The Odessa German community had its beginnings at the turn of the nineteenth century. The Odessa Protestant congregation sought its pastors from the University College of Theology in Dorpat, Estonia.

The first Protestant pastor to be appointed to Odessa was Johann Heinrich Pfersdorff. Besides serving as pastor for Odessa, he also served a number of German colonies in the Odessa region, an area that turned out to be much too large for one pastor. When the pastor’s house in the village of Großliebenthal was completed in 1806, he relocated there in order to be at the geographical center of the area. In 1811, when a pastor was specifically appointed to the city of Odessa, Pfersdorff stayed on in Großliebenthal as pastor for its congregation.

Meantime, it came to the attention of Tsar Alexander I during a visit to Odessa that there was a need for a new consistory in South Russia. The Tsar gave his support to the formation of the new consistory, which was to have its seat in Odessa. The region included Kherson, Tauria (Crimea), Yakaterinoslav, Kiev, Chernigov, Poltava, Kharkov, Volhynia, Podolia, Bessarabia and the Caucasus. At the same time, a new consistory was similarly formed in the Volga region, with its seat in Saratov.

St. Paul’s Church school was started. Within two years, enrolment had grown to 211 children from nine countries: 105 boys, 106 girls.

Exterior of original church, completed 1827. (Source: Martin)

Application was made to the city building committee for a building site for a church, and the Odessa German colony made available a vacant lot for that purpose. Money was raised from community contributions and support from the Tsar. The building was designed by Francesco Boffo, architect of a number of well-known buildings in Odessa as well as the Potemkin steps. In 1824, the foundation stone was laid and the building completed in 1827. The dedication ceremony was held on 9th October, 1827. This date is regarded as the founding of St. Paul’s.

Exterior of original church seen from Novosielskogo. (courtesy of Detlev von Bienenstamm and the Odessa Regional Archive)	Painting of original church by Rud. Langhans. (courtesy of Detlev von Bienenstamm and the Odessa Regional Archive)

Prior to 1830, church records were not kept systematically. Realizing the importance of church records, including church registers, Fletnitzer set about establishing good record keeping practices from that time forward.

A new set of laws for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia was drawn up, which was to remain in force until the monarchy came to an end in 1917. The South Russia and Volga consistories were dissolved and subsumed under the St. Petersburg and Moscow consistories respectively.

The adoption of the new laws would also have repercussions for the Odessa congregation in the years immediately following. Until then, the Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Odessa had worshipped together in the same church, but because of the new Church laws, the Odessa church became known as the Evangelical-Lutheran church. That move was to result in the Reformed Church members breaking away and forming their own separate congregation in 1843.

A community school was started, and upper-level classes added. The upper-level classes were placed under the authority of the Imperial Ministry for Volksaufklärung (“Education of the People.”)

A plan was drawn up for a larger building to house the poor.

The Crimean War (1854-1856) had a devastating effect on the community, as the British and French fleets on the Black Sea blockaded the port. The children were sent to outlying colony schools for safety. Teachers were let go for lack of funds.

That year, the Frauenverein (“Ladies Group”) was founded. During the Russo-Turkish War, members spent one day per week volunteering at the new Military Hospital.

In December, a new pastor, Guido Hesselbarth, arrived to assist the Provost and assist with teaching Religion

The school gymnasium was built.

Provost Bienemann envisioned a German Protestant Hospital in Odessa to serve the Black Sea region. Over the next few years, donations for the building project were received from within the community, from the Queen of Württemberg, and the German Kaiser.

The Realschule was expanded to seven grades.

The 400th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth was celebrated with musical performances, under the direction of Dr. Hans Harthau.

As a result of its strategic position on the Black Sea and its deep harbours, Odessa had by this time become a flourishing seaport on the south coast of Russia and grown into a lively cosmopolitan city of international renown; a city known for its wide avenues and beautiful architecture, whose residents included people of diverse ethnic backgrounds from within the Russian Empire and European countries. In Odessa: A History, 1794 -1914, Patricia Herlihy writes:

In 1897, the first nationwide census of the Russian Empire was taken. The following table shows the ten largest population groups by language in the city of Odessa from the 1897 census:

The original St. Paul’s church, built in 1827, was demolished in 1895 to make room for the new building, which provided seating for 1200 people. The dedication ceremony was held in 1897. St. Paul’s was the third largest Lutheran church after St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The church is located on German Hill, 200 ft. above sea level and about two blocks due west of Sobornaya (“Cathedral”) Square and the city center.  The exterior dimensions of the 1897 church were 50 m. by 22 m. (Schnurr 394-395)

The bell tower was 48 m. In height and was apparently visible from the sea.  From the bell tower, looking northeast, one would therefore be able to see all the way along Dvoryanskaya Street (formerly known at various times as Witte Street, Petra Velikago (“Peter the Great”) and Kominterna Street) and over the rooftops beyond towards the port, which is just under a mile away.

Plan I (c.1888-1890) (Source: Bienemann.)

Plan II (1912) (Courtesy of Konrad Mittelsteiner)

A comparison of these two historical site plans shows how the use of the church buildings changed over time. Plan one shows the original 1827 church with its portico entrance (c.f. pictures Schnurr 394.) Plan two shows the 1897 church, with its elongated nave, in which the apse is much closer to the buildings behind the church than was the case with the 1827 building. Both plans show the church and the property surrounding it that used to belong to the church.

On the lower left of the left-hand page is a fractional scale based on the Faden, an old German unit of measurement. According to the explanation given on the lower right of the same page, one Faden is equivalent to 7 English feet. This may or may not be accurate. A check of several print and online dictionaries indicates 6 feet as the approximate equivalent. However, to complicate matters further, those sources reveal that the length of the Faden itself varied from one German-speaking country to another.

The site plan lacks a north arrow, which would give an indication of the lay of the land, the buildings and surrounding streets, and may have given rise to later confusion about the orientation of the church building. In his landmark work, Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen, Evangelischer Teil (395, para. 2), Joseph Schnurr states that the three windows of the apse let in the light from the east. This presupposition is based on the tradition of orienting churches towards the east. However, the Wagner & Debes maps of Odessa found in Baedeker guides to Russia (published in a series of editions over a period of years until 1914 as well as in various languages) show clearly that the main entrance to the church is on Novosielskogo, facing NE. It can therefore be concluded that the church is oriented approximately NE to SW, with the apse facing SW. The reader may wish to verify this on Google Earth (earth.google.com), even though the apse is no longer standing.

On the right-hand page are two keys to the site plan: the first is a list of numbered church buildings showing their functions and years in which they were built; the second shows how those same buildings were being used in 1890. Also indicated are the size of the original lot, indicated by the dotted vertical lines ab and ef that pass through the buildings/ garden to the left and right of the church; the entrance to the courtyard until 1869 (g); the newer entrance (c); and a corridor (h) that was built on to building V.   

Exterior of St. Paul’s Church (undated) (Courtesy of the Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland)

St. Paul’s from Witte Street, early 1900s (Source: Postcard

The church property is bounded by:

• Lyuteranski (“Lutheran”) Lane to the southeast, renamed Klari Tsetkin Street during the Stalin years; name restored to Lyuteranski after the collapse of the Soviet Union;
• Invalidenskaya (“Disabled/ Retired Veterans”) Street to the northwest, now named Topol'skogo (“Topolsky”);
• Novosiel’skago (“New Country”) Road to the northeast, (later Yamskaya; renamed Ostrovidova during the Soviet era); and
• Kuznetchnaya (“Forge”) Road to the southwest.

The following four maps provide a wealth of historical data for the time period c. 1892 – c. 1929, changes of street names, and transliterations of Russian into English, French and German.

