Church of the Prophet on Porokhov. Elias St.

The Temple of the Prophet Elijah on Porokhov is a monument of classicism architecture. The history of this church is closely connected with the Okhtinsky gunpowder factory, founded by decree of Peter I in 1715. In 1717, on its territory, among other buildings, a wooden chapel was built, consecrated in the name of the holy prophet Elijah. However, the factory required not a chapel, but a full-fledged church, and on May 4, 1721, the factory workers submitted a petition to the Main Artillery Chancellery: “We, gunpowder, saltpeter masters and students and other ministers, were sent from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and from St. Petersburg, 10 versts, but there is no Church of God in these factories. Because we have a considerable spiritual need, our wives and children also.
When working with gunpowder in mortal affairs, we die without repentance and without communion. So that it is allowed from the Main Artillery Office to send a royal decree or a letter of petition to the synod, so that we are allowed to build a church, which chapel is built, so that this chapel can be a church, and issue an imperative decree from the synod on the consecration of this church.” This request was granted. On June 30, 1721, the Synod issued a decree: “Near St. Petersburg on the Okhta River, near the gunpowder factories, in a place suitable for a church building, build a church again in the name of St. the prophet Elijah, a wooden one, for the church and cemetery and the priest with the clergy for the residential area, measure 40 fathoms from the church in all directions.” The church was consecrated in July 1722, and in 1730 it played a significant role in the life of the city. That summer there was terrible heat, the forests were burning, St. Petersburg was filled with smoke and the smell of burning. Then, on Elijah Friday (the last Friday before Elijah’s Day), a religious procession was held from the Kazan Cathedral to Porokhovye with a prayer service to the holy prophet Elijah. Soon the rains came and the city was saved. This event made such an impression on the future Empress Elizaveta Petrovna that, when she ascended the throne, she ordered this religious procession to be held annually.

In 1721, the chapel was dismantled, and in its place construction began on the wooden Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah, consecrated in 1722. In 1742-1743, the wooden church, which gradually fell into disrepair, was replaced by a wider wooden one, on a stone foundation (designed by the architect Schumacher). Its consecration took place on July 17 or 18, 1743. In 1760, a warm winter chapel was added to the church, consecrated on December 27, 1760 in the name of Dmitry of Rostov. A small cemetery was founded within the church fence. However, this church also falls into disrepair over time, and in 1781-1782 the construction of a new church began. It is he who has survived to this day. Unfortunately, the author of the project has not been identified. It has been suggested that this is Ivan Egorovich Starov or Yuri Matveevich Felten, but the most likely option is that this is Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov. This is supported by the shape of the church in the form of a rotunda, and the fact that at the same time N.A. Lviv is actively involved in the construction of estates nearby. Consecrated in 1785, the Elias Church was built in the style of early Russian classicism and is a round rotunda surrounded by a colonnade of 16 Ionic columns.

This is a small rotunda temple with loggias on the northern and southern facades. The walls are painted yellow. Between the two columns there are windows: at the bottom - arched, at the top - round. There is a round balustrade along the edge of the roof. A little closer to the center of the roof there is a squat black dome on a low, almost absent 8-sided narrow drum. The hemispherical dome is crowned with a lantern with a cross. Inside the church hall there are no pylons dividing the hall into naves. In the interior, the walls of the double-height hall are cut through by a 14-bay arcade. The entire hall is painted in blue, imitating the sky. In the center of the ceiling there was a large image (first of the prophet Elijah on a chariot drawn by a winged horse, and then of Jesus Christ).

The newly built church was not heated. In 1804-1806, according to the design of the architect Fyodor Ivanovich Demertsov, a small warm chapel with one altar and a refectory with four pillars, consecrated in the name of Alexander Nevsky, was added to the church from the west. The front facade of the extension was decorated with an Ionic portico with a triangular pediment and four columns of the Ionic order portico. This chapel and the main volume of the temple were not united into one whole, but were located close to each other.

The northern and southern facades of the extension were decorated with 2 Ionic columns. A bell tower with a spire rose above the extension. An altar apse was also added to the church from the east. In 1841, the connection of the two churches began, which was finally completed in 1875-1877, when the chapel of St. Alexander Nevsky was combined with the main building of the church due to the construction of an apse in the eastern part of the chapel and a vestibule in the western part of the temple. At the end of the 19th century, the bell tower was rebuilt again.

