Vyshny Volochek temples. Vyshny Volochek - Church of the Epiphany (Epiphany Cathedral). Address, opening hours and cost of visiting

They say about the Epiphany Cathedral of Vyshny Volochok that it is an island of the Kingdom of Heaven on Vyshny Volochek land.

Construction of the Epiphany Cathedral in Vyshny Volochyok

In the old days this place was called Otmoyny Island. On it there was a wooden Epiphany Church with a chapel of the Archangel Michael. In the mid-1770s, the temple fell into disrepair, it was dismantled and the throne was decided to be moved to the Kazan Cathedral. But there was too little space in it and the believers asked to build a winter Epiphany Church. The parishioners quickly received permission and construction began in 1810. The total cost of all work should have been up to 26,000 rubles.

Four years later, the construction of the temple was completed. At that time, it was one of the first empire-style churches in Vyshny Volochyok; it was covered with iron, the walls were plastered, the interiors were decorated with beautiful paintings and an iconostasis of “Corinthian design.” In 1814, the main cathedral chapel was consecrated.

In the second half of the 19th century, the cathedral was rebuilt in the “Tonovsky” style - it had just become fashionable. The temple was expanded, chapels appeared in it - in honor of the Presentation of the Lord and in the name of Michael the Archangel - as well as a bell tower. This is how we see the Epiphany Cathedral even now.

The Vyshnevolotsk Epiphany Cathedral did not close until the end of the 30s of the last century. Since July 1940, no services have been held in the temple. The authorities gave the former church building for a cinema, but did not have time to convert the temple - the Great Patriotic War began. Therefore, a warehouse was built in the former cathedral. What was stored there is unknown, only the memories of the townspeople have been preserved, who noted that that warehouse was guarded by a “sentry with a gun.”

Immediately after the closure of the Epiphany Cathedral, residents of Vyshny Volochok began fighting for the return of the temple. After some time, the authorities gave in and the first service in the Epiphany Cathedral after its resumption took place on April 13, 1947, on the bright feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. A huge number of believers gathered for that service; the temple could not accommodate everyone. There was no decoration in the cathedral yet, and the altar was covered with “curtains.”

The building of the Epiphany Cathedral is an important urban planning element and the main vertical dominant in urban development, so its restoration was undertaken quite actively. Restorers from Tver were invited, who began cleaning the wall paintings of academic writing of the 19th century. By now, most of them have already been put in order.

Inside the Epiphany Cathedral

The Epiphany Cathedral inside is a single space that combines the temple itself, the refectory and the altar. The load-bearing pillars do not dismember the internal volume, but rather organize it, providing additional space for placing icons.

Address: Tsninsky Canal Embankment
Years of construction: 1810-1814 and 1866
Architect: (1810-1814) A.A. Trofimov
Style: Russian-Byzantine

The Cathedral of the Epiphany is located in the central part of the city, the so-called slop island, located in the bay of the Tsna River. Built on the site where a wooden temple of the same name stood from 1742 to 1775. Built in 1810-1814 instead of the warm chapel of the Epiphany, which had been located in the Kazan Cathedral since 1776 (not preserved). The project was drawn up by the Tver provincial architect A.A. Trofimov, construction was carried out under contract by the Novotorzh merchant son Fyodor Ustinovich Suvorov. At the foundation stone of the church on June 15, 1810, Novgorod, Tver and Yaroslavl Governor General Prince Georg of Holstein-Oldenburg and his wife Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna were present. In its original form, the temple was a single-domed centric temple, close to the Empire style in its architecture. The square volume had two identical rectangular projections on the east and west (altar and vestibule, respectively), and the southern and northern facades were decorated with porticoes with four Doric fluted columns with entasis. The light dome drum rested on four square internal pillars. In 1866, the cathedral was expanded and rebuilt according to the project. Approved in 1864. The chapels of the Presentation and Michael the Archangel appeared in the temple. The four interior pillars, the north and south outer walls, and fragments of the west and east walls, converted into free-standing supports, were retained from the original building. In 1931, the cathedral was closed, and for some time the building was used as a warehouse. Later, in the 1930s, the iconostasis was lost. In 1945, when services were resumed, the iconostasis from the Smolensk Church of Vydropuzhsk (Spirovsky district) was brought to the temple. By 2000, it was replaced with a new iconostasis (the old one was returned to Vydropuzhsk). The brick walls are plastered.
One of the few surviving monuments of religious architecture in Vyshny Volochyok. The church in the Russian-Byzantine style, close in architecture to the “Tonovsky” direction, retains the core of the previous temple of the early 19th century. Currently, it is the main architectural dominant in the panorama of the central part of Vyshny Volochok.
Today, the Epiphany Cathedral is the main operating temple of Vyshny Volochok, its spiritual stronghold and one of the main attractions of the ancient city on the ancient portage. Here is one of the main, especially revered local shrines - a copy of the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Mozhaisky), made in the form of a wooden sculpture (XVI century), is also unique. Among the most revered icons of the Mother of God is Iverskaya. Vydropuzhskaya and called “Quick to Hear”, “Quench My Sorrows”, “Joy to All Who Sorrow”.
You can often see believers at the icons of the new martyrs of Tver and the holy martyr Vladimir Moshchansky (next to his icon, installed on the right side chapel, lie his pectoral cross and service book, donated to the cathedral by the granddaughter of St. V. A. Moshchansky). The cathedral has preserved wall paintings of academic writing from the 19th century, which have now been mostly updated by Tver icon painters and restorers. Today, statutory services are held in the church every day, and services are performed: prayer services, baptisms, weddings, memorial services. All services are accompanied by the singing of the church choir - one of the best in the Tver diocese. There is also a children's church choir at the cathedral.

Collection of architectural monuments and monumental art of Russia. Tver region, part 3. Moscow 2013. As well as site materials.

The Epiphany Cathedral in Vyshny Volochyok was built in 1810-1814 on Otmoyny Island, in the ring formed by the fast-flowing Tsna and the Obvodny Canal, in the place where a dilapidated wooden church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord previously stood.

In February 1775, a petition was submitted to dismantle the dilapidated church and move the throne to the summer Kazan Cathedral, which was built in 1771 in the city center and became its main cathedral. But after the request was granted, it turned out that the chapel could not accommodate all the parishioners. Then a new petition was submitted for the construction of a stone winter Epiphany Cathedral next to the Kazan Church. The “plan with façade” and estimate were submitted to the Ecclesiastical Consistory in 1809, and already in 1810 a new temple was laid in the presence of august persons. The Governor-General of Tver, Prince Georg of Oldenburg, who was directly involved in the development of the building project, as well as his wife, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, together with the procession of the cross walked to the site allocated for construction and laid two stones in the foundation of the new temple.

In 1814 the church was consecrated. “For strength” the temple was covered with iron and plastered. Inside the temple was decorated with the best icon paintings and an iconostasis of Corinthian design. This was the first time the Empire style was used in the architecture of Vyshny Volochok.

In 1864-1866 the cathedral was thoroughly rebuilt. From its original volume, only fragments of the western and eastern walls remained, which were transformed into pillars, as well as the northern and southern walls and, most likely, a light drum resting on four pillars. After this, the cathedral acquired the rigor of architectural design and impeccable clarity of lines characteristic of the pseudo-Russian style.

In the post-revolutionary years, the Epiphany Cathedral was closed (in 1931), but fate spared it - it was not destroyed, like many churches of Vyshny Volochok. During Soviet times, the temple was inactive; for some time the building was used as a warehouse. The temple was opened already in 1945.

Today, the Epiphany Cathedral is the main operating temple of Vyshny Volochok, one of its main attractions. Until 1984, the Andronikovsky miraculous icon of the Mother of God was located here, which was stolen. In the iconostasis and icon cases of the temple, icons from the 17th and 18th centuries have been preserved, incl. carved image of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk in the form of a wooden sculpture (16th century), Iverskaya and Vydropuzhskaya icons of the Mother of God, “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and “Quench My Sorrows.”

The temple also houses a particularly revered local shrine - the miraculous copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Believers often turn to the icon of the New Martyrs of Tver, as well as the SMC. Vladimir Moshchansky. There is his icon in the church - on the right side of the chapel, there are his service book and pectoral cross, which were donated to the cathedral by his granddaughter. Academic wall paintings from the 19th century have been preserved, updated by Tver restorers and icon painters.

Currently, statutory services are held in the temple every day. All services are accompanied by the singing of the church choir - the best in the Tver diocese. There is also a children's church choir at the cathedral.

Russian Orthodox Church in Vyshny Volochyok 1750 - 1840.

This study is one of several devoted to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Vyshny Volochek from ancient times to the present. I deliberately divided the history of the Orthodox Church in our city into separate periods. The period of church history from 1920 to 1947 has already been published on the pages of the Verkhnevolzhye Orthodox newspaper. He touched upon a difficult time for Orthodoxy in our city, the time of the closure and demolition of many of the city’s churches, the time of underground worship and martyrdom, as well as the time of the opening of the first Orthodox church in the city - the Church of the Transfiguration at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery. This period is limited by the opening of the Epiphany Cathedral.

The period of history that followed is directly related to the events of church life that developed around the Epiphany Cathedral. But it requires careful study and careful presentation, because... the deeds and actions of local parishioners and priests were often determined by government pressure on the local community. But the history of this period of church life in our city will have its own discoveries; just like the period of the first years of Soviet power, it is full of dramatic and sometimes very contradictory events.

But the period associated with the history of the city at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries is no less interesting and rich in various events. This is the time when Vyshny Volochyok received the status of a city, this is the time when the former Vyshny Volochyok pit came out of subordination to the Valdai spiritual board and ceased to be part of the Novgorod Diocese. The city formed its own Spiritual Board (since 1776), which from now on was subordinate to the Tver Spiritual Consistory. The first stone churches are built, dilapidated wooden ones are demolished, and a religious school is opened. At the same time, during this period, pressure was increasing on the Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers, with whose participation a number of dramatic events took place in the city.

Of course, the presented study will not reflect all aspects of church life. We will consider only the main milestones of history. A study dedicated to the Vyshnevolotsk spiritual board and the activities of the religious school will be published later.

Introduction. Nikolskaya churchyard on Vyshny Volochyok on Lsnya and Nikolskaya graveyard on Vyshny Volochyok near the Stolp.

Vyshny Volochyok is one of the oldest villages on the territory of the modern Tver region. Historian Vasily Tatishchev considers the first mention of Vyshny Volochok to be 1135. But this date is not officially recognized by historians. In the academic edition of the Moscow Chronicle, the first mention of Vyshny Volochok is considered to be 1196. But this date is still not reflected in the history of the city, although the historians who edited the publication of the chronicle in 1949 recognized this date as quite reasonable. Volok and Msta are also mentioned in the Novgorod charters of the mid-12th century. At the same time, the Imovolozhsky churchyard - the village of Beryozka, Vyshnevolotsk district (now the village of Beryozka, Vyshnevolotsk district), the village of Mlevo (Udomelsky district) and the village of Zhabny (Firovsky district) - were mentioned in the charters.

Based on these data, we can say that the settlement on the site of modern Vyshny Volochok is ancient, quite possibly existing since the beginning of the 12th century. The history of Orthodoxy in these places can be considered just as ancient, because missionaries initially spread the light of the new faith along the banks of the most important transport routes of that time - rivers.

