . Around 60 believers come together for the Sunday service. And the Slava is celebrated by 100 families.
The parish has a rectory with a church hall. There is a priest's office next to the hall. Religious instruction in the parish takes place in the local grammar school. The folklore group "Kolo" has 90 members. The parish church choir sings regularly at church services.
architecture
Immediately after the parish took over the church for use, the altar area was rebuilt (as far as the modern architecture allowed) to be suitable for Orthodox worship. The oak iconostasis was carved by Petar Ilić from the Serbian city of Šabac and the icons on the iconostasis were painted by the icon painter Goran Pešić from Čačak .
The grave of Christ, the throne of the Mother of God and the episcopal throne are the work of the carpenter Boro Danilović from Čačak. A wonderful chandelier designed by the architect Heinz Dohmen, who also designed the church, embellishes the church with 280 lights.
Under the vault and above the chandelier there is a large icon of Christ Pantocrator, the work of the icon painter Nikola Lubardić from Belgrade .
Web links
- The St. Anno Church in Essen-Stoppenberg ; Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- Article about the Church on the side of the Eparchy of Frankfurt and all of Germany , (Serbian)
Coordinates: 51 ° 28 '52.1 " N , 7 ° 1' 32.7" E