wfn.org | Russia: New Opportunities, Difficulties for Lutheran Church in

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Russia: New Opportunities, Difficulties for Lutheran Church
in the Urals, Siberia and Far East
More Young People Attend Church; Shortage of Pastors

OMSK, Russia/GENEVA, 22 December 2003 (LWI) - The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East is faced
with both new opportunities and difficulties. While there are
problems in finding new pastors when they are needed in
Siberia's Kusbass region, large numbers of young people in
Kemerovo, Russia, have recently begun attending church. 

The head of the church, Bishop Volker E. Sailer, made these
observations in his report to delegates attending the church's
12th synod meeting at Christ Church and Cultural Center in Omsk,
Russia. During the October 22-24 meeting, other synod members
noted that there are growing numbers of younger members in some
congregations, as well as more intensive work with children.
Congregation members in Bograd, Shakasia, had managed to buy a
dilapidated prayer house with their own funds and to renovate it
in three months. Problems mentioned by synod members included the
emigration of preachers and the aging of congregations.

Concerning plans the previous year to start a Bible school,
Sailer said, "We were very confident that we would be able to
begin this autumn, but things just didn't work out as planned. I
still believe firmly that this is our most urgent task." During
this year the regional church has been able to establish new
contacts with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other
States (ELCROS) Theological Seminary in Novosaratovka, near St
Petersburg, according to Sailer. Four young Christians from the
regional church began studies there in September 2003. The
seminary is open to students from all the regional churches.
Rudolf Bluemcke, dean of Central Siberia for nine years, was
recently appointed as the seminary's principal. 

Rev. Tatiana Muramzeva, director of the church office, reported
that in the past year three religious organizations were
registered in the Omsk area as belonging to the regional church.
They include congregations in Asovo and Michailovka, and the
Christ Church and Cultural Center in Omsk. The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, one of
the ELCROS regional member churches, can now officially invite
foreign visitors to the cultural center, an issue that involved a
great deal of bureaucracy in the past, according to Muramzeva.

Martin Schindehuette, vice-president of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Hanover's church office addressed the synod members
during the opening worship. "We are united by the Bible and the
faith which we share, and most of all by our common mission
before God: to tell the story of Christ to those who do not know
him," he said.

"Although there are great differences between our church and
your church, we must learn to communicate with one another,"
Schindehuette told the congregation of over 50 delegates and 15
guests of the Synod.

During its meeting, the synod elected a new four-member
executive committee, including synod president, Sergei Fritzler
of Chelyabinsk. Because of its size, the church district of
Chelyabinsk will henceforth be divided into two, Chelyabinsk and
Yekaterinburg.

At the closing worship on October 25, Victor Zelinko was
ordained pastor, and pastors Sergei Fritzler and Waldemar Jesse
were named deans. The synod also named delegates to the 2004
ELCROS general synod in St Petersburg.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Urals, Siberia and the
Far East is an independent regional church of ELCROS. With
headquarters in Omsk, it is divided into four regions: Urals,
West Siberia, Central Siberia and the Far East. The
250,000-member ELCROS joined the Lutheran World Federation in
1989. (593 words)

(By Marina Chudenko, ELCROS Public Relations Officer.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF' information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where
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material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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