St Petri 1710-2010 – The 300th Anniversary Celebration Volume
At first sight this is an unlikely book to review. But it left quite an impression on me when I read it recently. It is the story of how the Lutheran church of St Peter in St Petersburg first grew up, fought back later against severe adversity only to flourish once again today.
Some 300 years ago Czar Peter the Great was intent on reform to lift Russia out of its backward state for which he encouraged the immigration of skilled foreign workers. He founded the city of St Petersburg where a large expatriate German community grew up in a cosmopolitan city. With the blessing of the Czar they set about establishing a Lutheran church which flourished and by 1833 they occupied a grand church in a prime site in the city centre. But they did not just build the church, they were much concerned too about the health and welfare of the surrounding community, for which they built a welfare centre, a huge orphanage, a school and a residence for the poor. Given the condition of Russia at the time, the need must have been enormous.
Sadly all this counted for nothing a century later when the communists came to power. During the Stalinist purges of the 1930's the church was suppressed and most tragically of all, the two pastors together with several church leaders were seized and shot. The building itself fell into disrepair, only to be requisitioned after the war and turned into a public swimming pool.
When the USSR disintegrated 50 years later, the restrictions on churches were relaxed and the Lutheran community in the city began to regroup. They met at first in another former Lutheran church, St Ann's, which had been turned into a cinema but which was secured for church use on Sundays. When the swimming pool in St Peter's church closed in 1992, the Lutherans were able to take possession of that building again. The day after the pool was drained, they held their first service of the new era standing around the empty pool. An enormous effort was entailed in restoring the church and it was finally reconsecrated in 1997. Today it is the hub of a newly flourishing church community, much involved as before in the welfare of its neighbourhood.
But a further blow struck the Lutherans soon afterwards. When the cinema which had operated in the former St Ann's church closed down, the empty building was taken over without authorisation by a night club. Although the Lutherans finally managed to evict the night club and gain possession of the premises, there was an arson attack and the building was burned out. Undaunted, the churches fought back and raised the large sum of money needed to restore their building.
The story is all the more effective for being told in a terse, matter-of-fact manner, well illustrated with contemporary pictures, not a hint of self pity or triumphalism despite all they suffered and achieved. We have faced nothing like it in the churches here. One can only admire their courage and determination.
David Tidy