Former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan (ELCRK), Rev. Peter Urie died September 15, aged 50, after a long illness. Urie had resigned from office in summer for health reasons.
In a condolence letter to the ELCRK, General of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, paid tribute to Urie’s strong vision for the church’s sustainability. The acknowledgment that he could no longer realize this vision was certainly a heavy blow for him. "His work for the global Lutheran family and his commitment to building up and sustaining the church in Kazakhstan will never be forgotten," Noko wrote.
Urie was born in 1955 in Salzwedel, Germany. From 1975 until 1978 he pursued training as a preacher at the Gnadau Theological Seminary in Falkenberg, Germany, and then worked in the districts of Bitterfeld, Wittenberg-Gräfenhainichen and as a pastor in Radis, Germany. In 1997 he was seconded to serve the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States (ELCROS) where he was pastor then superintendent of the Evangelical Lutheran congregation of St Peter and St Paul in Moscow, Russia.
Prior to his election as bishop in December 2000, he was head of the Moscow district of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia.
Rev. Juri Nowgorodow succeeded Urie as ELCRK bishop in June this year.
The ELCRK is an ELCROS member church. Its 228 congregations in 1993 are down to 52, due to the emigration of many of its members. These congregations are currently served by ten pastors, 35 preachers and 17 Sunday school teachers. (267 words)
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