Sankt Petersburg – A German priest was arrested by Russian police in Saint Petersburg. The Protestant clergyman looks after a community there.
According to the community, Pastor Michael Schwarzkopf (62) was picked up by the police on Tuesday. According to the Russian agency Interfax, the authorities accuse the Protestant clergyman of violating residency regulations as a foreigner. He is threatened with expulsion from Russia.
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Pastor in Saint Petersburg since 2013
Schwarzkopf comes from Thuringia and has been in Petersburg since 2013. Since 2014 he has been the provost of a small congregation at St. Peter’s Church. The church is located directly on St. Petersburg’s magnificent boulevard, Nevsky Prospect.
Saint Peter’s Church in Saint Petersburg (Russia)
Photo: picture alliance / DUMONT picture archive
There are only around 15,000 Lutheran Christians living in all of Russia.
Religious communities urged to become enthusiastic about war
These small religious communities, like Jewish communities, are under great pressure from the Russian authorities, the war against Ukraine to support. In 2022, the Protestant Bishop of Saint Petersburg, Michael Breuer, fled to Germany with his family.
