St. John’s Church

History:

The parish was founded already in 1642 as a filial parish to Räisälä parish (modern Melnikovo). Later the parish became filial to a parish of Käkisalmi (modern Priozersk).

Kaukola parish gained full independence only in 1896. A first building was constructed in 1642 and destroyed during the Northern War. In 1751, a second church was built, but its fate remains unknown. A third building was designed by Finnish architect Eskil Collenius and completed in 1779. The church was consecrated in the name of Apostle John. Its reconstruction was carried out in 1908 by architect Berndt Ivar Aminoff. In June of 1932, on Juhannus (St. John’s Day) St. John’s Church was destroyed in a fire set by a mentally ill person.

The last and now existing building of Kaukola church was built in 1933 on the site of a burned temple. Architect Lasse Björk was the author of the project. On September 3, 1933, the church designed for 1200 seats was consecrated.

In 1940, when these territories had been transferred to the Soviet Union, and the Finnish population left, the parish ceased to exist and the building was vandalized. Since the late 1940s until 1972, the Kaukola church housed the largest poultry farm in the Leningrad Region at that time. The entire subsequent period until 2009, the building was abandoned and was used mainly as a garbage dump.

In October 1996, in the village of Sevastyanovo (former Kaukola) a Lutheran parish was formed and registered. The parish became a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria.

Present days:

From 1996 to this day, the parish holds regular worship. In addition, the parish takes an active part in the charitable and social activities of the local municipality. For many years, the parish actively participated in work with children, sometimes in completely unconventional forms: parish members organized "Holy Tsars" children's hockey team, which remained the champion of the Priozersky district among schoolchildren for several seasons. Much attention was paid to helping socially vulnerable groups of older people.

In 2010-2020, the parish carried out a comprehensive set of works to restore the building of the Kaukola Church and the surrounding area. In 2011, the sacristy of the temple was restored, where, starting from that time, the parish held its services. Currently, the parish is located in the historic building of the Kaukola Church, which in May of 2018, after long negotiations, was transferred to the ownership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. In subsequent years, the local Lutheran parish continued work of bringing the church back to life. Despite the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done, the church has already become a popular site for numerous Russian and foreign tourists. In addition, the chapel In the Name of the Innocently Murdered Babies located in the temple is a place of pilgrimage for Christians of different confessions.

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