On the banks of the Volga, where the Kotorosl River flows into it, the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl is spread, since ancient times it has been famous for its holy places, one of which is the Church of the Archangel Michael, towering near the walls of the Transfiguration Monastery. Built in honor of the leader of the Heavenly Host, today, as in previous years, it serves as a place of spiritual nourishment for the defenders of Russia.
Church in the name of the patron saint of warriors
Ancient chronicles and church archives that have come down to us from past times tell about who and when the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) was built, the history of which is inseparable from the military glory of Russia. Among other documents there is a charter drawn up in 1530. It tells about how the Novgorod prince Konstantin ordered to lay two churches in Yaroslavl, one of which was the Assumption Cathedral, and he dedicated the second to the patron of military people, on whom not only well-being, but also the very life of Russians then (and now) depended people.
This information allows us to establish with high certainty thatthe Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) was built in 1215, since the exact date of the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, erected simultaneously with it, is known from the archives. From the same sources it is clear that after eighty years it became very dilapidated, as it was built of wood - a material, as you know, short-lived, and was rebuilt anew already in stone by order of Princess Anna - the wife of the Yaroslavl appanage prince Fyodor Cherny.
The granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor
It is curious that this Yaroslavl prince and his wife are mentioned in the annals in connection with one very romantic story. The fact is that Black is not the name of the prince, but his nickname, which comes from the Slavic word “black”, which means “beautiful”. Indeed, there is evidence that he was a man of extraordinary beauty, which was immediately noticed by the wife of the Tatar Khan Nogai, to whom the prince once arrived for a visit.
Having fallen in love with a handsome Russian at first sight, she, nevertheless, understood what threatened both of them if her husband had even the slightest reason for jealousy. Therefore, not being able to give him love, she gave him her daughter, who was named Anna in holy baptism, with whom the prince forever found a particle of her heart. It should be added that the wife of the khan was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and, undoubtedly, was a refined nature. Here is her daughter, the granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor, who became a faithful companion to the handsome prince, and ordered to rebuildChurch of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl).
Memory of the father and grief for the stepson
On the question of why the princess, when building a church, dedicated it specifically to Michael the Archangel, historians have divided opinions. Some explain this by the desire to perpetuate the memory of the father, who bore the name Mikhail, others tend to see in him grief for the untimely deceased beloved stepson Mikhail - the son of Prince Fyodor from his first wife.
From those ancient times, several icons have come down to us, which, after a long break, returned to the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl). A photo of one of them - the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - is presented in the article. In addition, the most revered shrines of the temple are: the image of the Archangel Michael, seized in the thirties and then placed in the Tretyakov Gallery, and the icon of St. Anthony the Great, painted by an unknown master of the Novgorod school at the beginning of the 14th century.
Garrison Church
After the accession to the throne in 1645 of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the entire nearby territory was given over to the settlements of archers, and the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) became their garrison church, since the saint in whose honor it was consecrated was considered the original patron of military of people. This status, having been preserved for it for centuries, has come down to our days. Then, being at the disposal of the military department, it was overhauled and partially rebuilt.
However, if we turn to the documents, it is easy to make sure that the governors of Yaroslavl actually turned out to berather stingy, and the sovereign boyars were in no hurry to fork out. There was a lot of honor from the transfer of the temple to the military department, but there was no money for repairs. The Yaroslavl merchants had to be pleased about the splendor of the garrison church and lighten their tight wallets a little.
Behind all the delays, the repair dragged on for many years and was completed only in the eighties of the 17th century, after the accession to the throne of Peter I, during whose reign many wars were fought, and the patronage of the Archangel Michael was relevant.
The appearance of the warrior temple
Such a long period of repair of the church left its mark on its appearance. Over the years, the architectural fashion has changed, and with it the tastes of the merchants, who paid for the work, and, accordingly, dictated their requirements to architects. As a result, a captious eye can detect in her features traces of several styles that replaced each other in that era.
In its planning, the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl), old photos of which have survived to this day and give an idea of how it looked before, does not go beyond the traditions that once existed in the Volga cities. It is based on an unchanging quadrangle, ending with three apses - rounded ledges of the building, inside which are altar spaces.
Traditional is the high basement - the lower floor of the building, intended for household needs, and in large trading cities, as Yaroslavl has always been, often used to store goods - the benefit of the marketwas always there. God-loving merchants, caring for the soul, never forgot about mammon.
Facade, bell tower and interior painting
The church bell tower is an integral part of any temple complex - made in accordance with the tastes of the customers who paid for its construction. This is a rather squat heavy structure with a tented completion. Particularly pleasing to the eye is the design of the facade, richly decorated with carved window frames and the so-called fly - rectangular recesses in which picturesque colored tiles are placed. Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) with three altars. In addition to the main limit, there are two more, one of which, dedicated to the Solovetsky holy miracle workers, is crowned with an elegant turret.
The undoubted attraction of the church are the frescoes made in 1731 by the artel of Novgorod icon painters, led by the famous master Fyodor Fyodorov. Their works have many very characteristic features that distinguish them from the works of other artists. The main one is a certain simplification of the transfer of images, to some extent making them related to the Russian lubok. The works of these masters are full of life and colors, very harmoniously combined with the architecture of the church and its interior decoration.
Years of ruin and darkness
When the Bolsheviks seized power in the country in 1917, the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl), like most Russian churches, was closed, and in its premiseswarehouse is set up. With the exception of a small number of interior decoration items transferred to the country's museums, all valuables were looted, and what, in the opinion of the new owners of life, was of no interest was simply destroyed. The bells that had been calling the pious Yaroslavl residents to prayer for several centuries were removed and sent for remelting.
Only in the sixties, as a result of the great work done by representatives of the urban intelligentsia, it was possible to transfer the church building to the local history museum, which greatly improved its position and made it possible to begin the restoration of the facade. But for many years, among the urban temple buildings used for needs far from religion, there was also the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl). Divine services were not held here until the early nineties of the last century, which became the boundary of the era of total atheism.
Waiting for God-loving donors
Despite the fact that the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl) was transferred to the disposal of the Moscow Patriarchate along with other city churches, the schedule of services can still be seen only on the doors of the winter church, attached to the main building and being part of the general complex. The main building is still waiting for voluntary donors who are ready to make their financial contribution to the revival of the shrine. The Russian land in all ages was famous for their abundance. It remains to be hoped that they have not died out in our days, and one day they will fully revive their religiouslife Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl). Address for those who wish to see it with their own eyes: Yaroslavl, Pervomayskaya st., 67.
