Ordinary church. The history of ordinary churches in Russia

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

Since the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the Orthodox idea has come to the fore in the value orientations of the Russian ethnos and has taken a key place in every minute of the life of a believer. That is why, in the event of saving a village or city from a disaster and as gratitude for the victory over the enemy, believers began to erect spiritual symbols at the site of the event in an extremely short time. Thus, a new type of Orthodox temple building appeared - an ordinary church.

The Church as an invisible guide of man

The history of an ordinary church in Russia began in 996, when Grand Duke Vladimir, escaping with his retinue from the Pechenegs under the shelter of a bridge, according to this vow, built a temple on this site.

However, the spread of ordinary churches as temple buildings in Russia began only at the end of the 14th - the middle of the 15th centuries, this was especially active in the territories of Pskov and Novgorod.

The concept of "ordinary church" - with emphasis on the third syllable - reveals the definition of a temple building created in one day - "on one day".

The place of the spiritual principle in everyday lifehuman

Such a high speed of construction of the temple is explained by a simple rule - the church becomes a "clean" fertile place only after its consecration, therefore, work on its construction does not stop for a minute, and an ordinary church remained protected from unclean until the very end of construction and consecration strength. The collective act of construction, the giving of one's spiritual and physical strength served as an additional guarantee of this security and at the same time served as a process of rallying people on the path to achieving divine Grace. One of these temples, which has united hundreds of people and radiates grace every second, is the Church of Ilya Obydenny in Moscow.

Establishment of a temple in gratitude for salvation

All ordinary temples are created as symbols of Divine help and intercession for believers. Ordinary temples are always created for a great cause - according to the vow of the people, given to propitiate God, to avert disasters and catastrophes from people. For example, during the human pestilence in 1390 in Novgorod in the name of the holy father Athanasius, a church was erected on the same day and consecrated by Bishop John. A similar church was erected in Pskov during the pestilence of 1407 by the Pskovites.

In Moscow in 1553, during a pestilence, Ivan IV the Terrible ordered the construction of two wooden churches, built on the same day and consecrated in honor of St. Christopher and Cyril of Belozersky. This was the first entry in the Novogorod chronicles, which spoke of the construction of ordinary churches by decree of the Grand Duke.

The historical development of Russiantemple architecture

An ordinary church, according to the technique of its construction, differs from an Orthodox wooden or stone church. In specialized carpentry workshops, the components of the temple were made in advance, then in the right place and within one day the whole structure was assembled very quickly. Of course, due to its compactness, an ordinary church could not accommodate more than two hundred people. However, this number of parishioners is an average parish community, fed by one priest.

In its modern form, an ordinary church can be high - 15 meters high, 80 square meters in area and with a capacity of up to 150 parishioners - and low, which will be 12 meters high, but the area is only 49 square meters.

The wooden temple is made of glued beams or logs. A modern ordinary church is most often not placed on a foundation, but is built on concrete cubes. This is done due to the fact that its functioning in a new urban or rural microdistrict is calculated on a temporary basis, assuming the transfer of the temple to a new location when erecting a permanent stationary church on the old one. The newly erected temple also requires a period of settlement in the new location.

In modern Russia, an ordinary church is most actively built in the Far East and Siberia, due to the inaccessibility of standard building materials for these places and the short time of the year necessary for the construction of a stone church.

Artwork andicon painting of a Russian ordinary Orthodox church

In the modern world, the clergy pay great attention to the interior decoration of the temple, striving to get rid of excessive Byzantine luxury, and at the same time look dignified and noble, setting the parishioners in the necessary solemnly attentive mood and striking with the skill of icon painters and architects.

Therefore, despite the more than modest appearance, the ordinary church is a magnificent example of Russian temple architecture, including an Orthodox iconostasis, external carvings on the wings of the entrance and a dome sparkling in the sun.

Of course, ceremonial items - a censer, a font, a cross, candles - are purchased at diocesan offices.

Batiushka either blesses the icons donated by the parishioners, or the parish uses the services of full-time icon painters.

Ilia the Ordinary - the invisible patron of the Russian people

Prophet Ilya enjoys special respect and reverence among the Russian people, who is considered the patron saint of Russian aviators and airborne troops.

Prophet Elijah, during his lifetime a zealous exposer of human vices, a defender of widows and a formidable avenger of justice, who executed the priests of Yahweh and Baal, is the lord of droughts and rains. For Russians, on Ilyin's Day, celebrated on August 2, it was forbidden to work, and, according to legend, evil spirits went into the water, so bathing was strictly forbidden until next year. It was the date of family feasts, which duringmany provinces were preceded by a week fast.

Temple of Elijah the Ordinary in Moscow

Few temples have a long three-century history, during which they were periodically ruined and rebuilt. One of these temples is the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Moscow. This temple dates back to the 16th century, when a wooden temple was built on this site by Grand Duke Vasily III, according to the vow - “everyday”, “ordinary” - therefore called the temple of the prophet Elijah the Ordinary.

In 1611 the temple was burned down by the Polish troops, in 1612 the headquarters of Dmitry Pozharsky was located here. In the 17th century, it already functioned as a solemn chapel for the kings, where prayers were also offered for rain during a drought.

In 1706, the Duma clerk Gavriil Fedorovich Derevnin and his brother Vasily rebuilt the Church of Elijah the Ordinary anew, on the territory of which they were subsequently buried. In the same year, a warm refectory church was added to the main cold throne of the prophet Elijah for prayers in the winter season, which was badly damaged by fire and was restored in 1753.

Now inside the temple the walls are covered with magnificent paintings, mainly on themes from the life of the prophet Elijah. The church contains the relics of St. Athanasius Kovrovsky and the icon of Our Lady of Kazan.

Since 1917, the temple has not been closed for a second. Thanks to its rich history, it is not only an example of the Russian icon painting and architectural school, but also a great place for the transfer of sacred knowledge -a library, a lecture hall and a parochial school operate at the church of Elijah the Prophet.