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131-598: The Protestant Church of Peace ( German : Friedenskirche ) is situated in the Marly Gardens on the Green Fence ( Am Grünen Gitter ) in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam , Germany . The church was built according to the wishes and with the close involvement of the artistically gifted King Frederick William IV and designed by the court architect, Ludwig Persius . After Persius' death in 1845,

262-489: A church tax , a surcharge on their normal income tax collected by the states of Germany and passed on to the respective religious body. The structure of the EKD is based on federal principles. Each regional church is responsible for Christian life in its own area while each regional church has its own special characteristics and retains its independence. The EKD carries out joint tasks with which its members have entrusted it. For

393-804: A (state) bishop . Only one member church, the Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany , is not restricted to a certain territory. In some ways, the other member churches resemble dioceses of the Catholic and Anglican churches, from an organisational point of view. Etymologically, the German word evangelisch means "of the Gospel", denoting a Reformation emphasis on sola scriptura , "by scripture alone". Martin Luther encouraged

524-452: A High Medieval Italian monastery. Frederick William himself made the original sketches on which the design was to be based. He gave his court architect Ludwig Persius two main instructions: The church was to derive in form and size from the early Christian Basilica di San Clemente in Rome. And it had to accommodate the apse mosaic from the church San Cipriano on the island of Murano in

655-628: A Russian invasion of Belgium would cause a war with France. Even before the Poles rose up, Nicholas had cancelled his plans for invading Belgium as it became clear that neither Britain nor Prussia would join in while the French openly threatened war if Nicholas should march. In 1815, Nicholas arrived in France, where he stayed with the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, who soon become one of his best friends, with

786-593: A blue base painted on the panels. The king saw the design of early Christian sacred buildings, converted from market and court halls, as particularly appropriate. He was trying to establish a reconciliation between the Protestant majority of the original Prussian state and the Catholics of the more recently acquired lands, notably in the Rhineland Province . Since he associated Gothic architecture with

917-548: A chord with Nicholas, who shared Pogodin’s sense that Russia’s role as the protector of the Orthodox had not been recognized or understood and that Russia was unfairly treated by the West." Pogodin wrote: France takes Algeria from Turkey, and almost every year England annexes another Indian principality: none of this disturbs the balance of power; but when Russia occupies Moldavia and Wallachia, albeit only temporarily, that disturbs

1048-651: A competent brigade commander in the Imperial Army who proved himself out of his depth as a Navy minister. Of the Emperor's ministers, 78% were ethnic Russians, 9.6% were Baltic Germans while the rest were foreigners in Russian service. Of the men who served as ministers under Nicholas, 14 had graduated from university while another 14 had graduated from a lycée or a gymnasium , the rest had all been educated by private tutors. In foreign policy, Nicholas I acted as

1179-424: A defensive pact with Prussia. Thus, Russia found herself in a war with every Great Power of Europe either allied against her militarily or diplomatically. In 1853 Mikhail Pogodin , professor of history at Moscow University, wrote a memorandum to Nicholas. Nicholas himself read Pogodin's text and approvingly commented: "That is the whole point." According to historian Orlando Figes , "The memorandum clearly struck

1310-665: A former Byzantine Catholic priest named Joseph Semashko as his agent to force Orthodoxy upon the Eastern Rite Catholics of Ukraine , Belarus , and Lithuania . This caused Tsar Nicholas to be condemned by a succession of Roman Pontiffs , the Marquis de Custine , Charles Dickens , and many Western governments. (See also Cantonists .) Nicholas disliked serfdom and toyed with the idea of abolishing it in Russia, but declined to do so for reasons of state. He feared

1441-441: A happy marriage that produced a large family; with all of their seven children surviving childhood. Nicholas's biographer Nicholas V. Riasanovsky said that he displayed determination, singleness of purpose, and an iron will, along with a powerful sense of duty and a dedication to very hard work. He saw himself as a soldier—a junior officer consumed by spit and polish. A handsome man, he was highly nervous and aggressive. Trained as

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1572-604: A matter for Russia." At the same time that Nicholas claimed the Ottoman Empire was within the Russian sphere of influence, he made it clear that he had no interest in annexing the empire. At another meeting with Ficquelmont in 1833, Nicholas, speaking with the "Greek Project" of Catherine the Great in mind said: "I know everything that has been said of the projects of the Empress Catherine, and Russia has renounced

1703-517: A military engineer, he was a stickler for minute detail. In his public persona, stated Riasanovsky, "Nicholas I came to represent autocracy personified: infinitely majestic, determined and powerful, hard as stone, and relentless as fate." Nicholas I was instrumental in helping to create an independent Greek state and resumed the Russian conquest of the Caucasus by seizing Iğdır Province and

1834-402: A paternal autocrat ruling his people by whatever means necessary. Nicholas I began his reign on 14 December 1825 (old style), which fell on a Monday; Russian superstition held that Mondays were unlucky days. This particular Monday dawned very cold, with temperatures of −8 degrees Celsius. This was regarded by the Russian people as a bad omen for the coming reign. The accession of Nicholas I

1965-489: A place of tranquility was created. The garden architect Peter Joseph Lenné embedded the group of buildings in an attractive park with two distinct gardens. The Garden of Peace, on the side of the city in the east, is planted with small groups of trees and bushes laid out and contains the Pool of Peace. The water plays around the church building on the north and east sides. The Marly Gardens, only three hectares in area, adjoins

2096-499: A policy of closing philosophy faculties to curb destabilizing speculation. In the wake of the Decembrist revolt, the tsar moved to protect the status quo by centralizing education. He wanted to neutralize the threat of foreign ideas and "pseudo-knowledge." However, his minister of education, Sergei Uvarov , quietly promoted academic freedom and autonomy, raised academic standards, improved facilities, and opened higher education to

