On January 24, 2021, St. John’s Lutheran Chapel of Saratov in the Volga Region hosted a meeting of clergymen and lay officers from several ELCIR churches in the Volga Deanery as well as ELCIR Bishop Ivan Laptev, Moscow Region Dean Valeri Antipov, and Rev. Leif Camp.

 

The gathering opened with a worship service on the Third Sunday after Epiphany celebrated by Volga Region Dean Olav Panchu and Deacon Sergei Anikin. Bishop Laptev preached a sermon.

 

The service was followed by a seminar, informal conversation, and tea & snacks in the chapel’s dining-room. Rev. Aleksei Shepelyov, senior pastor of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Congregation of Simferopol, Crimea, went online from Simferopol to join the event.