Other News
Already back on 29 May 2015, a Moscow “St. Peter-and-Paul” congregation headed by Rev. Dmitry Lotov was officially accepted as a member of the St. Petersburg-based “Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia” (ELCIR). This congregation meets in secular rooms, but is hoping to purchase suitable quarters once sufficient funding is available. Roughly 70 persons attended the worship service I visited on 20 March.
Two congregations carrying the same name have existed since a split occurred in Fall 2010. It’s a question of debate as to which of the congregations is the “first” or the “second” one. Pastor Lotov holds his congregation to be the original one, re-founded in 1992. It was forced to leave the cathedral in 2010. (Note our press release from 4 November 2012.)
Bishop of the Finnish-oriented ELCIR is Arri Kugappi. The congregation meeting in St.-Peter-and-Paul-Cathedral belongs to the more German-oriented „Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia“. Its Archbishop is Dietrich Brauer.
William Yoder, Ph.D.
Smolensk, 3 April 2016
A journalistic release for which the author is solely responsible. It is informational in character and does not express the official position of any church organisation. This release may be reprinted free-of-charge if the source is cited. Release #16-03c.