2227-619: A policy of repressing Polish culture beginning with suppressing the Polish Catholic Church . In the 1840s, Nicholas reduced 64,000 Polish nobles to commoner status. In 1848, when a series of revolutions convulsed Europe, Nicholas was at the forefront of reactionism. In 1849, he helped the Habsburgs to suppress the revolution in Hungary , and he also urged Prussia not to adopt a liberal constitution. While Nicholas

2358-598: A population of 60–70 million people, the army counted one million men. They had outdated equipment and tactics, but the tsar, who dressed like a soldier and surrounded himself with officers, gloried in the victory over Napoleon in 1812 and took enormous pride in its smartness on parade. The cavalry horses, for example, were only trained in parade formations, and did poorly in battle. The glitter and braid masked profound weaknesses that he did not see. He put generals in charge of most of his civilian agencies regardless of their qualifications. An agnostic who won fame in cavalry charges

2489-411: A program of " Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality " as the guiding principle of the regime. It was a reactionary policy based on orthodoxy in religion, autocracy in government, and the state-founding role of the Russian nationality and equal citizen rights for all other peoples inhabiting Russia, with the exclusion of Jews. The people were to show loyalty to the unrestricted authority of the tsar , to

2620-689: A split in the 20th century and lost a bulk of its adherents in East Germany due to state atheist policies of the former East German government. After 1990, membership was counted and amounted to around the same number as the Roman Catholic Church. In the 21st century, membership in both the Evangelical Church and the Roman Catholic Church stagnates as more people are becoming religious nones. A 2019 study estimated that there were 114,000 unreported victims of sexual abuse in

2751-641: A successful war against the Ottomans in 1828–29 , but it did little to increase Russian power in Europe. Only a small Greek state became independent in the Balkans, with limited Russian influence. In 1833, Russia negotiated the Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi with the Ottoman Empire. The major European parties mistakenly believed that the treaty contained a secret clause granting Russia the right to transit warships through

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2882-469: Is estimated that there were 70,000 Jews conscripted. Under Nicholas I, the Jewish agricultural colonisation of Ukraine continued with the transfer of Siberian Jews to Ukraine. In Ukraine, Jews were offered the opportunity to buy land, which left very little to support their families. On the other hand, these Jews were exempt from forced military conscription. Under Nicholas I there were attempts to reform

3013-721: Is practised in all 20 member churches with many women having been ordained in recent years. There are also several women serving as bishops. Margot Käßmann , former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover and Chairperson of the Council of the EKD from 2009 until February 2010, was the first woman to head the EKD. Blessings of same-sex marriages is practised and allowed in 14 of 20 and Blessing of same-sex unions are allowed in all other member churches. The EKD opposes abortion in most situations but believes it should remain legal. The EKD has undergone

3144-766: Is responsible to aid feeble sister churches, especially in Roman Catholic countries and the Protestant diaspora . It has separate branches internationally, the organization in Austria is still called the Gustav-Adolf-Verein. Brot für die Welt is responsible for international development aid. The umbrella of the Protestant Church in Germany comprises 20 regional churches: These bodies are termed Landeskirchen ("Regional Churches") though in most cases, their territories do not correspond to

3275-559: Is the Porter's House with its short tower and in the right-hand nook is the Rector's and Schoolhouse. Frederick William IV had two entrances to the park created for the congregation. One a low auxiliary gate built near the Green Fence. Through it visitors arrive with "reverentially bowed posture" onto the grounds of the Church of Peace. A second entrance, that is no longer used today, lies on

3406-456: Is the representative and governing body of the Protestant Church in Germany. The Council of the EKD has 15 members jointly elected by the Synod and Church Conference who serve terms of six years. The chairperson of the Council is the church's highest representative. The Church Conference is where member churches, through the representatives of their governing boards, can directly participate in

3537-564: The Anglican or Roman Catholic churches, however, else there is no common hierarchy supervising the member churches, who are legally independent equals with the EKD being their umbrella. Members of congregations within the member churches – like those of parishes within Catholic dioceses and those enrolled in Jewish congregations also enjoying statutory corporation status – are required to pay

3668-518: The Balkans , still largely under Ottoman control in the 1820s. In fact, Nicholas was deeply committed to upholding the status quo in Europe and feared any attempt to devour the decaying Ottoman Empire would both upset his ally Austria, which also had interests in the Balkans, and bring about an Anglo-French coalition in defense of the Ottomans. Furthermore, in the war of 1828–29, the Russians defeated

3799-635: The Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. This misconception led to the London Straits Convention of 1841, which affirmed Ottoman control over the straits and forbade any power, including Russia, from sending warships through them. Buoyed by his role in suppressing the revolutions of 1848 as well as his mistaken belief he could rely on British diplomatic support, Nicholas moved against the Ottomans, who declared war on Russia on 8 October 1853. On 30 November, Russian Admiral Nakhimov caught

3930-714: The British monarch 's role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England . This changed somewhat with growing religious freedom in the 19th century, especially in the republican states of Bremen , Frankfurt (1857), Lübeck , and Hamburg (1860). The greatest change came after the German Revolution , with the formation of the Weimar Republic and the abdication of the princes of the German states. The system of state churches disappeared with

4061-612: The Elisabeth Church in Marburg , Hesse , and until 1991 in Burg Hohenzollern at Hechingen , Baden-Württemberg . The original black marble sarcophagus was destroyed in 1945, and the current one is a copy made from copper. A marble relief in the south part of the arcade is the last work of the sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch . It shows "Moses in prayer, supported by the high priests Aaron and Hur". Parallel to

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4192-566: The November Uprising broke out, in 1831 the Polish parliament deposed Nicholas as king of Poland in response to his repeated curtailment of its constitutional rights. Nicholas reacted by sending Russian troops into Poland and brutally crushed the rebellion. Nicholas then proceeded to abrogate the Polish constitution in virtual entirety and reduced Poland to the status of a province called Vistula Land . Soon after, Nicholas embarked on

