The first Sunday in June will take the Chief Apostle to Moscow, the Russian capital. Far removed from day-to-day political events, the leader of the New Apostolic Church International wants to touch and reach the congregations in the country with the good news of salvation in Christ.
Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider will be accompanied by District Apostle Rüdiger Krause and his assistant Helge Mutschler, who represent the hosting district, namely the District Apostle District of Northern and Eastern Germany. And with Moscow, he is coming to a city of superlatives.
The metropolis is as powerful as it is diverse, simultaneously historic and ultra-modern: poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts and at the same time home to the second-highest number of billionaires of any city after Hong Kong; small huts on the dachas and at the same time the tallest skyscrapers in Europe! All this and much more can be seen by tourists who visit Moscow and its estimated 13 million inhabitants.
The city of diversity
The settlement was mentioned in documents as early as the twelfth century. It has been the political and economic centre of the Russian Federation for over one hundred years. Eighty universities, over 300 churches, 100 parks, 100 sports stadiums, dozens of theatres, museums, and galleries. The Kremlin and Red Square have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. Ten long-distance railway stations, four international airports, three inland ports, the largest metro network outside China … The largest city in Europe is gigantic.
At the same time, Moscow is the coldest European metropolis with an average annual temperature of 5.4 degrees Celsius. Minus 20 degrees in its long winters and plus 35 degrees in its short summers are not uncommon. The Moskva flows through the middle of the city for 80 kilometres. In some places it is 200 metres wide.
The city of churches
In addition to all the geographical and technical peculiarities, the one hundred or so nationalities and ethnic groups living in Moscow today pose the greatest challenges. All world religions are represented here, with the majority of inhabitants belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church. Their history is old, their traditions still alive. Many Orthodox churches and cathedrals bear witness to this. Moscow also has Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, Islamic mosques, and Buddhist temples. It is not for nothing that Moscow is called the centre of all world religions.
The New Apostolic congregation in Moscow is comparatively small, but young and active. There is currently only one congregation left in Moscow. Before the revolution in 1917, there used to be several congregations. However, they had to be closed by state decree.
New Apostolic in Moscow
Varshavskoye Highway 27/1 (metro station Nagatinskaya): this is the address of the New Apostolic congregation today. The services take place on Sundays at 10 a.m. Many young members attend the services, including a number of students who are studying at one of Moscow’s universities. They make the congregation lively and active. There is Sunday School, a full choir, and an active youth group. There are regular congregational gatherings and youth days, especially on religious holidays.
The Church in Russia currently has around 31,000 members in 119 congregations. Apostle Vladimir Lazarev is responsible for the congregations in and around Moscow.
On his pastoral trip in July 2018, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider preached about peace. He referred to the Bible passage from John 14: 27: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”