On a high hill, in the picturesque and bright city of Sergiev Posad, not far from Moscow, there is one ancient, beautiful and bright monastery, which is simply impossible to pass by without entering it.
This is Elias Church. Both externally and internally, it is unusually elegant, unique, simple, but at the same time it amazes with its grandeur and spiritual purity.
A brief description of the monastery, its history, present, as well as some information about the city itself - is set out in our article.
Description
Ilyinsky Church in Sergiev Posad is considered one of the most beautiful. And this is not just so, because its architecture is the style of the magnificent Pereslavl baroque, the most popular in the XVIII-XIX centuries for many Russian churches.
Bright dark red background of the walls, white portals and architraves of window openings, expressive silhouette of the roof, subtle proportions, elegant paintings– all this distinguishes the abode from the multitude.
The church itself is built of stone, single-domed, with a bell tower and a refectory. There are limits: the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God and Dmitry Rostov.
As the story goes, Elijah's Church in Sergiev Posad is the only temple that worked even in Soviet times. That is why many clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church served here at one time, believers constantly visited the monastery to pray and receive spiritual purification and wise instructions. The library was in operation.
But the temple has more than 300 years of history! And at one time a lot was experienced.
About the city
Sergiev Posad is a small town located 50 kilometers from the capital of the Russian Federation (70 kilometers by rail) and 200 kilometers from Yaroslavl.
Also included in the famous "Golden Ring of Russia", since on its territory there is a temple complex - the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (included in the UNESCO list). As well as the Stauropegial Monastery.
The population of the city is about 100 thousand people. The area is 50 square kilometers.
The Konchura River flows through the city. A temperate continental climate prevails. The territory of the city consists of hills.
Sergiev Posad (Moscow) is also known as the oldest Russian center where Russian nesting dolls and wooden toys began to be produced.
And the name is associated with the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who founded the Lavra. It was around it that a settlement was formed, which later became a city. Ata monument to the saint was erected and consecrated on the walls of the monastery.
Also in Sergiev Posad there are several museums, cultural centers, theater studios, educational and sports institutions, religious monasteries. One of the most famous churches in the city is Elias Church.
History
Ilyinsky temple (named after the holy prophet Elijah) is located on a picturesque hill, in the historical part of the city of Sergiev Posad near the Lavra. There is a pond near the Ilyinsky Convent, the water surface of which reflects the slopes of the hill, on which rises a beautiful building.
But back in the 15th century, the village of Panino was located on this territory. Later (in the 40s of the 17th century) a wooden church of Our Lady of Kazan was built. It was in it that the chapel of the prophet Elijah was first equipped.
Already in the 18th century, the adjacent part of the monastery was dismantled and a temple named after this saint was built nearby. But soon there was a fire in which both structures burned down.
The New Elias Church in Sergiev Posad, known to parishioners, pilgrims and guests of the city today, was rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century, and consecrated in 1773 by Hieromonk Pavel of the Lavra.
A little later (after 5 years) in the space of the Refectory, a chapel of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God was equipped, and in the 19th century a library room was attached to the building of the bell tower.
The monastery has preserved many icons painted in the middle of the 19th century, as well as wall paintings (the author of the icon painting is Ivan Malyshev).
Temple neverclosed, even in Soviet times, services continued, prayers, baptisms, weddings.
After the great Victory in the fall of 1945, the Moscow Patriarch Alexy I visited the St. Ilyinsky Church in Sergiev Posad.
When Archimandrite Guria revived the Lavra choir. Also, the clergy of the monastery have been helping students of the local vocational school (nursing department) for many decades in caring for the elderly and children from the orphanage.
Resident Today
The spiritual and feasible physical labor of the servants of the Elijah Church continues at the present time. Parishioners and monks also work closely with the medical institutions of Sergiev Posad.
And there is also a Sunday school for children, where they study Holy Scripture, music, painting.
The library is open to all parishioners, as it was many years ago. Within its walls are collected the best spiritual works that have been preserved to the maximum extent (compared to other churches) during the difficult military and revolutionary years.
Information
This monastery is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful and unique in the city, located in such a picturesque and bright corner of the country.
Address of Elias Church: Sergiev Posad, Kuzminova street, 1/5, Moscow region.
You can get from Moscow by your own transport or by bus (total 75 kilometers on the road), as well as by rail (70 kilometers) - from the Yaroslavl station.
Temple opening hours: from Mondayto Friday - from 7.45 to 19.00.
