On November 23, 2023, ELCIR Bishop Ivan Laptev and a team from St. Anne’s Lutheran Church of St. Petersburg (Annenkirche) visited Kaliningrad Oblast. In the historical Groß Legitten Lutheran Church, the guests met with Bishop Sergei Holzwert of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia. Many thanks to Bishop Sergei for his warm welcome and the tour of the church and the parsonage!
Bishop Laptev and his companions also met with Svetlana Nazarova, one of the leaders of Khraniteli Ruin (“The Keepers of the Ruins”), a volunteer movement established in 2020 to study, tidy up and preserve valuable historical ruins in Kaliningrad Oblast. The movement members do this work as volunteers on ruined architectural heritage in former East Prussia such as Lutheran churches, castles, etc. dating back to the Middle Ages and later, making authorities and the public aware of the need to preserve and beautify those structures.
Finally, the Ingrian ministers visited the Cathedral of Kaliningrad, making prayer in the cathedral’s Evangelical Lutheran chapel. Chapel guide Waldemar Biss shared about the history of the place and the ministry that is carried out there today.
Thanks be to God for our brothers and sisters in Kaliningrad Oblast and the opportunity to spend time together and share experiences!
Photos by Kristina Shilova
