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Kutuzovka, Ukraine
Petershagen church reopens after 70 years


Communists cemented the windows shut in the Mennonite church in Petershagen after closing it down 70 years ago, but they couldn’t extinguish the light forever.

On Oct. 17, the church officially reopened. Over 300 people attended, including the mayor and a government official.

Built in 1892, the Mennonite church in Petershagen (now Kutuzovka) in the former Molotschna Colony in Ukraine was closed by communist officials in 1929 in order that it could be used as a granary and a horse barn.

Today, new windows and a new roof adorn the building. Local people helped with the renovations, and financial support and materials came from North America and Germany.

The newly renovated Petershagen Church.

Frank and Nettie Dyck, Mennonite Brethren missionaries in Zaporozhye, supervised the renovations. In 1998, the Dycks began pastoring a growing interdenominational congregation in Kutuzovka.

The process of restoring the church building began in May 1998. George Schroeder, a retired Mennonite missionary whose grandfather last pastored the church, joined Dyck on a bureaucratic trail, spiraling up from the mayor’s office through seven layers of top-ranking Ukrainian officials. Many were skeptical.

A government official in Zaporozhye told them that before a decision would be made, they would have to get at least 10 signatures from local supporters, submit an official application and draft a church constitution.

Dyck received a call from government officials in November 1998 saying that church had been released.

On May 21, 1999, Schroeder conducted the first worship service in the church since its closure. Workers, 25 tourists, local people, the deputy mayor and a government official attended.

Above: George Schroeder (third from left) conducted the May 21 service inside the old church, with pastor Frank Dyck (far right).

During the renovations, worship services were held in the town hall. About 150 people attended weekly, and 15 people have accepted Christ. The church also offers a weekly Bible study and Sunday school for children and youth.  – from reports by William Schroeder, George Schroeder, Mennonite Weekly Review

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Last modified January 11, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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