This year, for the first time, many people learned about such a place as the village of Otradnoye, Voronezh Region. The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos hosted the President of the Russian Federation on Christmas Day. This settlement is located half an hour from Voronezh and does not really look like a village: beautiful brick country houses, elite cottages evoke thoughts of a small town. In the center of the village there is a beautiful temple with a rich history, next to it is an orphanage and the Church of St. George.
The village of Otradnoye, Voronezh region. Church of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God
Historically, the village consists of three settlements - Vykrestovo, Gololobovo and Otradnoe, formed from four landlord settlements around the beginning of the 19th century. Until the beginning of the 20th century, this settlement did not appear anywhere in official documents. Today, the village of Otradnoye in the Voronezh region, whose temple was seen by all of Russia on Christmas, is assigned to the Novousmansky district. But in the future it is planned to join the cityterritories of Voronezh.
At the entrance to the village of Otradnoye, Voronezh Region, the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos built in 1901 is visible from afar. The history of the temple is not very rich. It was built in the neo-Russian style and consecrated in 1901. Since there were many inhabitants in the village and there was not enough space in the temple, after 12 years it was decided to reconstruct and increase in size. After the revolution, in 1930, the temple was closed and converted into a grain store until 1991, when it was returned to the diocese. Immediately began a recovery that lasted almost 10 years. The administration of the Voronezh region in 1995 decided to consider the Intercession Church an object of cultural and historical heritage of regional significance.
Under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In the park in front of the temple, the villagers put up a sculpture of the Mother of God. The idea to create and install the image of the Virgin came to Archpriest Father Gennady. The administration supported the idea, invited a sculptor working in one of the temples of Lipetsk, chose the image of the future figure. The creation took more than a year with funding from sponsors, the village administration and donations from the villagers. Before the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary was installed. At night, thanks to a special backlight, it looks impressive.
Under the direction of the abbot
To those who visit the village of Otradnoye in the Voronezh Region, the temple Father Gennady, the reviews of which are the most enthusiastic from the parishioners, tells hishistory of conversion to the Orthodox faith. In the past, working as a biologist, he studied neurophysiology for a long time, was in search of the meaning of life, tried to prove the immortality of the soul. He was predicted to have a quick career as a scientist, but a severe attack of meningitis, leaving almost no chance for life, interrupted his scientific path. He looked so bad that instead of a nearby corpse, he was taken to the morgue by mistake. After such a difficult condition, recovery was like a miracle. Realizing that God had mercy on him and returned him to earth for repentance and service, Gennady Zaridze replaced his scientific work on the neural activity of the brain with the Bible.
In the bardic circles of Voronezh, Gennady is known as the Wanderer. Gennady, having received a blessing from his spiritual mentor, has already recorded 6 discs of simple and deep songs that touch the innermost strings of the soul of a modern person, wandering in sins. Songs, like sermons and conversations, help many people find a way out of difficult life situations.
Christmas with the President
Every year the president comes for Christmas to churches far from the capital. This year he visited the village of Otradnoye in the Voronezh region. The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos greeted Putin with the joyful excitement of the holiday. Together with him, 44 refugees from Luhansk served in the service, who temporarily live in the local parish house, where more than 100 people lived in Ukraine during the conflict. At the end of the service, Father Gennady presented Putin with his book"Wanderer" and discs with records. The President promised assistance in the construction of a Sunday gymnasium, the plan for which has been in place for a long time, but the necessary amount of funds has not yet been raised.
