Lutheran Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Tickets to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Rules of conduct in the Cathedral

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Russia is a multi-confessional country: more than a thousand religious associations are registered in it and more than 50 religions are represented. Among them there is also a representative of Lutheranism - the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Moscow sheltered him in Starosadsky Lane. This is the main Lutheran cathedral of the European part of Russia and one of the three cathedrals of this denomination in the capital.

Cathedral history

The parish of the temple is one of the oldest in Russia. Lutheranism itself appeared in the country in the second half of the 16th century. Only during Livonian War about 3 thousand prisoners were captured, with whom the first Lutheran preacher Timan Brakel arrived. After 2 years he became the pastor of the first congregation of St. Michael. In 1626, the community of pastor Jacob Neuenburg separated from it, which a few centuries later became the cathedral of the apostles Peter and Paul.

However, for several years the community had no luck with the location of the temple.. The first church was built near Chistye Prudy and demolished in 1632, the second stood for about 10 years. In 1647, at the initiative of Bauman, a general of Holstein origin (province of Prussia), near the bridge on the Yauza River, the "Officer's Church" was built, but it did not stand for long. And after 2 years, foreigners were completely banned from buying land in Moscow.

General Bauman again bought land in the German Quarter (the right bank of the Yauza) and organized a prayer house there. In 1664, a small wooden church was erected on this site. After 3 years, it was demolished and a larger church was built, as well as a pastor's house and a school. The consecration took place at the end of the 17th century, and the next year the land bought by the general was officially donated by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to the community.

Under Peter I, a stone foundation was laid for a large cathedral with a bell tower. The following year, the consecration took place, but the cathedral was plagued by failures: it burned three times, but was restored. After the war with Napoleon and the fire, the temple could not be revived. The parishioners temporarily settled in the prayer house, which was consecrated after 2 years.

The last resettlement took place in 1817: the parish finally moved to Starosadsky Lane (at that time Kosmodamiansky Lane), having bought the Lopukhins' estate. Almost immediately, construction began, the money for it was allocated by the Prussian king Frederick William III, and Emperor Alexander I provided a loan.

In 1819, the temple was consecrated and became the largest Protestant parish: it was visited by many wealthy industrialists and nobles. By the middle of the 19th century, the number of parishioners reached 6 thousand people, by the end of the century there were already 17 thousand of them, most of them (14 thousand) were Germans. At the same time, the last rebuilding and expansion of the cathedral began. In 1905 it was consecrated; 10 years later, during the anti-German uprisings, the building was seriously damaged.

What happened after the revolution

After the decree on the separation of church and state, all the property of the church was nationalized, and educational establishments closed at the cathedral. Members of the parish were required to hand over all the money and securities within 3 days, and then fined for refusing to comply.

After the transfer of the capital to Moscow, the church received the status of a cathedral, the main Lutheran cathedral Soviet Union and Bishop's Residence. However, this did not greatly affect the fate of the parish: valuables were seized, the number of parishioners was reduced.

After 4 years, the Lutheran church in the German settlement was closed and destroyed, members of the church council and the pastor were shot. In 1938, the building was handed over to the Krasnogvardeisky District Council for restructuring into a cinema. A few years later, the building was handed over to the Filmstrip studio, which was engaged in redevelopment of the building inside, and in the middle of the 20th century, the spire was dismantled. However, the church was never legally closed.

The building was returned to the religious community in 1988, and in 1991 it was registered with the Department of Justice of the Moscow City Council. Filmstrip, which owned the building at that time, allocated a small hall for worship, where Sunday services resumed in September of the same year. The very next year, the church received a permanent pastor - Gunnar von Schlippe.

However, it was only by 1997 that it was possible to settle all the problems with Filmstrip (the studio had nowhere to move), although 5 years had already passed since the transfer of the cathedral to the Lutheran community. Gradually, all the buildings that belonged to the Lutherans were returned, and since 1997, restoration began.

In December 2005, the consecration of the throne took place, in November 2008 - the cathedral itself. The symbolic ceremony of transferring the church to the ownership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church took place at the end of October 2017. Today, the Peter and Paul Cathedral keeps the valuables inherited from the destroyed Cathedral of St. Michael:

  • mid-17th century bible;
  • 18th century altar;
  • organ of the late 19th century;
  • the cross of Bishop Mayer.

cathedral organ

But still, for ordinary citizens, the cathedral is better known for its organ and concerts. In total, the temple had 3 organs: The first organ appeared in the temple in 1837.

