During the Russian Empire It is not known exactly when the first Lutheran church was built in Yaroslavl, but after the
Thirty Years' War a large number of Protestant soldiers appeared in the
Tsardom of Russia and, in particular, in Yaroslavl. They built a small wooden church in the city. In 1742, the Duke of the
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Ernst Johann Biron was exiled to Yaroslavl for 19 years, with whom his family doctor and at the same time pastor Gove went into exile. After the departure of Biron in 1762, and with him the pastor Gauvet, the believers were left without constant spiritual care. Initially, the construction of a Lutheran church was planned on Boris and Gleb Square, where the Orthodox churches of the same name were previously located. However, such a decision was resisted by the
Russian Orthodox Church and the construction of the Lutheran church was decided to be moved to Borisoglebskaya Street. The laying of the church took place in the spring of 1845, but due to lack of money, construction was delayed until 1849. In 1847, a
bell appeared in the church. The first
church service took place only in January 1850. During this war, many prominent members of the Lutheran community had the goal of providing assistance to the Germans, who at that time found themselves in a difficult situation. In implementing the Russian government's policy of forcibly evicting Germans from the front line and large cities to provincial provinces, international organizations (
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,
International Peace Bureau) were faced with the task of providing assistance to the German diaspora in the Russian Empire. Yaroslavl province was under the jurisdiction of the
US Consulate General in Moscow. As assistants, as a rule, representatives of the German-speaking diaspora were chosen. On 16 May 1999, the
Evangelical Lutheran community of the city of Yaroslavl received the church building for use. On 15 December 2013, after 90 years, a permanent local pastor appeared – Ivan Shirokov.
Dietrich Brauer, Bishop of the ELC of the European part of Russia, ordained him to serve. In 2013–2015, a complex of complex engineering works was carried out, which resulted in the possibility of holding services in the main hall. It is planned to install a
heating system. Significant assistance in the restoration of the church was provided by Lutheran organizations and societies, including those from
Kassel. One such organization, the Kassel Society for Promoting the Revival of the Church Building of the Lutheran Community of Yaroslavl, donated a total of 230,000
euros. One of the founders of this organization was the theologian
Christian Zippert.
The Gustav Adolf Foundation donated 3,000 euros. As part of a partnership between the cities of Yaroslavl and Kassel, the church received pastor Martin Schweitzer through the
Evangelical Church of
Kurgessen-Waldeck, who, from the time of its new creation, worked on its restoration for 11 years from 1995 to 2006. On 7 June 2016, an official delegation from the
state of Hesse, Germany, visited the church. The head of the delegation was
Lucia Puttrich, Minister of State for European and German Affairs, authorized representative of the state of Hesse in the
German federal government. The delegation also included deputies of the
Landtag of Hesse. On 15 March 2018, pastor Agris Pilsums, who ministers in the Lutheran communities of
Ilukste,
Subate, Lashi in
Latvia, arrived by car in Yaroslavl and brought for the congregation a
diptych "The Ninth Hour" ("Devītā stunda"), written by his wife, Master of Arts Daiga Pilsume. The diptych became an
altarpiece in the church. The paintings depict stories of the
Passion of Christ. The Lutheran community finally regained the church only on 19 December 2018, after a decision was made by a meeting of the municipality of Yaroslavl. In 2023, the city authorities decided to highlight 58 architectural objects, including the church. On 25 July 2023, the building was illuminated. == Culture ==