In the Tver region, on the banks of the Volga, is the ancient Russian city of Kimry. One of its attractions is the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, built to commemorate the victory of Russian weapons in the war of 1812 and has become a kind of monument to this important event. Let's take a closer look at his story.
Village on the Volga coast
In ancient times, on the site of the current city of Kimry, there was a village that got its name from the nearby Volga tributary - the small river Kimrka. The first mention of it is contained in a letter of 1635, according to which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich granted it to his boyar F. M. Lvov, who distinguished himself in the diplomatic service.
The same document also mentions the Church of the Ascension of the Lord located in the village of Kimry. There is no description of it, but from subsequent documents dated 1677, it can be concluded that it was an ancient and extremely dilapidated building.
The pious beginning of the villagers
During the nextFor decades, the village has changed its owners many times. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, located in Kimry, was rebuilt, but over time again dilapidated, and in 1808 its parishioners, together with the clergy, filed a petition with the Holy Synod to allow them to build a new stone church in their village at their own expense.
Since the initiative of the villagers was not only charitable, but also not requiring financial costs from the authorities, the permission was given without delay, but both organizational difficulties and the war with the French that began in 1812 prevented the early start of work. Nevertheless, the initiative was made, and the construction of the temple was a matter of time. It only remained to find the necessary funds.
Generous brothers
As it often happens, there were voluntary donors from among we althy people. In this case, they turned out to be local merchants - the Bashilov brothers, who wished to give thanks to God for the victory over the French by the construction of the Temple of the Ascension of the Lord in Kimry. With their funds, in the spring of 1813, work began on a large scale.
Already soon, on the site of the former wooden building, the brick, plastered walls of the new temple rose, on the bell tower of which 10 bells, cast by special order by Ural craftsmen, were raised. The brothers did not spare money for the construction of a stone fence, which encompassed not only the temple, but also the territory of the nearby parish cemetery. Her decoration was openwork forgedgate located on the western and eastern sides of the complex.
Subsequent reconstruction of the temple
Another no less generous donor, or, as they say in church circles, a “temple-maker,” was another representative of the local merchant class, Alexander Moshkin. He contributed a significant amount for the reconstruction and beautification of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kimry. History has brought us information that in the 30s of the 19th century it fully financed a number of large-scale and very costly works on its reconstruction.
Thus, at the expense of A. Moshkin, the refectory was rebuilt, the former premises of which were dismantled, and the new one was erected much larger. In addition, on the site of the old, also dismantled, bell tower, a multi-tiered belfry was erected, on which several more bells were raised. He did not disregard the interior decoration of the temple.
By order of Moshkin, the images were painted and dressed in silver chasubles, which adorned the lower row of the temple iconostasis. Remained documentary evidence of other, less significant work. To top it off, the generous merchant presented the rector with a document, according to which, after his death, he left a significant part of the state to the temple and members of his clergy.
On the eve of the revolution
The final stage of construction work related to the Church of the Ascension of the Lord (Kimry) was the construction of a chapel that belonged to him, located at the place where Ordzhonikidze and Shchedrin streets intersect today. Subsequently, it was demolished, as it did not fit into the urban construction project. In the first decade of the 20th century, it was even supposed to allocate part of the territory adjacent to it to the parish cemetery, but the events that followed soon prevented the implementation of these plans.
The Trampled Shrine
Religious persecutions that followed shortly after the Bolsheviks came to power did not bypass the Volga city of Kimry. The Church of the Ascension of the Lord, like many other domestic shrines, was taken away from believers and declared state property. However, services in it continued until the end of the 1930s, but only on the basis of a temporary agreement concluded between the city authorities and the local religious community, which was under their vigilant control.
This continued until January 1941, when newspapers reported that the city's workers allegedly turned to the Soviet authorities with a request to finally destroy this "hotbed of religious obscurantism." In the USSR, as you know, freedom of religion was declared, but since the people ask, it is somehow inconvenient to refuse. It ended with the fact that the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kimry, whose history is closely connected with the victory of Russia over Napoleon, was closed, and its premises were transferred to the disposal of the oil mill.
In the time of total atheism
In the post-war years, oil production was considered unprofitable, the plant was closed, and the building, which was once the temple of God, went from hand to hand, transferred from balance to balance by variouseconomic organizations. So, at one time it housed a trading warehouse, then a transformer substation, a car repair shop, as well as a number of offices that had nothing to do with religion.
If we take into account, moreover, that over all these years the authorities have never bothered to make repairs, it becomes clear why the building of the former Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kimry met with restructuring, being in disrepair, ready to collapse at any moment.
On the wave of perestroika
But fortunately, as the "Ecclesiastes" testified, after the time to scatter stones, it is always time to collect them. So, in the early 90s, the city media suddenly became full of reports that all the same workers, at the request of which the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, which operated in Kimry, was once closed, resolutely demanded that it be returned to the local community.
Since this time it was impossible to refuse the workers, very soon the last economic organization that lodged in the holy place - "Kimrtorg" - was ordered to vacate the premises. Nevertheless, the first divine service, which took place in May 1991, was performed on the porch of the temple, with the doors locked by the leadership of the bargaining on the barn lock - their resistance was so stubborn.
The current life of the temple
Today, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord (address: Kalyaevsky lane, 2) operating in the city of Kimry again took its place among the leading spiritual centers not only in the Volga region, but throughout the country. The religious life of its parishioners is led byRector - Archpriest Father Andrei (Lazarev). Together with him, priests Valery Lapotko and Oleg Maskinsky are busy tending the flock.
Due to the unique features of its architecture, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord (Kimry) is classified as a cultural monument of federal significance. Its main volume, which is a two-height (two levels of windows) quadrangle, is crowned with five gilded domes. On the eastern side of the building there is an apse projecting far from the wall - a semicircular altar extension.
The temple's pink walls are lavishly decorated with white decorations for a festive look. Particular attention of the audience is attracted by a slender multi-tiered bell tower topped with a small cupola. Its lower part is connected with the refectory and serves as a vestibule - the first room located at the entrance to the temple.