The second appeared in 1892: a 42-register, 3-manule German organ by E.F. Walker" ("E.F. Walker"). It was the best musical instrument in Moscow at that time, which, despite its modest size, was not inferior in sound to the organ of the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. It was destroyed in 1941: during the war it was transported to the Opera and Ballet Theater in Novosibirsk, where it was dismantled for scrap metal and scenery.

The modern Wilhelm Sauer organ of the church has an unusual history: it was handed over to the community at the end of the 20th century and initially (since the end of the 19th century) stood in the Lutheran Church of St. Michael in the German Quarter. After the closing of the cathedral, it was transferred to the 1st Moscow crematorium. At the beginning of the 19th century, a major overhaul was carried out, and the organ was already installed in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Today it is the fourth instrument located in the church and one of the oldest Moscow organs. It ranks sixth in terms of the number of registers. Its sound can be heard during Sunday and festive services, during concerts of Russian and foreign performers. The instrument participates in regular musical and vocal concerts that are held in the cathedral for children and adults, in music festivals, such as the International Bach Festival, the Road to Christmas art festival, Night in the Cathedral, etc.

The full concert poster of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is presented on the official website of the church. Concerts are held almost every weekend and on weekday evenings. The organist is Irina Shashkova-Peterson.

Building complex

Today, the cathedral is not just a religious institution, but also a federally protected object of cultural heritage. The temple complex includes:

Nearby are the Peter and Paul Men's School (date of construction - 1912−1913. Today, the Research Center for Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation is located here) and a residential building for teachers of the men's school, built in the same years.

On the opposite side is a women's school. It was a one-story brick building, which was built on the second floor during the USSR.

Complex of buildings at the cathedral





Information for visitors

Below is some useful information for visitors about the cathedral and organ concerts:

  1. Address: Starosadsky pereulok, 7/10 building 10.
  2. How to get to the Cathedral of Peter and Paul: the easiest way to get there is from the Kitai-Gorod metro station. You need to go towards Solyanka Street or Zabelina Street, then go along Zabelina Street to the Church of Prince Vladimir and turn left, onto Starosadsky Lane. The second option: go out towards Maroseyka street and walk along it to the Cosmodamian church and turn right into the alley.
  3. Phone: (495) 628-53-36, 87-62.
  4. Opening hours: from 9:00 to 20:00, on Saturday the temple is open from 10:00; day off - Monday.
  5. The schedule of concerts can be found on the official website in the section "Main of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, concerts".

Worship services are held according to the following schedule:

  1. Thursdays at 19:00 - service with Holy Communion;
  2. On Sundays at 11:30 - worship in Russian and children's worship, at 14:00 - in French.

Additionally, the cathedral hosts:

  • Tuesdays at 18:30 - Bible Hour;
  • on Wednesdays from 17:00 to 17:55 - "Lutheran wave" on radio "Teos" (Christian interfaith online radio);
  • every first Friday of the month at 19:00 - a community meeting for everyone;
  • last Friday of the month at 5:00 pm Senior Citizens Meeting with Pastor Weber;
  • on Saturdays, a choir rehearsal is held, the time is negotiated separately;
  • on Sundays, half an hour before the start of the service, a rehearsal of the service is held for everyone. After the service - pastor's reception (by prior arrangement), confirmation class and youth meeting.

Cathedral Peter and Paul Cathedral is one of the oldest Lutheran communities and an important monument of federal significance. But she gained great fame thanks to the organ and regularly held concerts, to which everyone can come.

Cathedral Church of Peter and Paul in Moscow - poster, tickets for organ music concerts, schedule, hall scheme.

The Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Starosadsky Lane is a functioning cathedral where organ music concerts are held. Concerts are held here in their free time from worship, thereby opening up to everyone (regardless of beliefs and views) the opportunity to join the millennial cultural heritage Russia and Europe.

The first Lutherans appeared in Moscow in the 16th century. These were artisans, doctors and merchants invited from Europe. And already in 1694, Peter I founded the Lutheran stone church in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul - which was consecrated a year later, in his personal presence. During the Great Moscow Fire of 1812, the temple burned down. And the parish acquired the Lopukhins' estate near Pokrovka, on Starosadsky Lane. At the expense of the King of Prussia Frederick William III, as well as with the participation of Alexander I, in June of the following year, the reconstruction of the purchased house into a church began - a dome and a cross were erected. On August 18, 1819, the temple was consecrated. In February 1837, the organ sounded in it for the first time. In 1862, a neo-Gothic reconstruction was carried out, according to the plan of the architect A. Meinhardt. And in 1863, a bell was raised to the tower, donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I.

The church played a huge role not only in the religious, but also in the musical life of Moscow - famous Moscow and foreign performers performed in it. Suffice it to mention Franz Liszt's organ concert, which took place on May 4, 1843.

On December 5, 1905, the church was consecrated as the Cathedral of the Moscow Consistorial District. In 1918, the cathedral received the status of the Cathedral of Russia, and then of the entire Soviet Union.

However, in the post-revolutionary years, persecution of religion began in the USSR. The community building was taken away. In 1937, the cathedral was converted into the Arktika cinema, and then transferred to the Filmstrip studio. The redevelopment made, unfortunately, completely destroyed the entire interior. In 1941, the church organ was evacuated to the Novosibirsk Opera House, where it was partly scrapped, partly for decorations. And before the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957, the spire of the cathedral was dismantled.

In July 1992, by a decree of the Government of Moscow, the building was returned to the community. And in 2004, after much effort, we managed to find sponsors, both among individuals and among organizations. This made it possible to start large-scale restoration work. Finally, on November 30, 2008, during a solemn service, the consecration of the revived cathedral took place.

Currently, in addition to divine services, numerous concerts are held in the cathedral - musical instruments sound, delightful voices sing, magical music comes to life. Installed opposite the altar, the SAUER organ (built in 1898 by Wilhelm Sauer, one of the largest organ-building firms in Germany) is one of the few romantic organs of the nineteenth century that have survived in Russia. The unique acoustics of the Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul makes it possible to fully enjoy its sound.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the property where the church is now located belonged to the Lopukhins, relatives of Tsarina Evdokia, the first wife of Peter I. The large manor house was seriously damaged in a fire in 1812. In 1817, the parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. apostles Peter and Paul. The house was converted into a temple. The restructuring was carried out mainly with funds allocated by the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III. The church was consecrated in 1819. In 1837, the first organ appeared in the church, on which Franz Liszt played six years later, giving a concert, which, according to a contemporary, “had a very strong effect on the nerves of the listeners; some ladies were crying, others were sniffing the ether.”

In the middle of the 19th century, due to the growth of the community (the number of its members exceeded 6,000 people), it was decided to build a new church. The construction of a new cathedral in the Gothic style, designed by the architect A. Meinhardt (Meinhardt), was completed by January 1862. In order to save money, parts of the former building were used. A year later, a bell donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I was raised to the two-tiered bell tower.

Half a century later, the church again had to be expanded. In 1903, an architectural competition was announced, in which the project of the famous architect V. Valkot received the first prize. However, a new building in the form of a three-aisled basilica covered with a gable roof was erected by the academician of architecture V. Kosov, partially using the Walkot project. At the same time, they began to build a new building in the neo-Gothic style around the former one, and only after the completion of the work was the former church dismantled.

The church hall was originally famous for its excellent acoustics, in 1913 The Bells were performed here for the first time, five years later Mozart's requiem was performed with the participation of A. Nezhdanova.

In 1918, the "Piterpaulkirche" received the status of the Cathedral of Russia, and then the Soviet Union. However, after some time the church was closed. The building was adapted for the Arktika cinema, and after the war, the Filmstrip studio was located here. The premises were replanned, the interiors were destroyed, the organ was lost. Before the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957, the spire of the cathedral was completely dismantled.

In the 1990s, the church was returned to believers. Restoration work has been carried out. The spire was restored in 2010. Currently, the church houses an organ of the 19th century, which previously belonged to the Lutheran church of St. Michael on Voznesenskaya (now - Radio) street. Organ music concerts are held regularly.

The ensemble of the church also includes a chapel built in the 1890s in the southern part of the churchyard according to the design of F. Shekhtel.

