St. Andrew's Church in Moscow is a community of Christians who seek to
- nurture the development of our faith through an Anglican form of worship, providing regular services which communicate the Gospel of Christ;
- apply our Christian beliefs to our daily lives;
- develop a community to support each other while living in Moscow;
- encourage ecumenical initiatives and activities;
- serve the community
History of St Andrew's
The history of our church is also a history of her clergy who were appointed by the Russia Company, and licensed to officiate by the Bishop of London as a guarantee that the candidate was an "orthodox member of the Established Church!" Although at least one chaplain left because he found the winters too harsh, the Russia Company had no problems finding clergy for St. Andrew's. In 1865 there were no fewer than 130 applicants for the post, and they appointed the Rev. Robert Penny. A year later he complained to the Company that although most Churchmen were behind him, his ministry was threatened by "the factious opposition of a few malicious Dissenters." The British community was fairly equally divided at that time between English (Anglican) and Scottish (Presbyterian), and the Scottish "Dissenters" did not like the Prayer Book services. At the height of the dispute each side elected its own wardens, there were fights over which side should have the Minute Book, and for several years no meetings were convened. It took two major events to resolve the situation; firstly the old chapel was found to be in danger of falling down, and the Russia Company's agent in Moscow was instructed to convene a General Meeting to discuss the rebuilding. Secondly, Mrs. Penny died, and her husband decided to return to England; however, he was not forgotten - whenever there were disputes with their clergy, the older members would say: "Another Mr. Penny sent to try us!" The Bishop insisted that services should be conducted according to the Church of England Prayer Book, but agreed that the new church should be dedicated to St. Andrew, Scotland's Patron Saint! The property was registered in the name of the British community whereas the old chapel had been the property of the Russia Company.
The chaplain's problems were not at an end! The next clergyman, Mr. Wybergh, resigned in 1911 after 23 years at St. Andrew's (the longest serving of any chaplain), when his application for an increase in stipend, to take into account the rising exchange rate and the higher cost of food, was rejected. He accepted a living in Sussex, and later wrote to the Russia Company of his time in Moscow: "My work in Moscow was difficult and uphill... for I am a good and definite Churchman, and yet I had to persuade people, who were really Dissenters, to look at Church matters from the Church point of view." The same problems had surfaced again! Mr. Wybergh's successor, the Rev. Frank North, had been curate in St. Petersburg, where he was very popular. Congregations increased with his arrival, and much to Mr. Wybergh's disgust, Mr. North even managed to persuade the committee to pay him double his predecessor's salary! However, the honeymoon didn't last long. Six months later in December 1911, the committee met to deplore the decoration of the church with flowers and evergreens for Christmas. It appears that it was fitting to decorate the church for a coronation, but NOT for a religious festival! "Ritual machinations!" objected the Scots and the congregation divided into pro-North (the younger generation) and anti-North (the older ones who also held the most influential positions on the committee).
Women, of course, could neither serve on the committee nor even attend the meetings. (As for St. Andrew's House, the Governesses' Hostel, not even the Matron who was in charge of all the domestic arrangements, was allowed to attend meetings of the Board!) There was, however, a Ladies' Committee which was concerned with various charitable activities. During the Russo-Japanese war (1904-5) they helped to raise funds for wounded Russian soldiers. The minutes record: "…although we are living here in a foreign country, yet it is our duty to help those who are… to a large extent, our personal and good friends in their hour of need."
A final note at the end of this part of the history: the chaplain was not a member of the Church Committee, nor was he allowed to attend any of its meetings. There are records of many bitter letters on this issue from the chaplains, but it was not until the Revolution that the rule was changed, and the chaplain became chairman of his own committee. Next month's final account of the history of St. Andrew's will tell how this came about, tracing our church from the Bolshevik Revolution to the present day.
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