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Religion > Pastors > Johann Heinrich Fuchs

Johann Heinrich Fuchs

Johann Heinrich Fuchs was born in Hessen-Kassel and was among the first settlers in the Volga region in the late 1760s. It is not known where he received his theological training.

From 1767 to 1770, Pastor Fuchs served the colony of Messer. Between 1767 and 1769, he became the first pastor to serve the newly founded colony of Norka. Pastors were in very short supply during the early years of settlement and generally served several colonies. Until the 1780s, fewer than ten pastors served all the Volga colonies.

The following excerpt about Pastor Fuchs is taken from Geschichte der Reformirten Kirche in Russland:
"Right from the start Norka enjoyed a wooden church, a parsonage and a schoolhouse. In the beginning a Pastor Fuchs sometimes came to the colonies, where he dispensed Holy Communion, but since the community was unable to make a firm offer to hire him, he took the place of a Reformed preacher in Jaroslaw."
In 1769, Johann Georg Herwig became the first resident pastor of the Norka parish.
Correspondence from March 1771 shows that Pastor Fuchs was instrumental in founding the Reformed colony of Pobochnaya (Nebendorf) in 1773 by a group of colonists from Isenburg. Fuchs served as pastor there and in the city of Saratov.
​

In 1772, Pastor Fuchs began serving the German Reformed congregation in the Russian town of Jaroslavl'. That same year, Pastor Fuchs traveled to St. Petersburg to conduct the confirmation examination for two daughters of the Fock family. 

In 1782, Pastor Fuchs returned to the Volga German colonies. In 1797, he worked in the Russian town of Tver. Interestingly, both Jaroslavl and Tver were towns that Pastor Fuchs may have traveled through with the colonists on their way to the lower Volga in 1766/67. He likely became acquainted at that time with the clergy in those locations. Pastor Fuchs returned to the Volga and served the colony of Riebensdorf (Voronezh Province) from 1798 to 1801. 

In 1802, Pastor Fuchs died in Moscow during a fundraising trip.

Sources

Amburger, Erik. Die Pastoren Der Evangelischen Kirchen Russlands Vom Ende Des 16. Jahrhunderts Bis 1937: Ein Biographisches Lexikon. Lüneburg: Inst. Nordostdt. Kulturwerk, 1998. 320. Print.

Dalton, Hermann. Geschichte Der Reformirten Kirche in Russland: Kirchenhistorische Studie. Trans. William Pickelhaupt. Gotha: R. Besser, 1865. Print. Translation prepared for Steven Schreiber in July 2011.

Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen Und Das Religiöse Leben Der Rußlanddeutschen. Stuttgart: AER-Verl., 1978. 136. Print.

Pobochnaya Village Coordinators Report for American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2008.
Last updated December 8, 2023
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links