Great consecration of an Orthodox church in Hamburg. Hamburg, St. Michael's Church: history, architectural style, reviews and location

Being the main Protestant church in the city (Hamburg), the Church of St. Michael has been opening its doors to parishioners every day for more than three hundred years (with short restorations) and mesmerizing tourists with its appearance. Indeed, such a beautiful and at the same time a little gloomy architectural creation evokes certain thoughts.

The church is visible from the seaport and many parts of the city, as its bell tower, which is also a symbol of Hamburg, is located at a high altitude. The Church of St. Michael, in the common people called "Bolshoi Mikhel", is the main attraction of the city, which is of particular value for the whole country.

Church in Hamburg: history

From 1648 to 1669, the first temple was erected by Christoph Corbinus and Peter Marquardt. It was the Church of St. Michael, but not the one that stands on this site today. It was a large three-nave temple, a beautiful structure that was not destined to stand for long - in the middle of the 18th century it completely burned out. The reason for this was lightning. The bell tower collapsed, only ruins remained of the church.

A year later (in 1751), a new temple began to be built on the same site. Designed by Ernst Georg Sonnin and Johann Leonard Pray. 15 years after the beginning of the construction of the church, it was crowned with a bright and elegant turret and opened. The Hamburgers called the temple Michel, and they say so to this day.

But the cruel tests do not end there. In 1906, when restoration work was carried out, a fire broke out, as a result of which the main symbol of the city (Hamburg), the Church of St. Michael, lost the beautiful tower and was badly damaged itself, only the walls remained.

This time it caused a lot of controversy. This is not surprising, because the difficulties that fell to the lot of "Bolshoi Mikhel" did not leave anyone unattended. Instead of a temple to the archangel, architects and influential personalities insisted on the construction of another church, this time not in the late Baroque style, but most corresponding to the 20th century. But their plans were not destined to come true: the Hamburgers adored the landmark of their city so much and were so proud of it that they insisted on restoring the church in honor of Michael.

It is noteworthy that the third building of the temple was erected according to the same drawings as the previous ones, but the architects already used modern materials and construction technologies. By 1906, the Church of St. Michael (Hamburg) was ready. The most successful solution of the architects was the construction with a reinforced concrete structure. It was thanks to her that the third architectural creation dedicated to the archangel survived the fierce battles during the Second World War, even though Hamburg was then subjected to powerful bombing.

The architectural style and appearance of the church

The building was erected in the late Baroque style. The length of the church is about 71 m, width - 51 m, and the height of the nave - 27 m. Red brick was chosen as the facing material. Limestone was used to create decorative elements.

The main distinguishing feature of the temple is a huge statue of a spear in his hands, the end of which pierces the devil. It is made of bronze and installed above the main entrance, and therefore is clearly visible to visitors.

When visiting Hamburg, St. Michael's Church, you should pay attention to the bell tower. It is crowned with the largest clock in Germany, trimmed with gold, which shimmers at any time of the day. An observation deck is also equipped here, revealing a beautiful urban landscape.

Interior and decoration of the temple of the Archangel Michael

Inside, the church is what any Baroque building should be - rich and very beautiful. The interior decoration is a very impressive sight: there is a 20 m altar made of marble, paintings of biblical themes, and a relief depicting the Last Supper made of bronze. St. Michael's Church in Hamburg is a discreet yet graceful architectural creation. It becomes clear why the Hamburgers defended their landmark in such a way.

Church of St. Michael today

Today, the temple not only looks great and is fully restored, it remains operational. Services are held here, a church orchestra performs with an organ, the sounds of which become even more "powerful" in all respects thanks to the acoustics. By the way, it is unique here, one can hardly find such powerful echoes anywhere else.

If you are going to see Hamburg, the Church of St. Michael, it is worth considering that you can visit it only after the service. Tourists are allowed to go up to the observation deck to take a look at the surroundings.

From late autumn to mid-spring, it works from 10 am to 5:30 pm, and in the warm season - from 9:00 to 19:30. As with visiting other churches, you must adhere to the dress code: no T-shirts, shorts or short skirts.

The address of the temple of the Archangel Michael

Exact location: Englische Planke 1, 20459, Hamburg, Germany. Half a kilometer from the church there are Baumwall and Rödingsmarkt metro stations, and at a distance of 600 m - St. Pauli.

When visiting this German city, be sure to look into the temple in honor of the archangel. Not only because the church is one of the main and its symbol. The architectural appearance, interior and, of course, the observation deck at the top - all this deserves the attention of a tourist.

The Church of St. Michael (Hamburg), according to travelers, will leave a lasting impression on the soul. This stately building, so serious on the outside and gentle on the inside, is the best place on earth to experience late Baroque and true Germanic influences. Many tourists set themselves the goal of visiting this temple first of all, and after visiting it, they recommend that other vacationers do it.

The interview continues the rubric of the cultural, educational and pilgrimage center of the Holy Apostle Thomas - Christian Europe "- stories about Orthodox parishes, the history of Christian shrines and the modern life of European Christians.

- Father Sergiy, tell us how the Russian flock appeared in Hamburg, which is known to everyone as one of the largest ports in the world?

- The port assumes a tolerant attitude towards foreigners, because, it implies a lot of trade interactions. Moreover, Hamburg was one of the centers of the famous Hanseatic trade union. This community of trading cities also included our Veliky Novgorod, so Russian merchants in Hamburg and Lubeck were not uncommon since ancient times.