Odessa 1892 Map. Wagner & Debes (German edition) (Source: Russland. Courtesy of Baedeker Gmbh.) The map is undated, but was possibly produced earlier than 1892, as the Protestant Hospital, completed in 1892, is not shown (c.f. French and English editions below.) Map coordinates for St. Paul’s: 5C; look for black number 15. The church lies immediately east of the north-south line dividing sections 5B and 5C.

Odessa 1911 Map. Wagner & Debes (French edition) (Source: Mediterranean. Courtesy of Baedeker Gmbh.) The map is undated. Map coordinates for St. Paul’s: 5C, look for black number 11.

Odessa 1914 Map. Wagner & Debes (English edition) (Source: Russia. Courtesy of Baedeker Gmbh.) The map is undated. Map coordinates for St. Paul’s: 5C, look for black number 4; for the Protestant Hospital: 7E.

Odessa c.1928 Map. Geograph. Inst. Flemming. Transliterated for German readers from the Russian. (Source:Radó) The map is undated. Map coordinates for St Paul’s: 4B; look for “Luth. zerk.”

However, the process was interrupted by the October Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War, which resulted in major political reforms and legislation for the separation of church and state, together with the confiscation of all church property. Shortly thereafter, church schools were taken over by the state. (Schleuning 107; Roemmich 33)

By 1924, the number of Lutheran clergy in the whole of Russia had decreased from 198 in 1914 to 81. (Schleuning 112)

Interior of St Paul's Church. (1927) (Source: Centennial photo)

The 1927 photograph appears to have been taken in order to record the church interior and decorations in honor of the St. Paul’s centennial celebration.  A cropped version of it may be seen in Schnurr’s Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen, Evangelischer Teil.  That version is missing some detail on the right side, the significance of which is discussed below.

The enlargement of the central section of the 1927 photograph of the interior reveals many details that are obscured on the original photograph:

• St. Paul’s: Cross Section of Interior. (1927) (Source: Centennial photo)

  flowers and garlands, indicating that the church was decorated for a festive occasion
• an announcement displayed below the pulpit
• pictures, prominently displayed;
• hymn boards with the numbers of hymns
• interior walls with decorative tiles.

The sun streams in through the central window of the apse, which faces approximately southwest, indicating that the photograph would have been taken in the late afternoon. Other sources of light include lighting fixtures and, possibly, additional lighting used by the photographer.

Centennial Announcement below Pulpit. (1927) (Source: Centennial photo) 100 years 1827-1927 A mighty fortress is our God. 100 Jahre 1827-1927 Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott.
Close-up of Picture and Hymn Board to Left of Aisle. (1927) (Source: Centennial photo)	Close-up of Picture and Hymn Board to Right of Aisle. (1927) (Source: Centennial photo)

The irregular shaped edges of the pictures on either side of the centre aisle are probably caused by garlands draped around the edges.

The picture attached to a pillar on the left is almost certainly the 1827 building (see the pictures in the 1927 section of this Chronology, above, and Schnurr 394.) Yet another picture of the 1827 church is available at the following website: http://www.zimdocs.btinternet.co.uk/fh/index.html .  To view the postcard, select the link at the foot of the page: <Postcards of Odessa circa 1900>, then <Lutheran church>. (Many other historical postcards of Odessa are displayed on the website.)

To view the postcard, select the link at the foot of the page: <Postcards of Odessa circa 1900>, then <Lutheran church>. (Many other historical postcards of Odessa are displayed on the website.)

The picture attached to a pillar on the right appears to be the 1897 building.

Also located one on each side of the center aisle are two hymn boards. On the left, the board is in the shadows on a wall decorated with tiles to the left of the pulpit; on the right, it is on the corresponding wall across the centre aisle. Both boards display the same hymn numbers: 32, 12, 21, 13, from the edition of the Lutheran hymn book in use in St. Paul’s at the time.

On 9th May, the 1897 church building was largely destroyed in a fire.  (Schnurr 394)

St. Paul’s ablaze. (courtesy of Jürgen Schäfer)		Church interior after the 1976 fire. (Source unknown)

The pastor's house was rebuilt next to the ruined church

			(Courtesy of Mats Andersson)