On Thursday, January 23, 2020, the annual prayer for the unity of Christians was offered to God at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in St. Petersburg. Clergymen and laypeople from the Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Catholic, and Lutheran Churches (The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia and The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia) prayed and reflected on the Holy Scripture together. The Church of Ingria was represented by Rev. Mikhail Ivanov (in photo at left in alb), the senior pastor of St. Mary’s Lutheran Church and the Chief Secretary of The Church of Ingria. The Marian laulu Choir of St. Mary’s Lutheran sang during the prayer service. During the communist era, Our Lady of Lourdes was the only functioning Roman Catholic Church in St. Petersburg and at times served as the meeting place for parts of the city’s Russian Orthodox and Evangelical Lutheran communities whose church buildings were closed down by the Soviet authorities. We continue to pray to our Lord that Christians may be one in their witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Photo credits: Olga Zhuravlyova