The temple in honor of the prophet Elijah, erected in Sergiev Posad in the second half of the 18th century, is considered one of the best measurements of parish churches built according to the canons of the Moscow baroque. Unlike many other churches, Ilyinskaya survived the years of struggle with religion during the years of Soviet power with virtually no loss. And today we can admire its graceful proportions, exquisite decor of white platbands and a high bell tower.
History of the Elias Church
In the place where the Elias Church is now located, there used to be the poor village of Panino, which was owned by Vasily II. When the siege of the fortress walls ended Trinity Monastery from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders, after the Deulinsky armistice of 1618, two new settlements were built on the western side of the Lavra - Streletskaya and Pushkarskaya. Here, on the hill, the soldiers of the permanent military garrison were settled. The recently ended heavy siege convinced the leadership of the Trinity Monastery to have an armed army nearby, capable of defending the monastery walls at any time.
For parishioners, at their expense, a tent-roofed wooden Kazan temple with a side-altar in honor of the prophet Elijah was erected. Its first priest was Father Fyodor (Maltsev), who was a disciple of the Monk Dionysius of Radonezh. And Pushkarskaya and Streletskaya settlements were united into a single Ilyinsky settlement.
However, time took its toll, and after a while this wooden temple became dilapidated. Kelare Joseph Burtsev, a monk in charge of housekeeping at the Trinity Monastery, at one time received from the priests of the church Grigory Vasiliev and Kosma Gavrilov, as well as from her parishioners, petitions that it was about to collapse. Finally, in 1727, the Ilinsky side-chapel was dismantled, and the newly felled wooden church was erected next to the Kazan one.
Another 19 years passed, and both churches burned to the ground during a large fire that swept across Sergiev Posad and destroyed even part of the Trinity Monastery. The parishioners again turned to the Lavra with a request to build new churches. And in 1747, in the Ilyinsky settlement, new ones made of wood were erected, the Ilyinsky church and a chapel in honor of the especially revered Kazan icon of the Mother of God. On August 30, they were consecrated by the Hieromonk of Lavra Tobiya.
In 1752 a new Kazan temple was erected instead of the chapel. It existed for more than two centuries - until 1958. It was the only tier-type temple made of wood in the entire Moscow region. Now, on the site of this dismantled building, there is a memorial cross. And what the Kazan Church looked like can be seen on the model installed in the historical part of the exposition of the Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve.
The construction of the brick Elias Church began in the 60s of the 18th century. Preserved information that the brick for this temple was made in the Trinity Monastery since 1766. But, finally, in 1773, all construction work was completed, and the new church with the chapel of Metropolitan Dmitry of Rostov was consecrated with the participation of the governor of the Trinity Monastery Pavel (Peter Sergeevich Zernov).
In 1878, another temple chapel was built to the refectory building, dedicated to the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. And a little later, at the end of the 19th century, the church bell tower received additional superstructures for an oven and a book depository.
Throughout its existence, the Ilyinsky Church has never, even for a short time, stopped its work. In the pre-war and war years, he remained the only one in the entire city where church services continued to be performed. In 1946, it was decided to resume divine services in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. And the Ilyinsky Church generously shared with the Lavra the necessary utensils, candles and candlesticks, carpets and books. In 1960, the Ilyinsky temple received the status of an architectural monument of republican significance, and was taken under state protection.
Architecture and interior decoration of the Elias Church
The architectural design of the Elias Church is typical of brick parish churches that were built in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has three parts, connected to each other in one line, stretching from east to west.
The main volume of the temple is an almost cubic quadrangle, to which a high semicircular altar apse is attached from the east. The temple has a massive drum in two tiers and a dome. A one-story refectory connects the main room with a three-tiered bell tower. But it should be noted that the reconstruction of the buildings that took place at the end of the 19th century somewhat violated the overall composition of the temple.
Today the walls of the Ilyinsky Church are painted in a red-brick color, which contrasts very favorably with the white portals and picturesque window frames. Such decor makes the temple very elegant and one of the most beautiful in Sergiev Posad.
Inside the church, a magnificent five-tiered gilded wooden iconostasis is well preserved, most of the icons for which were created in 1855 by Ivan Matveyevich Malyshev (1802-1880). The same famous icon painter, together with his artel, painted the walls, vaults of the church and two other iconostases. Malyshev directed the icon-painting workshop of the Lavra and for 40 years was the head of the Ilyinsky parish.
The current state of the temple and the visiting regime
Elias Church is an active Orthodox church. Its doors are open to visitors every day from 7:50 to 20:00. Morning services are held here at 8.00, and evening - at 17.00. Temple holidays are celebrated on February 25, May 16, July 21, August 2, October 4 and 26, and November 4 and 10. There is a Sunday school for children at the church, and a library is open for parishioners.
How to get to the Elias Church
Elias Church is located on Kuzminov Street, 1/5. This place is included in the historical part of the old Sergiev Posad and occupies a high hill near the Kelarsky pond. It is not at all difficult to walk from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to the temple.
From the railway station of Sergiev Posad and the bus station located near it, you first need to go down to the Red Army Street, and then walk along Ilyinskaya Street to the temple. This path is short and is just over 1 km.
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