Church and Religious Life of Germans in Russia
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Church and Religious Life of Germans in Russia The book Heimatbuch (Jahrbuch 1969-1972) der Deutschen aus Russland: Die Kirchen und das Religioese Leben der Russlanddeutschen was presented to me [Allen E. Konrad], probably because I have been in parish and missionary ministry with the Evangelical Lutheran Church for many years and so would be one of those people who would appreciate reading about the ins and outs of Church life as it pertained to the Germans in Old Russia and the Soviet Union. The document which follows deals with only a portion of what is contained in the book. The book presents itself in two parts. Part I The Church, the Spiritual and the Religious Life of the Catholic Russia Germans on the Soil of the Tiraspol Diocese 1. Spot-light on the History of the Tiraspol Diocese 2. The Religious Conditions in the South Ukraine (Trans- Dniester) 3. The Clergy and their Churches according to Deaneries 4. List of the Priests who worked in the Tiraspol Diocese Part II Contributions to the History of the Protestant Churches in Russia 1. Past and Present of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia 2. List of Evangelical Pastors in the German and Multi-ethnic Parishes in Russia—the Soviet Union minus the Baltic Provinces and Poland a. List I: Alphabetical List of Pastors b. List II: List of Parishes c. Parishes in the Moscow Regional Consistory d. Parishes in the Petersburg Regional Consistory e. List of Pastors in the Reformed Church f. Graduates of the Leningrad Theological Seminary g. Alphabetical List of Parishes 3. Evangelical Lutheran Parishes of Dunajewzy and Kamenez-Podolsk 4. Focus on the Russia German Diaconate Work 5. Church Life on the Volga 6. Development of the Mennonite Church in Russia 7. Gnadenburg Community in North Caucasus 8. Beginning and End of Sarepta Colony 9. University Community in Dorpat and its Church 10. Pictorial Presentation of the Protestant House of God 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS [Translated/Transcribed by Allen E. Konrad in May, 2006] List of the Evangelical (Lutheran & Reformed) Pastors in the German and Multi- ethnic (above all in the towns) Parishes in Russia, specifically, the Soviet Union, minus the Baltic Provinces and Poland. (by Karl Stumpp) - - - - 003 Abbreviations Used in Translation - - - - - - 008 List I: Evangelical Pastor in Russia - - - - - - 009 List II: Evangelical Parishes in Russia Ecclesiastical Vice-Presidents of the General Consistory, the Moscow Regional Consistory and the Petersburg Regional Consistory - - 054 I. Moscow Regional Consistory Parishes A. In the Cities - - - - - - - 056 B. Parishes in the Remaining Districts (Gouvernements) - - 057 C. Volga District - - - - - - - 064 II. Petersburg Regional Consistory Parishes A. In the Cities - - - - - - - 078 B. Parishes in the Remaining Cities and in the German Colonies of the Petersburg Gouvernement - - - 084 C. Parishes in the Gouvernement Interior - - - - 087 D. Black Sea Area 1. First South Russian Administrative Provost a. Bessarabia District - - - - - 090 b. Odessa District - - - - - - 094 2. Second South Russian Administrative Provost a. Cities with German Congregations - - - 098 b. Jekaterinoslaw District - - - - - 099 c. Taurida - - - - - - - 100 d. Crimea - - - - - - - 102 e. Don District - - - - - - 104 III. South Caucasus - - - - - - 105 IV. Volhynia - - - - - - - - 108 V. Siberia and Middle Asia - - - - - 112 List III: Reformed Pastors in Russia - - - - - - - 116 List of Swiss Pastors in Russia - - - - - - - 118 Leningrad Theological Seminary - - - - - - - 119 2 "CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS LIFE OF GERMANS IN RUSSIA" "Die Kirchen und das Religioese Leben der Russlanddeutschen" Edited by: Joseph Schnurr Heimatbuch (1969-1972) der Deutschen aus Russland Published by Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland Stuttgart 1972 [Translated and Transcribed by: Allen E. Konrad – 2006] [Original Book pages 276-385] List of the Evangelical (Lutheran & Reformed) Pastors in the German and Multi-ethnic (above all in the towns) Parishes in Russia, specifically, the Soviet Union, minus the Baltic Provinces and Poland. (by Karl Stumpp) At the top of the Ecclesiastical Organization were the General Consistory and two Regional Consistories: Petersburg and Moscow. At its head, at any given time, there was a lay President and a clergy Vice-President-Bishop or Superintendent, who, for the most part, was the Pastor of a church at the same time. The congregations (Communities) were in Parishes, the Parishes combined into Administrative Provosts. So there were: 1. In the Petersburg Regional Consistory: a. First South Russian Administrative Provost (Bessarabia and Cherson) b. Second South Russian Administrative Provost (Jekaterinowlaw, Taurida, Crimea and Don District) 2. In the Moscow Regional Consistory there was only the Volga District: a. The Administrative Provost on the Volga-Mountain (East) Side b. The Administrative Provost on the Volga-Meadow (West) Side For a long time, the South Caucasus Germans had their own Church Administration. It was first in 1918 that they joined themselves to the Moscow Regional Consistory. However, in the formation, the Caucasus Germans were joined to the Petersburg Regional Consistory because, as settlers, they fit in better historically, geographically and language-wise. Numerical Overview of the Evangelical Germans in Russia in 1906 (minus the Baltics) A. Moscow Regional Consistory # of Germans Non- Total Parishes Germans 1. City of Moscow 04 18,750 1,820 20,570 2. Interior Gouvernements 16 18,320 7,865 26,185 3 3. North Caucasus 09 28,530 3,770 32,300 4. Volga District: 28,000 3,770 00,000 a. Mountain Side Adm. Provost 15 208,100 ¹ 34 208,134 b. Meadow Side Adm. Provost 216,750 ¹ 1,185 217,935 5. Siberia and Middle Asia 09 14,540 20,820 35,360 75 504,990 35,494 540,484 [note ¹- The Reformed are included in this number] B. Petersburg Regional Consistory # of Germans Non- Total Parishes Germans 1. City of Petersburg 14 42,000 52.000 94,000 2. Other Cities & German Colonies 11 7,740 37,830 45,570 3. Black Sea District a. First S. Russia Adm. Provost 22 88,350 1,000 89,350 b. Second S. Russia Adm. Provost 27 98,848 3,902 102,750 4. Interior Gourvernements 06 13,475 38,185 51,660 5. Kiev and Volhynia 12 137,980 710 138,690 92 388,373 133,627 522,000 C. South Caucasus # of Germans Non- Total Parishes Germans 1. Tiflis, Baku, Batum 03 7,970 3,460 11,430 09 17,470 3,460 20,930 2. In German Colonies 06 9,500 ---------- 9,500 101 405,843 137,087 542,930 3. Both Regional Consistories 176 910,833 172,580 1,083,400 Number of Churches, Parishes and Pastors (1905) Petersburg Moscow South Total Consistory Consistory Caucasus Count a. Churches 145 142 -- 287 b. Rural 89 105 -- 194 c. Urban 56 37 -- 82 d. Made of Stone 108 55 -- 163 4 e. Made of Wood 37 81 -- 118 f. Parishes 117 ³ 77 05 199 g. Pastors (in 1900) 114 76 -- 190 [note ³ The cities are numbered with the Moscow Regional Consistory. Until 1918, the German Colonies had their own Church Administration with a Senior Pastor at the head] In the German congregations, without exception, preaching was done in German. However, in Alt-Schwedendorf it was Swedish & German, in Neusatz/Crimea and Djelal/Crimea is was German & Estonian, and in Schabo/Bessarabia it was German & French. On the average, in 1905, a Parish had about 5,500 members, which was served by only one pastor. In Volhynia, one pastor often had to serve 40-60 congregations, while in the Crimea 24 and in Siberia over 100 congregations. Therefore, he was only able to visit a congregation 3 to 5 times a year. After the 1917 Revolution, the number of Evangelical Pastors rapidly declined. In Siberia, in 1924, there were only 2 instead of 10, in Petersburg only 3 instead of 28 and in Moscow only 2 instead of 7. The number continued to decline: In 1927, there were only 114 Pastors, in 1929 it was down to 90, of which half were over 50 years old and 14 over 70 years old. There was a failure of new blood. In 1934, there were still 45 (15 elderly and 30 from the theological seminary), in January 1935…32, on June 25, end of school, 21 from the seminary. In 1936, there were only 8 Pastors. In 1937, all Pastors were without service. A greater part of them were in the Banishment, some were forbidden to preach and so they were forced to take on another calling, and some returned to their homeland in the Baltic Provinces. After the Consistories were dissolved in 1918, a General Synod of all congregations was called to meet in St. Petri Congregation in Moscow in 1924. There, Bishop Malmgren was elected as President. He was invested with this office until 1936. In 1925, theological courses took place in Leningrad, out of which 11 completed their studies. On 15 September, 1935, a theological seminary was started in Leningrad from which 57 completed their studies (see the List in the appendix of the List of Pastors). Of the 1,040 Pastors under consideration, especially in the final years, 102 were arrested and exiled, the greater part of them died. In List I, they are indicated with the symbol [ud]. As far as can be determined, one can come up with the following picture for the murders and shooting during the time of the Banishment: Banished: 1774 01 (murdered) 1928 01 1936 06 1904 01 (shot) 1929 09 1937 06 1915 06 1930 15 1938 01 1918 01 (shot) 1931 08 1939 01 5 1919 01 (shot) 1933 04 1920 01 1934 19 1926 01 (murdered) 1935 20 Total 102 Concerning the origin of the Pastors in the German Parishes, one can put them into four groups: 1. A few Pastors that came with the immigrants (1763 and 1804).