Sightseeing temples of Kazan. Church of Yaroslavl Wonderworkers Church of Yaroslavl Wonderworkers

Church of the Holy Blessed Princes Theodore, David and Constantine, Yaroslavl Wonderworkers - the full name of the church.

The Temple of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers, highly revered in Kazan, is an amazing page in the history of Orthodoxy in the city of Kazan and Tatarstan. At one time, a small church in the ancient Arsk cemetery was in fact the cathedral of the entire city, and the only one of the open temples. At the same time, it was not named at all by the name of locally revered saints, but in honor of princes from a completely different city.

Construction of the temple of the Yaroslavl miracle workers

The year 1796 in Kazan was marked by the completion of the construction of a new temple - in the name of the Yaroslavl miracle workers, the holy noble princes Theodore, David and Constantine. There is an opinion that the name of the church is connected directly with the builders who built it. Apparently, the builders of the temple considered their patrons the faithful Yaroslavl princes Theodore and his children, David and Constantine; hence the name of the church.

Information about the predecessors of the current temple of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers in Kazan is very fragmentary. It is believed that before its construction, a chapel already existed at the Arsk cemetery, which is quite natural for such a large necropolis. According to some reports, in the city, where the circus building stands today, from 1737 to 1796 there was a church with the same name, and cemetery church, as the temple of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers is often called in Kazan, became the successor to his name.

The structure of the temple is two-altar, another chapel, in the name, was built in 1801 with the money of benefactors. Until about 1819, the temple, which had no parish, was assigned to the city's Varvara Church, and subsequently to. He was in dire need of expanding the area and his own belfry, so by 1844 the left aisle was completed and the right one was reconstructed. By this time, the new church bell tower was also completed.

The last journey of many prominent people of the Church ended in the temple of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers of the Arsk cemetery. Their burials are preserved behind the altar to this day.

The February Revolution of 1917 at first did not bring cardinal changes to the life of Kazan. Relative calm reigned in the city, the authorities and the police continued to work. Divine services continued in the temples.

With the advent of Soviet power, the situation changed dramatically, the persecution of the church began. In Kazan, the closure of churches was especially active since 1928. So the Matthew Church was gradually closed, and in early 1931 their communities were attached to the parish of the Yaroslavl miracle workers.

From the mid-1930s, the temple was given to the renovationists, but in 1938 it was returned to the Orthodox community. According to some reports, during all these dramatic disturbances, the doors of the temple were closed to parishioners for only three days.

The church at the Arskoe cemetery practically did not close even during the Great Patriotic War. An endless stream of "funerals" came from the front. Relatives received them and commemorated the dead. The Church of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers, as a small and lonely island of Orthodoxy, in a difficult time remained the only support and support for the believing townspeople.

Inside the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers Church

When you get inside the church at the Arsk cemetery, you immediately feel the amazing atmosphere of silence, peace and detachment from everything worldly. This amazing property is largely due to the fact that the temple was never closed or subjected to desecration. That is why ancient interiors have been preserved here, church decoration has survived. A beautiful temple iconostasis of 1869 by the hereditary carver and gilder Tyufilin has survived.

The constant work of the temple for a long time objectively complicates the possibility of repairing and updating the interior, although everything possible is being done. Relentless time leaves its mark on everything. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, who is credited with miraculous help during the capture of Kazan in 1552, has long darkened from long years. It is very symbolic that in this temple it is located above the ancient shrine, in which the relics of the first archbishop of Kazan and Sviyazhsky Guria are kept. Near the tomb, his episcopal staff is still preserved, which, according to legend, the saint himself carved from wood.

I have lived almost my entire conscious life near the ancient capital of Tatarstan, but for the first time I came to the Arsk cemetery, where the temple in the name of the holy princes Theodore, David and Constantine is located ... Even with blue winter snows, but already with a bright, almost spring, sun the domes of the temple shone and attracted so much that one involuntarily thought: “Why haven’t I come here yet? After all, even our shrine - the image of the Mother of God "Georgian" was kept here throughout the war ... How many times have I heard about it ... "

Nearby is the tomb of St. Gurias and the staff on which he leaned in last years my earthly life...

The image of the Savior on a large dark tree - there is a version that Orthodox Christians brought it to Kazan along with the army of Ivan the Terrible ...

Based on the materials of A. ZHURAVSKY AND E. LIPAKOV:

"The temple itself, being a cemetery, initially served only for the funeral of Orthodox Christians and was assigned to the Cathedral of the Annunciation ("RV" No. 2 - ed.). It was built in 1796 as a double-altar (chapel was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker In 1843, the left chapel was built in the name of St. Nicephorus, Patriarch of Tsaregrad (Constantinople), and in 1844 the left chapel was rebuilt, consecrated again in the name of three saints: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Leo the Pope and St. "Righteous Martha. In the same years, the bell tower was built according to the project of the architect Foma Ivanovich Petondi. The construction and reconstruction of the temple was carried out at the expense of the city society. In 1925, after the Annunciation Cathedral was closed, the cemetery church became a parish church. In 1934, despite the protests of believers and the clergy, the temple was transferred to the Renovationist diocesan administration.It was at this time that the tomb with the relics of St. Gury of Kazan, illegally appropriated by the Renovationists, turned up here. However, soon the Orthodox managed to defend their temple, and it was returned to the Orthodox community.