One interesting fact is associated with the city of Lubeck: the famous Russian holy blessed Procopius of Ustyug was from the North German lands. In his younger years, he was a successful merchant in Lübeck. His trade relations with Russia led to the fact that in the distant XIII century he not only accepted Orthodoxy, but also became one of the first Russian holy fools.

At the beginning of the 20th century in Hamburg there was already not only the Russian merchant population, diplomats, but also a representative office of the Holy Vladimir Brotherhood. It is this organization that begins raising funds for the construction of the first temple in Hamburg. In 1908, the funds raised were used to purchase a mansion in the center of the city, in which the house church in the name of St. Nicholas was consecrated.

The future Patriarch Tikhon served in this temple, on the way to the place of his episcopal ministry in America. Then he prayerfully wished the city and its Orthodox community prosperity.

- In fact, I gave a blessing to this land, this is very important.

- Yes. There are wonderful words left by him in the book of honorary guests of the parish, this is a parting word to the Hamburg Orthodox community so that it bloom into a tree of blessing (i.e., into a large tree with a lush crown that bestows saving coolness in its shade). For a long time the house church was a spiritual center and a place where Russian emigration gathered. He lived through the sad years of the revolution. Many went to America through Hamburg. The temple was a constant refuge for people who were often in great need, waiting for their departure. After the revolution, this temple passed into the hands of the St. Vladimir brotherhood, but over time, the house with the temple, unfortunately, was sold by the brotherhood.

In another Hamburg church of St. Procopius of Ustyug of the Russian Church Abroad, a museum has been set up that tells about the hardships and hardships of people who found themselves in Hamburg after the Second World War. There were many displaced person camps in Hamburg. House churches were built inside these camps.

The museum contains exhibits associated with these camp temples: bowls for the Holy Gifts, censer, which these courageous people made with their own hands. When they already had the opportunity to live openly, independently, the first thing they did was to form their new Orthodox community. This long-suffering, post-war community was able to ensure that the German authorities issued a plot of land for the construction of the church. So a small temple was built in Hamburg. Over time, it was demolished, because the rebuilding of the city began. As compensation, the city allocated another site for the construction of the temple. In 1965, a beautiful church in the pseudo-Russian style was consecrated, in the construction of which the city also participated. For a long time, this temple, the museum of which was mentioned above, was the only and main refuge for all Russian Orthodox people.

But when, in the early 90s, a stream of emigrants from Russia poured in, this temple could no longer accommodate all the worshipers, all those who wanted to find spiritual comfort. An initiative group was formed, which became the seed of a new community of the Russian Orthodox Church.

- Which is natural, because Hamburg is a very large city.

- Yes, Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and the largest employer. Therefore, many Russian emigrants strive here. In 2001, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, a new parish was opened in honor of St. John of Kronstadt.

With the blessing of Archbishop Theophanes, Archpriest Boris Ustimenko was the first to start cultivating the virgin lands of the new parish. Father Boris is not only the Dean of Northern Germany, but in fact the new missionary of these places, since he is the founding father of most of the North German communities. The arrival of Father Boris in Hamburg coincided with the fact that the parish of the Serbian Orthodox Church was leaving the premises that they had been renting from the Evangelical Church for a long time. It so happened that that prayer place, where the Divine Liturgy was celebrated for about 20 years, was inherited by the new community.

However, the problem was that the rent was very high. This room was a gymnasium in a Lutheran kindergarten. According to the contract, one had to pay one and a half thousand euros a month for it. In 2003, yours truly was assigned to Hamburg. The main task of my ministry was to find a new location. The Lord generously consoled us with the magnificent cathedral where the community is located today. At that time it was a temple of the Lutheran Church, but the liturgical life in it practically came to naught. For us, this temple was interesting because, in addition to being located in the center of the city, its architecture is not typical of North German Lutheran churches, since it was built for the Armenian community at one time.

Architect Lorenze studied in Tiflis and embodied his love for Caucasian architecture in this project. Here, of course, not only the Caucasus is guessed. It is a neo-Romanesque style with gothic elements. At the same time, the cross-domed system is preserved, with a large altar, which, again, is not typical for Lutherans, but it was desirable for the Armenians and turned out to be a joyful surprise for us. At the stage of coordinating the project with the city, the Armenian community refused to build, but the architect persuaded the synod of the Lutheran Church to implement the project. One of the arguments was that the circle system present in the project, according to the architect, is most consistent with the Lutheran understanding of the preaching of the word of God. After all, long cathedrals for organs and pompous services. And for Lutherans, the word is important and people gather around the shepherd.

- And here again, the idea of ​​a circle refers to the ancient, still catacomb church.

- Yes. As a result, the Lutherans liked this argument very much. When we first saw this temple, we realized that it looked like a ready-made Orthodox church and immediately began negotiations.

The then bishop of the city of Hamburg - Mrs. Maria Epson (now traditionally that the Lutheran bishop of the city of Hamburg is a woman) was a great admirer of Russia, Russian culture and a fan of St. Petersburg. There was a close connection between the Northern Elbe Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate of the Russian Orthodox Church. This favorable background of interchurch relations helped us in our negotiations with the Lutheran Church. For a long time it was decided what form of the transfer of the temple would be. But it turned out that the land on which the temple stands belongs to the city, and not to the church community, since it is located in the central part of Hamburg.