4323-592: The November Uprising in Poland. Russia's first railway was opened in 1837, a 26 km (16 mi) line between St. Petersburg and the suburban residence of Tsarskoye Selo . The second was the Saint Petersburg–Moscow railway , built-in 1842–51. Nevertheless, by 1855 there were only 920 km (570 mi) of Russian railways. In 1833, Sergey Uvarov , of the Ministry of National Education , devised

4454-499: The Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. He reigned for 30 years, and was succeeded by his son Alexander II. There have been many damning verdicts on Nicholas' rule and legacy, despite occasional efforts to revive his reputation. At the end of his life, one of his most devoted civil servants, Aleksandr Nikitenko , opined, "the main failing of the reign of Nicholas Pavlovich was that it

4585-653: The Venetian Lagoon , which Frederick William had purchased in 1834 when that church was scheduled for demolition. A popular etching of the early Christian version of the Basilica di San Clemente in Rome made by Johann Gottfried Gutensohn  [ de ] and Johann Michael Knapp probably inspired the design of the Potsdam church. Under Frederick William, the church served as the chapel royal and as church for

4716-489: The Weimar Constitution (1919), which brought about disestablishment by the separation of church and state , and there was a desire for the Protestant churches to merge. In fact, a merger was permanently under discussion but never materialised due to strong regional self-confidence and traditions as well as the denominational fragmentation into Lutheran , Reformed , and United and uniting churches . During

4847-484: The false claims of a miserable Jew and burns its fleet: that is a lawful action; but Russia demands a treaty to protect millions of Christians, and that is deemed to strengthen its position in the East at the expense of the balance of power. We can expect nothing from the West but blind hatred and malice... Austria offered the Ottomans diplomatic support, and Prussia remained neutral, thus leaving Russia without any allies on

4978-517: The government region of Stuttgart . The vast majority of German Protestants belong to a member church of the EKD. With 20,236,000 members in 2020, around 24.3 percent of all Germans belong to a member church of the EKD. Average church attendance is lower, however, with only around a million people (1.2 % of all Germans) attending a service on Sunday. The regional Protestant church bodies accept each other as equals, despite denominational differences. No member church runs congregations or churches in

5109-495: The Army] there is order. ... All things flow logically from one another. No one here commands without first learning to obey. No one rises above anyone else except through a clearly defined system. Everything is subordinated to a single, defined goal and everything has its precise designations. That is why I shall always hold the title of soldier in the highest esteem. I regard human life as service because everybody must serve." Nicholas

5240-482: The Catholic faith, he was looking for an alternative design vocabulary for the Prussian-Protestant church. Skipping Martin Luther, he went back to early Christianity as an inspiration. However, he did not distinguish too finely between early Christian and High Medieval architecture - as long as it was Romanesque. An original Venetian mosaic from the early 13th century decorates the church's apse. While he

5371-627: The Decembrist revolt on the first day of his reign, Nicholas I was determined to restrain Russian society. The Third Section of the Imperial Chancellery ran a huge network of spies and informers with the help of Gendarmes . The government exercised censorship and other forms of control over education, publishing, and all manifestations of public life. Nicholas appointed Alexander Benckendorff to head this Chancellery. Benckendorff employed 300 gendarmes and 16 staff in his office. He began collecting informers and intercepting mail. Soon,

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5502-856: The EKD and formed the League of Evangelical Churches in the German Democratic Republic (German: Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der DDR , BEK), in 1970 also joined by the Moravian Herrnhut District. In June 1991, following German reunification , the BEK merged with the EKD. While the members are no longer state churches, they enjoy constitutional protection as statutory corporations , and they are still called Landeskirchen , and some have this term in their official names. A modern English translation, however, would be regional church . Apart from some minor changes,

5633-464: The EKD and the Catholic Church in Germany combined. The 95% confidence interval comprises 28,000 to 280,000 victims. According to a study published in 2024, pedophilic members of the EKD have sexually abused at least 9,355 minors since 1946. Putting this figure into context, the coordinator of the study clarified that this number of cases was only the tip of the iceberg. The average age of

5764-697: The EKD members, concluded the Leuenberg Agreement , also the then 21 EKD members introduced full communion for their parishioners and ministry among each other. Since also the regional Protestant churches in East Germany had signed the Leuenberg Agreement, thus the then ten members of the Federation of Protestant Churches in the German Democratic Republic practised full communion with the EKD members too. Ordination of women

5895-532: The EKD. The member churches ( Gliedkirchen ), while being independent and having their own theological and formal organisation, share full altar and pulpit fellowship , and are united in the EKD synod , but they act as individual members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). Boundaries of EKD churches within Germany partially resemble those of

6026-460: The Holy Spirit, a dove decorates the vertex of the hemisphere. Over the heads of the archangels Raphael and Michael a lamb shines as a symbol of Christ. On the semicircle of the apse a Latin inscript reads, according to Martin Luther 's translation: " Lord, I have love for the site of your house and the place where your glory resides ". The altar canopy, which rests on four dark green columns,

6157-535: The Holy Tomb in Innichen , South Tyrol , Italy serves as an archetype for the mausoleum. The mausoleum is a domed structure with an oval outline and an attached rectangular altar room. The inside contains a surrounding gallery and the domed roof, supported by two black columns, one on top of the other, which run around the edge. A golden mosaic on the inside of the roof shows alternating angels and palm trees. In

6288-707: The Middle East. The Russian Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode wrote in letter to his ambassador in Constantinople Nikolai Muravyov that the victory of Muhammad Ali of Egypt over Mahmud II would lead to a new dynasty ruling the Ottoman Empire. Nesselrode continued that if the able Muhammad Ali became sultan then it "could, with the elevation of a new personage to the Turkish throne, revive new strength in that declining empire and distract our attention and forces from European affairs, and thus

6419-406: The Ottomans in every battle fought in the field and advanced deep into the Balkans, but the Russians discovered that they lacked the necessary logistical strength to take Constantinople. Nicholas' policy towards the Ottoman Empire was to use the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca which gave Russia a vague right as protector of Orthodox peoples in the Balkans, as a way of placing the Ottoman Empire into