Historian S.M. Solovyov, citing information about the conflict between the Novgorodians and Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who “sat” in Torzhok in 1214, mentions the latter’s command “ mark all the routes from Novgorod and the Tvertsa River" Tvertsa at that time, thanks to the ancient city of Torzhok that stood on it, had a lively transport significance. In the place where the Tvertsa came close to the Tsna River, Volok was located and the first settlement arose, which formed the basis of the future Vyshny Volochok. So it was possible to “detect” Tvertsa precisely in the area of ​​​​modern Vyshny Volochok. By the way, the name Volochyok, according to historians, is a diminutive term derived from the word “Volok”.

Here we should also mention the ancient route “from the Varangians to the Arabs,” on which the settlement of Volochan stood. Thanks to this path, Vyshny Volochyok received its further economic development. It is also no coincidence that Peter I chose this place in 1703 to build the first shipping canal in Russia, connecting Tvertsa and Tsna. Although several similar portages can be found between lakes and rivers in the vicinity of Vyshny Volochok. But the busiest of them turned out to be the portage at the site of Vyshny Volochok. In 1216, talking about the civil strife between princes Yuri, Vladimir, Mstislav and Yaroslav, the historian Solovyov cites the following lines about Yaroslavl: “ The first evil was not enough for him, he was not satisfied with human blood, having beaten so many people in Novgorod, and in Torzhok, and on Volok" Considering that all the described events for 1214 and 1216. take place precisely between Torzhok and Novgorod, it would be logical to assume that the mentioned Volok is Volok in the area of ​​modern Volochok.

So, with a high degree of probability, we can say that thanks to the busy and significant waterway that passed through these places, Vyshny Volochyok was one of the first in this area to be Christianized. Another question is how the Christianization of these places took place. From the Novgorod Chronicles we know about the serious resistance that the northern pagans put up for a long time, trying to preserve and protect the old faith. It is possible that not everything went smoothly in this area, but in the absence of written sources, it is premature to talk about any turbulent events associated with the adoption of Christianity.

But one way or another, the new faith took firm root in these places. Naturally, people did not immediately and everywhere accept the teachings of Christ. Somewhere they secretly continued to believe in the old gods, somewhere Byzantine Orthodoxy, having assimilated among the people, passed into a new, unique folk interpretation of the truths of the Christian faith. In Vyshny Volochyok, one can assume, this process went much faster than in remote areas of the Novgorod land. Being located on a busy waterway, Vyshny Volochyok was constantly filled with newcomers. Therefore, local settlers, in the process of communication, quickly assimilated the new orders of the Russian state associated with the adoption of Christianity.

The first Christian church was built on the territory of modern Vyshny Volochok, where until 1935 the main temple of the city stood - the Kazan Cathedral. At that time, the village was already the center of the ancient Nikolsky churchyard on Vyshny Volochek on Lsna. Near Volochok there was another “Vyshnevolotsky churchyard” - the Nikolskaya churchyard on Vyshny Volochok near the Pillar. Its center is considered to be the village of Stolbishche - the territory of the modern village of Bely Omut, located in the vicinity of the city. It was from here that the ancient Volok began. Although the Christian center of the churchyard until the 16th century was the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village. Fast. Perhaps the name of the village Stolbishche came from the pagan sanctuary that stood at the beginning of the portage with images of gods - pillars (pillars), in front of which travelers prayed and made sacrifices along the way from the Varangians to the Arabs.

Although another popular version connects the origin of the name Stolbishche, and the later name of the monastery Stolpensky, with one of the Moscow kings, who angrily declared, referring to the carved image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker: “Be you, Stolpensky, a pillar!” The tsar's anger was caused by the fact that the horses that were carrying the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker after the tsar's convoy stopped in the area of ​​the future monastery and did not want to go further. So, at the behest of the tsar, as the folk tale goes, a monastery was built on this site, where the carved image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was placed. After the name of this place, the entire Vyshnevolotsky churchyard bore the curious name “ Nikolskaya churchyard on Vyshny Volochyok near the pillar».

First mention of the graveyard " Nikolsky on Vyshny Volochok near the Pillar"We find in the Book of Bezhetskaya Pyatina for 1545: " The village of Stolbishcha and Nozdrya is the same, and in it a new monastery became, and the church in it is the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the peasant houses: two. Ondreiko, dv. Stepanko, 4 boxes of arable land, 20 kopecks of hay, obzha, and in Stolbishche there are 4 cells, and the elders live in them... Yes, church and Intercession repairs Lychno: courtyard of Abbot Ivan, dv. Sexton Samoilik, 6 boxes of arable land, no hay, church land is not allowed to live».

The official date of the first mention of Vyshny Volochyok is considered to be 1437. Volochyok was mentioned by Metropolitan Isidore, who was going to the Ferraro-Florence Cathedral. In connection with this, he compiled “The Walk to the Florence Cathedral.” The fate of this metropolitan, who accepted the union, is unenviable. His decision was condemned by the entirety of the Russian Church and he was deposed. He fled abroad in disgrace, where the Pope gave him the post of cardinal. This is how he appears to us in the surviving portrait.

The first authentic mention of the temple in Vyshny Volochyok dates back to 1517. The Austrian diplomat Sigismund Herberstein mentioned the temple, due to the fact that his companions were at the Easter service in the Vyshny Volochyok temple and “ate their blessed Easter cakes there.” Of course, this is far from the date of the founding of the temple in Vyshny Volochyok. It is quite possible that a church parish has existed here for more than one century.

The most complete description of the temples on the territory of modern Vyshny Volochok dates back to 1582-83. So in " Nikolaev Vyshnevolotsky churchyard according to the 7091 scribe book “In Vyshny Volochok there were two wooden churches: a warm one in the name of St. Vmch. Dmitry of Thessalonica and cold in the name of St. Nicholas. Church of St. Dmitry of Thessalonica was built on Otmoyny Island, on the site of the modern Epiphany Cathedral. This church burned down during a fire in 1724 and only in 1743 a new wooden church in the name of the Epiphany of God was built in its place.
alone.

On the plan of the Vyshnevolotsky pit of 1748, the wooden Church of the Epiphany was described as follows: “ 16. On Otmoiny Island there is a church in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord. 17. On the same island, church yards were built and their newcomers were allowed in." We see the image of the wooden Church of the Epiphany in the watercolor of Balthazar De La Travers, painted by him in 1786. The dome of the Church of the Epiphany is visible to the right of the image of the Kazan Cathedral immediately behind the slope of the St. Petersburg Bridge, then still wooden.

The second St. Nicholas Church - the cold one was a cemetery and was located in the center of Vyshny Volochok. Later, the Kazan Cathedral was built in its place (the area between the courthouse and the monument to V.I. Ulyanov - Lenin). We can see her image in the first known drawing of Vyshny Volochok, created by Augustin Meyerberg in 1661 - 62. Among the group of houses clustered on the river bank, we see on the site of the future cathedral a small single-domed wooden church with a hipped roof, and next to it a bell tower. The explanation for the picture says: “ Vyshny Volochyok, a village belonging to the Grand Duke of Moscow, on the Tsna River, where there is a crossing five miles from Kolomna».

Noteworthy in the lower left corner of the picture is the image of a wooden six-pointed cross on the shore of an island in the middle of the Tsna River. We can most likely attribute the cross installed on the island in the middle of Tsna to worship. Looking ahead, it should be said that it was at this tip of Otmoyny Island in the 18th - 19th centuries. There was a pilot Nikolskaya chapel, where prayers were served at the beginning of each water navigation. Isn’t the construction of this chapel connected with the worship cross that previously existed in its place, and the tradition of prayer services with the more ancient tradition of prayers at the worship cross for a safe journey along the river? It is difficult to answer these questions due to the lack of historical sources. Perhaps the cross marked the border of the churchyards - Nikolsky Vyshnevolotsky Bezhetskaya Pyatina and Derevskaya Pyatina, which ran along Tsna. Then he can be considered not so much worshipful as borderline. But it is not yet possible to answer this question in more detail.

Kazan Cathedral. The history of creation and the main shrine.

The history of the dedication of the main temple of the city to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is connected with the appearance of this image in the Nikolsky Vyshnevolotsk churchyard in 1724. During a fire that raged in the city, both Vyshnevolotsk churches died in the fire, but the Kazan Icon miraculously survived the fire. This event was regarded by local residents as a manifestation of God's special mercy, and from then on the icon began to be revered as miraculous.

In the same 1742, instead of the two previous churches that burned down, a new wooden three-aisle church was erected in the village. The main altar of the new church was consecrated in honor of the newly appeared shrine - the Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The other two chapels retained their dedications in honor of the Great Martyr. Dmitry of Thessalonica and Nicholas the Wonderworker. Looking ahead, it should be noted that this dedication was preserved behind the temple altars until the last years of the existence of the Kazan Cathedral in the city. The main shrine of the new temple was the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which became widely known among the residents of the Vyshnevolotsk pit and surrounding villages.

But by the second big fire in 1742, the wooden three-aisle church, along with the miraculous icon, was destroyed.

« The ordeal that befell the population was more painful and saddening because the cherished shrine, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which was revered by all, was not there., - priest Arseny Pokrovsky wrote about these events in 1909, - “Where is the icon of the Queen of Heaven?” asked many at the fire. “She’s not there; Apparently it burned down in the temple”... answered some of those guarding the things and property taken from the houses. “No,” said others, “it was taken out of the temple”... They rushed to search... but the icon was nowhere to be found... “Did unkind people really steal it?”

Quite a lot of time passed, but the people's shrine was not found. The residents were all despondent. Tears and sighs were heard among the believers: “What are we going to do? Are we really going to lose the protection and help of our Intercessor? ... Thus lamenting, we no longer began to think about earthly benefits, but through feats of prayer and fasting we decided to ask the Lord for mercy for our sins, in order to thereby gain the blessing of His Most Pure Mother.
The Lord is merciful to all who call on His name... Good news finally appeared with the gratifying message that they had found the shrine in a wild and deserted place two miles from the churchyard. With joyful hearts everyone hurried to the indicated place. And where there was an impassable swamp, where wild animals prowled and where unkind people hid, near three water springs, on a birch stump a wonderful icon of the Mother of God appeared to them in a radiant radiance, undamaged by anything. Comforted by the wondrous appearance of the shrine, reverently and prayerfully calling on the most honorable name of the Intercessor, they carry it to the village. Here again the warm prayers of the believers flowed and, as from an inexhaustible source, endless mercy flowed from this shrine again for the joy and consolation of those receiving guidance. At the site of the apparition there was a small chapel, and a wooden well above the spring. ».

In the Inventory of the Kazan Cathedral, this chapel, and the larger wooden chapel subsequently built next to it, were described as follows: “ An ancient wooden octagonal chapel measuring 12 arshins in all directions, it contains a dilapidated, simple-made wooden iconostasis in two tiers with movable icons. There are three wells near the chapel...

The lower well next to the ancient chapel is located in the small chapel. It contains an icon-painted image of the Kazan Mother of God, with miracles, behind glass, 1 arshin 8 vershoks high, 1 arshin 1 ½ vershoks wide. Another icon of the Kazan Mother of God in a simple icon case behind glass with icon writing. In this chapel is the place of the birch tree on which the icon of the Kazan Mother of God appeared».

