On the verge of extinction: TOP-6 little-known domestic churches

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Many buildings have remained in the vast domestic spaces from the past. It goes without saying that sacred buildings are no exception. However, while some of the cathedrals are considered a national treasure and are carefully preserved, others have not just gone to the periphery of history, but have simply been abandoned.

We would like to draw your attention to the "six" little-known domestic churches, which are now desolate.

1. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Zubarevo, Yaroslavl region)

The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zubarevo was erected in 1820 and functioned as intended until the Bolsheviks came to power. But in the Soviet period, a warehouse was located on its territory, and after the collapse of the USSR, the premises remained in desolation.

However, the completely forgotten Zubarevsky church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker cannot be called either: it is part of the route of the annual Irinarkhovsky procession from the Borisoglebsky monastery to the village of Kondakovo. During it, pilgrims next to each temple must perform a panikhida and a prayer service. That is why the area around the church is carefully cleaned - perhaps the building will one day get a chance for a second life.

2. Church of Paraskeva / Friday (Mosalsk, Kaluga region)

The five-domed church of Paraskera (Pyatnitsa) was built on the top of Pyatnitskaya Mountain. The latter is an artificial embankment, which remained the only reminder of the settlement, founded in the VI-VIII centuries. Pyatnitskaya Gora is the source of a variety of legends, one of which says that inside it there is a whole system of underground corridors and tunnels.

But the church itself was founded in 1765 at the initiative of the then-famous landowner and patron of the arts, merchant of the 1st guild, second-major Anton Semenovich Khlyustin. This building became the first temple in the center of the then city, which was located on the bend of the Mozhaiki River.

Unlike most churches, which lost their original function immediately after the October Revolution, this church remained in operation until 1936: then the domes were removed, the bell tower was blown up, and some of the bricks were taken away on the roads.

The church was two-sided, which means that it had two altars: the first side-altar of Nicholas the Wonderworker, the second - to the Mother of God. The architectural solutions that were used during the construction are also of interest - the building is made in the provincial baroque style, in particular, this applies directly to the five-domed three-height quadrangle with a refectory. But the three-tiered bell tower, which has not survived to this day, was defined as an example of the Elizabethan Baroque.

After the church was closed in 1936, the Soviet government turned over the premises for warehouses. Today the state of the church is very depressing: in the Soviet period, no one cared about the preservation of the frescoes, therefore, in the overwhelming majority, they have not survived.

3. Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (village Nikolo-Tsarevna, Yaroslavl region)

The construction of the temple in the village of Nikolo-Tsarevna began in the 1810s, but historians do not have an exact date: usually two versions are given - 1811 or 1816. The brick structure was built by the efforts and means of local residents on the site of the former wooden building. During the Soviet period, the village was renamed Svobodnoye, the refectory and the bell tower were dismantled, and the premises of the temple were given for a granary.

During the Soviet era, quite a lot of people lived in the village of Svobodnya, but by the beginning of the nineties almost all the local residents had left, and only one woman remained. In 1996, a businessman came there who wanted to bring life back to this place by creating a farm on the territory of the dying village. However, all he managed to do was to return the village to its historical name - Nikolo-Tsarevna.

Today, the village is even very difficult to find on maps, and a small church among the tall trees is practically invisible. Not only the facade of the building is slowly collapsing - practically nothing has survived from the interior decoration of the temple. Today, those who manage to get there will have the opportunity to see only elements of a few frescoes.

4. Flooded chapel (Arkhangelskoe-Chashnikovo tract, near Gnezdilovo, Tver region)

The ruins of this structure are a vivid example of how both individual buildings and entire villages were sacrificed for the construction of reservoirs in the Soviet period. However, there is little reliable information about this particular chapel. So, it is known for certain that the completion of the construction of the structure took place in 1795. But the history of the creation of the building has not been precisely determined.

According to one version, the ruins protruding over the waters of the Vazu reservoir are the remains of a family chapel-burial vault of a local merchant family, and according to another, the chapel was built by the landowner of the village of Aleksandrovskoye at the end of the 19th century on the site of the death of his son, who drowned in the pool of the Vazuza River.

Some sources even mention the name of this person - Likhachev. There is a third version, which calls the ruins a preserved part of the refectory at the church, but it seems unlikely.

For most of the year, the ruins of the chapel remain partially or completely submerged in the reservoir, so you can only get to it by boat. But if you guess the moment, in the winter season, when the water recedes, you can walk to the ruins.

5. Church-burial vault of the Nativity of the Virgin (the village of Saltykovo, Tver region)

In the village of Saltykovo, which in the Tver region in pre-revolutionary times was the fiefdom of the nobles of Durnovo, and by the middle of the nineteenth century it was considered the largest in the district. But the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, was erected on the banks of the river around the end of the 18th century as a manor temple-burial vault. The burials of representatives of the Durnov family - brothers Nikolai and Sergei - on its territory are evidence of this purpose of the structure.

The Durnovs' estate has not survived to this day. however, and a stone fence around the temple. Also lost were two two-tiered bell towers on both sides of the western gate. But the church-tomb itself has survived to this day in a more or less suitable form. In addition, it has a modern roof, which testifies that, after all, this place has not been completely forgotten.

6. Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Berezhai village, Tver region)

There is very little information left about this temple. So, it is known for certain that it was erected in 1799 on the initiative and at the expense of the local landowner Isaiah Lukin. It is also reliably proven that the church was consecrated twice: the first consecration took place immediately after the completion of construction - in 1799, and the second - in 1814.

Despite the fact that both the village and the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Berezhai are slowly dying, the local cemetery continues to be visited by relatives and friends of those buried there, caring for the graves. That is why they also try to keep the area around the temple in good condition - for example, they mow the grass around. However, it is very difficult to get there now, there are roads and bridges. that lead there are far from in good condition.