6550-445: The Revolution, when the old church governments lost power, the People's Church Union ( Volkskirchenbund ) was formed and advocated unification without respect to theological tradition and also increasing input from laymen . However, the People's Church Union quickly split along territorial lines after the churches' relationship with the new governments improved. It was realised that one mainstream Protestant church for all of Germany

6681-407: The Russian sphere of influence, which was felt to be a more achievable goal than conquering the entire Ottoman Empire. Nicholas actually wanted to preserve the Ottoman Empire as a stable but weak state that would be unable to stand up to Russia, which was felt to serve Russia's interests. Nicholas always thought of Russia as first and foremost a European power and regarded Europe as more important than

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6812-483: The Turkish fleet in the harbor at Sinope and destroyed it. Fearing the results of a total Ottoman defeat by Russia, in 1854 Britain , France , the Kingdom of Sardinia formed a military coalition and joined forces with the Ottoman Empire against Russia. The preceding conflict became known as the Crimean War in the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe, but was labelled in Russia the "Eastern War" (Russian: Восточная война, Vostochnaya Vojna ). In April 1854, Austria signed

6943-417: The West . The Slavophiles viewed Slavic philosophy as a source of wholeness in Russia and were sceptical of Western rationalism and materialism. Some of them believed that the Russian peasant commune, or Mir , offered an attractive alternative to Western capitalism and could save Europe from social and moral revolution, thus representing a form of Russian messianism . However the ministry of education had

7074-528: The age of 18. Before that many of them were forcibly conscripted into Cantonist schools from the age of 12, while being a Cantonist did not count into the time of military service. They were sent far away from their families to serve in the military so that they would have difficulty practising Judaism and become Russified , and sometimes compelled to convert to Christianity . The poorer village Jews, those without families, and unmarried Jews were especially targeted for military service. Between 1827 and 1854 it

7205-1023: The age of four years, Nicholas was named Grand Prior of Russia and entitled to wear the Maltese cross . Nicholas grew up to be a fine young man. Riasanovsky says of him that he is "the most handsome man in Europe, but also a charmer who enjoyed feminine company and was often at his best with the men." On 13 July 1817, Nicholas married Princess Charlotte of Prussia (1798–1860), who took the name Alexandra Feodorovna when she converted to Orthodoxy. Charlotte's parents were Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz . Nicholas and Charlotte were third cousins, as they were both great-great-grandchildren of Frederick William I of Prussia . With two older brothers, it initially seemed unlikely Nicholas would ever become Tsar. However, as Alexander and Constantine both failed to produce legitimate sons, Nicholas first came to attention as being likely to rule one day, or at least that his children may succeed. In 1825, when Tsar Alexander died suddenly of typhus , Nicholas

7336-482: The architect Friedrich August Stüler was charged with continuing his work. Building included work by Ferdinand von Arnim and Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse  [ de ] also. The church is located in the area covered by the UNESCO World Heritage Site Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin . The cornerstone of the churchhouse was laid on 14 April 1845. The building was dedicated on 24 September 1848, though construction continued until 1854. The structure resembles

7467-475: The area of another member church, thus preventing competing with each other for parishioners. The only exception is the Evangelical Reformed Church, which combines Reformed congregations within the ambits of usually Lutheran member churches, which themselves do not include the eventual local Reformed congregations. Thus, for example, a Lutheran moving from a place where their parish belongs to a Lutheran member church, would be accepted in their new place of domicile by

7598-538: The aristocracy and believed they might turn against him if he abolished serfdom. However, he did make some efforts to improve the lot of the Crown Serfs (serfs owned by the government) with the help of his minister Pavel Kiselyov . During most of his reign he tried to increase his control over the landowners and other influential groups in Russia. In 1831, Nicholas restricted the votes in the Noble Assembly to those with over 100 serfs, leaving 21,916 voters. In 1841, landless nobles were banned from selling serfs separate from

7729-437: The armies hindered his generals, as did his misguided strategy. Several historians have concluded that "the reign of Nicholas I was a catastrophic failure in both domestic and foreign policy." On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its geographical zenith, spanning over 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles), but had a desperate need for reform. Nicholas was born at Gatchina Palace in Gatchina ,

7860-429: The balance of power. France occupies Rome and stays there several years during peacetime: that is nothing; but Russia only thinks of occupying Constantinople, and the peace of Europe is threatened. The English declare war on the Chinese, who have, it seems, offended them: no one has the right to intervene; but Russia is obliged to ask Europe for permission if it quarrels with its neighbor. England threatens Greece to support

7991-420: The continent. The European allies landed in Crimea and laid siege to the well-fortified Russian Sevastopol Naval Base . The Russians lost battles at Alma in September 1854 and then at Inkerman. After the prolonged Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55) the base fell, exposing Russia's inability to defend a major fortification on its own soil. On the death of Nicholas I, Alexander II became emperor. On 15 January 1856,

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8122-399: The copy, but Hesse nonetheless had the porch installed two years after the king's death. The original from the Heilsbronn Cloister was brought to the National Germanic Museum in Nuremberg , where it was almost entirely destroyed at the end of the Second World War in 1945. To the south, along the length of the bell tower, stretches the Cavalier's House , a former guest house. Adjoining it

8253-571: The current federal states , but rather to former duchies, electorates and provinces or mergers thereof. The Moravian Church ("Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine") and the Federation of Evangelical Reformed Congregations are associate members. International churches Gates 1. Jaffa 2. Zion 3. Dung 4. Golden 5. Lions 6. Herod 7. Damascus 8. New ( Double, Single, Tanners ' ) Al-Mawazin Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I (6 July [ O.S. 25 June] 1796 – 2 March [ O.S. 18 February] 1855)

8384-424: The decisions of the first National Synod , via their unambiguous partisanship in successfully backing Ludwig Müller for the office of Reich bishop. He did not manage, however, to prevail over the Landeskirchen in the long term. The Confessing Church arose in resistance to the Nazi regime's ideology. After the installation of Hanns Kerrl as minister for church matters in a Führer-directive of 16 July 1935 and

8515-457: The design is an intricately interleaved endless ribbon which represents eternity. The free-standing, 42 m high campanile (belltower), on the southern side, is based on the design of the campanile of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. An aedicula (column-bearing dais) on the east side bears the fresco "Jesus in Gethsemane" by Eduard Steinbrück . The tower has seven open floors. The four bells, named Gratia, Clementia, Pax and Gloria, sound from

8646-428: The eastern edge of the park, near the Obelisk . The Gate of Three Kings was created by Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse in the classical style and shows sculptures of Kings David , Solomon and Charlemagne . With the eastern outskirts of the park Frederick William IV wanted to create, among others, a connection between the park and the city. In the Marly Gardens, the kitchen garden of the soldier-king Frederick William I ,

8777-418: The edge of the fountain reads: "Cleanse thyself of thy sins and not just thy face". An arcade surrounds the inner courtyard. The Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum was added to the north side between 1888 and 1890. The plans were drawn up by Julius Carl Raschdorff , who also designed the Berlin Cathedral from 1893 to 1905, in the style of the Baroque -influenced Italian High Renaissance . The 17th century Chapel of

8908-420: The education of Jews with the object of Russification . Study of the Talmud was disfavored. Nicholas I further toughened censorship of Jewish books in Yiddish and Hebrew by allowing these to be printed only in Zhitomir and Vilna . Nicolas' aggressive foreign policy involved many expensive wars, having a disastrous effect on the empire's finances. Nicholas lavished attention on his very large army; of

9039-430: The emperor of the benefits of inviting Prussian scientist Alexander von Humboldt to Russia to investigate regions that could produce mineral wealth. The Russian government financed Humboldt's eight-month expedition through Russia in 1829, which resulted in diamond finds in the Ural mountains. Humboldt published multiple volumes on his Russian expedition, which he dedicated to Nicholas despite his increasing disapproval of

9170-425: The execution of these tasks, the Church has the following governing bodies, all organised and elected on democratic lines: The Synod is the legislature of the EKD. It has 126 members: 106 elected by Landeskirchen synods and 20 appointed by the council. These 20 are appointed for their importance in the life of the Church and its agencies. Members serve six year terms and the synod meets annually. The EKD Council

9301-426: The face of atrocities committed by Hitler's regime. In 1948, the Protestant Church in Germany was organized in the aftermath of World War II to function as a new umbrella organization for German Protestant churches. As a result of tensions between West and East Germany , the regional churches in East Germany broke away from the EKD in 1969. In 1991, following German reunification , the East German churches re-joined

9432-539: The first united and uniting churches, a new development within Protestantism which later spread to other parts of the world. When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, his administration tried to reorganize the old confederation into a unified German Evangelical Church as Hitler wanted to use a single Protestant church to further his own ambitions. However, a division emerged between the Reichskirche , led by

9563-771: The foundation of the – in the end not materialising – Protestant Reich Church , the DEK played more or less no further role. In 1948, freed from the German Christians' influence, the Lutheran, Reformed (including the German Reformed Church / Reformierte Kirche ) and United churches came together as the Protestant Church in Germany at the Conference of Eisenach. In 1969, the regional Protestant churches in East Germany and East Berlin broke away from

9694-579: The goal she had set out. I wish to maintain the Turkish empire... It if falls, I do not desire its debris. I need nothing." Ultimately, Nicholas's policies in the Near East proved to be both costly and largely futile. In 1826–28, Nicholas fought the Russo-Persian War (1826–28) , which ended with Persia forced to cede its last remaining territories in the Caucasus . Russia had conquered all

9825-507: The grand duke being impressed with duke's personal warmth, intelligence, manners and grace. For Nicholas the worst sort of characters were nobility who supported liberalism, and when the duc d'Orleans become the king of the French as Louis Philippe I in the July revolution of 1830, Nicholas took this as a personal betrayal, believing his friend had gone over as he saw it to the dark side of revolution and liberalism. Nicholas hated Louis-Philippe,

9956-473: The grave. Both coffins, made out of English tin, carry the same inscript as the marble plates in the church floor: " Here he rests in God, his Redeemer, in the hope of resurrection in the soul and a merciful judgement, justified solely by the service of Jesus Christ our most holy Saviour and Only Life ". In the year of the crypt's dedication, the flooring of the church was completed as Frederick William IV had wished;

10087-600: The ground in front of the steps of the altar room, the royal crypt can be found. Frederick William IV died following several strokes on 2 January 1861, and following the dedication of the crypt in October 1864 his coffin was placed there. The heart of the king, however, rests in the mausoleum of Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin . He was laid in the ground at the feet of his parents, King Frederick William III and Queen Louise . In 1873 his wife Elisabeth Ludovika followed him to

10218-503: The imperial couple who both died at a young age; they were transferred into the mausoleum from the Church of Peace. Since 1991, the plain coffin of the Soldier-King Frederick William I has stood on the steps to the altar. Originally entombed in the now destroyed Garrison Church in Potsdam, like his son Frederick the Great , the coffin was moved shortly before the end of the war in 1945. Until 1953 it lay in

10349-578: The land. From 1845, attainment of the 5th highest rank (out of 14) in the Table of Ranks was required to be ennobled, previously it had been the 8th rank. Nicholas was crowned King of Poland in Warsaw on 12 (24) May 1829, per the Polish Constitution, a document he would not respect thereafter. He is the only Russian monarch ever crowned King of Poland —although not the only one bestowed with

10480-701: The liberties that existed under the constitutional monarchy in Congress Poland . Nicholas was outraged when he learned of the Belgian revolt against the Dutch in 1830 and ordered the Imperial Russian Army to mobilize. Nicholas then petitioned the Prussian ambassador for Russian troops to be granted transit rights in order to march across Europe and restore Dutch hegemony over Belgium. But at

