German Russian Religious Heritage in Ukraine outlives Soviet Union
The German Lutheran Church in Ukraine
After Czarina Catherine II had conquered the northern part of the Black Sea region from the Ottomans, she invited foreign settlers to the land of the steppes. From 1787 onward, groups of German immigrants also came
via Odessa to “New Russia.” [ Note:Most settlers to the Black Sea region came to "New Russia" during the reign of Alexander II who, like his grandmother Catherine, opened these new lands to settlement. The region was called New Russia and remained a part of Russia untill the breakup of the USSR.] Mainly along the Black Sea coast, several Evangelical Lutheran congregations were established which held their worship services in the German language. During Soviet times, this Evangelical Lutheran Church founded by the Germans was completely eradicated. When, with the dissolution of the USSR, city partnerships were established between Ukraine and Germany, the Evangelical Lutheran congregations also participated. In 1990 the Bavarian Evangelical Lutheran State Church (of the Evangelical Church in Germany) took over the reestablishment of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine (DELKU). After beginning with four small congregations, it has now grown to 35 smaller and larger congregations in all of Ukraine.
The synod assembly in Ukraine purposely voted for the retention of the name: “German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine;” not as name for the support of a national minority, but as a confession to a tradition
in which the piety of the Black Sea Germans is connected with the new possibilities/challenges of a living faith in a modern world.
17 February 2009
Uland Spahlinger becomes Bishop in Ukraine
Hadern:
On Sunday, February 15^th , St. Simon Congregation will hold a farewell
service for its Pastor Uland Spahlinger. For this event, the service
was moved to the afternoon and begins at 3:00 p.m.
After 15 years in Kleinhadern (translator’s note: Bavaria, Germany), the
pastor will take over the leadership of a huge diocese.
“It’s time for a change,” says Uland Spahlinger: On January 1^st , he
completed 15 years ministry in St. Simeon congregation in Kleinhadern
and shortly before, he celebrated his 50^th birthday. That which Pastor
Spahlinger calls a “change” is a completely new beginning for him and
his wife Christine and takes both of them to Odessa, the Ukrainian city
of one million inhabitants. In the metropolis on the Black Sea, the
pastor from Kleinhadern will take over the office of bishop of the
German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine (DELKU).
On October 22^nd , he had already been installed in the position of
episcopal visitor of the DELKU, and since then, he is intensively
preparing himself for his new duties and is in almost daily contact with
the church chancellery in Odessa either by mail or by telephone. Uland
has already become somewhat familiar with his future diocese by having
visited there a few times. After a six-week Russian language course, he
will begin his service in Ukraine in April and, in the fall, will be
elected by the synod assembly as its bishop.
Since 1991, Bavarian pastors have helped in building up the small
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine, which had just been
re-established after the USSR was dissolved. In Ukraine (the second
largest country in Europe and twice the size of the Federal Republic),
Spahlinger will be responsible for all 35 congregations of the DELKU.
“I will be travelling a lot,” figures the future bishop, for he would
like to make an annual visit to each of his congregations. They are
spread across the entire large country and are often very small. There
are congregations which only have 30 to 50 members. In the entire
country, about 5,000 believers belong to the DELKU (St. Simon
Congregation in Kleinhadern has 3,000). Fifteen pastors serve under
Spahlinger’s leadership and a few days ago, he just installed a new
pastor from Poland.
The Bavarian Lutheran State Church looked for a pastor for the office of
the Ukrainian bishop who had experience in ecumenism, experience in a
foreign country, and who had leadership abilities. Uland Spahlinger had
all three. Before he came to Kleinhadern in 1994, he was a pastor in
Papua-New Guinea for four years. In the deanery of Munich, he served as
the person responsible for ecumenism. These experiences will be helpful
in Ukraine, which has been influenced by the Orthodox Churches (almost
50 % of Ukrainians are Orthodox, but less than 3 % are (translator’s
note: mainline) Protestant Christians.
Speaking to the DELKU synod assembly, Uland Spahlinger emphasized that,
in the first instance, he is concerned about showing respect and
openness vis-à-vis the traditions which are present in Ukraine. He
wants to build upon these and help the Ukrainian Church to develop its
own Evangelical Lutheran way of doing things.
The challenges which await Spahlinger and the congregations served by
him are varied: ruined church buildings need to be rebuilt, church
programs needs to be solidified, theologians and co-workers need to be
educated, and the diaconal work needs to progress, so that the church
can take a responsible place in society. In addition to this,
Spahlinger, as the bishop in Odessa, is the contact person for the
government agencies, public announcements, and the other Churches.
Uland Spahlinger has experienced Ukraine as “a land in a time of
economic unrest.” Most people are suffering because of the galloping,
dramatic inflation and political tensions are, at times, very evident.
“All of this is noticeable and causes the people, who as things are,
already have little, to have a difficult life.” “The division between
the poor and the super-rich is growing very rapidly!” Because of this,
the realization in congregations, that one must be active in service, is
very decided. At the same time, the congregations themselves cannot
survive without support. Pastor Spahlinger knows: “there is much
suffering in the country,” (aids is only one of the huge problems) and
equally great are the duties of the Church. “The Evangelical (Lutheran)
Church has always understood itself to be a Church which is in dialogue
with other world views, and which participates in cultural, political
and diaconal work,” the future bishop explains. “We desire to
participate as a constructive force within the parameters of what is
possible for us as a Church.” For that reason, the work in each
individual congregation in Ukraine is no different than for a curate of
souls in Kleinhadern. “The difference is,” Uland Spahlinger thinks as
he grins, “that you can journey around Kleinhadern on a bicycle!”
In summer, Christine Spahlinger will follow her husband to Odessa and
give up her occupation as a teacher, as well as her mandate in the
Regional Council in Hadern. Tied into the emotions surrounding the move,
Spahlingers also have feelings of sadness: “In Munich, we leave many
relationships connected to our work and to other people behind, but we
hope that many of them continue!”
Translated with permission from the newspaper “Wochenanzeiger-Muenchen”
by Horst W. Gutsche on February 16, 2009. This article may be
distributed for printing or electronically in various forms among people
of German from Russia heritage.
http://www.wochenanzeiger-muenchen.de/kirche/Uland+Spahlinger+wird+Bischof+in+de...