In Yaroslavl, on the banks of the Kotorosl River, the right tributary of the Volga, is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, founded in the 11th century. On both sides it is surrounded by the Church of the Epiphany and the Church of the Archangel Michael. Yaroslavl is one of the most ancient Russian cities, and these temples are just as ancient. One of them, the one consecrated in honor of the archangel-leader of the Heavenly Host, today, as for many centuries, is a place of spiritual nourishment for earthly warriors - defenders of the Fatherland.
Documentary evidence of the founding of the church
The ancient annals and church books that have survived to this day tell us about when and by whom the Church of Michael the Archangel in Yaroslavl was founded, the history of which is inextricably linked with this city. One of them, compiled in 1530 and containing the lives of princes Vasily and Konstantin, who were canonized for humility and pious life, also tells that the Novgorod prince Konstantin Vsevolozh founded two churches in Yaroslavl subject to him. One of them was the Assumption Cathedral, andthe second - the church in the name of the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of military people. Knowing the years of the reign of this Novgorod prince and the date of laying the Assumption Cathedral, it is easy to determine that the church in question in this article was built around 1215.
An 18th-century manuscript kept in the church also contains interesting information. It says that it was built in 1216 and stood safely for eighty years. But then the wife of the specific Yaroslavl prince Fyodor Rostislavovich Cherny, Anna, considering it too dilapidated, ordered it to be demolished, and a new church to be laid in this place.
Gift of Khan Nogai's wife
In passing, it is worth noting that a rather romantic story is connected with the princely couple, who attended to the laying of a new church. The fact is that the surname Cherny, which is common among historians, is actually pronounced as Chermnoy, that is, “beautiful”. According to chronicles, he really was a rare handsome man, and once, during a visit to the Golden Horde, the wife of Khan Nogai himself fell madly in love with him.
It's easy to guess what her husband's jealousy could have resulted in if even the slightest reason had been given for her. But she turned out to be a wise and prudent woman - it was not for nothing that she was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Unable to give her heart to the Russian prince, she gave him her beloved daughter as a wife, who adopted the name Anna in Orthodoxy. The Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl) was founded by her cares.
Church –monument of past centuries
There are several hypotheses about why the Russian princess of Tatar-Greek origin decided to consecrate the church in honor of the Archangel Michael. Two of them are considered the most probable. According to one of them, this was done in memory of his father, Michael VIII Palaiologos. Another hypothesis sees in her decision grief for her beloved, but early deceased stepson Mikhail, the son of Prince Fyodor Cherny from a previous marriage.
Several icons have survived to this day, kept in the temple since the time of Princess Anna. These are the image of Archangel Michael, which was in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery during the Soviet period, two Mother of God icons - the Vladimir Mother of God and Smolensk, as well as the image of St. Anthony the Great, which, according to researchers, was a temple icon in previous centuries, since earlier the church had a side consecrated in honor of this saint.
Status of the garrison temple
In the 17th century, the territory surrounding the church was given over to settlements of archers, that is, military people, for whom the Archangel Michael, the leader of the Heavenly host, was the patron. It is quite natural that since then the church has received the status of a garrison temple, which it still retains. At the same time, the former church building was decided to be renovated and partially rebuilt.
It should be noted that the transfer of the temple to the military department brought him more honor than the money needed for restructuring. The Yaroslavl governors turned out to be very stingy people, and the work dragged on for a quarter of a century. They ended only in 1682, at the very beginning of the reign of Peter I, the great commander who brought a lot of trouble to the heavenly patron of his army.
Due to the scarcity of military funding, the work was carried out mainly on donations from Yaroslavl merchants, but the one who pays, as you know, calls the music. Everything was done according to the wishes of the donors, whose tastes have changed more than once over a quarter of a century. As a result, the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl) has absorbed the features inherent in several temple architectural styles.
Church of Michael the Archangel: description
In general, it is similar to other Yaroslavl churches built in the same period. It is based on a regular quadrangle with three apses - semicircular ledges, inside of which altars are located. The entire structure is installed on a high basement, the lower part of the building. It stored goods intended for sale in the nearby market - merchants baked about their souls, but did not forget about mammon either. Initially, covered galleries were located on the northern and western walls, to which two high porches, decorated with openwork carvings, led. Only the western gallery has survived to this day.
And, of course, the general view is complemented by the bell tower, built at the request of merchants-donors in the favorite Yaroslavl style - heavy, squat, ending with a small tent. The temple has two aisles, and the northern one, consecrated in honor of the Solovetsky miracle workers, is crowned with a picturesque turret. The facade of the temple is exquisitely decoratedwindow platbands and fly - square recesses in the wall, in the middle of which colored tiles were placed.
Temple frescoes and written evidence of the past
The Church of Michael the Archangel in Yaroslavl has always been famous for its wall paintings, made in 1731 by an artel of icon painters led by Fyodor Fyodorov. Their frescoes, which are somewhat simplified in the transfer of the plot, are somewhat reminiscent of Russian popular prints and are very characteristic of the late period of development of this pictorial genre.
The book stored in the temple, called the “Cell Record”, compiled in the period 1761-1825 by the priest Semyon Yegorov, tells that in the church, in addition to icons that came from ancient times, silver crosses with the relics of saints were also kept who shone in the Yaroslavl lands. In addition, his work tells in detail about the events witnessed in these years by the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl).
Years of desolation
During the Soviet period, Yaroslavl also became the scene of a broad anti-religious campaign launched in the country. The Church of Michael the Archangel - the garrison church, in which many generations of Russian soldiers prayed, going into battle, was closed and turned into a warehouse. In 1925, its bells were confiscated and sent for remelting, and all the utensils and other valuables were simply looted. A very small number of them have already been found in the museums of the country today.
The situation changed somewhat for the better in the sixties, when the Church of Michael the Archangel(Yaroslavl) was transferred under the care of the city museum-reserve. It was partially restored, but the state did not have enough funds, and the former benefactor merchants had long since sunk into oblivion.
On the road to revival
So the temple remained a museum exhibit used for household needs, until 1992, until it was finally returned to the Orthodox Church. During this period, due to the changed state policy in relation to religious issues, many temples and monasteries, previously taken from believers, returned to their former owners. Among them was the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl).
The schedule of services in those years, and today, can only be seen on the doors of its southern limit - the warm part of the church, the restoration of which has been completed. The rest of the building is still locked and waiting in the wings. It only carried out plaster work and restored stained-glass windows.
Tradition of voluntary donations
There is still a lot to do, because during the years of totalitarian theomachism, the temple suffered significant damage. In 1995, again, as in the old days, the status of a garrison temple was given to her. But this did not speed up the restoration work. It can be seen that without the generosity of voluntary donors, the Church of Michael the Archangel (the city of Yaroslavl) cannot be fully revived.
However, statistics show that even today the Russian land is not depleted of voluntary donors. Officially, the percentage of funds invested by them of the total funding for restorationworks are not disclosed, but judging by the pace with which over the past decades the shrines, which were previously in desolation, are taking on their true appearance, it is quite large.
What is the Church of the Archangel Michael dear to us?
Holy places - Yaroslavl and other cities included in the Golden Ring of Russia - today are the most visited by both pilgrims and tourists. The historical center of Yaroslavl is included in the UNESCO list, as it is of significant historical and artistic value. Thousands of people come here from all over the country and abroad to breathe in the incomparable air of antiquity. But this Volga city is famous not only for the cultural heritage of past centuries.
He is also known for his temples, a prominent place among which is occupied by the Church of Michael the Archangel, the description of which today can be found both in printed guidebooks and on its Internet sites. Here, within the walls that have witnessed so many services, prayer becomes especially gracious.
It is important to note that the return of the people to their primordial spiritual roots is served not only by the divine services performed in it, but also by the concerts of choral and bell music held here every August as part of the all-Russian festival "Transfiguration". Both professional groups and church choirs, created by the efforts of individual parishes, take part in them. Their singing, accompanied by the ringing of bells, becomes a symbol of holiness, reborn after decades of spiritual darkness anddesolation.
