Address: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod region, Nizhny Novgorod, Sergievskaya street, 25
Start of construction: 1865 year
Completion of construction: 1869 year
Architect: Kelewein R.Ya.
Shrines: an icon with a particle of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh
Coordinates: 56 ° 19'24.1 "N 43 ° 59'13.6" E
Content:
The golden-domed and snow-white Sergievsky temple is a real decoration of the Ilyinsky settlement. Although this church appeared in the city only in the 60s of the XIX century, the history of the temples and monastery that preceded it began five hundred earlier. After the famous visit to Nizhny Novgorod of one of the most revered Russian saints - Sergius of Radonezh. Nowadays, the Sergius Church has been completely restored and accepts both pilgrims and tourists.
View of the church from the side of Gogol street
Half-forgotten Sergievsky Monastery
Since the XIV century, on the site where the majestic church with golden domes now stands, the Sergievsky Monastery was located. Most likely, it was created in 1365 during a visit to Nizhny Novgorod by Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius came here on foot, having received the blessing of the Metropolitan of Muscovy and All Russia Alexy. He set himself the goal of reconciling the local princes and concluding a strong political alliance between the Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow principalities. The Monk Sergius returned back to the Trinity monastery already by water - along the Oka and Klyazma rivers.
It should be said that the visit to Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod fell on bad times. Within two years, a plague epidemic took place in the Nizhny Novgorod land. And a terrible disease, which in those days they did not know how to heal, took a lot of lives. From these places, a devastating calamity spread throughout the northeast of Russia.
What part Sergius took in the founding of the monastery, which was later named after him, remained unknown. Only information has survived that during his visit he laid a small wooden church in the village of Likharevo near Nizhny Novgorod. Now this territory is included in the village of Koposovo, which is located in the Sormovsky district.
Historical information about the ancient monastery is extremely scarce. It was first mentioned in 1621. The letter of the Hundred then compiled reads: "Sergiev Monastery, which is on" Petushkov "(the name" Petushki "from ancient times bore the old Zapochatyevsky district of the city). After a big fire that happened in 1701, the Sergievskaya monastery, built of wood, was completely burnt out.
A year passed, and under Metropolitan Isaiah the monastery cathedral was rebuilt in stone, making it the Savior parish church. In it, in addition to the main throne, two chapels were created, dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh and Nicholas the Prelate. New construction became possible thanks to money donated by the famous Nizhny Novgorod merchant Afanasy Firsovich Olisov, who lived nearby. The main temple shrine was the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, painted in the 16th century. The people of Nizhny Novgorod revered her as miraculous.
View of the north facade of the church
Compositionally, the temple was built in the tradition of the "church-ship". The main volume, the building of the refectory and the high hipped bell tower, went in one line from east to west. Bright green tiles covered the heads of the church. In addition, the temple itself and the refectory room were decorated with a beautiful frieze made up of picturesque multicolored tiles.
In 1715, the church was on fire again. However, it was restored and a new consecration was carried out, dedicating the temple to the Monk Sergius of Radonezh. When more than a hundred and a half years have passed since the construction, the temple was badly dilapidated. In 1838 the old building was restored as far as possible. These works were supervised by the Nizhny Novgorod architect Georg Ivanovich Kizevetter (1808-1857). But everyone understood that this was only a temporary measure, and the old temple would have to be demolished. In the middle of the 19th century, the city authorities decided to build a new five-domed church in its place. Metropolitan Nektariy (Nadezhdin) especially stood up for this.
Temple history
The architectural design of the future temple was approved by a personal decree of the Russian Tsar Alexander II in December 1864. The construction of the church began after the citizens collected the necessary funds in 1865 and took 4 years. Then the new temple was consecrated. The city authorities then considered that the premises for church services could be increased. For this, the provincial architect Robert Yakovlevich Kilevein (1825-1895) made a special project and built oval extensions on the sides of the building, one of them as a vestibule over the western entrance. These low extensions somewhat violated the original composition, but allowed the church parable to receive additional space.
In 1937, when an active anti-religious campaign was underway in the state, the temple was closed, and its domes and the upper part of the high bell tower were also dismantled. Later, the building housed the creative workshops of the local branch of the Union of Artists - the so-called "Artist" partnership.
The street on which the church stands was renamed into Rabfakovskaya in 1923. Then she received the name of Uritsky. The old name "Sergievskaya" was returned to this street in the 1990s.
View of the eastern facade of the church
The believers were able to return to the temple in 2003. They had a lot of work to do. First, the accumulated rubbish was taken out of the building and the surrounding area. Then the partitions built for art workshops were dismantled in the temple, the lost domes were rebuilt and gilded. And the church building itself was plastered and whitewashed.
Three years later, the parish community fully completed the church bell tower. A set of 12 bells appeared on it, the largest of which weighed four tons. The re-consecration of the church took place in November 2006. All restoration work, which lasted from 2004 to 2006, was supervised by the artist-restorer and icon painter from Vladimir Dmitry Nikolaevich Mishchenko.
Today the Sergius Church conducts extensive missionary and educational activities. An Orthodox center for youth and a club for parishioners' families have been established here. The Nizhny Novgorod church adopted the methods of working with the deaf and hard of hearing, which had been successfully practiced for several years in the Moscow Simonov Assumption Monastery. Sunday services with sign language interpretation appeared at the Sergievsky Church, and a Sunday school for children with hearing problems was opened.
The monks of the icon-painting workshop located in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra painted an icon for the Nizhny Novgorod church with the face of St. Sergius of Radonezh. And now this image with a particle of relics has become one of the main temple shrines.
Domes of the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh
Architectural features of the church
The beautiful five-domed St. Sergius Church was built according to the traditions of eclecticism in the Russian-Byzantine style. This church is a vivid example of stylization using motives of ancient Russian, pre-Petrine architecture. It has attractive facades with striking relief decorations typical of Byzantine temples. Large gilded chapters sparkling in the sun are crowned with graceful carved crosses. On the western side, the church is adjoined by a four-tiered bell tower, which has a height of 30 m.
The current state of the temple and the visiting regime
The Orthodox Church is active and is open to all comers every day from 7.30 to 18.00. Currently, it has the status of the Nizhny Novgorod Bishops' metochion. In addition to the main altar, two chapels are consecrated in the temple. Church services are held here every day - at 8.30 and 16.00. On Sundays, the liturgy is accompanied by sign language interpretation. In addition, on these days, clergymen conduct evangelical conversations with parishioners. There is a community for the deaf "Spas".
Patronal holidays in the temple are celebrated on May 22, July 18, on the second Sunday in September, October 8 and December 19. Several Sunday schools have been opened in the church for visually impaired and blind children, deaf children and children with intellectual disabilities.
View of the main entrance and the church bell tower from Sergievskaya street
How to get there
The church is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region of the city, on Sergievskaya street, 25A. This place is located 1.1 km southwest of the Kremlin. You can get closer to the temple by tram (to the stops "Nizhegorodskaya Ulitsa" or "Ulitsa Dobrolyubova"). Further to the church you need to walk along Sergievskaya street. It will take about 3-5 minutes.