In 1759, on the site of the burnt Kazan Church, with the general consent of the residents of the Vyshnevolotsky pit, the construction of a majestic stone temple began. On June 11 of the same year, Dmitry Archbishop of Novgorod signed the charter of the temple. Mikhail Ivanovich Serdyukov, the grandson and full namesake of the famous builder of the Vyshnevolotsk Water System M.I., took an active part in the construction and drawing up of the plan for the new temple. Serdyukov.

Based on the architectural techniques used in the construction of the Kazan Cathedral, one should judge the participation of the outstanding 18th century architect Savva Ivanovich Chevakinsky in its design.
With its proportions, the cathedral resembles the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Of course, the Kazan Cathedral is deprived of the elegant external decoration inherent in the Naval Cathedral in the Northern capital, but at the same time, when comparing these two monuments, one cannot help but conclude that they were created by the genius of one master. Another temple - the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in Vydropuzhsk was created using the same techniques with a restrained and laconic external decor similar to the Kazan Cathedral. Thanks to these two temples, we can judge what the main cathedral of the future city of Vyshny Volochok could have looked like in the 70s. XVIII century.

The version about S.I.’s involvement in the construction of the main city cathedral. Chevakinsky is also confirmed by the fact that the famous architect participated in the design of city streets, which were hastily rebuilt after the fire.

During construction, according to legend, it was decided to place the revered Kazan icon in a temporary wooden church. Which is what was done. But the next day the icon was not found in its place, but was found again on the same stump at the source behind the Vyshnevolotsk pit. Seeing this miracle, the residents built another large chapel near the source, in which they placed the revered image.

This extensive chapel is clearly visible on photo postcards from the early 20th century. A detailed description of it has also been preserved in the documents of the Kazan Cathedral: “ An ancient wooden octagonal chapel, 12 arshins in all directions, in it there is a dilapidated, simple-made wooden iconostasis in two tiers with movable icons" Many controversial pages will be associated with this ancient wooden chapel in the history of the city. It will remain for a long time a monument to the visit of the city by Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.

By the time the inventory of the Kazan Cathedral with its chapels was compiled, the cathedral naturally underwent various repairs and alterations. This is how painting appeared in the cathedral, covered porches were added, new icons appeared in the temple, and new iconostases were created for them. All this and much more led to the fact that at the end of the 19th century. the temple acquired the same appearance that we can see in numerous amateur photographs and photo postcards of the early 20th century.

We have a more complete picture of the city cathedral thanks to its detailed inventory. And in the absence of photographs of the interior, thanks to her we can imagine what the cathedral was like inside: “ The stone church is twenty fathoms long and twelve fathoms high. The walls of the entire church, both inside and outside, are plastered and painted with yellow paint on the outside, and from the inside the entire church - altars, domes and the neck of the main dome are painted with sacred alfresco images without gilding.

There are three altars in this church. The main altar in the name of the Kazan Mother of God. The chapel - on the right side in the south, the throne in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The chapel on the left side to the north is a throne in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius.
There are eight quadrangular pillars inside the temple. All of them are decorated with green marble with gold veins; six of them are surrounded by painted iron bars. The floor in the church is wooden, not painted.

There are sixty-six windows in the entire church, namely: there are twenty-four windows in the five domes, four narrow windows in the neck of the large dome, nineteen windows in the upper tier of the church, and nineteen in the lower tier.

Each window has one pine wood frame with glass. The thirty-eight windows of the lower and upper tiers have iron bars. The slopes in all windows are separated by yellow marble.

The church has five domes covered with iron, on which there are five iron crosses with apples, which are lined with copper and gilded with red gold through fire. The roof of the church is iron on wooden rafters, painted with green paint.

The entrance doors to the church are double wooden on three sides: the internal ones are paneled with glass at the top, and the external carpentry is solid, the inner side of which is upholstered with sheet iron; between them there are third iron latticeworks. The southern and northern outer doors are covered from the inside with rather thick wooden beams, on which iron brackets are placed from the doors and thus the doors are locked from the inside with locks; Moreover, these doors are locked from the outside with large and strong locks; the western outer door is locked with a round face and a large padlock. All internal doors are locked with latches.

At the entrance doors there are three stone porches with half-columns; each of them with stone steps and glass doors the full width and height; These porches are covered with sheet iron and painted with green paint. On each porch there are small cupolas with wooden cupolas covered with iron (as in the text - D.I.). The crosses are painted with white paint, and the domes are azure. In all three porches, sacred alfresco images are painted on the ceilings, in the western porch and on the walls..

In the western porch there is an entrance of fifteen steps made of wild hewn stone with iron bars on both sides, at the ends of which on the spiers there are four copper apples, gilded through fire.

This temple, with the blessing of His Grace Dmitry Archbishop of Novgorod and Velikiye Luki, began construction in 1759 and was consecrated with its chapels in 1771.

In 1837, all the walls in the altar and the temple were painted with sacred images for the church purse money ».

In mid-1771, the majestic Kazan Cathedral was ready for consecration. The celebration was scheduled for July 8, 1771 - the day of the patronal feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. By the beginning of the celebration, the miraculous Kazan Icon was also delivered to the temple. After the celebration, a dispute arose between the parishioners about where the miraculous image would henceforth reside. Some argued that the icon should be left in the cathedral, where it would be more convenient to come to worship it, while others pointed out that the Queen of Heaven chose the poor chapel behind Vyshny Volochok, and not the majestic temple, as the place for Her icon. It was my second opinion that prevailed in the argument. The icon with the solemn religious procession was transferred again to the chapel. In memory of this event, a religious procession with a miraculous image to the cathedral church and back began to take place annually on July 8 and October 22.

On the left side of the royal doors in the main chapel of the Kazan Cathedral was installed “ copy written in paint"from the miraculous icon. She was decorated with a silver chasuble with pearl trim.

This icon was also taken to religious processions held in the city. On May 13, 1846, the clergyman of the Kazan Cathedral asked permission from Tver Archbishop Gregory to restore the chasuble on this icon. They motivated their request as follows: “ On the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, when performing prayers in the houses of parishioners, the silver robe has become worn out due to its longevity and does not have the desired splendor" On the robe that the priests planned " to renew, arranging with the best embossed work and gilding "It was planned to spend what was available in the cathedral sacristy" a significant number of old silver crowns and frames from icons that were discarded due to their disrepair, and various silver items received through contributions from zealous people" Permission was received on May 28, 1846.

From the moment of its consecration until the last day of its service, the Kazan Cathedral remained the center of the spiritual, cultural and political life of the city. So in 1772 the Novgorod general &? Governor Yakov Efimovich Sivers, at the service for the city's patronal feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, read out a rescript from Empress Catherine II declaring Vyshny Volochok a city. From that moment on, the Kazan Cathedral became not only the center of the only parish in the city, but also the main city cathedral.

Wooden Church of the Epiphany construction of the stone Church of the Transfiguration.

On July 27, 1772, the Vyshnevolotsk voivodeship office addressed the Novgorod spiritual consistory with a notification that the Novgorod general governor Yakov Sivers had allocated a new cemetery for the city “ and then it was determined by a fence and planted with birches and a chapel was made on the first occasion " The allocation of a new cemetery outside the city limits was associated with the assignment of city status to Vyshny Volochok. According to the laws of the Russian Empire, the cemetery had to be located outside the city, and all cemeteries within the newly built cities were closed. Thus, the ancient cemetery near the walls of the Kazan Cathedral ceased to exist and the history of a new one began - Pyatnitsky, and with it the history of the third city church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

On September 25, 1772, it was announced to the Novgorod consistory from the city magistrate and the city mayor and a friend that “ The Vyshnevolotsk philistinism, at the cemetery designated by His Excellency for the burial of dead bodies outside the city, wants to build a warm wooden church with the city kosht, a three-altar church in the name of, namely: the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ with the chapel of the holy prophet Elijah and the holy martyr Paraskeva named Friday».

At the same time, the Vyshnevolotsk townspeople decide to pay attention to the dilapidated wooden Epiphany Church. On November 4, 1772, the Vyshnevolotsk spiritual board informed the Novgorod Consistory about the desire of the townspeople to build a cemetery church using the log frame of the Church of the Epiphany, and to abolish it “due to its disrepair.”

After almost a year of correspondence, on September 6, 1773, the Novgorod Consistory informed Governor Ya.E. Sivers that the Holy Synod gave its blessing for the construction of a new cemetery church. But the matter did not progress further.

The year 1775 came and the city clergy again paid attention to the dilapidated wooden Epiphany Church.

On February 7, 1775, the priests of the city cathedral Ivan Petrov, Vasily Stepanov, Pyotr Alekseev, deacons Evan Savelyev and Yakim Ivanov, sextons Platon Semyonov and Pavel Ivanov, sextons Fyodor Gavrilov and Ivan Ilbin, as well as “ of the city of Vyshny Volochek, sedate head Sergei Sorokin"submitted a petition to Archbishop Gabriel of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. " There are two churches in this town , - they wrote in their petition, - one stone three-throne in the names of the Kazan Most Holy Theotokos, and in the chapels of St. Nicholas and the Passion-Bearer Demetrius on the cold ones. The other two-throne in the names of the Epiphany of the Lord with the limit of the Archangel Michael is wooden and warm, but very dilapidated, and therefore there is no warmth in it during the sacred service and there is no consolation before the cold, which is why during the sacred services the church clergy, as well as those who come to prayer for the old and infirm not without extreme need».

Besides " By decree of the Holy Governing Synod, it is also allowed to build a church outside the local city in a cemetery" But since her " and to this day the construction has not yet been corrected"The clergy of the cathedral and the parish people asked" This wooden church should be dismantled and the holy antimension with all the decoration belonging to that church from the side-chapel of the Epiphany should be transferred to the designated stone church, where he will bless the construction of another stone side-chapel in the meal in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord, and the throne and the holy antimension of another wooden church of St. Archangel Michael should be moved to the cemetery , where from the ancient large church a small wooden church can be built again, unless it is contrary to the decree of the Holy Governing Synod, which ordered to build a new church in that cemetery in the name of the magnificent Transfiguration of the Lord with the boundary of the holy prophet Elijah».

Dismantle the dilapidated wooden church and build a chapel " for winter time"in the refectory of the Tver city cathedral, the archpastor allowed, but with the condition that the walls of the wooden church would be used to “heat” the warm chapel in the cathedral church. Regarding the cemetery church, Archbishop Gabriel explained: “ It would be more appropriate to build a new church in the cemetery and move the antimensions from the old one " The following year, 1776, in August, the Epiphany chapel in the cathedral Kazan Church was built and consecrated. Part of the iconostasis from the dismantled wooden Epiphany Church was transferred to it.

The construction of the Transfiguration Church at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery continued until 1782. In December, Vyshnevolotsk Archpriest Yakov Petrov “ with the brethren"turned to Bishop Joasaph of Tver with a request to allow the consecration of the newly built church. " With the blessing of the Holy Governing Synod , - the petition said, - in the past 1773, which followed the one shown in Vyshny Volochyok, in the place reserved for the cemetery, a stone church with two floors, in the upper one in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, in the lower one in the name of the Holy Prophet Elijah, was built; decorated with an iconostasis and holy images and equipped with everything necessary for the divine service, and therefore ready for consecration».

On January 4, 1783, Bishop Joasaph blessed the consecration of the new temple “ archpriest and brethren" The new Transfiguration Church became attached to the Kazan Cathedral. Divine services were performed in it by the priests of the Kazan Cathedral, and it was also used for funeral services for the deceased Vyshnevolochans.

