In the article, we consider the history of the appearance of the Epiphany Church in Voronezh. This amazing place should be visited by everyone who came to the city.
Epiphany Day
The Epiphany Church of the city of Voronezh is dedicated to the event of the Baptism of the Lord, which is celebrated on January 19. This holiday is also called the Epiphany, because the Lord revealed Himself to the world in three ways: God the Son was baptized in Jordan, God the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove, God the Father revealed His voice from heaven, testifying that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son His Beloved. In honor of this holiday, the Epiphany Church of Voronezh was consecrated.
Pushkarskaya Sloboda
The location of the temple was called the Pushkar settlement, so named because the gunners-gunners lived here.
The very concept of "settlement" means that the inhabitants were free from feudal dependence and were listed in the public service.
Pushkar’s were everyone who was somehow involved in the pushkar’s business. The service of the gunners was life-long and was inherited from father to son. Free people of all classes could enter into it. For their service, the gunners received a bread salary and had their own homes. In peacetime, they were engaged in crafts and trade.
The church was probably built at their expense.
History of the Epiphany Church of Voronezh
The church was originally built in wooden in 1647.
In 1703, the temple burned down and was restored in 1705. The new church was also wooden, but already in 1713 the construction of the refectory made of stone began with a chapel in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
And again, a fire in 1748 destroyed the wooden church, leaving only a stone refectory with a temple. In 1763, a new stone church was built and consecrated.
In 1841, at the expense of the merchant M. Klochkov, another chapel was arranged in the church in honor of the holy martyr Pelagia, the heavenly patroness of the wife of the merchant.
By 1854, cracks formed in the arches and walls of the temple, it was decided to destroy the existing walls and expand the building. After these works, until the revolution, the church was not subject to change.
After the revolution, when the Soviet government tried to impose renovationism in the Church, the Epiphany Church did not bypass this misfortune. For several years, the priest-renewal father Sergius Sobolev served here. However, in 1928, parishioners, clergy and father Sergius decided to break with the Renovationism and returned to the bosom of the patriarchal Orthodox Church.
In 1930, the Soviet government closed the Epiphany Church of Voronezh and set up a sewing workshop here.
In 1980, the church was transferred to the Voronezh diocese. Dilapidated and abandoned for another 20 years, the temple stood until 2000, when it became possible to restore and restore it.
A photo of the Epiphany Church in Voronezh before the restoration work is presented below.
Currently, the temple is operating, but still needs funds for restoration work.
Aisle of the Holy Martyr Pelagia
One of the chapels of the temple was consecrated in honor of the martyr Pelagia. The life of a saint who became a martyr in the 3rd century in Asia Minor under the emperor Diocletian, a pagan and persecutor of Christians is interesting.
Pelagia was unusually beautiful, noble and well educated. Having believed in Christ and accepted holy Baptism, the girl dedicated herself to God, deciding to become the bride of Christ.
Having met her by chance, the son of the emperor Diocletin wanted to marry her, but when he found out that she had become a Christian, he realized that all his hopes were meaningless. He knew from experience that Christians make any sacrifice, death for their faith. He knew that his father, Diocletian, betrayed them to merciless torment, but they did not abandon their God. Realizing that Pelagia would never be his wife, the emperor’s son committed suicide by slaughtering himself with a sword.
The girl’s mother, fearing that they would be accused of the death of the emperor’s son, brought her daughter Diocletian herself. The emperor, seeing the beauty of Pelagia, and himself desired to marry her. But the saint did not agree to renounce her faith and from Christ.
Like all Christians at the time, she was brutally tortured. Death was prepared for her from a red-hot copper ox. Pelagia itself entered it, and its body was melted. The holy remains (bones) were buried outside the city on the mountain by Bishop Clinon, who baptized Pelagius. Subsequently, during the reign of St. Emperor Constantine the Great, when the persecution of Christians ceased, a church was erected at the burial place of St. Pelagia.
Today, the Church of the Epiphany is open to all believers, residents and visitors of the city. Address of the Epiphany Church of Voronezh: st. October 25, 17A. Knowing the history of the temple, its builders and decorators, we can assume that artillery troops should especially honor it.
The phone number of the Epiphany Church in Voronezh can be found on the website of the Voronezh Metropolis.