Under German law, the person who owns the land owns the building. Therefore, we had to involve a third party in our negotiations, already the city of Hamburg. And in the end we came to the conclusion that the Evangelical Church gave us this cathedral symbolically for 1 euro, but on condition that we buy the land under the cathedral from the city at market value. This is how, with the personal blessing and participation of then Metropolitan Kirill, the current His Holiness Patriarch (who found the means to buy land), a land plot with a cathedral was acquired. At the end of December 2004, the last mass of the Lutheran Church was celebrated in the church, and immediately after the end of the mass, the vaults of the church were filled with the hymns of the thanksgiving service. It was important and joyful for the Lutheran Church that the temple was transferred to the ownership of the Christian community.

- Why is the temple consecrated in the name of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt?

- This, of course, has a deep meaning and logic. After all, Hamburg is a sister city or, better to say, a partner (as the Germans say) of the city of St. Petersburg. And so I wanted to draw a spiritual thread between our cities. Father John is not only one of the most revered saints of the Russian northern capital, but the patron saint of sailors whom he nursed in Kronstadt.

- This is very important, because he served in St. Andrew's Cathedral, which, as we remember from his life, he saw in a dream.

- I'll tell you about blessings and dreams even more interesting! When the Holy Vladimir Brotherhood at the beginning of the 20th century announced fundraising for the temple in Hamburg throughout Russia, one of the first who responded to this call was Father John of Kronstadt. The Lord, apparently, prompted him that over time he would have to work more. For us, this lifetime attention of the priest to Hamburg is very important.

In fact, this is very important, because we are now just moving to the present day. Orthodox church in the name of St. John of Kronstadt is now one of the largest Orthodox centers in Germany. Tell us about this separately, how does a modern parish live?

- Firstly, people who find themselves abroad, especially at first, go through a very difficult period of adaptation. This integration process turns out to be beyond the power of some at all. Most people (Russian people are talented and active) learn the language very quickly, find a job and immediately lead a rich life, but all the same, life in the diaspora is not sweet, bread is given with great difficulty.

Therefore, when all these integration hardships fall on a person, the issues of spiritual life become aggravated, and people begin to look for a temple where they could receive some kind of spiritual support and consolation, where they could meet like-minded people, compatriots, just talk in their native language. remember your homeland. Such a spiritual factor is important, therefore a church abroad becomes not just a parish church, but actually a home. This feature is present in almost all overseas parishes.

Another interesting feature of the parish is that most of the people who joined the life of the community actively and with pleasure did not have the experience of church life behind their shoulders in the countries of the former Soviet Union. For the first time they crossed the threshold of the temple here, abroad. Therefore, I do not know about other parishes, but ours was simply doomed to become missionary. The parish is happy with the big turnover. We periodically see off a family with tears, due to the fact that people have found work in another city. At the same time, at least two new families immediately appear. And we are faced with the task again, from the beginning to tell and explain everything. This, of course, also requires time and space. And the situation arose such that although we became the owners of the largest cathedral in Germany, there were absolutely no subsidiary rooms with it.

There was only a small kitchen, which constantly showed us the wonders of stretching the walls, because an unthinkable number of people were constantly placed in this kitchen. The choir conducted rehearsals in it. It had a Sunday school, and drawing, and drank tea, someone was constantly congratulated and remembered. The little closet became a boiling point. It wasn't easy. At the same time, despite the friendly atmosphere, it was clear that we would not last long, we would start eating each other a little.

In addition to missionary work, another major task facing every parish abroad is the education of our children. These are the main facets of the modern parish - missionary, educational, cultural, and celebratory.

All this together led us to start thinking actively about the possibility of obtaining some additional space for outside services. Literally next to our church there was an old two-story house. I will not talk about all the difficulties and sorrows, but today on the site of that dilapidated building flaunts a large new house, which has become the spiritual, cultural and educational center of our community. Despite the fact that we lease part of the space to receive funds that allow us to pay off the bank loan received for construction, most of the space serves the benefit of the community. Hall of Russian language and literature with a library, art school, courses of Russian language and literature, mathematics, Sunday school groups.

Rooms for community guests (to which all readers are welcome). A physiotherapy center where parishioners can recover for further exploits. There is a large hall in our house where the community spends its holidays and meetings. The hall constantly hosts classical music concerts and literary meetings. It was decided to name the house itself the Tchaikovsky House. Now this house is known to many Hamburgers as a place for Russian-German cultural exchange. There is a house, there are squares, there are many talented people who can embody their ideas. We continue to work actively. An amazing miracle - over the 15 years of its existence, the community from a small group of enthusiasts huddled in the gym of a Lutheran kindergarten has become a large, strong community, which is responsible for the cathedral, the spiritual, cultural and educational center (Tchaikovsky's house) and the Orthodox cemetery with a wooden church.

- How did the idea of ​​creating an Orthodox cemetery come about?

- Thoughts about the importance of such a project have arisen long ago. There were many thoughts in favor. This is the ability to compactly, according to Orthodox traditions, bury Orthodox people, this is the importance of systematic liturgical prayer for the departed: there are difficulties in reconciling our traditions with the established funerary practice in some lands of Germany. But, here a site was found, well-wishers were found who undertook to help build a temple and create a whole park with wooden architecture. Orthodox Hamburgers are very fond of the cozy temple. Our priests perform divine services in it on Saturdays 1 and 3, (and on the first Saturday the Liturgy is sung by the children's choir of our parish) and on Sundays the German-speaking Orthodox community of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.

