May 24, 2020, saw a prayer meeting on the construction site of the new classroom building of the ELCIR Theological Institute (TICI) in Koltushi near St. Petersburg. During the ceremony, a time capsule was buried in the foundation of the future facility.
In his introductory speech, Bishop and Institute Rector Ivan Laptev shared his memories of how he had participated in the construction of the first, so-called “old,” building 25 years before. Bishop Emeritus Arri Kugappi reminisced on how the future ministers of the Ingrian Church had first been trained in the basement of the church in Pushkin, a town south of St. Petersburg, and later in the basement of the church in Koltushi before there was a seminary officially called the Theological Institute. The prayer was said by Rev. Ivan Hutter, dean of the ELCIR St. Petersburg Deanery. The construction project’s foreman and member of the church in Koltushi Boris Kozlenko also participated in the burying of the time capsule.
The capsule contains Luther’s Small Catechism, several modern coins, the latest issue of The Church of Ingria magazine, and a letter for future generations with greetings and the text of Psalm 1.
Please keep the construction project and the ministry of the ELCIR Theological Institute in your prayers. Also, you can personally participate in the construction of the new building by using the QR code below to wire a donation. Please add the following note: dlya Teologicheskogo Instituta (for the Theological Institute) in the field “na ustavnuyu deyatelnost…” (for activities under charter).
Cordial thanks for your support and participation!
Original post in Russian and photo gallery on VK
Video (in Russian)