The beginning of construction of the stone Peter and Paul Church, the construction of a fence around the Kazan Cathedral and bell foundry in Vyshny Volochok.

On August 17, 1791, during a service in the Kazan Cathedral, the new Novgorod and Tver governor-general of “different orders of the cavalier”, Lieutenant General Nikolai Petrovich Arkharov, who at that time was also serving as the chief director of water communications, read out “the highest and joyful message to all from Her Imperial Majesty news of the conclusion of peace with the Ottoman port.” Following him, he announced his desire to build a stone church in memory of this event on Palace Square in the name of St. Great Martyr Catherine.

The proposal to dedicate the throne of the proposed church to St. Catherine was not accidental. The memories of Empress Catherine’s visit to Vyshny Volochok and the water system were still fresh. And the area where it was planned to build a new church was directly related to the Imperial Travel Palace, where the Empress stayed. In addition, it was by decree of the empress that Vyshny Volochyok was declared a city, and by her decree, the wooden banks of the beishlots were “clad with stone.” The residents of Vyshny Volochok could not help but know about the traditions of building churches in other cities in memory of St. Catherine and for much lesser benefits of Catherine II.

So in Krestsy, in the neighboring Novgorod province, a stone Catherine Church was erected on the central city square in memory of the establishment of Krestsy as a city. Therefore, on August 27, the Vyshnevolotsk merchants and philistines " being in the city assembly, I had the reasoning... to announce that it would be built from the amount collected for its construction from donors and their public" The next day, the Vyshnevolotsk Six-Party Duma sent a report to the Governor General, outlining the decision of the Vyshnevolotsk residents.

At the end of August 1791, Bishop Tikhon of Tver and Kashin received a letter with the following content: “ Your Eminence Vladyka! My dear Lord! The society of Vyshnevolotsk citizens, filled with the Wisdom of the Creator of common prosperity, seeking in their hearts the most perfect gratitude for the mercy poured out on them from the height of Her sacred throne on the occasion of the Highest rescript announced to them by me on the signing of the preliminarchal articles of peace between the All-Russian Empire and the Ottoman Porte, as a sign of their most sensitive gratitude, intended to build a stone church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in Vyshny Volochyok on the palace square from the sum of voluntary donors and their public funds. In consideration of what is going on in my house and as a participant in the building of that church, I approach Your Eminence with the most humble request that you would be pleased to give your Archpastoral blessing to the construction of the aforementioned church, so that it would be possible to proceed with the drawing up of the plan and the actual completion of the building. In anticipation of your favorable response to this, with true respect and complete devotion, I always have the honor to be, My Gracious Sovereign, Your Eminence’s faithful and humble servant Nikolai Arkharov. In Tver, August 31, 1791. »

On September 7, 1791, Bishop Tikhon responded to the Governor General: “ Most Excellent Sir, Nikolai Petrovich! My dear Lord! Your Excellency’s most venerable writing, regarding the construction in the city of Vyshny Volochyok, at the request of the Vyshny Volochyok citizens, of the church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, I accepted with complete respect and ordered the consistory to do everything that was prescribed by the decrees named by Sovereign Peter the Great and the Holy Governing Synod. Since last, I am transmitting the list to Your Excellency with complete respect. Your Excellency My Gracious Sovereign, most humble servant Tikhon Bishop of Tver».

Mentioned in the letter of Bishop Tikhon, the decrees of Peter the Great and the Holy Synod prescribed that before the construction of a new church began, “ make an inquiry» about whose name the church will bear, what priests will serve in it, how many parish yards there will be and from which parishes they will be assigned. Gathering information took two months. Archimandrite Misail of the Novotorzhsky Boris and Gleb Monastery controlled the progress of the process. The Vyshnevolotsk mayor had to answer the questions posed.
Subsequent documents on this case have not survived. Therefore, it is difficult to trace the history of the construction of the temple in the period from 1791 to 1797. What is known is that during this period the church authorities were deciding completely different issues in the city.

In June 1796, tradesman Isaac Kodratyev Zimin " dare to bother"Tver Archbishop Iriney with a request for permission to build a stone church instead of a wooden country chapel in honor of the Kazan Icon of Our Lady" in the name of the Mother of God of Kazan with two chapels of the Intercession of the Mother of God and the holy Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul" He plans to take funds for the construction of a new church from the sums collected in the country chapel, as well as from the collected book.

At the same time, he raised the question that up to 1000 rubles are collected in the chapel per year, “ which are taken from that chapel to the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral, there is already a considerable number of such amounts in the cathedral, and where it is used is unknown».

In his next petition, Isaac Zimin asked to give him a collection book for the construction of a church. " With all diligence, I undertake, as the humble God-loving donors, to repair the equipment for the construction of the above-mentioned church, and since our city stands on a water connection, in which there is always a lot of people, then in God I hope to collect the amount for the construction of that church in the near future", he wrote in the petition.

In contrast to the information of Isaac Zimin, Vyshnevolotsk dean Pyotr Ioannov wrote on September 13, 1796 that the chapel collects up to 500 rubles a year, and this amount is used entirely for the needs of the cathedral. In response to this, the dean of Vyshnevolotsk and the clergy of the cathedral were ordered to prepare quarterly statements of the income of the Kazan chapel every year, and the amounts collected in it to be kept separately until further notice. The issue of money coming from collections in the Kazan Chapel will continue to be raised repeatedly in the future. So part of the money will go towards the construction of the Peter and Paul Church.

But the statements for chapel sums will be regularly compiled until 1806. In 1801, from the chapel sum they will also be taken from making silver vestments to the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral for the images of Sophia the Wisdom of God and the Mother of God of Constantinople for a shortage of two thousand five hundred rubles in the cathedral amount" We do not find an answer to Isaac Zimin’s request in the documents attached to the case. But obviously it was negative.

But let's return to the history of the Peter and Paul Church. On October 2, 1797, the Vyshnevolotsk society asked the new Tver Archbishop Irenei “ blessings and resolutions that in the name of this church there would be the supreme Apostles Peter and Paul and the border of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine" Thus, the city residents were able to solve two problems - the first: the church was dedicated to the patrons of Emperor Paul I, who had just ascended the throne, and the second - thereby they expressed loyal feelings to the new emperor and drew his attention to the problem of building the temple. So on November 8, 1797, the emperor allowed, by his highest permission, the construction of a church on Palace Square in Vyshny Volochyok and issued “ to decorate it 5000 rubles in banknotes ».

In the same October petition, the Vyshnevolotsk society also answered the question about the maintenance of the priests of the new church: “ In discussing the maintenance of the clergy of this church, the city duma believes that here and other sacred and ecclesiastical ministers of the Kazan Cathedral are supported by receiving money from willing donors for their labors and other things.».

The year 1799 arrived. The construction of a stone church on Palace Square finally got off the ground. " According to His Imperial Majesty's most merciful favor, a church in the name of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul begins to be built on the palace square.“- the Vyshnevolotsk Six-Party Duma wrote to Archbishop Pavel of Tver. She also reported that six thousand rubles worth of material had been prepared, but “ income has not yet been received" and asked the Archbishop to allow " take mutually» from the cathedral church, income collected in the country Kazan chapel.

The Archbishop blessed this endeavor, but with a caveat if “ parishioners will agree to lend money and thereby help build the church ».

But the general meeting also revealed the other side of the problem: the clergy and parishioners of the city cathedral agreed to lend money, but the funds collected from the cathedral chapel had to go to “ Tver almshouses for widows and orphans».

According to a certificate dated May 13, 1800, the income from the chapel amounted to 522 rubles. 13 kopecks and a special decree from the Consistory ordered that this amount be kept until further notice. But since the construction of an almshouse in Tver had not yet begun, on August 27, 1800, the consistory allowed the collected money to be used for the construction of a new church. The only condition was " so that this amount would be given for a certain time, at the end of which it would be returned without delay and unconditionally" At the same time " of the above-mentioned cathedral, Archpriest Peter Ioannov with his brethren, the Duma and the parishioners made a resolution: to lend money for a new church under construction from the money collected in the cathedral and the chapel belonging to it for a nine-year period».

But if the funds from the Kazan wooden chapel went to the construction of the Peter and Paul Church, then the income of the Kazan Cathedral was not spent anywhere. By 1802, about four thousand rubles had accumulated in the cathedral treasury, and Vyshnevolotsk dean Pyotr Ioannov decided to use this money to build a stone fence around the Kazan Cathedral. " In the city of Vyshny Volochyok at the Kazan Cathedral , - he wrote in a report to Tver Archbishop Pavel on October 30, 1802, - from the beginning of its construction there was not and to this day there is no fence befitting it; in the absence of this, from the crowd of people, especially on trading days, at the very walls of the cathedral during the priestly service, an obscene market cry and often an unspoken riot occurs; and from the horses supplied at that cathedral and the idle roaming cattle, over the coffins of the former cemetery here, a stinking eruption of various unclean things" In the same report, the cathedral archpriest asked “ build a corresponding stone fence according to the plan, advantageous for the cathedral ».

In response to this, the archbishop ordered that the city and provincial authorities be notified of the plans, and only after receiving the dean’s report that all of the above had been completed, he allowed “ establish a certificate and a highly tested plan for the fence " In the correspondence the year was 1803. “ November 21st during the recruitment process when Mr. Civil Governor was there “The provincial architect Trofimov was summoned to the city. And it was " he inspected the natural position at the cathedral of the place " On January 18, 1804, Trofimov presented the plan and facade of the new cathedral fence for consideration by the consistory. On January 26, it was allowed to build a fence.

The merchant Ivan Mikhailov Telyatnikov was chosen by general consent as the contractor for the construction of the cathedral fence. For his work he asked " from the cathedral sum at a price of six thousand five hundred rubles " After he began building the fence, the dean and city mayor Alexey Sokolov inspected the construction site. During the inspection, they found out that on the west the fence adjoins the walls of the cathedral, and the western cathedral porch remains outside the fence, which will create obstacles for religious processions. In addition, they decided to build two stone gatehouses on the sides of the stone cathedral bell tower, which was located to the east of the cathedral. following the example of public houses being built in the city of Vyshny Volochyok » for a fee.

In 1806, all the work was completed, but the costs associated with the completion of the fence were not paid. The merchant waited a whole year and in September 1807 he applied for repayment of the debt to the consistory. She, in turn, ordered “ issue legally» the amount specified by the merchant.
Contemporaries described the cathedral fence along with the bell tower as follows: “ The bell tower is stone, built at church expense, on two tiers; it is covered with iron, painted with green paint, there is a wooden cross on it, upholstered in iron, the apple and the cross are gilded. Eleven bells hang on this bell tower; of them:
1. On the first bell there is an inscription: “196 p. for the church purse amount, poured from the former (L. 71) bell of 1854 November 23rd day of the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral and the chapel of the Kazan Mother of God belonging to it and for voluntary donations of the amount. Weight 491 poods 5 pounds. Lit in Tver".
2. On the second bell there is an inscription: “1793 February 6th day, this bell was poured into the Vyshny Volochyok Cathedral on the Church of the Kazan Most Holy Theotokos, with money from the treasury of that cathedral, it weighs 123 pounds 30 pounds, lit in Moscow.”
3. On the third bell there is the inscription “1828 July 10th day, cast in Valdai. The master of bell-making, merchant Ivan Smirnov. Weight 87 pounds. 5 pounds.”
4. On the fourth bell there is an inscription: “On the 6th day of February 1798, this bell was cast in the city of Vyshny Volochyok to the Kazan Church (L. 71 volume) of the Blessed Virgin Mary with money from the government of that cathedral. It weighs 37 pounds.”
5. On the sixth bell there is an inscription: “4 pounds 27 pounds.”
S. Fence.
1. A stone fence on a foundation made of a wild plinth with 32 brick pillars, covered with iron, connected by iron gratings; the fence has 6 gates and 4 wickets with iron doors locked with simple keys ».

