The Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (in russian: Лютеранская церковь Святых Петра и Павла or in German: Lutherische Kirche der Heiligen Peter und Paul) is a

Lutheran church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

located in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is one of the oldest and largest

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches in Russia, and the seat of the Archbishop of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia (russian: Евангелическо-лютеранская церковь в России, Украине, в Казахстане и Средней Азии), also ...

. The church have valid apostolic succession by the orthodox and lutheran episcopacy.

General

The Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a Lutheran church located on Nevsky Prospect, the main street of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is also known as Saint Peter's Lutheran Church (in russian: Лютеранская церковь Святого Петра or in german: St. Petri-Kirche}. It is one of the oldest and largest

churches in Russia. It was and still is called the German church as its members were mostly German-speaking.

History

In 1705,

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

decreed that the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches could be established in Saint Petersburg. In 1708, a Lutheran church was established in Saint Petersburg, later followed by other Lutheran churches. For example, the famous mathematician

Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in ma ...

was buried in the

Lutheran cemetery in Saint Petersburg Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. The present building of St. Peter's Lutheran Church was designed by Alexander Brulllov and built in 1833-1837. By 1917, the church had about 15,000 membership and also managed a school ( Petrischule), a hospital and an orphanage.Th
European Walkway
signpost showing the history of St. Peter's Lutheran Church During the Soviet rule, religion was persecuted. This church was requisitioned by the local government and was used as an indoor swimming pool. During the 1990s, the church building was returned to St. Peter's Church and was restored.

Worship

Inside view in 2014. Worship is now held in Russian. There are also services in German.

In its neighborhood

On the streets on left and right of St. Peter's Lutheran Church are: *the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary (russian: Евангелическо-лютеранская церковь Святой Марии, fi, Pyhän Marian kirkko) is an Evangelical Lutheran church located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It w ...

(also called the Finnish church) *the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Catherine ( sv, Sankta Katarina kyrka, fi, Pyhän Katariinan kirkko, russian: Евангелическо-лютеранская церковь Святой Екатерины) is an Evangelical Luthera ...

(also called the Swedish church) In the latter church, also held are Sunday services in English (

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

) and in Korean (

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

). On the opposite side of Nevsky Prospect is: * Kazan Cathedral (

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

) Nearby, also on Prospect, toward east, are *the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

of St. Catherine *the Catholic Church of St. Catherine (

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

)

References

External links

Churches in St. Petersburg, Russia
{{Authority control 19th-century Lutheran churches Lutheran churches in Saint Petersburg Nevsky Prospekt 19th-century churches in Russia Churches completed in 1837 Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg