The Church of the Decembrists in Chita is older than the city itself

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The first Decembrists were transported to the Chita prison from the Peter and Paul Fortress in January 1827. Soon, 85 convicts had already visited the local casemates. In the three years before their transfer to the Petrovsky Zavod prison, the Decembrists noticeably transformed the small village, which later became the capital of the Transbaikal region. Almost two centuries later, only the house in which the lady-in-waiting of the imperial court Naryshkin lived and the small church of the Decembrists in Chita remind of their stay.

History

The cozy wooden building of this temple carefully preserves the atmosphere of past times. The Church of the Decembrists in Chita is the oldest building in the city. It is one of the main attractions of the entire Transbaikalia. Once the only temple in the city, today it has turned into a museum. The Church of the Decembrists (Chita) is unique. It is located in the oldest district of the city on Selenginskaya street. It is also known as the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk holy monastery. Its main feature is that in all of Eastern Siberia it is the only wooden church with two altars.

The fact is that its building includes two parts at once: the upper floor, consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and the lower one, the Archangel Michael. Few people know, but the Decembrist Church is seven and a half decades older than Chita. This wooden temple was built back in 1776, when there was a small settlement with three hundred inhabitants on the site of the city. Prior to that, people used to go to the prison monastery for prayers, but during the fire of 1774 it was completely burned down. Then the question arose of building a new church on the site of the burnt one. Money was collected from all over the world. As a result, a two-story building was built from larch logs folded like a “ship”.

Description

Initially, the foundation under the church was not erected, it appeared only at the end of the 19th century. This is the reason why the building has survived to this day. The church of the Decembrists in Chita consists of a temple, a refectory, a pentagonal apse and a bell tower. The second floor is narrowed by an octagonal dome. having a green roof and a small gilded dome on which a cross is mounted.

Similar structures are placed on the bell tower and apse. The Decembrist Church in Chita, the photo of which is presented below, was built without frills. It has reached our time in its original form, only the walls in 1883 were sheathed and painted in brick colors, and stone slabs were laid in front of the entrance.

Decembrists and the Church

Now the building is surrounded by a cast-iron fence. The walls are darkened, which makes the abode more mysterious and attractive at the same time.appearance. Many, having heard the name of the temple, think that it was built by the Decembrists.

However, this is far from the case. The Decembrists were transferred to Chita half a century after its construction. At the same time, their fate is inextricably linked with this church. When the Decembrist uprising was crushed in St. Petersburg, all participants were exiled to distant Siberia. 85 people were deported to the Chita prison. Following their husbands, their wives and brides, faithful companions, also went here. Eleven brave and determined women decided to share the hard fate of their chosen ones. The prison was located next to the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Church. Therefore, both the Decembrists themselves and their wives often prayed in the monastery. Moreover, it became the place where they got married. So, in the spring of 1828, in the church of the Decembrists in Chita, Ivan Annenkov joined his fate with the daughter of a French officer, Polina Goble. Thoroughly prepared for the sacrament. Since it was quite dark inside the church, the wife of the Decembrist Elizaveta Naryshkina donated her wax candles, which she brought from Moscow, to the celebration. But it was not without incidents. The commandant of the prison, assuming that the wedding would take place on the second floor, taking the bride by the arm, began to lift her up the very creaky stairs to the top. They got to the top, but immediately went down.

The incident greatly amused the guests. And today, having come to the Church of the Decembrists in Chita, where the museum is located, you can walk along this still creaky staircase, which has preserved the memory of the oldhistory.

Interesting facts

In 1839, another couple got married here - F. Tyutchev's cousin Zavalishin and Apollinaria Smolyaninova - a very young daughter of the manager of the Chita volost. Unfortunately, the bride passed away six years later. She was buried near the walls of the Decembrists' Church in Chita. The memorial plaque can still be seen. In the 40s of the 19th century, Zavalishin participated in the repair work in the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Church, which was carried out at the expense of the mother of the Decembrists Muravyovs - Nikita and Alexander. Volkonsky's daughter is also buried near the church. Little Sophia was born and immediately died. A sad little tombstone, which had been on the territory of the monastery for a long time, can now be seen in the Trans-Baikal Regional Museum. The Church of the Decembrists in Chita until 1875 was considered a city cathedral. Then it turned into a parish, since nearby settlements were also attached to the volost. Interestingly, in 1891 it was in this temple that the Decree on the foundation of the Trans-Baikal Region was announced, as well as that Chita was becoming a regional city.

In conclusion

The 20th century was not easy. Despite the godless time, the Church of the Decembrists (Chita) continued to operate until the mid-twenties.

Then everything changed: the building changed owners several times. In 1933, it was recognized as emergency, but they still tried to arrange a construction trust hostel in the temple. But the idea failed, and in the next 30 years there was a warehouse. It is interesting, but the church owes its salvation to … the Decembrists. Not oncethe idea of creating a museum in the building was discussed. And only in 1974 the Church of the Decembrists in Chita was included in the list of architectural monuments of republican significance. After that, large-scale restoration work began, which dragged on for eleven years. The museum dedicated to the Decembrists was solemnly opened only in 1985.