Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary
Encyclopedia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary is an Evangelical Lutheran church located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its building was built in 1805. It is usually called the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 church and is one of the oldest and largest Protestant churches in Russia.

General

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary is an Evangelical Lutheran church located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its building was built in 1805 and refirbished in 2002. Its address is; Bolshoi Konyushennnaya Ulitsa 8A, off Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Avenue |Prospekt]]) is the main street in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. Planned by Peter the Great as beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow, the avenue runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and, after making a turn at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander...

.

It is usually called the Finnish church and is one of the oldest and largest Protestant churches in Russia.

History

In this area of Saint Petersburg, which used to be called "Ingria
Ingria
Ingria is a historical region in the eastern Baltic, now part of Russia, comprising the southern bank of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva River, Lake Peipus in the west, and Lake Ladoga and the western bank of the Volkhov river in the east...

" by the Finnish and Swedish, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria has a 400-year history:
  • In the early 18th century, many Finnish people participated.in the construction of Saint Petersburg and start building churches as Peter the Great guaranteed the freedom of religion. In 1703, a Swedish-Finnish Evangelical Lutheran church was built and, in 1733, on the land donated by Anna Petrovna, a new church building was constructed, later named the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Anna, which stands now next to the Swedish Consulate General on Malaya Konyushennnaya Street.

  • In 1745, the Finnish people of this church went independent and built a wooden church on Bolshaya Konyuushnaya Street. In 1805, a new church building was built, designed by Architect Paulsson, named Saint mary's Church, after Mariya Petrovna, the wife of the tsar at that time.

  • After the annexation of Finland by Russia, the relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
    Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
    The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the national church of Finland. The church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion....

     became closer, and, during the early 1890s, the membership of the church reached 17,000.

  • As the Russian Revolution of 1917 came, the church went through the most difficult time. In 1938, the church was forced to stop functioning and the church building was first used as a residential space and later as a natural history museum.

  • After the Perestroika
    Perestroika
    Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...

    , the church building was returned to the church. Refurbishing of the building started in 1999 and the rededication was celebrated in 2002.

Church activities

Presently, the church is the largest among the 75 churches of the Church of Ingria, which spread from Russia's west to east, such as Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...

.

The Sunday worship is held at 10:30 in Finnish and at 13:30 in Russian. The church has other activities, such as the Sunday school for children.

In its neighborhood

Near this church on or near Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Avenue |Prospekt]]) is the main street in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. Planned by Peter the Great as beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow, the avenue runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and, after making a turn at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander...

, are::
  • Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
    Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
    The Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a Lutheran church located in Saint Petersburg, Russia...

     (also called the German church)
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary (also called the Finnish church)
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Anna (also called the Swedish church)

In the latter church, also held are Sunday services in English (Anglican) and in Korean (Presbyterian).

On the opposite side of Nevsky Prospekt is:
  • Kazan Cathedral
    Kazan Cathedral
    Kazan Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor , also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg...

     (Eastern Orthodox)


Nearby, also on Nevsky Prospekt, toward east, are:
  • Armenian Apostolic Church
    Armenian Apostolic Church
    The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...

  • Catholic Church of St. Catherine
    Catholic Church of St. Catherine
    The Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Russia. It is part of the Archdiocese of Moscow headed by H.E. Msgr. Paolo Pezzi. It is located on the Nevsky Prospekt.- Construction :...

     (Roman Catholic)

External links

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