By the end of the 30s, all monasteries and most of the city churches were closed, so all the shrines were transferred to the cemetery church. Miraculous icons were kept here: the Smolensk-Sedmiozernaya Icon of the Mother of God (from the Sedmiozernaya Hermitage), the Raifa Icon of the Mother of God (from the Raifa Hermitage), the icon St. Sergius Radonezhsky (from the Sviyazhsky John the Baptist Monastery), the icon of the Great Martyr Barbara (from the Varvara Church in Kazan), the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (from Tikhvin Church Kazan) and others.

The significance of the Church of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers (not much famous in former years) in the history of the Kazan diocese of the XX century is extremely large. During the war years, Archbishop Andrei (Komarov) served here, known for blessing the collection of funds and clothes to help the Soviet army. The cemetery church in Kazan is the only one that was not closed during the Soviet years. In the minds of believers, this is one of the most prayerful places of the ancient city.

Already before the revolution, the Arskoe cemetery was not exclusively Orthodox. It had a Catholic, Lutheran and Jewish section. After the revolution, this orderliness was broken. Meanwhile, even after 80 years of constant and purposeful destruction, the Orthodox necropolis of the Arsk cemetery remains very representative.

Part of the Orthodox necropolis of the Arsky cemetery is located directly at the cemetery church. So, behind the altar are the burials of prominent church figures of the Kazan region: Archbishop of Kazan and Chistopol Sergius (Korolyov) (died 12/18/1952), the former Bishop of Prague, who was revered as a saint during his lifetime both abroad and in Russia; Bishop of Kazan and Chistopol Justin (Maltsev), who arrived at the Kazan cathedra after a concentration camp with a completely upset health and soon died; Hieroscheme-Nakh Seraphim (Koshurin), the last of the brethren of the Seven Lakes Desert, it was he who saved the relics of the Monk Elder Gabriel (Zyryanov) and the miraculous Smolensk-Seven Lakes Icon of the Mother of God from desecration. At the Nikolsky chapel of the cemetery church there is a cross over the grave of the famous missionary, educator and scientist, director of the Kazan Teachers' Seminary Nikolai Ivanovich Ilminsky (1822-1891), who did a lot to translate the Holy Scripture into the languages ​​of the peoples inhabiting Russian empire. N. I. Ilminsky was already called “the apostle of Kazan foreigners” during his lifetime.

To the left of the church, at the northern side entrance, there is a tombstone in the form of a lectern with a gospel. This is the grave of the rector of the Kazan Theological Academy, Archimandrite Innokenty (Novgorodtsev) (1823-1968). Around the temple there are many graves of the Kazan clergy. The tradition of burial of the deceased clergy near the church has been preserved until recently. Among other famous graves of the Orthodox necropolis are the graves of professors of the Kazan Theological Academy. So, on the alley, formerly called “academic” (since the deceased teachers of the Kazan Theological Academy were buried there), the famous professor, doctor of theology, historian and Orthodox publicist Alexander Fedorovich Gusev (d. 1914), author of the essay “Basic Religious Principles of Count Leo Tolstoy".

Not far from the grave of A.F. Gusev there is a monument over the grave of the famous philologist, researcher of the history of Russian literature, professor of the Kazan Theological Academy Ivan Yakovlevich Porfiryev (1823-1899), one of the most active participants in the scientific description of the library of the Solovetsky Monastery. Porfiriev is the author of works that have not lost their relevance to this day - “History of Russian Literature”, “Apocryphal Tales of Old Testament Persons and Events According to the Manuscripts of the Solovetsky Library” ... Nearby is the grave of the historian, theologian Ivan Petrovich Gvozdev (d. 1875). In another part of the Arsky cemetery is the grave of the outstanding Kazan philosopher and theologian, professor of the academy and university Viktor Ivanovich Nesmelov (1863-1937), author of the famous study "The Science of Man", dedicated to Christian anthropology.

Still, it is surprising that in the very center of Kazan, in the very center of modern Kazan, with its bustle and movement, it is quiet and peaceful here ... Gradually, more and more believers come to the cemetery church. They come not only to divine liturgy(yes, now services are performed daily in the temple - the temple has moved away from its original purpose), they come not only to the graves of their loved ones, but also to worship ancient Russian shrines.

A young woman with a child stopped by the large icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh, brought here back in the years of the fight against God. Putting a candle in front of the holy image, repainting, she helped her baby too. Next to the icon of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, they stopped again. The woman lifted the baby in her arms, and he was able to gently touch the bright image of the Mother of God - and from the side, the faces of the holy princes Theodore and his sons David and Constantine, whose military exploits were destined to be glorified by God, looked at them with love ...

Photo: Church of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers