Description of the attraction
In Gatchina, in the Kiev region, on Central Street, in house number 1, on the territory where the village of Malye Kolpany was once located, there is a functioning Lutheran Church of St. Peter. On the facade of the building, the numbers indicating the date of the construction of the church - "1800" have been preserved to this day.
The parish of the village of Malye Kolpany, since 1753, was part of the parish of the Church of St. Mary, which was located in the neighboring settlement of Shpankovo. Sometimes pastors from Shpankovo served in Kolpany.
The construction of the Church of St. Peter began in July 1789, as recorded in archival documents. The church project was typical. Choosing the location of the future temple, the builders focused their attention on the fact that the spire of the building of the new church, which was decorated not with a cross, but with a rooster, was visible in the Gatchina Palace. However, the work was stopped.
Construction resumed in 1799. The work was supervised by the Gatchina architect Andreyan Dmitrievich Zakharov. Under his leadership, the building of the church, which was at that time at the stage of completion, was thoroughly rebuilt - the thickness of the walls was increased, the interior decoration was completed. According to the sketch by A. D. Zakharov in 1800 for the spire, which was the crown of the bell tower, a ball and a cock were made of thick brass, and then gilded.
The archives contain records that the consecration of the Lutheran Church of St. Peter the Apostle took place on February 2, 1802. A year earlier, according to a sketch by A. D. Zakharov, a pulpit with a canopy and an iconostasis were made and installed in the central hall of the church. At the same time, the spire of the bell tower was covered with sheets of white iron. In 1889, the church of the Apostle Peter was rebuilt.
A description of the interior of the church has come down to our time. Above the narthex there was a quadrangular bell tower with several bell windows. Above it is a spire topped with a ball with a rooster. There were two entrances to the vestibule: from the bell tower and from the temple. The central hall is illuminated naturally through six cone-shaped windows. The walls are painted blue and the floor is wooden. The entrance to the choir is to the right of the entrance along a narrow stone staircase. There was an organ in the choir. The choirs were supported by four round columns. On either side of the nave were two thick pillars. There are three small chandeliers on the wooden ceiling. There are wooden benches along the walls. The altar is separated from the rest of the prayer hall by high arches. The pulpit, decorated with a crown, was to the right of the entrance. The central place of the church of the Apostle Peter was occupied by the iconostasis and a reproduction of the Last Supper. There is a balustrade around the perimeter of the altar.
In 1938, the church of the Apostle Peter, like many other places of worship, was closed for visits and services. Before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the temple was not rebuilt and reconstructed. During the Second World War, the church was badly damaged. In the post-war years, the building of the church of the Apostle Peter was restored, and the spire was replaced with a simple four-pitched roof. The premises of the church were used as a granary.
In 1949, the building was transferred to the ownership of the production artel "Promstroimat". In 1968 the artel became the Gatchina metalworking plant.
Part of the building of the Lutheran Church of St. Peter was returned to the Church in 1990. In December 1991, the first divine service in many years was held in the church. In March 1992, the parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria was registered in Gatchina.
Over the years, the rectors of the parish of the Apostle Peter were Adolf Elgin, Juho Saarinen, Karl Brahms, Thomas Elvin, Paul Schwind, Pekka Bister, Juhna Varonen, Antti Soitu, Iisakki Virronen, Joseph Mühkurya, Oskar Palza.