From April to June, Sergei Mudrov was on a research program in Hamburg (Germany), where he kept a short church diary. We offer the readers of "Pravmir" excerpts from the diary, mainly related to the impressions of the parishes in Hamburg and Luneburg.

Today I was at the service for the first time in the church of St. John of Kronstadt in Hamburg. I took the metro to the station "Messehalen", from there you can clearly see the building of the temple, which previously belonged to the Protestant church. In few places in Europe the Orthodox have such large and spacious churches; after all, mostly Orthodox Christians either huddle in rented premises (for example, in Barcelona or Lisbon), or serve in their own, but small churches (for example, in Manchester or Rotterdam). In Hamburg, the church belongs to a parish, and its capacity is probably at least 500 people. The community of the Moscow Patriarchate is very young - it was formed in early 2001 and acquired the church in 2004.

On a weekday, very few people came to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, no more than twenty people. The service began at 15.30 and was held in an abridged version, ending about an hour and a half later. After the Liturgy, I went up to the reader Alexander and asked if the church needed all possible help in reading (I am not a particularly vocal reader, but if necessary I can read). Alexander, naturally, replied that the blessing of the abbot, Archpriest Sergiy Baburin, was necessary. At this time, a man standing next to us (as I learned later, Yuri Grigoriev) intervened in our conversation: "We need help in Luneburg, there will be a service there just tomorrow."

Luneburg? This is the first time I heard this name, but why not go there? Yuri consulted with Father Gennady Sorokopyt, one of the three priests of the Hamburg church (he is also the rector of the Luneburg parish of the Resurrection of Christ). Consent was obtained.

On the morning train, at 7.53, the three of us (Father Gennady, Yuri and I) left Hamburg for Luneburg. We drove in a southeast direction, a little over half an hour. Then from the station about five minutes by bus. The Orthodox community in Lüneburg rents the premises of the Catholic parish. The Catholics themselves are housed in some strange structure called the ecumenical center. From the outside, the center looks like a library; there is no special Christian presence here. The only thing: a cross is installed at the entrance, but it is made in a modernist style, so it is not easy to see in it an instrument of Christ's suffering. I wonder who decided to "mark" such an innovation: Protestants or Catholics?

The ecumenical center has two prayer halls: one for Protestants, the other for Catholics. Protestants, as usual, have an eerie emptiness in the temple, as if there was no history of the church with the apostles and saints. Catholics have better, but not much: some strange sculptures, supposedly depicting biblical subjects, but in reality smacking of Malevich's abstraction. The sculpture of the crucifixion of Christ on some tree seemed to me blasphemous, and the sculpture of the stoning of Stephen - incomprehensible (without Father Gennady's explanations, I probably would have wondered for a long time what kind of plan the German sculptor put into this work). Why is this modernism in Christianity?

It is sad that the Orthodox have to pray in such an "ecumenical" environment, but where to go? Catholics charge 75 euros for four hours of rent. Before the start of the service, the hall must be prepared: in the center is placed a lectern with an Orthodox icon, in the altar (however, the completely open space does not resemble the altar of an Orthodox church much) there is a table that will serve as an altar. On the Catholic throne, the priest spreads the antimension. Books and candles are brought from the pantry. Yuri, who is to be the altarpiece, carries the ponomar accessories. They lie in one of the premises of the center; there are also kept sacred vessels - chalice and diskos. It takes at least half an hour before it is possible to prepare the hall for the beginning of the Orthodox Liturgy.

At about ten, Father Gennady proclaims the usual "Blessed be our God ...", and I start reading the Hours. Today there are two services: the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and then unction. There are not many people - there are a little more than twenty people at the Liturgy. A few more people come to the beginning of the unction. Father Gennady shortens the rite of unction a little to meet the rental time. Then, with the help of the parishioners, we quickly take away from the hall everything that made it at least a little like an Orthodox church, and set off on our way back. Parishioners take us to the station; all that remains is to wait for the train to Hamburg.

We arrive in Hamburg in the afternoon, I still have time to stop by home, have lunch, and after that I rush to the evening service at the cathedral. Fortunately, I arrive on time. I stand on the right, against the wall. But when Father Sergius comes out of the altar, he comes to me, greets me and asks if I am the person who wanted to read in the church.

If there is such an opportunity, and that I do not hurt or offend anyone by this, I answer. “All the same, it’s uncomfortable for me to intrude on the routine of the temple.

Nothing, they perceive everything normally in our country, - says the priest. - Go to the altar, put on the surplice.

I go to the altar, greet Father Dionysius there, as well as two altar men - Victor and Dmitry (there were no other altar men that evening). I notice that everyone is very friendly, ready to help, and no one sees a “competitor” in the newcomer. I am allowed to read the Six Psalms. I read not without excitement, but it seems to be normal. One problem: my quiet voice, alas, is not very suitable for a large temple. I immediately remember the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, where all readings, including the Clock and the Six Psalms, are held with microphones. But the Hamburg reciters have strong, well-set voices, so they don't really need microphones ...

However, over time, in the parish of St. John of Kronstadt, this problem was solved for me: Dmitry found a portable microphone that I could attach to the surplice. Reading has become much easier.

Today . The Liturgy, according to the schedule posted on the parish website, should begin at 10 am, but I arrived much earlier, because the Clock begins to read at 9:30. I was allowed to read the 3rd hour.

There are three priests serving - Fr. Sergius begins confession, then returns to the altar to serve the Liturgy, and Fr. Gennady and Fr. Joachim take confessions. Father Dionysius left for Schwerin, where he serves on Sundays. There are a lot of confessors, the church is full of people: this is the first time I have seen such a large parish in Europe. They give communion in three bowls, the number of the sacraments exceeds 240 people! There are a lot of children among them.

Father Joachim, whom I, together with one of the altar men, help during communion (I hold the plates), remembers many by name, talks to children, asks how old they are, praises them, says kind words. He has a benevolent "zer gud" (very good) addressed to the German participants, but most of the participants are Russian-speaking. The sacrament ends, but there is still a long queue to the lectern where confession is received. The cup will be taken out again after the dismissal - there are indeed a lot of partakers.

On I went to Manchester, so I could not meet in Hamburg. However, the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ in the Intercession Church in Manchester has already become a good tradition for me in recent years.

It is a holiday today . The last day of my stay in Hamburg. I am allowed to read the Hours and the Apostle.

After the Liturgy there is tea drinking in the left part of the church, a good tradition of the parish (though only on weekdays, when there are not very many parishioners). I say goodbye to the priests and the parishioners I know. It's a little sad to part with the parish - after all, I got used to it in two months. Perhaps it was a good lesson for me both in terms of reading and in terms of helping in the altar. Everything did not always work out well, sometimes he was wrong - but the one who does nothing is not wrong. Sadly, I leave the Church, but inwardly I am glad that I will meet with my native churches in Baranovichi.

The rector of the Church of St. Righteous John tells about the importance of the Orthodox church for compatriots in Germany, how the life of the community began with divine services in the sports hall of the kindergarten and how the majestic church in the neo-Romanesque style became its home, what interest Orthodoxy is in German society. Archpriest Sergiy Baburin of Kronstadt in Hamburg.

Father Sergius, how, in your opinion, do our compatriots, who have found themselves in the far abroad due to certain circumstances of life, perceive the Russian Orthodox Church? They come to the church because they see in it, first of all, an island of the Fatherland, a place where they can receive help and consolation, or, most importantly, that this is the House of God, where they can pray in a familiar language and in accordance with the traditions of the Russian Church?

- The main thing that pleases every priest who meets his compatriot in the temple is his perception of the temple as the House of God and the feeling of reverence inherent in our people. But the spectrum of attitudes towards the temple is very different. More and more people go through the period of churching - this is the greatest joy.

Indeed, a temple in the diaspora is also a place of consolation for a person who is grievingly experiencing a break with his Motherland and comprehending the bitter taste of emigrant bread. Of course, there are people who plunge headlong into the process of assimilation, trying to become Germans more than the Germans themselves, but most often it is here, in isolation from their homeland, that people first cross the threshold of the temple. They sincerely try to participate in community activities, to introduce children to the Church.

But we, like everyone else, are reaping the fruits of the religious ignorance of our compatriots. Sometimes the degree of ignorance and paganism is shocking, it is especially strange to see this in combination with good education and the desire to have and constantly voice your opinion. The temple is open every day, and trained attendants love to greet everyone.

Your parish is one of the "youngest" among the parishes of the Berlin and German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, its history goes back a little over ten years. Could you tell us how his story began?

- It all started with the initiative of several families who turned to the Archbishop of Berlin and Germany Theophanes with a request to send a priest. It happened on the Epiphany days of 2001.

The first pastor and confessor of the community was Archpriest Boris Ustimenko. In the beginning, life was full of hardships, as the community huddled in the gym of a Lutheran kindergarten, for which they had to pay unbearable rent for the community. But it was there that the community was born and passed the first steps of spiritual development. The first difficulties brought people together very much. There we had the opportunity to meet often, and in the temple there were constant conversations and joint study of the Holy Scriptures.

We can say that a strong, friendly and well-established community has moved to the new church.

Nowadays, the place of prayer for your numerous parish is the church consecrated in the name of one of the saints especially revered by the Russian Church - the righteous John of Kronstadt. Please tell us how a few years ago this magnificent church building, built in the neo-Romanesque style, became an Orthodox parish church.

- The temple is really very beautiful. It is not typical for northern Germany. Initially, the temple was designed for the Armenian community, therefore it has many elements of Orthodox architecture that are familiar to us. Then, when the Armenian community rejected it at the stage of project approval, the architect convinced the leadership of the Lutheran Church to implement this project for the Lutheran community. In the struggle for his project, he argued that the long basilicas - the legacy of the Catholic Church - are not suitable for Lutherans, who must sit in a circle around the pastor and study the Scriptures. This argument was liked, and in Hamburg at the beginning of the 20th century, a temple resembling ancient rotundas with an altar apse turned to the east appeared.

Despite the central position of the temple, by the end of the last century, the Lutheran community in it almost disintegrated. It was assigned to a neighboring parish, and concerts and exhibitions were held in this building. It was also rented out to various foreign communities. The inevitability of major repairs frightened the Lutheran Church.

We managed to negotiate in such a way that the temple was handed over to us for a symbolic price of one euro, provided that the Orthodox community at the market price would buy the land under the temple from the city. So, in the center of Hamburg, an island of the Russian land with a temple building appeared. The whole community plunged into the business of its renovation and beautification, and now it is completely impossible to recognize in it a once half-abandoned temple.

The temple is crowned with a dome and five golden crosses, a fresco iconostasis and a mosaic floor have been built. The beautification process continues.

Some time ago, the website of one of the Russian parishes abroad published a photograph showing that during the service the area in front of the church turns into a “parking lot” for a wide variety of strollers, which were left by mothers with children who came to the service. Now in Russia, the stereotype that only grandmothers are in churches is going down in history. How can you characterize the composition of the Hamburg parish, who makes up its main part?

- Indeed, there are a lot of children in the temple. On Sundays we partake of about a hundred children. At Christmas, 400 children’s gifts were handed out. I am very glad that the parish has a future.

There are many adolescents and young people in the church. Regular meetings are held with them. There is a youth Internet newsletter, in which about eighty children participate. They gladly respond to social projects, willingly help sick people coming from Russia for treatment.

In addition, a family camp project is underway - shifts take place during the fall and spring holidays.

Naturally, love for God "all ages are submissive." We also have many elderly people. Weakening parishioners prompted us to move from single to systematic help. Members of our parish community have created a patronage service for the care of the sick and the elderly "Pokrov", which already serves about eighty people. All employees are paid by the German state.

Divine services in the Church of St. John of Kronstadt are performed not only in Church Slavonic, but also in German. Does this mean that a significant part of your parishioners speak German as their native language? Who are they, descendants of emigrants or indigenous people who converted to Orthodoxy?

- The German-speaking part of our parish is not significant, most often they are representatives of mixed families. There are also native Germans who converted to Orthodoxy. An interesting group - young representatives of other Local Orthodox Churches, who feel more comfortable at our German-speaking services than in their own communities, where the national-family spirit often reigns.

It should be noted with regret that the inevitable phenomenon is the loss of the Russian language by our children. We try to resist this with all our strength, but the fact remains: German is becoming more and more familiar to many, and it is easier for many children to pray in German.

Once a month we have a service entirely in German. More and more German inclusions also appear in Sunday services.

The Hamburg parish is actively involved in educational work: there is a Sunday school, public lectures are held ... Could you introduce our readers to this side of the parish's activities?

- We have two Sunday school groups. In the younger one, children are engaged in handicrafts, reading stories and fairy tales. The little ones learn prayers together. In the older group, children are offered more serious material. We gave up trying to give a systematic course, since not all families are able to attend church regularly. Conversations are structured as an independent lesson with a topic that is revealed within the framework of one meeting.

Children attend school during the divine services until the Eucharistic Canon and then are brought to the temple. On the first Sunday of the month, part of the service is sung by our children's choir, in which classes are held every Sunday after Communion.

In addition, special courses are held in our church every three months, for which we invite lecturers from Russia. On Wednesdays and Sundays, when the church is not busy (twice a month, after the Sunday Liturgy, we have a service in Georgian), there are conversations.

Do parishioners have the opportunity to spend extra-liturgical time together? Are you organizing joint holidays, sports or other leisure projects?

- In addition to organizing a family camp, which I talked about, we hold children's parties from time to time. There are a lot of different circles, courses, sports sections in the city, in which our parishioners are actively involved. Boxing and volleyball groups spontaneously emerged within the parish.

I would like to spend more parish holidays, but we are constrained by the lack of premises for extra-liturgical activities. Now the construction of a spiritual, cultural and educational center has begun, and now this is the subject of the main concerns and prayers of our parishioners.

In Russia, we often hear about various processes in Western Europe that cause well-founded fears among believers. Among them - the official recognition of same-sex marriage in a number of countries, the mandatory introduction of "sex education" in public schools, the interference of social services of some states in the internal life of believing families, including in matters of observance of fasting by children. Do Orthodox Christians in Germany encounter any negative phenomena in society that would have a direct impact on their lives?

- To be honest, I have not encountered any acute problems, although I often hear something about it. In any case, for those who want to be a serious, strict Christian towards themselves, nothing stands in the way of modern Germany. It is difficult, of course, for the young to keep themselves in the midst of a depraved society, but these processes are global.

There is also a community of the Russian Church Abroad in Hamburg. How would you characterize the relationship between parishes?

- How sincerely fraternal.

Are Orthodox parishes and their activities a noticeable phenomenon in the life of German society?

In Germany, public interest in the Orthodox Church is growing steadily. With great sympathy and interest, the German society observes the ebullient activity of Orthodox parishes and their crowdedness. There is tremendous interest in the aesthetic side of the life of the Orthodox Church. The priest is present both in hospitals and in prison, and there are constant requests from local schools to bring children to church to tell about the Orthodox Church.

There is no wave of conversions, a special all-German sound of the Orthodox mission, but it is important that the Orthodox Church is indeed becoming a part of the life of German society today.

Interviewed by Natalia Bubentsova

The largest Orthodox center in Germany is registered at this address. Patriarch Kirill, Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrev), and John of Kronstadt, in whose name the majestic cathedral standing on the square was consecrated, were involved in its creation. Our correspondent Lyudmila Dianova is talking with its rector, Archpriest Sergiy Baburin.

- Father Sergius, how did the Russian flock appear in the German port city?

