Лютеранская церковь (кирха) в Лемболово (Стеклянный)

Lembolovo Parish

Lutheran Church in Lembolovo

History:

A Lutheran parish in Lembolovo was founded in 1611. Its original name was Kuivasi, and it was a royal parish. The Lembolovo parish became the first Evangelical Lutheran parish in Ingria. The parish’s territory stretched from Agalatovo to Kirjasalo and from Kuyvozi to Termolovo, including such settlements as Vaskelovo, Leskolovo, Steklyanny.

A first small wooden church was built on the western shore of Lembolovskoye Lake around 1617. In 1728, the second Lembolovo church was constructed, but it was soon dismantled. In 1764, a new church designed for 1000 seats was consecrated in the name of St. Henry. Pastor Henrik Agrillander sought funds for its construction. The builder of the church was Thomas Rangwaldsson Suikkain. The consecration of the church was done by the senior pastor of the Swedish parish of St. Petersburg, Isaak Hauber. In 1807, the bell tower was constructed next to the church. In 1891, the church was overhauled with funds allocated by the mutual benefit fund.
В 1891 году церковь, рассчитанную на 1000 мест, капитально отремонтировали на средства, выделенные кассой взаимопомощи, при ней существовала богадельня для неимущих, рассчитанная на 13 человек.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lembolovo parish was one of the largest Ingrian parishes: it united several thousand believers. Among the parishioners, the Ingrians, the indigenous population of the Karelian Isthmus, predominated.


In February 1930, Aatami Kuortti, the pastor of Lembolovo parish, was sentenced to be shot. Later, the sentence was replaced by imprisonment in the Solovetsky camp, from where he managed to escape and get to Finland. The church was closed on June 13, 1935, and in 1936 it was destroyed. 
The cross that crowned the church was found in the mid-1990s, and in 1996 it was erected on a pedestal and consecrated as a memorial sign at the place where the church once stood. The new parish was founded in the village of Steklyanny at the turn of the 21st century. The church was opened in December 2000. The building was constructed thanks to a missionary from Finland, pastor Esko Haappalainen.

Present days:

The Lembolovo parish belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria and is part of the St. Petersburg provost. The parish holds regular worship, Bible studies, excursions and lectures on Christian topics.

Contacts: