Sister Parish

St. Petersburg - Seattle Sister Churches Program

St. Augustine's and St. Nicholas Cathedral, Pavlovsk, Russia, have been sister parishes in the Seattle-St. Petersburg Sister Churches Program since its inception ten years ago.  Several delegations from St. Augustine's have visited St. Nicholas, most recently in August, 1998.  In April, 1999, Father Valery Shvetsov, rector of St. Nicholas, visited St. Augustine's and Whidbey Island for the first time as a part of a 20 member delegation representing Russian parishes in the partnership.  While in the Seattle area, the delegation enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving feast at St. Augustine's, a tour of the Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens, and the tulip fields in Mount Vernon.  Fr. Valery returned to Whidbey Island for an extended visit where he participated in Sunday Eucharist, discussed conditions in Russia with local high school students, and enjoyed an informal weekend dinner with St. Augustine's parish leaders.

In addition to the partnership between St. Augustine's and St. Nicholas, other area partners with Russian parishes in St. Petersburg, Pavlova, Murino and Toksovo are United Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Lutheran churches in Seattle, Bellevue, Mill Creek and Des Moines.

The Sister Parish Program was developed by the Greater Seattle Council of Churches in 1989 to forge a relationship betwen Christians here and those in St. Petersburg.  Its mission is to create a spiritual bond and special friendship between the two groups, and to acquire greater knowledge and appreciation for the religious traditions and activities of all Christian communities.

Chronology of Major Events: 1988 to 1999

January 1988:  A small ecumenical committee is formed in Seattle to plan an ecumenical celebration of the Millennium of Christianity among the Russian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian peoples.  During an early planning meeting, it is decided to explore the possibility of establishing a special relationship with the churches of Leningrad and to invite a Leningrad delegation to Seattle to participate in Seattle's celebration of the Millennium.  The idea receives support from the Church Council of Greater Seattle, an ecumenical organization including most of the area's major denominations.

April 10, 1988:  A letter is prepared in both Russian and English proposing a special relationship between the churches of Seattle and Leningrad and inviting a church delegation from Leningrad to visit Seattle.  The letter is signed by the heads of the major denominations in Seattle, including Orthodox, Episcopal, Catholic, and Protestant, as well as the heads of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and the Washington Association of Churches.  The letter is sent to Patriarch Pimen, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and to Metropolitan Aleksy of Leningrad.  Letters endorsing and supporting the invitation are also sent to Patriarch Pimen by Arie Brouwer, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, and the Most Rev. Edmond Browning, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

September 25-October 2, 1988: The Russian Orthodox delegation from Leningrad arrives in Seattle, and the mayor of Seattle proclaims the week of the visit "Church Friendship Week."  The delegation is headed by Archpriest Vladimir Sorokin, Rector of the Leningrad Seminary and Theological Academy.  The delegation views the work of the Seattle churches especially schools, hospitals, and drug and alcohol counseling.  A particularly moving experience for the delegation is their visit to the Monroe State Reformatory where they meet with prisoners and participate in the prison ministry program.  Before leaving Seattle, Father Sorokin speaks of the great need for Bibles in Leningrad.

February 23, 1989:  A "Bibles for Leningrad" campaign is launched by the Seattle area churches to pay for the purchase of 10,000 Russian language Bibles. The Bibles ordered are hardback and of good quality so as to be suitable as a personal gift.  Bookplates in Russian, prepared for the Bibles, list the name of the individual donor and the name and address of the donor's church.

April 27-May 5, 1989:  An eleven-person delegation from Seattle, headed by the Rev. Robert Rigstad, Executive-Presbyter of the Presbyterian Church in Seattle, and the Rev. Loren Arnett, head of the Washington Association of Churches, spends Orthodox Easter in Leningrad as guests of Metropolitan Aleksy.  The delegation attends the beautiful Orthodox services beginning on Good Friday and continuing through Easter week.  During a reception at the home of the Metropolitan, the delegation presents him with a large icon of the Alaskan Orthodox saints, especially painted for him by the famous Alaskan painter, Byron Birdsall.  The Metropolitan accepts an invitation from the delegation to visit Seattle.  The delegation not only visits Orthodox parishes in Leningrad, but also makes contact with the Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, Armenian Apostolic, and Old Believer communities.

September 15-25, 1989:  Metropolitan Aleksy leads a twelve-person delegation to Seattle.  The delegation also includes the heads of the Baptist, Catholic, and Armenian Apostolic communities in Leningrad.  It is the first visit of Metropolitan Aleksy to the United States in 25 years.  The visit concentrates on the charitable work of the churches in Seattle. During the visit, Metropolitan Aleksy mentions the needs of St. Xenia Hospital which he hopes to start in Leningrad.  It will be the first private hospital in the history of the Soviet Union.  In Seattle, he meets representatives of the Sisters of Providence, who operate a number of hospitals including a major hospital in Seattle.

December 10, 1989:  The 10,000 Russian language Bibles arrive in Leningrad.  At the invitation of Metropolitan Aleksy, Bishop Lowell Knutson, head of the Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Seattle, travels to Leningrad and formally presents the Bibles to the churches of Leningrad at a special convocation held at the Leningrad Seminary and Theological Academy.  Metropolitan Aleksy expresses the hope that the recipients of the Bibles will write to the individual donors listed on the bookplates.

May 28-June 8, 1990:  A ten-person ecumenical delegation from Seattle is invited by Metropolitan Aleksy to celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday in Leningrad.  The delegation is led by the Rev. James Halfaker, area head of the United Church of Christ, and also includes Sister Madeleine Leblanc, worldwide head of the Sisters of Providence.  During this stay, visits to hospitals are emphasized.  At a formal dinner following the liturgy on Holy Trinity Sunday, Metropolitan Aleksy presents to the Seattle delegation a proposed agreement outlining areas of cooperation between the Christian churches of the two cities.  On the next day, the Metropolitan travels to Moscow and Zagorsk where he is elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

July 18-26, 1990:  The Goodwill Games, a major international competition featuring many of the top athletes of the United States and the Soviet Union, are held in Seattle.  As part of the cultural events, the Sister Churches Program and St. James Catholic Cathedral invite the choir of the Leningrad Seminary and Theological Academy to come to Seattle.  The 25-person choir, consisting of young men studying to be priests and young women studying to be choir directors, is probably the first church choir from the Soviet Union ever to visit the United States.  The choir participates with the St. James choir in an "Ecumenical Prayer for Good Will" in a packed St. James Cathedral.  The Leningrad choir also gives five concerts in Seattle area churches.  Donations are sufficient to pay all transportation and other expenses of the choir and to provide spending money for choir members.  Metropolitan Aleksy had originally planned to travel with the choir to Seattle, but was unable to do so due to his election as Patriarch.  During the visit of the choir, it is announced in Moscow that Metropolitan John has been appointed as the new head of the Leningrad diocese.

October 15-25, 1990:  A geriatric assessment team from the Sisters of Providence is sent to Leningrad to assess the needs of St. Xenia Hospital and to provide technical assistance.  The four-person team includes a physician specializing in geriatrics, a biomedical engineer, a gerontological nurse practitioner, and a member of the Sisters of Providence.  The team is housed at the Leningrad seminary and works closely with Dr. Alexander Mazunov, the director of St. Xenia Hospital.  In addition, the team visits other medical facilities in Leningrad and makes a pilgrimage to the famous Orthodox Monastery at Valaam which has just been returned to the Church.

January 15-February 2, 1991:  The Rev. Loren Arnett, chairman of the Sister Churches Program, visits Leningrad and Moscow to discuss future activities of the Program.  He is warmly received by both Metropolitan John in Leningrad and Patriarch Aleksy in Moscow.  He is shown the work of the "Coordinating Christian Committee for People in Need" which has been recently established by the various denominations in Leningrad to coordinate distribution of food and other aid received from the West.

March 1991:  Medical equipment and supplies are shipped by the Sisters of Providence to St. Xenia Hospital.  The 20-foot container also includes food supplies for the Coordinating Christian Committee for People in Need, donated by the Sister Churches Program and the Sisters of Providence.

May 22-30, 1991:  Accepting an invitation from Metropolitan John, Episcopal Bishop Vincent Warner leads a ten-person Seattle delegation to Leningrad.  One of the high points is a visit to the Metallostroi Prison, the largest prison in Europe.  The delegation meets with prisoners and views the Orthodox chapel that is being built by them.  The prison ministry program was begun there by Father Sorokin following his visit to a prison near Seattle.  Another high point is the request by the Intourist bus driver to be baptized at the Piukhtitsa Convent, Estonia.  Contacts are again made with the various Christian communities in Leningrad.  Shortly after the visit, the citizens of Leningrad vote to rename their city St. Petersburg.

June 22-July 9, 1991:  The choir of St, James Cathedral, consisting of approximately 50 members, travels to St. Petersburg, Kursk, and Moscow.  In St. Petersburg, the choir sings at two Masses celebrated by Archbishop Kondrusiewicz on the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul.    In Moscow, they sing at a Mass  celebrated by Cardinal Koenig.  Although the tour of the choir is not under the official sponsorship of the Sisters Churches Program, the choir receives much support from the Orthodox and are invited to sing at Orthodox churches and monasteries in St.  Petersburg, Kursk, Zagorsk, and Rilsk.

October 24-30, 1991:  A ten-person delegation from St. Petersburg visits Seattle at the invitation of the Sister Churches Program.  The delegation is headed by Archimandrite Simon, the personal secretary of Metropolitan John, and also includes Father Eugene Heinrichs O.P., pastor of St. Catherine's Catholic Church, and Pyotr Konovalchik, pastor of St. Petersburg's largest Baptist church.  Activities include a visit to Ft. Lewis where the delegation receives an extensive orientation on the military chaplaincy program.  The delegation also attends the Episcopal convention in Olympia where they are the guests of Bishop Browning, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

October 31-November 22, 1991: One of the members of the delegation is Dr. Alexander Mazunov, the director of St. Xenia Hospital.  Dr. Mazunov remains for an additional three weeks as the guest of the Sisters of Providence.  During his stay, he visits hospitals operated by the Sisters of Providence in Seattle, Portland, and Olympia, and is given an intensive orientation in both the clinical and administrative aspects of hospital operations.

March 10, 1992:  The Sisters of Providence ship to St. Xenia Hospital 25 hospital beds as well as other equipment and numerous boxes of medical supplies.  The 40-foot container is also loaded with boxes of food purchased in large part from donations given through the Sister Churches Program.  Other contents include 600 Russian Bibles and fabric for an Orthodox chapel being constructed at a prison hospital in St. Petersburg.

May 17-27, 1992:  At the invitation of Metropolitan John, Lutheran Bishop Lowell Knutson leads a nine-person delegation from Seattle to St. Petersburg.  The delegation also includes the head of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, the provincial head of the Sisters of Providence, and the pastor of the largest Orthodox parish in Seattle.  The visitors are hosted not only by the Orthodox but also by the Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, and Armenian communities.  On the feast of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, the delegation attends Liturgy -- celebrated by Metropolitan John and afterwards visits the Admiralty Building at the invitation of Russian Admiral Selivanov.  Three days later, Admiral Selivanov and his wife accompany the delegation on a day-long excursion to the Konevits Monastery.

January 30, 1993:  As occurred during the two previous years, the Sisters of Providence again ship a container of medical supplies and food to St. Xenia's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

May 12-30, 1993:  Making arrangements through Archimandrite Nazary, sixteen members of Bellevue First Presbyterian Church visit the Konevits Monastery and St. Petersburg.  At the monastery, they work in the reconstruction effort.  As a gift to the monastery, they bring paint pigments needed for the reconstruction of the cathedral.

June 13-21, 1993:  The  Rev.  Elaine Stanovsky, President of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and Irene Barinoff, Orthodox representative to the Sister Churches Program, spend a week in St. Petersburg discussing and coordinating various projects for the Sister Churches Program.

June 16-18, 1993:  Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Catholic Apostolic Administrator of European Russia, visits Seattle as guest of the Sister Churches Program.  He receives a detailed briefing on the program and speaks on the situation of the Catholic church in European Russia and especially St. Petersburg.

August 3-19, 1993:  The Seattle Catholic Archdiocese invites three young Russians to come to Seattle and to travel to Denver with Seattle young people for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II.  In addition to the Denver trip, the three spend eight days in Seattle. One of the young men, Alexander Novikov from St. Petersburg, later enrolls in the Catholic seminary in Moscow.

August 20 - December 13, 1993:  Father Mark Miller, ecumenical officer for the  Episcopal Diocese, studies for three months at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.  The focus of his study is the preparation of adults for baptism.

April 10-18, 1994:  A week-long program of intensive English language instruction is provided for Archbishop Kondrusiewicz at Seattle University.

June 2-September 6, 1994:  Alexander Tkachenko, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Seminary, attends the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Seattle's Swedish Hospital. His attendance at this three-month program of hospital ministry is sponsored by the Sister Churches Program.

June 22-August 7, 1994:  Dick and Jane Carter, Episcopalians from Seattle, spend the summer in St. Petersburg arranging sister parish relationships between Seattle and St.  Petersburg.  Seven Orthodox and one Lutheran parish in the St. Petersburg area are selected to participate in the program.  A sister parish relationship already exists between Holy Trinity Ismailov Cathedral in St. Petersburg and North Creek Presbyterian Church in the Seattle area.

September 20-October 2, 1994: A 19-person Sister Churches delegation from Seattle visits St.  Petersburg.  The delegation is led by the Rev. Paul Bartling, President of the Washington Association of Churches.

October 14-28, 1994:  John and Mary Stuart Cosby, who have been active in prison ministry in the Seattle area for many  years, visit prisons in St. Petersburg and Karelia with Father Boris Bezmenov and provide advice on prison ministry programs.

November 3-22, 1994:  The choir of St. Panteleimon's parish from St. Petersburg is invited to Seattle and gives twelve concerts and sings four liturgies in Western Washington.  Father Alexander Fedorov from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy accompanies the choir and gives several talks on the subject of icons.  Donations from the concerts provide funds to aid in the reconstruction of St. Panteleimon's church.

June 20-July 3, 1995:  A 16-person delegation, led by Bishop Francis George, Catholic bishop of Yakima, visits St. Petersburg as guests of the Russian Orthodox Church.

September-December 1995:  Kathryn Teitzel, member of University Presbyterian Church and on personal business in St. Petersburg, offers to facilitate communication between the St. Petersburg-Seattle Sister Churches Program and the Diocese of St. Petersburg.  In November, Metropolitan John dies, Bishop Simon is appointed acting Metropolitan.  On December 26, Metropolitan Vladimir of Rostov is appointed Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga; Bishop Simon is appointed Bishop of Murmansk and Monchegorsk, the newest, 120th diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

January-February 1996:  Kathryn Teitzel, now appointed to the Board of the Sister Churches Program, returns to St. Petersburg.  In February, Irene Barinoff, Orthodox representative to the Board travels to St. Petersburg to investigate the Theological Academy's request for help with the Library.

March-June 1996:  Irene Barinoff spends a three-month sabbatical in St. Petersburg, beginning a long-term project of computerizing the St. Petersburg Theological Academy’s library and training library personnel on computers.  Networking with the Russian equivalent of the Library of Congress and with the Mayakovsky Library in St. Petersburg results in a long-term project for building an eventual on-line catalog.  Internet and e-mail access for the library is also put into place to help the library maintain professional contacts throughout the world.

June 25-July 9, 1996:  Bishop Vincent Warner of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia leads a delegation of sixteen people to St. Petersburg with two primary goals:  to become acquainted with new Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga and to visit sister parishes.

October 17-24, 1996:  Bishop Konstantin, the new Rector of St. Petersburg Theological Academy and Seminary, Deacon Andrei Chizhov and Diocesan representative Ivan Sudosa, come to Seattle.  The primary goal is for Bishop Konstantin to become familiar with the SPSSCP.

1996-1997:  Kathryn Teitzel makes numerous trips to St. Petersburg to facilitate projects benefiting the Diocese and the Seminary, which are funded by her church, University Presbyterian, and also caries out tasks related to parish partners in the Program.  She provides leadership for a long-standing project to bring a water system to the Oyat Convent with the expertise of Engineering Ministries International.

May 15-31, 1997:  A team of ten people from Bellevue First Presbyterian Church, led by the Rev. Richard and Carolyn Leon, travel to Koltushi, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, to work alongside parishioners from their sister parish, St. John of Kronstadt, in several work projects related to the construction of their new log church.

May 17-27, 1997:  A delegation of four people from Holy Trinity Ismailov Cathedral in St. Petersburg visit their sister parish north of Seattle, North Creek Presbyterian Church, pastored by Paul Strawn.  The purpose of the visit is to get acquainted with their U.S. parish partner, to study lay ministries and pastoral outreach programs. A highlight of their visit centers on the dedication of the Holy Trinity icon which is a copy of the famous Andrei Rublev icon.  An identical icon, commissioned from the same icon painter, hangs in Holy Trinity Ismailov Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

July 7-13, 1997:  The Compline Choir from St. Mark’s Cathedral, plus others totaling a delegation of twenty-seven, visit St. Petersburg and sing a concert at St. Catherine’s Lutheran Church.

October 19-26, 1997:  The Rev. Dr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, and Irene Barinoff travel to St. Petersburg to present an introductory seminar on Christian Business Ethics at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.  The seminar is videotaped and archived in the Academy.  Joint consultations begin on planning a much larger Business Ethics Conference in St. Petersburg.  Sisters of Providence spend vitamins for the Academy community.  Fr. Spitzer also pays a courtesy visit to the Roman Catholic Seminary in St. Petersburg and meets Dom Bernardo Antonini, Rector.

April 12-22, 1998:  Dick and Jane Carter, SPSSCP Board members, visit all parish partner churches in the St. Petersburg area.  They are joined by the Rev. Peter Ilgenfritz (United Congregational United Church of Christ) and professional photographer Sharon d’Amico, both traveling to Russia for the first time to visit their sister church, St. Catherine’s, in Murino.

May 1998:  A group of 12 people from Grace Lutheran Church, Des Moines, led by the Rev.
Ed Markquart, visits their partner parish, St. Michael's Orthodox Church, Toksovo, with the goal of building a parish partnership.

June 1998:  A group of 15 people from North Creek Presbyterian Church, Mill Creek, led
by the Rev. Paul Strawn, visits their partner parish, Holy Trinity Ismailov, Cathedral, St. Petersburg, to continue projects and themes initiated during previous exchanges.

July 1998:  A group of 15 people from Grace Lutheran Church, Bellevue, led by the Rev. Wesley Howell, visits their partner parish, SS Peter & Paul Lutheran Cathedral in St. Petersburg.  This initial meeting between parishes results in another historic moment for the Sister Churches Program:  the establishment of the first non-Orthodox partnership (Lutheran-Lutheran).

August 1998:  A group of 16 people from St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, Freeland, led by the Rev. William Burnett, visits their partner parish, St. Nicholas Cathedral, Pavlovsk, where they work in the parish vegetable garden and continue development of projects initiated during previous exchanges.

October 1998:  Peter and Ann Anderson, from St. Monica's Catholic Church, Mercer Island, visit St. Catherine's Catholic Church, St. Petersburg, and visit Patriarch Alexy in Moscow.  The purpose of the visit is to attend the dedication of a chapel to Our Lady of Fatima at St. Catherine’s, and to discuss prospects for an Applied Christian Ethics seminar with the Patriarch.

November 1998:  The Board of the Sister Churches Program celebrates its tenth anniversary with a gala Russian theme dinner at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue.  Nearly 200 people attend the event.  Highlights of the program include displays of the histories of the parish partners program and an excellent slide show designed by Sharon d'Amico, parishioner at University Congregational Church.

December 1998:  Mr. Eugene Hill, from University Congregational Church United Church of Christ, visits St. Catherine's Church, Murino, in honor of the tenth anniversary of the return of the church from the State to the  Russian Orthodox Church.  Mr. Hill presents St. Catherine’s with copies of a tenth anniversary booklet -- a history of St. Catherine’s -- a joint project, written by St. Catherine’s parishioners and designed and printed by University Congregational parishioners.

February 1999:  The American side of the Applied Christian Ethics Conference planning committee meets to discuss the themes and venue for the Conference.

April 1999:  A 19 member delegation, headed by His Grace Bishop Konstantin, visit Seattle as part of the tenth anniversary celebration of the Sister Churches Program.  The main theme of the visit is “relationship building,” as many of the Russian partners are visiting America for the first time.  Highlights of the visit include visiting and worshipping in partner parishes, touring Seattle’s historic and cultural monuments and enjoying the beauty of its natural habitats on the various nearby islands.