In 1901-1902, the church was rebuilt again according to the design of the architect Simonov. The dome of the temple was raised on a drum, the second tier of the bell tower was built on, the first tier was expanded, a balustrade appeared on the bell tower and the shape of the dome was slightly changed. The minor consecration of the rebuilt church took place on July 8, 1911. The bell tower was decorated with pilasters; both tiers on each side completed a triangular pediment. The second tier was completed by a small dome, topped with a lantern topped with a spire with a cross.

On May 8, 1923, the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah was given the status of a cathedral. From that moment until 1930, the temple belonged to the renovationists. On July 11, 1938, the Ilyinsky Cathedral was closed, and the building was transferred to the headquarters of the MPVO. During the war, the building was seriously damaged by bombing and shelling and stood dilapidated for a long time. In 1974, a fire destroyed the dome of the temple and much of its interior. In 1983, it was decided to begin restoration of the temple, and in 1988 it was returned to the diocese. On December 22, 1988, the chapel of St., which was not damaged by the fire, was consecrated. Alexander Nevsky. In 1989, the main altar of the temple was re-consecrated, and now we can once again admire this wonderful architectural monument.

The Church of the Prophet Elijah in Obydensky Lane in Moscow is easy to miss: it is small, but extremely important for parishioners. Over more than 3 centuries of existence, it has experienced a lot.

Temple of the Prophet Elijah- in wooden form - was built at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries in Moscow. The exact date of construction is unknown, but a number of written sources indicate this time.

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Story

In the Synodikon (memorial book at the temple), compiled under Patriarch Job in 1589-1607, the church is already mentioned. “The Legend of Abraham Palitsyn” can also serve as evidence: it describes the events of 1587-1618. In particular, it is said that Prince Dmitry Pozharsky at the end of August 1612, before the battle with the Poles, prayed in the ordinary temple of the Prophet Elijah.

The very name “Routine” is associated with the words “One Day”: it is believed that the wooden structure was erected in just a day.

In 1702, a stone one was erected on the site of a wooden building. At first they wanted to make it based on the model of the cathedral church of the Nikolo-Perervinsky Monastery, but due to lack of funds, instead of a two-story church, a one-story one was erected. The inside of the church is still preserved marble slab with the names of the creators - the Derevnin brothers.

In 1706, an antimension (fabric with a sewn-in particle of saints) was moved to the Church of Elijah the Prophet - it was placed in the chapel of Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess. The chapel itself was badly damaged in the fire, but was later restored. In 1819, the second chapel was completed and consecrated - in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul.

In the middle and second half of the 19th century, the appearance of the temple changed and has remained in this form to this day. Many prominent merchants donated money for the reconstruction: the merchant of the first guild Konshin, the Tretyakov sisters and their brother. Konshin also became the initiator and trustee of the parish school, which began work in 1875.

With the advent of Soviet power, the position of the temple shook, but did not change: it was supposed to be closed in 1930, but believers defended it. In 1941, a second order was signed, but the outbreak of war “saved” the church. In June 1944, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy” was transferred from the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Sokolniki to the Church of Elijah the Prophet, which remained there forever.

In 1973, Solzhenitsyn and Svetlova got married in the church, and later they baptized their children here.

Current state

Today the Church of Elijah the Prophet enjoys a certain popularity among believers due to its history, large number of shrines and location. In addition to directly religious affairs, the temple houses:

You can also book a tour of the church. or visit the library, which has more than 10 thousand books.

Appearance

The Temple of Elijah the Prophet is made in the Moscow Baroque style. This is a yellow-painted one-story building with a bell tower with 1 dome. Despite the modest decorations, it looks elegant and airy.

Inside there is a 7-tier iconostasis; the light green walls are modestly decorated with icons and patterns. Despite the large number of images, the inside of the temple looks light and spacious.

Shrines

Among all the shrines of the Church of Elijah the Prophet of God, the main one is considered to be a copy (copy) of the icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy”. The name is related to the story m, written in the second half of the 17th century, about a sinner who prayed at the icon of the Mother of God, and then committed atrocities. One day he saw the Virgin and Child live, but there were severe sores on the child’s hands and feet: because of the sins of man, Christ was crucified again and again. The sinner repented of committing evil, but the Infant did not agree to forgive him, and then the Mother of God also lay down at the feet of her son. Only later did Christ forgive the sinner.

The icon itself depicts this scene: a sinner prays to the Hodegetria icon of the Mother of God, the Mother of God holds in her hands a son covered with sores. They pray to the icon for spiritual strength and getting rid of negativity and quarrels, about getting the desired thing or finding lost people. Pregnant mothers can ask for an easy birth and healthy children.

Revolution Highway, 75

1782-1785, 1805-1806

The Church of Elijah the Prophet and Alexander Nevsky is located in the former Ilyinskaya Sloboda, not far from the junction of the Lubya River with Okhta.

In 1715, the Okhta Powder Factory was founded here, on the banks of the Okhta. Soon, the residents of the Powder Settlement wrote a petition to the Main Artillery Chancellery:

"Last year 1715, we, the gunpowder masters, were exiled<...>from Moscow to St. Petersburg for eternal life with their wives and children and assigned to the Okhtinsky gunpowder factories to work, and from St. Petersburg at a distant distance of 10 versts, and we don’t have the Church of God at these factories, since we have in that considerable spiritual need, our wives and children, too, and we, while working with gunpowder in mortal affairs, are dying without repentance and without communion of the mysteries of Christ<...>so that we are commanded to build a church, which a chapel is built<...>lest our souls fall in vain" [Quoted from: 1, pp. 276, 277].

The historian of Okhta, Natalya Pavlovna Stolbova, in the book “Okhta. The Oldest Outskirts of St. Petersburg” writes that this petition was written already during the existence of the wooden chapel. Local historian Alexander Yurievich Krasnolutsky in his “Okhta Encyclopedia” states that this chapel was built in 1717.

Be that as it may, construction of the new temple began in June 1721. Its consecration took place on July 20, 1722 in the Name of the Holy Prophet Elijah. This church was located slightly below the modern temple. Its first rector was Priest Grigory Mikhailov.

The appearance on Okhta of a temple in the name of the holy prophet of the Thunderer, who ascended to heaven on a chariot of fire, is hardly accidental. Explosions often occurred at the Okhtinsky Powder Plant and workers died. Over the 175 years of the plant's existence, more than 90 explosions occurred.

The city tradition of performing a religious procession from the Kazan Cathedral to the temple on Porokhov was associated with the Ilyinskaya Church. It is connected with the fact that during the drought of 1730, the rains came just after such a religious procession, which saved the city from fires. Since 1744, the tradition, by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, has become annual, carried out on August 2, Ilyin’s Day. It existed until 1769, when the chapel of the Holy Prophet Elijah was consecrated in the Vladimir Cathedral.

In 1742, the rector of the Ilyinskaya Church, Evtikhiy Ilyin, submitted a petition to the Artillery Office for the allocation of money for the construction of a new building. The old one had already fallen into disrepair by that time. Due to this:

"... followed, from the office of the main artillery and fortification, a decree of the Senate, addressed to the head of the plant, Captain Gulidov, on February 22, 1742, on the dismantling of the church and the construction, instead of it, of a new wooden one, on a stone foundation, according to the drawing of the architect Schumacher<...>The construction of the church was entrusted to the assessor of the office of the main artillery and fortification Polovinkin, and 649 r.ass. funds were allocated from the treasury for the construction, so that money collected for the benefit of the church from willing donors could be used to pay for it. Some icons, such as: the Last Supper, 4 local ones, 6 in the royal doors and 6 holiday icons, were painted by the icon painter Ivan Pospelov for 108 rubles ass." [Quoted from: 2, p. 352].

The new Elias Church was consecrated on July 17 of the following year. It was crowned with a spire covered in white iron. It was cold, so in 1760 a new limit was added to it, already heated. It was consecrated in the name of the newly-minted miracle worker Dmitry of Rostov.

In 1747, due to the theft of some sacred objects from the temple, services were not held there for about six months.

And this church building did not stand for long. It was dismantled in 1789, four years after the consecration of the third building of the Elias Church. The old iconostasis was transported to Sestroretsk.

The groundbreaking ceremony for a new stone church at the current location took place on October 18, 1781. It was consecrated on December 21, 1785 by Archbishop of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Gabriel (Petrov). In many local history articles about the Elias Church, the architect I. E. Starov is indicated as the author of the project. But the research of local historian Natalya Pavlovna Stolbova proves that he was the head of the gunpowder factory, Captain Karl Gax.

“9186 rubles 80 kopecks were allocated for its construction, and 8083 rubles 20 kopecks were spent. Part of the amount (7328 rubles 29 1/2 kopecks ass.) was issued from the horsemaster’s office, the rest was taken from the church sum<...>Notable things in the temple are: 1) a copper, gilded cross with 18 pieces of relics, embedded in a silver board. It was donated to the church, as can be seen from the inscription, by Evsey Grigoriev Agarev; 2) a copper cross, gilded, with a part of the life-giving tree and 6 particles of relics. It was donated in 1841 from the abolished Trinity Church to the estate of the actual Privy Councilor Olenin, known as “Shelter”; 3) an ancient cross, wooden, lined with copper; 4) 11 ancient icons painted on canvas by the painter Khristenek in 1784; this is the essence of the icon: the Savior, the Mother of God, the Nativity of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, the Lord of Hosts, the Holy Apostle. Pavla, Ave. Elijah, Mary Magdalene, Catherine, the Sower, the sacrifice of Elijah and his feeding on corvids in the desert; 5) “Prayer for the Cup”, an artistic copy of Bruni, donated in 1840 from the actual Privy Councilor Olenin; 6) the icon of the Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva, respected as miraculous and attracting many pilgrims, on Elijah Friday, when there is a religious procession<...>7) a shroud, picturesque, on canvas, with a convex image of the Savior in clothes made of crimson velvet, embroidered with gold and silver sequins and cords. Shroud, priced at 2000 rubles. ass., discharged from Moscow and donated by Colonel of the 2nd Garrison Artillery Brigade Bermeleev. Registers of parish and confession have been kept since 1782" [Quoted from: 2, pp. 352-354].

It is important to note that initially the temple consisted only of a round rotunda pavilion. It was cold, so in place of the bell tower it was planned to build a warm stone temple with a single-tier bell tower. It was erected close to the Ilyinskaya Church, and on September 23, 1806 it was consecrated in the name of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, the heavenly patron of the then reigning Emperor Alexander I. The author of the design of this church was the architect F. I. Demertsov.

Initially, the two churches were not united, but due to the close proximity, Demertsov redid the details of the rotunda facade. In 1841, their volumes were combined, since then it has been the Church of Elijah the Prophet and Alexander Nevsky. In 1875-1877, the architect N.V. Lisopadsky built a choir in the Alexander Nevsky Church, and an apse was added to the altar of the Elias Church. The interior decoration of the church was carried out at different times by I. Pospelov, K. Khristenek, I. Fedorov, V. Oransky.

Elias Church was home to the residents of Porokhov: employees, workers, soldiers and officers of the gunpowder factory. Here they baptized children, got married, and buried the dead. Near the walls of the temple there was a cemetery where one of the chiefs of the Okhta gunpowder factory, D.F. Kandiba, who died on June 1, 1831, was buried. Subsequently, this cemetery was moved beyond the Koltushskoye Shosse (now Kommuny Street).

In 1901-1902 the temple was reconstructed. The shape of the dome was changed, the bell tower grew by one tier according to the design of the architect of the Okhtinsky Powder Plant V.D. Simonov. During the next major renovation, the interiors of the temple were painted by I.K. Fedorov and V.Ya. Oransky. On July 8, 1911, the minor consecration of the Elias Church took place.

The period of godlessness that began under Soviet rule destroyed almost all the churches in the vicinity of Okhta. Only the Ilyinskaya Church and the St. Nicholas Church at the Bolsheokhtinsky cemetery survived. On Elijah’s Day 1918, the rector of the Kazan Cathedral, Archpriest Philosopher Ornatsky, held his last liturgy here. The next night he was arrested with his sons and shot. In the same year, the rector of the Elias Church, Archpriest Arseny Uspensky, disappeared.

In 1923, the temple received the status of a cathedral. On July 11, 1938, it was closed as “not used for its intended purpose” and transferred to the headquarters of the MPVO. During the Great Patriotic War there was a morgue here, and later a warehouse. In 1974, there was a strong fire here that destroyed almost all the interiors.

The temple has been restored since 1983. However, the dome was not recreated in its original forms. In September 1988, it was returned to believers, and Archpriest Alexander Budnikov became its rector. Church services began to be held here again. The re-consecration of the temple was carried out on August 2, 1989 by Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad and Novgorod. In 1991, a Sunday school was opened here, and four years later - a library of almost 3,000 books. Icons from the St. Nicholas and Prince Vladimir Cathedrals were transferred for the recreated temple.