St. Mary's Church (St. Petersburg) is a Lutheran temple, which is the center of the historic Finnish parish of Pietari. Refers to the Evangelical Lutheran denomination - the Church of Ingria. About the Church of St. Mary (St. Petersburg), its history, architecture and features will be discussed in this article.
Temple history
The first evangelical Lutheran community in St. Petersburg was formed in 1630 in the Swedish city of Nien and was part of the Lutheran Swedish church. The community itself was mixed and formed as Finnish-Swedish.
According to the results of the Northern War, Sweden was forced to cede part of the territories, including Igermanland (the current territory of Russia, located near Karelia). A considerable part of the inhabitants of the city of Nien was forced to move to the city under construction on the Neva - St. Petersburg. Immigrants entering the community began to hold their meetings in 1703.
In 1734, the Empress Anna Ioannovna community was given a large plot on Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street. In the same year a cross-shaped church was erected, and in May it was consecrated in the name of St. Anne.
New church
In 1745, the Finnish-Swedish community split due to internal disagreements, but services were held in a common church. After 23 years, the church passed to the Finnish part of the community.
In 1803, the Finnish community decided to build a new stone temple. According to the draft G.Kh. Paulsen began the large-scale construction of a church with a capacity of 2,400 people, which has a rectangular shape. The future temple was supposed to be built in the style of classicism. Two years later, the construction was completed, and in mid-December 1805, the Church of St. Mary (St. Petersburg) was consecrated. The temple was dedicated to Empress Maria Fyodorovna (wife of Alexander III), the widow at that time.
An unusually beautiful chandelier was moved from the old wooden church and installed in the new church. In 1878, the community thought about building another church, but they failed to raise the required amount.
Temple in the 19th century
In 1899, the famous architect K.K. Kerkovius developed a project for a new church in St. Petersburg. It was assumed that it will be erected next to the Finland Station, where a large number of Finns lived. However, the second project could not be implemented due to a lack of necessary funds.
The community still visited only St. Mary's Church (St. Petersburg). The temple was in charge of many children's shelters for girls and boys, shelters for the poor, which were opened at the expense of the church.
The church parish in 1885 opened a school for orphans and created a mutual assistance fund for permanent parishioners of the church. Services were held on Sunday, Wednesday and Catholic holidays. The church choir could be listened to not only by parishioners, but also by all comers of any faith.
However, in 1938, the Lenin Regional Executive Committee decided to close the church of St. Anne, and transfer its building to the Hermitage.
Present
In 1940, where the church of St. Mary was located, a dormitory was built for the construction trust, and thirty years later, the House of Nature was opened in this building. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, Pastor A. Survo made great efforts to rebuild the temple, and the parish was revived. Four years later, the church was officially returned to the community, after which fundraising for restoration began.
In 1999, with the support of various organizations in Finland, the church began to restore the funds of parishioners and donations. In 2002, all construction work was completed, a total of 20 million Finnish marks were spent. In May of the same year, the temple was re-consecrated.
Architecture
Looking at the photo of the church of St. Mary, you can see the beautiful architecture. The rectangular-shaped building is crowned with a high drum with a hemispherical pommel. The main facade of the building is decorated with several columns with a Tuscan order that support a triangular pediment.
Inside the church in 2010, a new body was established with 27 registers. At the end of the same year, a new instrument was consecrated and a solemn service was celebrated. Today, concerts of organ music are given here, which collect its connoisseurs.
Address of St. Mary's Church: St. Petersburg, ul. Bolshaya Konyushennaya, 8a. Arriving in this wonderful city and plunged into the beauty of its attractions, take some time and be sure to visit the church - this unique Lutheran temple will surely appeal to you.