The bell listed in the inventory under No. 4 was one of the first bells cast in the city of Vyshny Volochyok. The fact that the bell cast for the Kazan Cathedral was not the only one is proved by the discovery of Vyshnevolotsky local historian E.I. Stupkin made a small bell with the inscription “ MASTE VASILIY VOROBEV CITY OF VOLOCHEK"(1837). In addition, in the book of researcher A. Glushetsky “The Bronze Word of Russia. What does the arc bell say?” six varieties of arc bells cast in Vyshny Volochok are given. Large Vyshnevolotsk bells have not yet been discovered, but it is possible that indications of them will be found in the inventories of other churches in the Vyshnevolotsk district.

Completion of the construction of the Peter and Paul Church, organization of the second city parish at the cemetery church and the beginning of construction of the winter Epiphany Cathedral.

Construction in 1804 - 1806 The fence around the Kazan Cathedral caused great dissatisfaction with the Vyshnevolotsk City Duma, which at that time was looking for funds for the construction of the Peter and Paul Church. In 1806, the City Duma was allowed to borrow money from the funds of the Kazan Cathedral for the construction of a church on Palace Square. But as it turned out, these funds are already being spent on building a fence and “ to the restoration of the walls in the cathedral, except for whitening with painterly paints ».

Unlike the cathedral clergy, the City Duma did not see “ necessary needs for the abundant decoration in the temple ", while nearby there is an unfinished church, which is more needed by the townspeople "in about the refuge in one cathedral church of oppression of the people, which takes away the convenience of the freest spiritual correction by crowding».

The result of all this was the appeal of the City Duma to the Consistory in 1807 with a request to still lend money to the city for the construction of the temple, and to order the cathedral priests to “ the use of the sum of money was carried out according to the general advice and situation with the parishioners " In total, three thousand rubles were required to complete the construction of the church. On August 8, 1807, the Consistory came to the conclusion that the city cathedral was obliged to loan this money to the city within a period of nine years. At the same time, the consistory ordered the cathedral clergy to “ in the event of inevitable needs at that council requiring a considerable amount of money to correct them, they did not proceed on their own, but would certainly report to His Eminence under fear of strict punishment otherwise».

Money was given to the city, but the city government paid off this debt only in 1820. On December 13, 1820, the receipt of the City Duma was returned back, to mark the fact that the debt was finally paid.

According to data for 1808, the dean archpriest Vasily Petrov “from theology”, 28 years old, priests Alexei Maksimov “from teachers of the Russian class”, 28 years old, and Ioann Fedorov “from theology”, 43 years old, served in the Kazan Cathedral Church; deacons Ivan Mikhailov, 64 years old, and Yakov Platonov, 39 years old, both were not “in school”; sextons Leonty Platonov, 39 years old, Stepan Fedorov, 37 years old and Pyotr Kondratov, 38 years old. Of all of them, only Pyotr Kodratov was “from syntax,” the other two “were not in schools.” Yakov Lvov, 40 years old, Stepan Platonov, 31 years old, Ivan Efimov, 25 years old, served as sextons at the cathedral - all “were not in schools.”

The parishioners at the city cathedral were 920 households, in them “there were 3090 male souls, “twenty-one dessiatines of arable and hay land were demarcated in the fields, and in the wasteland of Poreche there were seventy kopecks worth of hay.”

In 1809, the clergy of the Kazan Cathedral raised the question of building a new stone church on the site of the former wooden Epiphany Church. The Epiphany chapel in the city cathedral turned out to be “ it is so cramped that due to the large number of inhabitants it is inconvenient for religious services; Why is it that in winter, with great intolerance for both the celebrants and the upcoming ones, the divine service is performed in a cold cathedral" Let us remember that the city duma stated the same reason in its petition of 1807.

In their petition dated April 23, 1809 addressed to Tver Archbishop Methodius, the cathedral and city head Ivan Anishin indicated that they plan to build a new church “ near the cathedral in a convenient location available " It was decided to take funds for construction from the amounts collected by the cathedral in 1808 and those “available to arrive” in 1809. It was decided to add to the same amount the money collected in the suburban Kazan chapel. During the first half of 1809 this money was received “ up to four thousand rubles, and by the end of the current year, applying for past years, can receive the same and more quantitatively».

The former warm Epiphany chapel was planned at the same time “ abolish and choose walls ».

On July 28, 1809, Vyshnevolotsk clergy presented to the consistory a plan and section of the proposed cathedral building, certified by the provincial architect. The cost of the construction of a new stone temple, according to the architect’s calculations, should have been “ with roofing covered with sheet iron and with all clean finishing up to twenty-six thousand rubles ».

On September 16, 1809, the Vyshnevolotsk spiritual board received from the Consistory the plan and facade of the Epiphany Cathedral, as well as the bishop’s blessed letter for the construction of the temple. "A as a place where all the parishioners declared their desire to build this temple, although near the cathedral, but close to the water communication, - dean Vasily Petrov described the events that followed in 1810, - why didn’t they dare to start occupying it on their own and asked permission from His Imperial Majesty of Novgorod, Tver and Yaroslavl, the General Governor and water communications of the Chief Director Prince George of Holstinoldenburg, who, having demanded the said plan with the facade, ordered it to be supplemented in some places and then copied again and laying a new one the estimate, which multiplied against the previous one to one thousand two hundred rubles: - the entire estimate is twenty-six thousand seven hundred rubles - submitted to the highest approval of His Imperial Majesty, hspace = raquo;. In total, three thousand rubles were required to complete the construction of the church. On August 8, 1807, the Consistory came to the conclusion that the city cathedral was obliged to loan this money to the city within a period of nine years. At the same time, the consistory ordered the cathedral clergy and then on the last day of May 14, he deigned to send, with a copy from the rescript of His Imperial Majesty, the Highest approved plan with the facade to the Vyshnevolotsky Mayor, and this through the City Duma to me and with a copy from the mentioned Highest rescript to begin work: - Current On June 15th, during the stay of Her Imperial Highness the Blessed Empress Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna and Her husband in the city of Vyshny Volochyok, from the 12th to the 16th of June, at the request of the Vyshny Volochyok citizens, Their Imperial Highnesses deigned to march to the place allocated for the construction of the temple with a procession of the Cross, and upon completion according to the order for this occasion of prayer and the erection of the cross of the Lord, put two stones into the foundation with your own hands, and then marching in the same way to the cathedral with a procession of the cross while the bells were ringing, they returned to the apartment that they had in the house of the Vyshnevolotsk merchant Stefan Khokhryakov: - about which for your information To your Eminence, I most humbly convey, I have the good fortune to present and from His Highest Imperial Majesty a copy of the rescript».

The copy of the rescript attached to the report of the Vyshnevolotsk dean read: “ To His Imperial Highness Novgorod, Tver and Yaroslavl General Governor Prince George of Holsteinnoldenberg. At the request of Your Imperial Highness, in Vyshny Volochok, near the pier on the island, at the request of the local residents, I allow you to build a church in accordance with the plan and facade you intended. In St. Petersburg, May 3, 1810. The original is signed by His Imperial Majesty’s own hand, Alexander».

Judging by the initial design, the cathedral was a single-domed, cruciform structure in the plan, made in the style of classicism. Later, the winter cathedral will be significantly rebuilt in the second half of the 19th century, and will be decorated in the “fashionable” then “Ton” style in the empire. All that remains to be added is that reconstruction of the cathedral will begin almost immediately after its consecration. Already in 1828, parishioners will ask the consistory to allow “to build a chapel in the name of the Archangel Michael,” in memory of the fact that it used to be in the former wooden church.

In the year of the Patriotic War of 1812, Archpriest Vasily Petrov and priests Alexei Maksimov and Ivan Fedorov continued to serve at the Kazan Cathedral. There was only one deacon left at the cathedral - Yakov Platonov; the second deacon's position, according to the state, was empty. It was planned to appoint seminary student Fyodor Zykov to him. Deacons Leonty Platonov, Stepan Fedorov and Pyotr Kodratov continued to serve in the same way at the cathedral.

At the beginning of the second decade of the 19th century. in Vyshny Volochok there were four churches - the cathedral with four aisles - the winter Epiphany aisle had not yet been abolished, and two were under construction - the Epiphany " called the warm cathedral"and Petropavlovsky. Also, in the city cemetery at the stone two-story Transfiguration Church, on May 8, 1812, its own special parish began to operate, to which it was assigned “ 150 parish courtyards, with 358 male souls" Priest Alexey Ivanov “from teachers,” deacon Ivan Petrov “from teachers,” sexton Alexey Ivanov “from rhetoric,” and sexton Ivan Grigoriev “from pyitika” were installed at the cemetery church.

The second city parish arose under the following circumstances. The growing population of the city demanded the establishment of the position of a fourth priest at the cathedral, but Tver Archbishop Methodius did not allow this, but allowed the establishment of a special parish at the cemetery church built back in 1783. In 1813, this led to a serious conflict between the cathedral clergy and the clergy of the new cemetery parish.

Not only did part of the parish courtyards of the city cathedral go to the new parish - let me remind you that the cathedral until that moment was the only parish center in Vyshny Volochyok, but in addition to this the cemetery clergy " from the middle of this January 1813, having entered into service in it... we have already firmly established ourselves in the right to correct the needs of the whole city in the cemetery, and through this they began to provide a sensitive reason for the breakdown of the coldness in the attitude of our parishioners towards us».

Concern " coldness disorder"It was no coincidence that the clergy of the city cathedral expressed parishioners, because it " In this place we used the income, mostly from the service of liturgies and other commemorations in the cemetery church that belonged to us, now we are deprived of everything and in the future we do not hope, and especially the clerics, burdened with large families, can comfortably support themselves at one cathedral" In addition, at the city cathedral, the construction of two stone churches was carried out at once, and 21 tithes of church land, seventy kopecks of “hay cutting” and in 771 courtyards 2637 souls of male parishioners could not provide the cathedral with everything necessary for the existence and continuation of construction work.

The solution to this problem " to avert all the troubles, both between us and the Church of the Transfiguration clergy, and between our parishioners, that will inevitably occur", the cathedral clergy saw in the command of the diocesan bishop " designated clergy to adhere to parish rights (and serve in the upper Preobrazhensky chapel - D.I.), and allow us to perform liturgies and other commemorations in this Ilyinskaya Church to satisfy the requests of our parishioners».

Which is what was done. The upper floor with the side-chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord went to the clergy of the cemetery church, and the lower Ilyinsky side-chapel was provided with “ for the performance of sacred services and remembrance for the cathedral parishioners of those cathedral clergy» February 14, 1813

Also in 1813, the construction of the stone Peter and Paul Church was completed. The main altar of the church, with the blessing of the diocesan bishop, was consecrated by Vyshnevolotsk dean Vasily Petrov. " The church is stone, warm, 18 fathoms long with an altar , - contemporaries described the temple, - and a width of 13 fathoms and 34 arshins, a height to the top of the dome of 11 fathoms, and has a cruciform appearance. To the east, where the mountainous place is located, a stone tower was built, and to the west, in connection with the church, a stone bell tower was built... There are three altars in the church: the Main altar in the name of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul; side chapel on the right side in the name of St. Great Martyr Catherine. The side chapel on the left side is in the name of the Venerable Varlaam of Khutyn, Novgorod Wonderworker... The heads on the church, tower and bell tower are covered with iron and painted with copper in oil. On the domes there are osmic-pointed iron crosses, lined with chalk and gilded through fire. The roof of the church is iron on wooden rafters, painted with copper in oil... The porch is stone on the west side under the bell tower; it has 1 window on the northern part, and on the young side of the porch there is a room for a watchman... The porch on the southern and northern sides is made of white stone, and on the western side it is made of hewn plinth».

And in the summer of 1814, the construction of a new winter cathedral church, begun with the permission of Emperor Alexander I, was completed. On July 19, Dean Vasily Petrov and the cathedral elder, citizen Andrei Yasenovsky, reported to Archbishop Methodius of Tver: “ A warm stone church in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord for the correction of cathedral priesthood in winter times near the said cathedral... was erected at the expense of the church cathedral funds and covered with iron for strength, plastered inside and outside, decorated with an iconostasis of Corinthian design and the best icon writings and prepared for consecration with everything necessary».

The inventory of the newly built cathedral described in detail the iconostasis and the icons installed in it, the images placed in the altar and on the walls of the cathedral. In the section of the inventory, which was supposed to talk about the sacristy, utensils and library, instead of describing these items it was said: “ As for other utensils, the church sacristy and service books needed for priestly services, they can be borrowed from the Kazan Cathedral».

On July 21, 1814, Archbishop Methodius signed a decree issuing an antimension. And on October 23, Dean Vasily Petrov consecrated the main chapel of the warm Epiphany Cathedral. In the same 1814, the Catherine's chapel of the Peter and Paul Church was consecrated. Shortly before this, the clergy of the Peter and Paul Church raised the question of “ establishment of a religious procession on the day of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul ».

City parishes in the 20-30s. XIX century

We can trace the further history of the city cathedral from the titles of archival files kept in the fund of the Tver spiritual consistory.

As we said above, Vyshny Volochyok was a merchant city, due to its convenient location on a busy water system. The city cathedral was located on the market square in a square built in the first half of the 19th century. shopping arcades.

In addition to the cathedral fence, in 1820 merchants Sokolov and Ponomarev built “bargaining shops.” " Alongside this fence are shops, of which: The first one on the right side of the cathedral, near the bell tower, is stone, covered with iron, 14 arshins long, 6 arshins wide, 4 arshins high. This shop has three canoe doors, lined with iron - on the east, south and west sides. The second bench on the left side of the cathedral, near the bell tower, is exactly the same as the first; doors on the east, north and south sides“- this is how the shops set up by merchants were described in the cathedral inventory of the late 19th century.

In 1821, the iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral " gilded, of very good and high workmanship, darkened from long-term use and faded in many places, and the wooden floor, which was sent along the stone arches on the beams, both inside the cathedral and in the holy altars, from the wear and tear of the beams, sank and began to oscillate" Therefore, in July 1821, the dean of the city of Vyshny Volochok, Vasily Petrov, asked the blessing of the Tver Archbishop Simeon to correct the cathedral's dilapidations. Permission was received, and the archbishop specified that the cathedral altars should be “ raised and approved» on stone foundations.

In the same 1821, the third chapel was consecrated in the Peter and Paul Church in the name of Varlaam Khutynsky. A few years later, in 1828, the clergy of the Peter and Paul Church asked for permission to commemorate the dead along with the clergy of the city cathedral in the Ilyinsky chapel of the Transfiguration Cemetery Church.
That same year, a broken bell rings in the cathedral. At the same time, a new bell weighing 50 pounds was cast at the Peter and Paul Church. In 1829, the choirs in the Kazan Cathedral were abolished. Two years later, the roof of the cold cathedral is repainted. A year earlier, the roof of the Peter and Paul Church was repainted.

In 1820, the parish of the Peter and Paul Church was transferred from the parish of the village. Leontyev villages of Kunin, Borozda, Boriskova and Shishkova. In 1824, the Vyshnevolotskaya Soldatskaya Sloboda was transferred from the parish of the Kazan Cathedral to the Peter and Paul Church. In 1830, peasants from the village of Novaya Liniya were transferred to the parish of the Peter and Paul Church from the cathedral parish. And in 1835, on the contrary, merchant families were listed from the Peter and Paul parish “on the part of Archpriest Petrov.”

Most of the intra-church events in the history of Vyshny Volochok during the period under review are associated with Dean Vasily Petrov. Priest Vasily Petrov came from a priestly family. In 1807 he was ordained an archpriest, and he was sent to St. Petersburg for initiation. In the same year, Archpriest Petrov was appointed to the Vyshnevolotsk spiritual board. In addition to the duties of a dean - he also remained one of the priests of the city cathedral - Archpriest Petrov was also entrusted with catechetical work. The archives of the Kazan Cathedral preserved the case of Marya Matveeva, the wife of the Vyshnevolotsk water communications employee, ensign Ivan Eremin, joining Orthodoxy.

In July 1813, Marya Matveeva submitted a petition to Archbishop Methodius of Tver with a request to join her to the Orthodox Church. “Having been born and raised by parents living in the Vilna province in the Catholic confession and upon my marriage to the above-mentioned husband, I am still in it; but after living with him for seventeen years inside Russia among the confessors of the Orthodox Greek-Russian faith, I had a complete desire to join them and be a Christian of the Greek-Russian Church,” she wrote in the petition.

Also interesting is the document with the testimony of Marya Matveeva to the managing director of the Vyshnevolotsk Shipping System, court adviser and gentleman Fyodor Vasilyevich Bazhenov: “ That I am a loyal subject of the Russian Empire, my Polish gentry parents lived in the Vilna province of the Ovmyansky district in the parish of Borunakh in the village of Geistuny. Her father's name was Matvey Ankovsky, and her mother's name was Natalya, from a family of Polish gentry. I was brought up in the Catholic law, which is where I still am today, as the pastor of spiritual father Jozef in the parish of Boruna. 40 years old. I was not fined or put on trial. I wish to accept the Greek-Russian faith with a sincere desire, I promise to arrive in it until the end of my life».

On November 19, 1813, the builder of the Nikolaev Stolpen Hermitage, Hieromonk Misail, reported on the accession of Marya Matveeva to Orthodoxy. Joining. The rite of anointing was performed by Archpriest Vasily Petrov.

In 1822, a similar case was carried out under the department of the priest of the Peter and Paul Church, Ivan Alexandrov. He added to the Orthodox Church the peasant Johann Ionov, who was in the Tver order of public charity and lived in Vyshny Volochok, who was of the Lutheran faith.

When Fr. Vasily, the dean in the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral in 1836 arranged a “wall writing”. And two years later, Archpriest Petrov swore in the new Vyshnevolotsk mayor, Mikhail Fedorovich Vanchakov, with whom an entire era in the life of the district town would be associated.

In 1836, a wooden church was built at the city fort. We find mention of it in the case of the establishment of a monastery chapel at the Kazan countryside: “ Attributed to her (Kazan Cathedral Church - D.I.) two: 1st Church of the Epiphany with a throne on the right side in the name of the Archangel Michael, warm, built in 1814 with the diligence of parishioners, a stone building, without a bell tower, strong. The 2nd, built at the Vyshnevolotsk city fort, is wooden, built according to the Highest command, the service in it is carried out by the clergy of the cathedral church».

In 1837, after a long renovation that began back in 1826, the cemetery Church of the Transfiguration was consecrated.

In 1838, the city mayor, Vyshnevolotsk merchant Mikhail Fedorovich Vanchakov, submitted a petition to build a new stone church in the name of the Holy Trinity on the bank of the Tveretsk Canal.

In 1839, a cholera epidemic raged in the city. The case “On the distribution of certificates of those who died from cholera” is connected with this event. By the way, in 1831, when cholera was also raging in the cities of the Tver province, the Consistory allowed “to perform a public prayer service in the city of Vyshny Volochek before the icon of the Kazan Mother of God ... and to make a religious procession around the city with this icon.” The tradition of religious processions during epidemic diseases has since become firmly rooted in Vyshny Volochyok.

So in 1848, Vyshnevolotsk merchants Ivan Bogdanov, Ivan Voskresensky and honorary citizen Mikhail Vanchakov (there are 35 signatures in total on the petition) will ask the Consistory, following the example of previous years, to perform a prayer service “on the walls of our city in front of the holy icon of the Mother of God called Kazan... with its enclosure around the city". The townspeople will be allowed to do this on June 16, 1848.

In 1839, the clergy of the city cathedral asked to change the srachitsa on the throne and altars. At the same time, using the church purse money, stoves were built in the Peter and Paul Church, and a new iconostasis was built in the Transfiguration Church at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery. No special events that could have shaken the Orthodox Vyshny Volochyok were noted during this period, except for the persistent desire of the bourgeois Akulina Falovskaya to establish a monastery on the Kazan spring and the destruction of the Old Believer monastery in the area of ​​the factory reservoir.

Kazan country chapel and the first attempt to establish a monastery near it.

“Therefore, we wish even more to glorify the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.” From the petition of St. Petersburg merchants and townspeople, 1834.

The Kazan Country Chapel dates back to 1742, from the time of the first appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vyshny Volochek. First, above the place of the birch tree where the miraculous icon appeared, a small wooden chapel was erected, where the miraculous icon was placed. But then, due to the large crowd of people coming to the shrine, it was decided to build another, larger wooden chapel, where the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was moved. By the beginning of the 19th century, a whole ensemble of two wooden chapels and two wells above the springs had formed above the three springs at the site of the appearance of the Kazan image.

In the inventory of the Kazan Cathedral this place was described as follows: “ The middle well is 10 fathoms from the chapel to the east, above it the roof is arranged with a dome on 12 pillars, covered with sheet iron and painted with green paint. On it is a small head and a wooden cross, upholstered in white iron; to the east between the pillars there is an icon case..., decorated with carvings, columns and cornices, the carvings and cornices are gilded, and the columns and smooth places are painted with white paint, in this icon case there is an icon-painted image of the Sorrowful Mother of God behind glass. Above this image, in a semicircular gilded radiance, is an iconographic image of the Zhivonsny spring.

The farthest well from the middle one, along the birch alley, is located 94 fathoms 1 arshin to the north. Above it the roof is built on pillars, the outside and inside is upholstered on all sides with planks and painted with wild paint, on the roof there is a dome covered with sheet iron and painted with green paint, on the dome there is a wooden cross covered with white iron. In this small chapel there is an icon case with columns, cornice and carvings, which are gilded, and the smooth parts are painted with white paint; in the icon case there is an icon-painted image of the Kazan Mother of God behind glass».

Since ancient times, the country chapel was one of the most visited places in Vyshny Volochyok. Every year a procession of the cross took place here twice, in addition, the old St. Petersburg-Moscow road passed by the spring and many of the pilgrims passing and passing along it came to venerate the Vyshnevolotsk miraculous icon.

But at the same time, it was not only pilgrims who paid special attention to the chapel. There were also people who dreamed of building a special stone temple over the spring. One of these people was Vyshnevolotsk townsman Isaac Kondratyev, son Zimin. In 1796, as we remember, he tried to encourage the people to build a stone Kazan church with two side chapels on the spring, but this request was denied to him.

At the same time, the funds collected in the Kazan chapel attracted not only the thoughts of pious people who tried to use them for the benefit of everyone, but also evil people. So on September 17, 1799, in the morning, at about seven o’clock, the cathedral elder, merchant Kozma Olenev, came running to the dean of the city of Vyshny Volochok, Peter Ioannov, and announced, “ that in the chapel belonging to the Vyshnevolotsky Cathedral, located two miles from the city of Vyshny Volochyok, there is trouble».

Having gathered together with the mayor of the city, the elders, captain Melnitsky and the ensign of the mayor's regular company Pankratov, the dean arrived at the place. Where did they find " behind the guard hut five fathoms "the guard of the chapel of the tradesman Sidor Ipatov, strangled by unknown people, who was also found to have " there is a wound in the left ear from a blow with a sharp weapon " When examining the scene of the incident, it turned out that the miraculous image of the Kazan Mother of God had been stolen " lining lined with pearls and various stones, costing hundreds of rubles " The chest where the treasury was kept was broken into, but the amount in it was intact. On the same day " The captain of the police officers immediately sent along all the roads from the city of Vyshny Volochyok the lying ones in addition to this and to the Vyshny Volochyk townsmen upon notification of him that appropriate measures were taken to find those villains in the city of Vyshny Volochyok" The documents do not tell us whether the criminals were caught.

Over time, the veneration of the image located in the Kazan country chapel only increased. The great St. Petersburg road passing near the chapel only contributed to this. In December 1834, a bourgeois wife, the widow Akulina Falovskaya, wrote in her petition addressed to Archbishop Gregory of Tver: “ Near Vyshny Volochok, on the city pasture land near the Moscow road, from ancient times, and now there is a chapel in the most dilapidated state of a wooden structure in which the miraculous image of the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven of Kazan. It is very rare that anyone passing through does not enter to worship, except for the low classes of people in large numbers and noble persons, even in their lives, and the now reposed Sovereign Emperor Alexander in Bose, as well as the now reigning Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, to the Queen of Heaven in that dilapidated hut<поклоняются> ».

The same Akulina Falovskaya mentions in her petition about miraculous healings from the image “in various diseases.” The bourgeois wife Akulina Falovskaya considers herself to be one of those people. In her petition she testifies that she too was possessed “ I was suffering from a severe illness, so I protected myself among the dead " But after she made a vow to build a monastery near the spring, she received healing. She ends her petition with a request for permission to set up a monastery at the spring, and asks her to give her a collection book, in which she will personally put 1000 rubles.

The petition is also accompanied by a certificate from “ St. Pererburg and other cities of the nobility, merchants and philistines ", where they confirm the desire " build a monastery in the name of the same icon on the very spot of the stone building " In addition, the petitioners report a desire to first build a church over the spring “ in honor of the image of the Kazan Mother of God with two chapels: the first of John the Baptist, the second of the newly-minted St. Mitrophan of Voronezh the Wonderworker, so that in this church there would be in front of the Royal Doors the very source at which this icon exists, following the example of what now exists in the Korensky Monastery , which is 27 versts from Kursk».

In the same petition, subscribers, of whom there were 13 people, motivate their desire to establish a monastery in Vyshny Volochyok by the fact that “ The Vyshnevolotsk city society has faith with us in the church, most of them are wealthy schismatic people, why it is impossible to expect such a structure from them, and as it was said above, by healing from the Mother of God, citizens can be converted to the true faith of our church of the Greek-Russian confession" The petition is dated September 1834. Three receipts with a total of 216 signatures are attached to it.

On March 19, 1835, the Tver Spiritual Consistory considered the petition of Akulina Falovskaya. At the same time, the consistory pointed out that the reasons for the construction of the monastery are “intricate”, and that the fact that the new monastery will be able to support itself without an additional source of income is “ the essence is only fortune-telling means " and finally " the subject of the request itself is not typical for this petitioner, but in its own way is not appropriate, not solid and inconvenient: firstly, because the land on which the mentioned chapel now exists is the city’s pasture land, therefore without the consent of the Vyshnevolotsk city society and without preliminary orders of the civil government, in no case can that land be taken for a monastery; secondly, by the fact that the said chapel, from its very opening, is in charge of the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral, of which the clergy perform decent services in it and the income received from this chapel, such as those following the cathedrals, is used for the maintenance of their cathedral, and those belonging to the cathedral church in favor this, and therefore this chapel cannot be taken away from the cathedral without the consent of the cathedral members and parishioners».

In addition, ten miles from the city there is the Nikolo-Stolpenskaya Hermitage, and the establishment of another monastery near the city will cause a significant “undermining” of the income of the first.

In a word, Akulina Falovskaya’s petition was denied. On May 6, 1835, the Vyshnevolotsk city government also refused her. In addition, in response to Akulina Falovskaya’s request to give her receipts with the names of those who wanted to establish a monastery near the country chapel, she was also refused.

In March 1839, Akulina Falovskaya addressed a letter to Nicholas the First, at the same time sending another petition addressed to the Tver archpastor, where she asked for permission to build a wooden church on the spring. At the same time, she especially pointed to the vow she made during healing. To this end, on June 31, 1839, she received a special decree denying her request from the Holy Synod. But Akulina Falovskaya’s dreams of building a special monastery near the Kazan chapel will still come true in just a few decades. In the second half of the 19th century. the majestic Kazan monastery will be built here, which with its splendor will outshine even the most ancient monasteries of the Vyshnevolotsk land.

Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries.

“Who stubbornly adhere to their delusions, being bound, as they say, by the reckless oath of their dead parents.” From the report of the priest of the Kazan Cathedral Arseny Tikhomadritsky. 1842

The first case concerning the Old Believers' "priestless sect" in Vyshny Volochyok dates back to 1800. In accordance with the laws of the Russian Empire, Old Believers had the right to freely profess their teachings, although in some cases, be it baptism or wedding, they had to come to parish churches. For the fact that they did not attend services in the Orthodox Church, which was alien in spirit to them, Old Believers families paid double tax.

In July 1800, the Vyshnevolotsk tradesman Mikhail Filippov turned to Bishop Pavel of Tver with a request to understand the situation surrounding some of the Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers families. " Great-grandfathers, grandfathers and parents of both mine and many Vyshnevolotsk merchants and townspeople, numbering at least one hundred and fifty people, - Mikhail Filippov wrote in his petition, - were in the Old Believers, and paid a double salary, which is why I and others have been in the Old Believers since childhood, as everyone knows about, including the priests of the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral; Now I have been notified that the priests of this cathedral began to write in the confessional lists both me and others like me who had not been to confession, for which a fine is being collected from us..." At the end of the letter, he asks the bishop to instruct the Vyshnevolotsk priests not to write to him and other petitioners who have not been to confession.

Attached to this letter was also an interrogation of Mikhail Filippov dated August 2, 1800, in which he not only spoke about his origins, but also mentioned the internal structure of the life of the Old Believer community: “ A natural Vyshnevolotsk tradesman, his father was an Old Believer and adhered to the sect called Bezpopovshchina, and according to him, Mikhailo, as well as other Vyshnevolotsk residents, merchants and tradesmen, at least one hundred and fifty people adhere to the same sect, and therefore in confession with the parish priests never sometimes they do not partake of the Holy Mysteries, but confess their sins to each other, the dead bodies are buried themselves without a funeral service in a special cemetery set aside for them, although babies are baptized in the Orthodox Church by priests, they are then rebaptized themselves in triple immersion, marriages are married in parish churches according to church rites, and they are no longer re-married, they recognize the autocratic power and other leaders and honor them as having been appointed by God. And in this interrogation he showed the tradesman the very real truth».

According to the lists attached to these documents, the number of Old Believers in Vyshny Volochyok was 152 people. From the report of the Vyshnevolotsk dean Peter Ioannov, it followed that in total “ priestless Vyshnevolotsk merchants and townsfolk with their families » 246 souls. But after the “exhortation” of 76 people by the Vyshnevolotsk mayor Lodygin “from the secular side” Some turned to the Vyshnevolotsk Cathedral, others only to the church blessed for the Old Believers, while others remained adamant».

We do not find a solution to the question of whether justice was restored in relation to Mikhail Filippov and those 13 Old Believers in the documents attached to the case. Most likely, this issue was left without consequences.

We also find information about the Vyshnevolotsk Bespopovites in later documents. On November 23, 1835, Vyshnevolotsk dean Vasily Petrov described the structure of the Bespopovtsy community as follows: “ Dissenters of the priestless sect gather for pilgrimage on holidays and to commemorate their parents, but there are no special gatherings. The bodies of the dead are brought, as I learned from my investigation, from distant places" The habitat of the Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers was huge. The dean in his report mentions the buried “ three years ago or more "In a special cemetery near Vyshny Volochok in the town of Teterki, the sister of the peasant of the village of Kholokholny of the Afiminsky parish, Afonasy Kondratiev, as well as the deceased Nadezhda Noskova - the wife of the Vyshny Volochok tradesman Pavel Ivanov Noskova-Taranov, whom he brought to bury " from his own house built along the Bezhetskaya Great Road, sixty miles from the city" .

The Vyshnevolotsk Bespopovites were led by a mentor from the peasants of the village of Gusoki, Novgorod province, Ustyug district, Afanasy Fedorov. The mentor lived in a special chapel, built in Teterki, surrounded by “cells”. The dean described this chapel well in a report dated June 10, 1834: “ On the third verst from the town of Volochok in the forest there has long been a schismatic cemetery called Teterki, with up to thirteen small cells built in it, in which, as I could find out, schismatics coming from different villages, mostly female, are housed; In the middle of these cells, a two-story house was built crosswise, divided into two halves, of which to the east on the lower floor there is a prayer room, inside divided by a screen and a curtain for standing worshipers, on the right side there is a man’s room, and on the left there is a woman’s room, on the walls there are up to eighty different icons, in front of them are lamps with candles, in the middle is a small chandelier also with candles, three lecterns, of which one contains the Gospel, and the others contain old printed service books. On the top floor there are choirs with opening glass windows; in the other half of both floors the mentor lives with his servants - it is impossible to find out how many of them are there. This house, as I was informed, was built in 1833, supposedly according to a plan established by the secular Provincial Authorities, but I could not see this plan, and therefore it is not known whether it was built exactly as it appears in the plan; there is no cross at the top of the same prayer room...».

The Teterki cemetery, which the dean mentioned in his report, was at that time a kind of spiritual center for all Old Believers and not only those of the “non-priest” persuasion. So, in the same cemetery, other Old Believers were buried along with the Bespopovites, who “ to their prayer house (bespopovtsev - D.I.) and have nothing to do with mentor Afonasy, but accept fugitive priests from different places who come " As Archpriest Vasily Petrov writes in his report of these Old Believers, “ small amount", against " seventy-three males and one hundred and thirteen females"Bespopovtsy. The mentor of this small group of Old Believers was the Vyshnevolotsk tradesman Yegor Ananin Sergievsky, in whose house these Old Believers gathered for “ on holidays for pilgrimage gatherings».