- The port city is by definition a populous and multinational place, the center of various trade relations. Once Hamburg and Veliky Novgorod were part of the famous Hanseatic League of Trade Cities. This means that Russian merchants and the people accompanying them were frequent guests here. By the beginning of the 20th century, a rather large Russian diaspora of merchants, industrialists, students, and diplomats had formed in Hamburg. But what about a Russian person without a temple? The Holy Vladimir Brotherhood came to the rescue. It announced a fundraiser in Russia for the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas. And one of the first to respond to this call was Father John of Kronstadt.

- After the 1917 revolution, there were obviously even more Russian emigrants in Hamburg ...

- Their number increased several times, and the Nikolsky temple was the place where the unfortunate people deprived of their homeland could "catch their breath" a little, receive financial assistance and spiritual support. Some then left for America. But many stayed, found work, because Hamburg is the largest city-employer. It is no coincidence that camps for displaced persons were created here during the Second World War.

Cathedral of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt - one of the largest churches in Hamburg

- What do you mean "displaced"?

- This was the name of people of working age, taken out from the occupied territories of the Soviet Union. They were supposed to be used in German industry and agriculture. It was, in fact, free labor. In the camps, prisoners were allowed to build small house churches and pray in them. After the victory over fascism, the prisoners were released, however, fearing the persecution of the captured people, not everyone dared to return to their homeland. And so those who remained in Hamburg created their own Orthodox community and obtained permission from the German authorities to build a church.

Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt - the heavenly patron of the temple

Saint Ansgar, Bishop of Hamburg - heavenly patron of the temple

- Are you talking about the cathedral where you serve now?

- No, no ... That post-war temple in connection with the restructuring of the city was demolished soon after it was built. As compensation, the community was allocated another plot of land for construction. In 1965, a beautiful church in the pseudo-Russian style was built on it. It was consecrated in honor of Blessed Procopius of Ustyug, who, as we know, was a German merchant before the adoption of Orthodoxy. For a long time this temple remained the only refuge for our compatriots living in Hamburg. But when in the 90s a stream of emigrants poured from Russia, this small church could no longer accommodate all the worshipers. In 2001, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, a new parish was created in the name of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt, and in 2003 I was assigned to Hamburg. Immediately I began to look for a suitable room for the church and pray to the heavenly patron of our Russian priest, Father John, responds to prayers addressed to him, is well known to many. A year later, we already served a thanksgiving service in one of the most beautiful church buildings in Hamburg.

- How did it happen?

- Except as a miracle it cannot be called. Until the end of 2004, the temple belonged to the Lutheran Church, but the liturgical life in it practically came to naught, and we realized that we had a chance. The then bishop of the city of Hamburg - Mrs. Maria Epson - was a great admirer of Russia and Russian culture ...

- Excuse me, but can a woman be a bishop?

- Lutheran - yes. And in Hamburg, the bishop is traditionally a woman. I myself did not get used to it right away. I’ll say more: if I had a dream in the seminary that I was drinking tea with a Lutheran bishop, I probably would not have woken up from horror. And now it's a part of my life. It was only thanks to our good relations with the Lutherans that the cathedral was then acquired. The Evangelical Church gave it to us for a symbolic price ... 1 euro. However, according to German law, the building is owned by whoever owns the land. And since the temple is located in the center of the city, the price for the site turned out to be too high.

- Who helped this time?

- Metropolitan Kirill, current His Holiness Patriarch. He personally settled the formalities and found the necessary funds to buy land. As a result, everyone was happy. Our community finally found its home, and it was important for the Lutherans that the church remained with the Christians. We were also very pleased that the cathedral in its architecture was in many respects similar to the Orthodox one. The fact is that it was built for the Armenian community by the architect Lorentse, who studied in Tiflis. Hence the cross-domed composition and the huge altar apse. Similar temples can be seen in the Caucasus. The architect was in love with the Caucasus, and expressed his love for him in this project.

- But later the temple was nevertheless transferred to the Lutherans ...

“That's right, and a huge stained-glass window appeared in it, depicting Luther and his disciples. And here's what's interesting. When the city was bombed during World War II, the Lord preserved this temple. Everything in it remained unscathed, except for that stained-glass window, which was shattered by the blast wave. Isn't this providential? With all due respect to the translator of the Bible into German, Mr. Luther, today it would be uncomfortable for us to perform Orthodox services in his “company”.

- Obviously, you had to greatly change the interior decoration, "fit" the Orthodox iconostasis into it ...

- Undoubtedly. And our iconostasis is somewhat different from the traditional ones. You won't see much gilding on it. The fact is that the entire space of the temple is literally permeated with light pouring from huge figured windows, and gold would glare strongly on icons and carvings, distract from prayer. The remarkable icon painter A. Soldatov proposed to create a fresco iconostasis that is softly perceived in any light. Everything turned out as well as possible ...

-… and you could rest on your laurels.

- This is still a long way off. It soon became clear that in our spacious temple there are absolutely no utility rooms, except for a small kitchen, which constantly demonstrated the wonders of stretching the walls. An unthinkable number of people fit into it. The choir arranged their rehearsals here, Sunday school held classes. Someone drew, someone drank tea. And they constantly congratulated and remembered someone. Despite the fact that the atmosphere in the kitchen was quite friendly, it was clear that we would not last long. We needed a parish house. And luck again. There was an opportunity to build it next to the temple, but a huge amount of money was required. His Holiness the Patriarch here helped us with the purchase of land, but still there was not enough money, and we took out a bank loan, deciding that the parish house would be able to buy itself out.

- How?

- We rent part of the premises to pay off the loan. And in the rest they set up auditoriums for classes, a library, an art school, and the secretariat of the temple. We now have our own prosphora, and guest rooms (to which we cordially invite readers of the magazine), and a physiotherapy center where our parishioners can recover after a hard day. But the main thing is that we have a large hall for 180 people. Our parish celebrations and meetings, talks and various lectures are held here.

- Father Sergiy, why is the building built by the community, in fact the house of the clergyman, called the Tchaikovsky House?

- The answer is very simple - because it stands on Tchaikovsky Square. By the way, the square was renamed later, when a Russian temple appeared on it.

Pyotr Ilyich was very fond of this city, he often visited here. It was in Hamburg that the premiere of his famous opera Eugene Onegin took place. The Germans know well and love the work of our great compatriot. And now there is an opportunity to offer our house to the city as a platform for Russian-German cultural exchange. We have a great grand piano, great performers, and we are always glad to see Hamburgers and city guests at classical music concerts.

I want to clarify: The Tchaikovsky House is not a clergy's house, since it does not and cannot have living quarters for clergymen (German laws prohibit this). It was originally conceived as a spiritual, cultural and educational center. And above all - for our little parishioners who should not lose touch with their historical homeland. We teach children the Russian language, literature, mathematics, drawing and other subjects of the school curriculum at a high professional level.

- Can you call your parish youth?

- In our community there are people of all ages: from young to old. But the most active is still the youth group. She, when necessary, without my participation, gathers herself in the parish house. The guys themselves know where they are most needed now: cleaning the church, in the clinic to support compatriots who come for treatment, or at literary meetings of lovers of Russian literature.

- And what else, besides the cathedral and the Tchaikovsky House, includes the Orthodox center of Hamburg?

- This is a park of Russian wooden architecture, a cemetery and a small church attached to it. To be honest, I doubted whether the city authorities would allow us to build an Orthodox cemetery here. Our traditions are very different from the funerary practice prevailing in Germany. A complicated procedure of approvals and a search for benefactors were required. But, on the other hand, our parishioners are not eternal, and they all want to be buried according to the Orthodox tradition, which implies not only the surrender of the body to the earth, but also constant prayers for the souls of the departed. My doubts were resolved by Schema-Archimandrite Eli, who visited us in 2011.

- Did the elder specially come to your church?

- Father has many friends in Germany. And he came to Hamburg to find the grave of his father who died during the war. Despite his busy schedule, Father Eli found time for us. He got acquainted with the life of our community with interest and talked with everyone who needed spiritual advice. Then he strengthened me in the idea of ​​the need for an Orthodox cemetery in Hamburg. We decided which church to build on it. But these were only plans, nothing concrete, and the father tells us: I will come to the consecration of the church. And you know, this promise gave us confidence that everything will work out. And so it happened. Soon we found a suitable site, and benefactors, thank God, found ourselves. Everyone liked the idea of ​​a wooden architecture park. And in August 2014, fulfilling his promise, Father Elijah came to us again. And even with a gift! He presented a belfry of six bells for the consecration of the temple.

Orthodox Hamburgers are very fond of this small, cozy church. On the first and third Saturday of the month, the priest of our parish celebrates services there, and on the first Saturday a children's choir sings the liturgy, and on Sundays the German-speaking Orthodox community of Saints Cyril and Methodius prays here.

- Father Sergiy, how many of our compatriots live now in Hamburg and what are the features of serving in this international city?

- One hears very different numbers. Considering that we often refer to all immigrants from the former Soviet Union as compatriots abroad, this figure is huge - no less than a hundred thousand people in the city itself and the surrounding suburbs. You know, once in Hamburg, it is simply impossible not to fall in love with him. It has magnificent architecture, many parks and water. Hamburg is often called the city of bridges - there are more of them here than in Venice or Amsterdam. As for the specifics of the ministry, I will say this: I do not make distinctions based on ethnicity, we try to remain a single Orthodox family. We don't have political battles. Thank God, Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Moldovans, Belarusians - all live together in our parish. We value very much our almost family traditions and warm, sincere relations.

- Tell me, do you manage to make pilgrimage trips around the country? There are a lot of Orthodox shrines in Germany ...

- We were with a parish in Leipzig, Potsdam, Dresden. Everyone liked the trip to Trier, where the Chiton of the Lord is kept. We dream of getting to Cologne. This city, like Trier, is a real treasure trove of ancient shrines and Christian monuments.

- Did you manage to visit Moscow?

- We were for the first time in April this year. It took a long time to prepare. Many of our parishioners have never been to the capital of Russia and really wanted to see it. The first few days we stayed at the Universitetskaya Hotel of the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate. During this time, visiting the monasteries and churches of the capital, it seems, have passed the entire historical path that was prepared for the Orthodox Church in our country. We got acquainted with the most ancient Kremlin shrines, and with the first Danilov monastery in Moscow, and with the tragic page in the history of the Russian new martyrs. Our parishioners saw not the new Babylon, but the Orthodox golden-domed Moscow, in which every year there are more and more temples of God.

The Trinity-Sergius Lavra left the brightest memories for everyone. Is it possible to forget evening walks on the monastery and morning fraternal prayers? It will now be with us forever.

- But in Russia there are still many holy places where you should definitely visit ...

- In the future, we hope to reach St. Petersburg, visit Novgorod and Valaam.

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Photos courtesy of the parish of the church rights. John of Kronstadt in Hamburg