10611-406: The locally competent congregation within another member church, even if this church and its local parish are Reformed or of united Protestant confession, with Lutheran being exchangeable with the two other respective Protestant confessions within the EKD. This is due to full altar and pulpit fellowship between all EKD member churches. In this the ambits of the member churches resemble dioceses of

10742-399: The main source of recognition and support for artists. Nicholas I decided to control it personally, reserving the final say on artistic honors. As the tsar reprimanded and humiliated artists whose works he found distasteful, the result was fear, insecurity, and artistic mediocrity. Despite the repressions of this period, Russians outside official control produced a flowering of literature and

10873-405: The men who served as a minister under him had seen action in the wars against France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sweden. This proved to be something of a handicap in the sense that the sort of qualities that could make a man distinguished on the battlefields such as bravery did not necessarily make a man capable of running a ministry. The most notorious case was Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov ,

11004-423: The middle classes. By 1848 the tsar, fearing that political upheavals in the West might spread to Russia, ended Uvarov's innovations. The universities were small and closely monitored, especially the potentially dangerous philosophy departments. Their main mission was to train a loyal, vigorous, manly senior bureaucracy unspoiled by effeminate office work. The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg became

11135-411: The middle of the rotunda stands the marble sarcophagus of German Emperor Friedrich III and his wife Empress Victoria , formerly Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland . The effigies were executed by Reinhold Begas , who also completed the sarcophagi which stand on the side walls of the altar room and contain the remains of Prince Sigismund (1864–1866) and Prince Waldemar (1868–1879), sons of

11266-527: The monarch [Nicholas] is especially concerned to keep the sultan on his tottering throne." At the same time, Nicholas argued that because of the economic importance to Russia of the Turkish straits, through which Russia exports its grain, that Russia had the "right" to intervene in Ottoman affairs. In 1833, Nicholas told the Austrian ambassador Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont that "Oriental affairs are above all

11397-630: The new emperor took Russia out of the war on very unfavorable terms, which included the loss of a naval fleet on the Black Sea. Nicholas died on 2 March 1855, during the Crimean War, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg . He caught a chill, refused medical treatment and died of pneumonia , although there were rumors he was committing a passive suicide by refusing treatment. He was buried in

11528-448: The ninth child of Grand Duke Paul , heir to the Russian throne, and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia (née Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg ). He had six older sisters and two older brothers, namely the future Emperor Alexander I of Russia and Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia . Four months after Nicholas's birth, his grandmother, Catherine the Great , died and his parents became Emperor and Empress of Russia. In 1800, at

11659-500: The old-Prussian Union assumed independence as a consequence of the estrangement among them during the Nazi struggle of the churches . This turned the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union into a mere umbrella, being itself a member of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991) but covering some regional church bodies, which were again themselves members of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991). Since 1973, when many Protestant churches in Europe, including

11790-400: The parish of Brandenburger Vorstadt (a part of Potsdam). The church is a columned basilica with three naves and no transept, with a free-standing belltower. The 13.5 m high central nave overlaps the side aisles, which are half as wide. An arcade of central arches mark the crossing point. The religious Frederick William IV desired a flat coffered ceiling on the inside, with gold stars on

11921-403: The performing arts. Through the works of Aleksandr Pushkin , Nikolai Gogol , Ivan Turgenev and numerous others, Russian literature gained international stature and recognition. Ballet took root in Russia after its importation from France , and classical music became firmly established with the compositions of Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857). Minister of Finance Georg von Cancrin persuaded

12052-485: The persecution of non-Russian languages and non-Orthodox religions. Taras Shevchenko , later to become known as the national poet of Ukraine , was exiled to Siberia by a direct order of Tsar Nicholas after composing a poem that mocked the Tsar, his wife, and his domestic policies. By order of the Tsar, Shevchenko was kept under strict surveillance and prevented from writing or painting. From 1839, Tsar Nicholas also used

12183-547: The pro-government German Christians , and the Confessing Church , which opposed state control of the church. Other Protestant churches aligned themselves with one of these groups, or stayed neutral in this church strife. The postwar church council issued the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt on 19 October 1945, confessing guilt and declaring remorse for indifference and inaction of German Protestants in

12314-600: The protector of ruling legitimism and as guardian against revolution. It has often been noted that such policies were linked with the Metternich counter-revolutionary system through the Austrian ambassador Count Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont . Nicholas's offers to suppress revolution on the European continent, trying to follow the pattern set by his eldest brother, Alexander I, earned him the label of "gendarme of Europe". Immediately on his succession Nicholas began to limit

12445-708: The remainder of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan from Qajar Iran during the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) . He ended the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) successfully as well. He crushed the November Uprising in Poland in 1831 and decisively aided Austria during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Later on, however, he led Russia into the Crimean War (1853–1856), with disastrous results. Historians emphasize that his micromanagement of

12576-697: The roofs of the side aisles are leaking, allowing water to seep into the walls. Evangelical Church in Germany Historically, the first formal attempt to unify German Protestantism occurred during the Weimar Republic era in the form of the German Protestant Church Confederation , which existed from 1922 until 1933. Earlier, there had been successful royal efforts at unity in various German states, beginning with Prussia and several minor German states (e.g. Duchy of Nassau ) in 1817. These unions resulted in

12707-572: The same time, a cholera epidemic was decimating Russian troops and the revolt in Poland tied down Russian soldiers which might have been deployed against the Belgians. It seems likely that Nicholas's hawkish stance was not a sincere prelude towards invasion of the Low Countries, but rather an attempt to apply pressure on the other European powers. Nicholas made it clear he would only act if Prussia and Britain also participated as he feared that

12838-490: The saying that "it was impossible to sneeze in one's house before it is reported to the emperor" became Benckendorff's creed. Tsar Nicholas abolished several areas of local autonomy. Bessarabia's autonomy was removed in 1828, Poland's in 1830 and the Jewish Qahal was abolished in 1843. As an exception to this trend, Finland was able to keep its autonomy partly due to Finnish soldiers' loyal participation in crushing