The main cathedral in the regional Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Jewish part of Russia, one of the two official Lutheran churches in Moscow and one of the oldest Lutheran parishes in Russia. The first Lutherans appeared in Moscow in recent years the reign of Vasily Ivanovich (1524-1533), among the artisans, doctors and merchants invited from North-Western Europe. The church community was created in 1560 - 1565, and in 1576 on the banks of the Yauza, in the German Quarter, a church was built in the name of the Holy Archangel Michael (dismantled in 1928). In 1694, Peter I founded a new stone church in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, which was consecrated in the presence of Peter on April 3, 1695 and existed until 1812, having burned down during the Great Moscow Fire. In 1817, the Lutheran parish acquired the Lopukhins' estate near Pokrovka, in Starosadsky (formerly Kosmodamiansky) Lane. At the expense of the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III and with the support of Emperor Alexander I in June 1818, the reconstruction of the purchased house into a temple began (the construction of a dome and a cross). On August 18, 1819 the temple was consecrated. In February 1837, the organ sounded for the first time in the church. In the middle of the XIX century. the number of members of the community exceeded 6 thousand, it was decided to reconstruct the temple according to the plan of the architect A. Meinhardt in neo-Gothic style (completed in January 1862). In 1863, a bell was raised to the tower, donated by Kaiser Wilhelm I. The temple played an important role in both the religious and musical life of the city, as it became a platform where musicians from all over the world demonstrated their performing arts. So, on May 4, 1843 Franz Liszt gave an organ concert here. In 1892, the parish received the 42nd register organ of the German company E.F. Valker, which became the best tool in Moscow.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the parish of St. Apostles Peter and Paul numbered 17 thousand people (14 thousand Germans, 2 thousand Latvians, 600 Estonians, 150 Finns and Swedes). Divine services were performed in German, Latvian, Estonian. Even at the end of the XIX century. the Estonian community of St. Elizabeth and the Latvian community of St. Peter stood out. Due to the increase in the number of parishioners, the church was rebuilt. In 1903, a competition for the best design of the building was announced, the first prize was awarded to the architect V.F. Walcot. However, the reconstruction of the temple was carried out according to the project of Academician V.A. Kosovo - one of the authors of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. After V. A. Kosov refused to lead the project, the construction of the temple was completed by engineer A.F. Loleit. On December 5, 1905, the temple was consecrated as the Cathedral of the Moscow Consistorial District. In 1918, the cathedral received the status of the Cathedral of Russia, and then the USSR.

After the revolution, all valuables were seized from the richest parish. In 1915, a wave of German pogroms swept through Moscow, bringing human casualties and significant material damage. Protestant churches. In November 1936 pastor Alexander Shtrek and members of the Church Council were arrested and the services were stopped. The temple was handed over to the Krasnogvardeisky District Council for the Arktika cinema, which was instructed to open the Moskino trust for the next anniversary of the revolution (opened in May 1939). Then the building was the studio "Filmstrip". A redevelopment was made, the interior of the cathedral was completely destroyed. In 1941, the church organ was taken to the Novosibirsk Opera House, where it was partly scrapped, partly for decorations. Before the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1957, the spire of the cathedral was dismantled.

In June 1991, the congregation of the parish was re-registered. On September 4, 1991, Bishop Kalniņš and Pastor Stefan Reder (later rector of the Theological Seminary) celebrated the first service in the viewing room of the studio, which was located on the site of the current organ choirs. In May 1992, the building of the chapel, which is part of the cathedral complex, was transferred to the community. The Stromas firm, assisted by two teams of volunteers from the United States, freed the temple building from interfloor ceilings. Regular services were held in the chapel until the autumn of 1998. In July 1992, by a decree of the Government of Moscow, the church building itself was transferred to the community. In 1997, the Filmstrip studio left the temple. Restoration work has begun in the altar part of the cathedral, where a church hall for 200 seats was equipped, consecrated in October 1998, where services were held until 2004. For the period 2004 - 2008. the hall was freed from ceilings and partitions, the ceiling, walls and badly damaged columns were restored. The gallery, destroyed by Filmstrip, encircling the hall around the perimeter, was restored, the doors were restored or updated, insulated floors under marble coating were installed, a restored organ was installed, the windows of the altar part were glazed with stained-glass windows, oak benches were purchased. In the courtyard, many years of asphalt layers were removed, the level of which dropped to the level of 1905. On November 30, 2008, the consecration of the cathedral took place. In January 2010, the spire was completely restored, the height of which was 62 meters. The architectural complex of the temple includes (along Starosadsky lane) the former building of the almshouse, the chapel for the funeral of the dead, the mortuary at the chapel, the house of the clergy, the cathedral itself, as well as (along Petroverigsky lane) the house of teachers of the gymnasium, the Peter and Paul Men's College, now the State Research Center preventive medicine.

The Wilhelm Sauer organ, handed over to the community in 1996, is one of the 4 church organs in Moscow, the 5th in terms of the number of registers in Moscow, and also one of the oldest in Russia. Initially, since 1898, it was in a ruined Soviet power Church of the Archangel Michael in the German Quarter. In 2005, it was overhauled. Since 2005, the cathedral regularly hosts organ, vocal, instrumental and choral concerts, international music festivals, in particular Bakhovsky, the Night in the Cathedral festival, etc.
Divine services in the cathedral are now held in Russian and German. A parishioner of the temple was BV Raushenbakh (1915-2001), one of the founders of Russian cosmonautics, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Temple relics and shrines: altar Bible 1665, baroque altar 1764, organ 1898