Nikitsky Church in Kaluga, and officially in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Great Martyr Nikita and John Chrysostom, has been chronicling since the end of the 17th century. Proximity to the historical center, noble merchant parishioners and strong patrons of the boyars of the royal house of the Romanovs already distinguished it from many church buildings. At one time, it was the chair of the Kaluga bishops, and the military militia during the First Patriotic War of 1812 went to defend the homeland from these walls.
The harsh XX century left a heavy imprint on the history of this unique building. For almost 80 years, the Nikitsky Church in Kaluga served as a mouthpiece for Soviet ideology and was even a cinema. And only 11 years ago it was returned to the Orthodox parishioners. In 2006, on Epiphany Eve, the lamps of the first Divine Liturgy finally lit up again.
A unique building in Kaluga
For the temple architecture of the 17th century in Kaluga, the Nikitsky temple is endowed with all recognizable features, but at the same time it has a lot of individuality. The uniqueness is its non-standard shape: its quadrangle is not a square, but a rectangle, because its southern part is somewhat elongated; the refectory and the altar are approximately equal in volume, and are also equal to the quadrangle; under the temple building there are basements with access to the bell tower.
Outdoor decorations
The exterior of the building is richly decorated with stucco and architectural delights. This is very characteristic of the temple buildings of Kaluga of the 17th century: decorated kokoshniks, columns growing in bunches, figured brick that adorns the cornices of the church.
Dome Parade
The real decoration of the Nikitsky temple in Kaluga are the domes. The whole ensemble of domes is set on two tiers, in the center of which there is a double, onion-shaped main dome.
Small domes are located in a special way: not at the corners of the facades in the direction of the 4 cardinal points, but in the middle, closer to the main dome.
The bells are ringing
The belfry of the Nikitsky Church in Kaluga is one of the youngest in the city. It was restored from photographs in 2009. New bells and a non-standard form of belfries give an unusual sound.
During humid and mild weather, the sound is bright, rich and noble.
Park for the whole family
To the north of the church there is a square dedicated to family, love and fidelity. A monument in honor of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom was erected on its territory.
In the summer, on the day of remembrance of the saints, it becomes a place for a city-wide holiday and recreation, as well as a unique place for newlyweds to celebrate the holy sacrament of the wedding.
Painting in honor of the saint
The interior of the temple is made in accordance with all the canons of Orthodox iconography.
Most of the images are dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Nikita, who suffered for the Christian faith in 372. On the western side of the right limit there is a huge number of images of the life of the saint and his service to Christ. Unique is the image of a saint who beats the "unclean" with a whip.
A real museum of icons and shrines
A wonderful tradition has been formed in the Nikitsky Church in Kaluga that it becomes a wonderful haven for many shrines from all over Russia and abroad: the ark with the relics of St. Nicholas, St. Maximus the Greek, St. Philaret of Moscow, the Apostle Luke, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, Great Martyr Barbara, miraculous icons of the now glorified Saints Luke of Crimea, Blessed Matrona of Moscow, Peter and Fevronia, and others. Within the temple, there are more than forty holy artifacts, imported and local.
Book Wisdom
The Nikitsky Church did not have its own library in the 17th century, but a chronicle was kept. After the restoration, parishioners expressed a desire to create a public, folk gallery of books. All books were brought by people, and not bought by the church on purpose. Over the course of several months in 2006, parishioners brought about 5,000 books. Now the library fund is more than 9 thousand paper copies and more than 600 CDs.
Every week on the territory of the library there are original film lectures about the history of the church, the life of saints, on various Orthodox topics and not only.
Nikitsky mentors
The true pastor, rector and friend of all parishioners is Archpriest Alexei Pelevin.
Assistant priests in spiritual matters are priests Dmitry Novikov, Maxim Konovalov, Alexei Dorokhin, Maxim Kartuesov, as well as deacons Vadim Rogovtsev, Dmitry Agulin, Oleg Pleshakov.
Nameless heroes
It is possible to maintain beauty, splendor, and most importantly, order with God's help and the warmth of human hearts. Huge work on the restoration of the temple was done thanks to the support of Kaluga TISIZ OJSC, Kalugaselvodstroy CJSC and many others. The temple also has many charitable friends, those who are willing to donate and remain anonymous.
And the sacrament will be performed
The service in the city of Kaluga at the Nikitsky Church is special, as the parishioners themselves note. The abundance of miraculous icons, Orthodox artifacts, fonts with relics and more make every service an incredible celebration.
Morning and evening services are dedicated to the great saint and martyr every day, and miraculous icons and holy relics are present during the liturgy.
The doors to the house of God are open to everyone
Today the temple is actively working and holding services. The address of the Nikitsky Church in Kaluga: Lenina Street, 106. You can also contact for all questions by calling. The schedule of services in the Nikitsky Church in Kaluga is compiled according to local time: morning at 9:00 and a prayer service with evening at 15:30. You can watch or bow to the relics of the church every day from 9:00 to 20:00. The doors to the house of God are open to all Orthodox parishioners and not only.