12969-551: The self-styled Le roi citoyen ("the Citizen King") as a renegade nobleman and an "usurper," and his foreign policy starting in 1830 was primarily anti-French , based upon reviving the coalition that had existed during the Napoleonic era of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Britain, to isolate France. Nicholas detested Louis-Philippe to the point that he refused to use his name, referring to him merely as "the usurper". Britain

13100-468: The site of the church on the west. The compact planting of groups of trees and bushes, access balconies, flower beds and sculptures reflect a picture of romantic playfulness. As of 2015, various parts of the church were in need of repair. The Campanile has already required emergency stabilisation work. The Venetian mosaic is also at risk. The iron parts of the construction underlying the mosaic (imported in its original mortar setting) are rusting. In addition,

13231-436: The soldiers for six months of the year. Curtiss finds that "The pedantry of Nicholas's military system, which stressed unthinking obedience and parade ground evolutions rather than combat training, produced ineffective commanders in time of war." His commanders in the Crimean War were old and incompetent, and indeed so were his muskets as the colonels sold the best equipment and the best food. For much of Nicholas' reign, Russia

13362-748: The southern arcade runs the cloister with the Heilsbronn Porch, an entrance to the Marly Gardens. It is a replica of a Roman tiered porch at the former refectory in the Heilsbronn Cloister in Middle Franconia , which caught the eye of the architect Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse while he was on a study trip in 1828. He instructed the Berlin potter Tobias Feilner to imitate the entrance in reddish terracotta . Frederick William IV explicitly rejected Hesse's suggestion to incorporate

13493-603: The states of the Holy Roman Empire and successor forms of German statehood (to the most part 1815 borders ), due to the historically close relationship between individual German states and churches. As for church governance, the Lutheran churches typically practise an episcopal polity , while the Reformed and the United ones a mixture of presbyterian and congregationalist polities. Most member churches are led by

13624-758: The term. From the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 to the end of the First World War and the collapse of the German Empire , some Protestant churches were state churches . Each Landeskirche (state or regional church) was the official church of one of the states of Germany , while the respective ruler was the church's formal head (e.g. the King of Prussia headed the Evangelical Church of Prussia's older Provinces as supreme governor), similar to

13755-523: The territories of Iran in both the North Caucasus and South Caucasus , comprising modern-day Georgia , Dagestan , Armenia , and Azerbaijan , through the course of the 19th century. The treaty further conceded extraterritoriality to Russian subjects in Iran (capitulation). As Professor Virginia Aksan adds, the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay "removed Iran from the military equation." Russia fought

13886-472: The territories of the member churches today reflect Germany's political organisation in the year 1848, with regional churches for states or provinces that often no longer exist or whose borders changed since. For example, between 1945 and 1948, the remaining six ecclesiastical provinces ( Kirchenprovinzen ), each territorially comprising one of the Old Prussia provinces , within the Evangelical Church of

14017-529: The third floor above the clockwork. In 1917 and 1945 they were all taken from the tower to be melted down for the war effort, but escaped this unhappy fate. An open porch (narthex) across the western side of the portal opens into an inner courtyard (atrium). The larger-than-life statue of Christ on the fountain is a copy of the marble original, created in 1821 by Bertel Thorvaldsen , in the Copenhagen Church of Our Lady . The ancient Greek inscript on

14148-568: The throne. That manifesto retroactively named 1 December (19 November Old Style ), the date of Alexander I's death, as the beginning of his reign. During this confusion, a plot was hatched by some members of the military to overthrow Nicholas and seize power. This led to the Decembrist Revolt on 26 (14 Old Style ) December 1825, an uprising Nicholas quickly suppressed. Defunct Nicholas completely lacked his brother's spiritual and intellectual breadth; he saw his role simply as that of

14279-488: The title. The official emphasis on Russian nationalism fueled a debate on Russia's place in the world, the meaning of Russian history, and the future of Russia. One group, the westernizers , believed that Russia remained backward and primitive and could progress only through adopting European culture and institutions. Another group, the Slavophiles , enthusiastically favored Slavic culture and customs, and disdained

14410-597: The traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church , and the Russian language . These romantic and conservative principles outlined by Uvarov were also espoused by Vasily Zhukovsky , one of the tutors of the Grand Duke Alexander. The results of these Slavophile principles led, broadly speaking, to increasing repression of all classes, excessive censorship, and surveillance of independent-minded intellectuals like Pushkin and Lermontov and to

14541-547: The tsar's policies. In 1851 the Jewish population numbered at 2.4 million, including 212,000 in Russian-controlled Poland . This made them one of the largest inorodtsy (non-Slavic) minorities in the Russian Empire. On 26 August 1827 the edict of military conscription ( Ustav rekrutskoi povinnosti ) was introduced, which required Jewish boys to serve in the Russian military for 25 years from

14672-542: The use of this term alongside Christian . The German term evangelisch corresponds to the broad English category of Protestant rather than to the narrower evangelical movement (in German called evangelikal ), a subset of Protestantism distinct from the mainline . English speaking churches such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada likewise retain this use of

14803-904: The victims is 11 years. Confessions of EKD parishioners Protestantism is the major religion in Northern , Eastern and Middle Germany , with the Reformed branch predominating in the extreme northwest and Lippe , the Lutheran branch in the north and south, and the United branch in Middle and Western Germany . While the majority of Christians in Southern Germany are Catholic , some areas in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are predominantly Protestant, e.g. Middle Franconia and

14934-555: The war's end, Russia's leaders were determined to reform their military and society. As Fuller notes, "Russia had been beaten on the Crimean Peninsula, and the military feared that it would inevitably be beaten again unless steps were taken to surmount its military weakness." An intensely militaristic man, Nicholas regarded the Army as the best and greatest institution in Russia and as a model for society, saying: "Here [in

