December 22, 2006

ASTANA, Kazakhstan/GENEVA – The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has confirmed the construction of a new church building and parish house for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan (ELCRK).

The president expressed his approval of the plan in his discussion with the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, and ELCRK Bishop Yuri Novgorodov at the Second Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

During a recording for television, Nazarbayev expressed his understanding for the concerns of the congregation and his support for this endeavor. He said that the new buildings would be constructed before the ones currently in use are demolished as a part of the comprehensive project of urban redevelopment in Astana.

Throughout the process of expanding and transforming Astana into the Kazakh national capital, beginning in 1997, there have been repeated controversies between the municipal authorities and the ELCRK on the preservation of the complex that includes parish facilities and the bishop's office. The authorities had decided to tear down the city's old buildings to make way for the construction of new, modern replacements.

The Lutheran church is one of the few historical buildings still present in Astana. It belongs to the ELCRK congregation, which was the first in the entire Soviet Union to be registered following the years of Stalinist oppression. It thus does not only carry great historical and emotional significance for the congregation, but for the ELCRK as a whole. "For many parishioners, especially older ones, the church is a place of healing after a long period of oppression," as Bishop Novgorodov explained.

The congregation had to wait until the Eastern Bloc collapsed to be able to renovate the church buildings properly, with great financial support from the LWF and German partner churches in Mecklenburg and Westphalia.

It was however noted that a new highway now in planning should not pass so close to the church that the road construction and later vibrations from traffic could damage the building. Bishop Novgorodov stressed that "church services and parish work would be impossible under such conditions. We are not, however, seeking financial compensation, but rather equivalent buildings that can be provided to the congregation before the old ones are torn down."

And just such a pragmatic solution is now in the works. In his discussions with the Kazakh president, the LWF general secretary described the congregation's difficult situation, and alluded to the president's words at the congress when he stated that all religions needed to be provided with the opportunity to conduct their services and congregational work with impediment. Nazarbayev promised to pass on the general secretary's letter to the mayor of Astana and to ask him to report on the issue.

The ELCRK bishop said that, while this was not in fact the solution that especially the older parishioners had wished for, it was certainly the best solution that could be reached. He expressed his appreciation for the support from the global Lutheran family. At the worship service to bid farewell to the LWF delegation in Astana, Novgorodov said that being a Lutheran is "like having an e-mail address. When you have one, people can reach you everywhere in the world, no matter where you are! And we can reach our Lutheran brothers and sisters everywhere as well. We have now seen the faces of our brothers and sisters: faces from Switzerland, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands, from the United States and Germany." He added that they would not forget the visitors, just as the visitors would not forget them.

Lutheran World Information
Contributed by Regina Karasch, public relations officer of the LWF German National Committee.