On December 13, 1835, Tver Archbishop Gregory writes a letter to the Tver Civil Governor, Count Tolstoy, in which, after all the information about the Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers, he writes: “ Finding on my part that the said chapel exists illegally, and that it, as can be seen from the bodies brought around the district, is public, therefore harmful to Orthodoxy; that the peasant in charge under her, Afanasy Fedorov, does not live in his own place and is not minding his own business; and that all the cells built near the chapel serve as a haven for wandering schismatics, and form a kind of monastery or community, where over time a schismatic nest can conveniently form; I humbly ask Your Excellency to take all possible measures on your part so that the said chapel is destroyed, so that the cells built in the cemetery are also abolished, and the cemetery remains a dwelling only for dead bodies, so that the mentor of the schismatics is expelled from the Tver province to his place, to which he belongs, and so that the local authorities have strict supervision over him, as dangerous for Orthodoxy, and honor me with a notification about the future».

Along with this letter, a report about the cemetery and the “community” there was sent to the Holy Synod. The response to the letter was immediate. In a secret letter from the Holy Synod, the Tver Archbishop was informed that on January 17, 1835, by the highest command, the Tver Governor was ordered by legal means to cease the existence of the prayer house in Teterki and “ setting up separate cells there that serve as a haven for vagabonds " According to the same command of the mentor, the schismatics were to be sent to their place of residence and supervised.

On March 24, 1836, Count Tolstoy informed Archbishop Gregory that he had sent Nikiforov, an official on special assignments, along with a quarterly officer to Vyshny Volochyok to conduct an investigation. After which the mentor Afonasy Fedorov was exiled to the Novgorod province, his whisks were taken away during a search “ assigned to the dead" and the community charter were sent to the Minister of Internal Affairs, and the Vyshnevolotsk mayor was given an order to destroy the schismatic chapel.

The next case concerning the Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers is dated 1842. In February, Dean Alexey Vyshnevolotsky presented Tver Archbishop Gregory with information regarding the work carried out by the priests of the Vyshnevolotsk churches with the city Old Believers. The reports of the clergy are mostly monotonous and similar to each other. Let us cite one of them - compiled by the priests of the cemetery Church of the Transfiguration by Peter Strakhov: “ Among the osmium of souls of both sexes of schismatics, the family of the tradesman Pyotr Konov, consisting of four souls, has not been in the city for more than five years, and therefore I could not have any influence on them. As for the other four souls: during the past 1841, many times when I found an opportunity and a decent place, I tried to start conversations with them regarding their error; and lead them out of it, refuting their false opinion and proving the truth with decent passages of Holy Scripture and the rules of the Holy Fathers of the Church; 2) my actions were mostly in their homes, when visiting them on annual holidays and in the presence of the clergy; 3) The success is remarkable in that they become more condescending than before, do not shy away from conversations and listen without disdain, especially the bourgeois Evdokia Ivanova Tolstova; 4) There were no converts at my arrival in the past. February 13, 1842».

Similar reports were received from the priests of the Peter and Paul Church John of Archangel and Fyodor Zykov, the Kazan Cathedral - Arseny Tikhamadritsky, Peter Smenskovsky and Alexander Shapov. But if the priests of the Peter and Paul and Transfiguration churches limited themselves to general phrases like “ I had such success from my actions that these schismatics talk to me and don’t despise me "(from the report of priest Fyodor Zykov) or " living alone in their own homes, keeping the gates of their courtyards closed at all times of the day "(from the report of priest John of Arkhangelsk). Then the cathedral priest, Master Alexander Shapov joined the church " merchant's son» Nikolai Grigoriev Khokhryakov with his family. The dean himself also converted the bourgeois children Mikhail and Pavel Ivkin " brought up in the schism of the priestless sect».

From these same reports it also follows that the priests were obliged to monitor the converts. So Dean Alexei Vyshnevolotsky wrote that the previously converted families of the townspeople Luka Kochkin, Pyotr Lebedev and brothers Fyodor and Ivan Yasenovsky “ remain constantly zealous for the Orthodox Church“, but the tradesman Apollo Ivanov Knyazev, who joined the church in 1836, has not received communion until now.

After the accession of Emperor Nicholas II to the throne, completely different times will come for the Old Believers. In 1915, a stone church, founded in 1911, will be consecrated in Vyshny Volochyok. The cemetery in Teterki will exist until the middle of the 20th century. According to eyewitnesses, the cemetery was razed to the ground already in the post-war years, but even now traces of the rampart that enclosed the cemetery and burial mounds are still noticeable, and the descendants of the Old Believers buried in Teterki live in Vyshny Volochyok to this day.

Conclusion.

So, we have examined almost a hundred years of the history of Orthodoxy in Vyshny Volochyok. As we can see, from the only city parish, three independent communities with their own churches were formed, and Vyshny Volochyok itself ceased to be a pit and received the status of a city. The growing industrial and commercial importance of the city in the future will make it possible to open two more independent parishes on its territory, as well as maintain a prison and hospital church, and this is not counting the country Kazan church and several chapels.

Unfortunately, at present, seeing the deplorable demographic situation in the city and the almost complete absence of any religious activity among the urban population, hope is fading for the reconstruction of the Transfiguration Church at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery, the installation of worship crosses on the site of the Peter and Paul and Trotsky churches (in place of the first there is an ugly wasteland in in the center of the former city garden, on the site of another, a continuation of the entertainment complex “Chocolate” is being built), the revival of a source near the Kazan Monastery, which was lost during the years of godlessness. Unfortunately, there is a noticeable opposite trend towards a worsening of the religious situation in the city. Satanists hold their gatherings in the old cemetery within the walls of the Pyatnitskaya Church, in the city on the street. Moscow, in addition to the already existing two houses of worship of the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists, another house of prayer was built. The sect of Jehovah's Witnesses continues to operate in the proletarian areas; a sorcerer's office operates in the city on the street. January 9.
At the same time, in the vicinity of the city, churches in the village continue to be destroyed. Fedovo and Gorodolyublya. What does the church in the village have to do with it? Fedovo is located just two kilometers from the populous village of Zelenogorsky, which does not have its own temple.

Unfortunately, the territory of the cemetery and the site of the Kazan Cathedral is still used for parking at the courthouse, and on the site of the cathedral altar and the cathedral bell tower there is a monument to V.I. Lenin and a capsule with a message from Komsomol members to their descendants, which was to be opened in 2000. The worship cross, installed not on the site of the cathedral, but to the side of it, closer to the shopping arcades, is almost invisible due to the bushes that have grown abundantly in the inner square of the collapsing complex of shopping arcades. On the site of the Pilot St. Nicholas Chapel on the island of the Epiphany Cathedral there is still a vacant lot, and on the site of the Alexander Nevsky Chapel there is a parking lot near the second shopping rows. Along with architectural monuments, human conscience perishes, instead of open preaching, silent indulgence in lawlessness, “the abomination of desolation standing in a holy place,” instead of repentance, complete indifference to the memory and deeds of our ancestors.

Over a ninety-year period, instead of a pit with wooden churches and houses, our ancestors built a beautiful city with four temples and were not going to stop there. They established the tradition of an annual pilgrimage to the spring where the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God from the Kazan Cathedral appeared, they maintained and built new churches with their labor money, they lived by faith in God... unlike us - the Ivanovs, who do not remember kinship!

Denis Ivlev, Mr. Vyshny Volochyok - Tver - Moscow, 2011

Sources:
1. “Novgorod scribe books published by the Imperial Archaeological Commission. Volume six. Book of Bezhetskaya Pyatina. 1545", St. Petersburg, 1910.
2. “Readings and stories on the history of Russia”, S.M. Soloviev, Moscow, 1989
3. GATO, F. 160, Op. 6. Inventory of the affairs of churches in Vyshnevolotsk district.
4. Ibid., D. 6. “about the allocation of a place for a cemetery in the city of V. Volochek and about permission to build a church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord with a chapel and about its consecration. 1772."
5. Ibid., D. 23 “On the construction of a warm aisle in a stone cathedral church. 1775."
6. Ibid., D. 49 “Relatively before the construction of a stone church building in the city of V. Volochek. 1791."
7. Ibid., D. 54 “Relatively to the chapel standing three miles from the city of V. Volochok. 1796."
8. Ibid., D. 61 “On allowing the Vyshnevolotsk Society to borrow money from the local cathedral and the chapel belonging to it for a newly built church. 1799."
9. Ibid., D. 63 “About the theft from the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan chapel from the image of the ubrus. 1799."
10. Ibid., D. 64. “About the Vyshnevolotsk Old Believers, who adhere to a sect called Bespopovshchina. 1800."
11. Ibid., D. 78 “On permission to build a stone fence at the Kazan Cathedral. 1802."
12. Ibid., D. 99 “On the issuance of money to the Vyshnevolotsk merchant Ivan Telyatnikov for the construction of a stone fence at the Vyshnevolotsk cathedral. 1807."
13. Ibid., D. 101 “On the issuance of three thousand rubles to the Vyshnevolotsk City Duma for the completion of the Peter and Paul Church being built in that city. 1807."
14. Ibid., D. 113 “On the construction of a stone church. 1809."
15. Ibid., D. 135 “On the permission of the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral for clergy at the local Cemetery Church of the Transfiguration in the lower floor to perform priestly services. 1813."
16. Ibid., D. 139 “On the accession of ensign Ivan Eremin, an employee of the Vyshnevolotsk water communications, and his wife Marya Matveeva from the Catholic faith to the Greek-Russian confession. 1813."
17. Ibid., D. 148 “On the consecration of the warm Epiphany Cathedral. 1814."
18. Ibid., D. 185 “On the permission of Mr. V. Volochok in the Kazan Cathedral to gild the iconostasis again. 1821."
19. Ibid., D. 192 “On the accession of the Lutheran peasant Johann Ionov, who is in the Tver order of public charity and lives in the city of V. Volochek, to the Greek-Russian Church. 1822."
20. Ibid., D. 230 “On permission in the city of V. Volochek to perform a prayer service and make a religious procession on the occasion of an epidemic disease. 1848."
21. Ibid., D. 221 “On the permission of the Vyshnevolotsk bourgeois wife of the widow Akulina Falovskaya to build a monastery near the city of V. Volochka. 1835."
22. Ibid., D. 224 “On the destruction of the existing schismatic chapel in the city of V. Volochek. 1835."
23. Ibid., D. 227 “About the schismatics who are members of V. Volochek. 1842."
24. Ibid., D. 229 “On permission to restore the icon of the Mother of God in the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral. 1846."
25. GATO, F. 160, Op. 1, D. 18966 “Inventory of the Vyshnevolotsk City Church of Peter and Paul and its property.”
26. Ibid., D. “Inventory of the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan Cathedral and the chapels belonging to it with their property.”
27. “People's shrine in the city of Vyshny Volochek, Tver province. Historical and folk legend about the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Kazan,” priest. Arseny Pokrovsky, Sergiev Posad, 1909

Photos from the personal archives and collections of the author, E.I. Stupkina, B.N. Kuznetsova, G.K. Smirnova, G.D. Mironova - Speranskaya, Vyshnevolotsk municipal archive. Published with permission of the copyright holders.