15065-489: The work of the EKD. The Church Office is the administration of the EKD and shall the business of the Synod, Council and Conference of the EKD. Main divisions : The EKD Church Office has approximately 200 employees. The EKD holds various charities ("Hilfswerke") under its auspices. The Gustav-Adolf-Werk (GAW) (Gustaphus Adolphus Union formerly) was founded 1832 in Leipzig as the first and eldest such organization and

15196-525: Was Emperor of Russia , King of Congress Poland , and Grand Duke of Finland . He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I . Nicholas's thirty-year reign began with the failed Decembrist revolt . He is mainly remembered as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, centralisation of administrative policies, and repression of dissent both in Russia and among its neighbors. Nicholas had

15327-616: Was a federation of independent bodies, the Church Union's work was limited to foreign missions and relations with Protestant churches outside Germany, especially German Protestants in other countries. In July 1933, the German Evangelical Church ( Deutsche Evangelische Kirche , DEK) was formed under the influence of the German Christians , a pro- Nazi religious movement. They had much influence over

15458-493: Was all a mistake." In 1891 Lev Tolstoy popularised the nickname Николай Палкин (Nicholas the Stick) in reference to the late emperor's passion for military discipline. Historian Barbara Jelavich points to many failures, including the "catastrophic state of Russian finances", the badly-equipped army, the inadequate transportation system, and a bureaucracy "characterized by graft, corruption, and inefficiency". Kiev University

15589-480: Was attempting to maintain the status quo in Europe, he followed a somewhat more aggressive policy toward the neighbouring empires to the south, the Ottoman Empire and Persia . Nicholas was widely believed at the time to be following the traditional Russian policy of resolving the so-called Eastern Question by seeking to partition the Ottoman Empire and establish a protectorate over the Orthodox population of

15720-479: Was caught between swearing allegiance to Constantine and accepting the throne for himself. The interregnum lasted until Constantine, who was in Warsaw at that time, officially forfeited his right to succession. This had been required by Tsar Alexander as a condition of Constantine's marriage to his second wife Joanna Grudzinska . On 25 (13 Old Style ) December, Nicholas issued the manifesto proclaiming his accession to

15851-406: Was created from Siberian jasper (semi-precious stones) and was a gift from Tsar Nicholas I of Russia , the king's brother in law. It was installed in the Church of Peace in 1842. In the right-hand aisle lies the former baptistery. The six-sided baptismal stone was relocated in 1965. The counterpart to the baptistery is the sacristy in the left-hand aisle. After the death of Frederick William IV it

15982-529: Was crown prince Frederick William had it bought at auction for 385 thalers and brought to Potsdam by boat. The mosaic shows the enthroned Christ with the Book of Life, the right hand upheld in blessing. At each side stand Mary and John the Baptist. Next to them stand the apostle Peter and Saint Cyprian, martyred by beheading in 258 and patron saint of the church San Cipriano , wearing chasubles . As an allegory for

16113-494: Was founded in 1834 by Nicholas. In 1854, there were 3600 university students in Russia, 1000 fewer than in 1848. Censorship was omnipresent; historian Hugh Seton-Watson writes: "the intellectual atmosphere remained oppressive until the end of the reign." The Frenchman Marquis de Custine wrote the widely-read travel book La Russie en 1839 ( Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia ). He speculated that Nicholas had

16244-636: Was impossible and that any union would need a federal model. The churches met in Dresden in 1919 and created a plan for federation, and this plan was adopted in 1921 at Stuttgart . Then in 1922 the then 28 territorially defined Protestant churches founded the German Evangelical Church Confederation ( Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchenbund , DEK). At the time, the federation was the largest Protestant church federation in Europe with around 40 million members. Because it

16375-486: Was made supervisor of Church affairs. The army became the vehicle of upward social mobility for noble youths from non-Russian areas, such as Poland, the Baltic, Finland, and Georgia. On the other hand, many miscreants, petty criminals, and undesirables were punished by local officials by being enlisted for life in the Army. The conscription system was highly unpopular with people, as was the practice of forcing peasants to house

16506-463: Was marred by a demonstration of 3000 young army officers and other liberal-minded citizens. This demonstration was an attempt to force the government to accept a constitution and a representative form of government. Nicholas ordered the Imperial Russian Army to smash the demonstration. The "uprising" was quickly put down and became known as the Decembrist revolt . Having experienced the trauma of

16637-453: Was often exasperated by the slow pace of the Russian bureaucracy and had a marked preference for appointing generals and admirals to high government rank because of their perceived efficiency, overlooking or ignoring whether or not they were actually qualified for the role. Of the men who served as Nicholas's ministers, 61% had previously served as a general or an admiral. Nicholas liked to appoint generals who had seen combat, and at least 30 of

16768-442: Was seen as a major military power, with considerable strength. The Crimean War, fought shortly before Nicholas' death, demonstrated to both Russia and the world what few had previously realized: Russia was militarily weak, technologically backward, and administratively incompetent. Despite his grand ambitions toward the south and Turkey, Russia had not built railroad network in that direction, and communications were bad. The bureaucracy

16899-429: Was unprepared for war being riddled with graft, corruption, and inefficiency. The Navy had few competent officers, the rank and file were poorly trained and most importantly of its vessels were outdated; the army, although very large, was good only for parades, suffered from colonels who pocketed their men's pay, poor morale, and was even more out of touch with the latest technology as developed by Britain and France . By

17030-406: Was unwilling to join the anti-French coalition, but Nicholas was successful in cementing existing close ties with Austria and Prussia and the three imperial states regularly held joint military reviews during this time. For much of the 1830s, a sort of "cold war" existed between the liberal "western bloc" of France and Britain vs. the reactionary "eastern bloc" of Austria, Prussia and Russia. After

17161-627: Was used temporarily as a mausoleum for him and for other deceased members of the House of Hohenzollern . The son of Emperor Friedrich III and his wife Empress Victoria , as well as the Princes Sigismund and Waldemar, were entombed here until 1892. In 1920 the youngest son of Wilhelm II , the last Emperor of Germany, was interred in the sacristy. After 1931 he was moved to the Antique Temple . Under two marble tablets, embedded in

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