Angermann, N. Die Begegnung Russlands mit dem lutherischen Protestantismus im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, in: Proslogion: Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Social History and Culture, 2018. Vol. 4 (1). P. 101–122.
Norbert Angermann, doctor of History, professor emeritus, Historical seminar of the Hamburg University (20148, Germany, Hamburg, Mittelweg 177)
norbertangermann@t-online.de
Language: Russian
This article looks at the presence of the Lutheran Protestantism in Russia from the Middle of the 16th century to 1689, the year of the accession to power of Peter the Great. The main attention is focused on the beginning of the Lutheran-Orthodox contacts. The author stresses the role of trade and the relationships between Russia and Livonia. Already on the eve of the Livonian war (before 1558) in Pskov there was a little parish of Russian Protestants, probably formed as a result of trade between Pskov and Dorpat. In the whole time under observation the Lutherans formed the biggest group of the Western foreigners in Muscovy. The author speaks about the services of the Lutheran military men, doctors, interpreters and other specialists for Russia. Above all owing to the utility of these persons the government gave to them a far-reaching religious freedom. With regard to the allowance of the Lutheran faith Muscovy had behind other European countries.
Key Words: Moscow, Ivan the Terribble, Lutherans, Reformation, heresy, tolerance