Description of the attraction
There are not many quiet and secluded corners in Veliky Novgorod. But it is precisely in such a quiet and peaceful place where Nikolskaya and Znamenskaya streets intersect that the church of St. Philip and St. Nicholas rises.
The churches of Philip the Apostle and Nicholas the Wonderworker are two in one. These are two united temples with four domes - two large domes and two small ones. The temples are the same in height, but differ in area, and have a common base. The Philip Church was erected in the XII century. Initially, it was wooden, burned several times and rebuilt again, and in 1383 it was rebuilt from stone. The temple was built a little longer than the wooden one, and after the completion of the work, which ended in the fall of the next year, the temple was consecrated by Archbishop Alexy. At the same time, a small chapel of St. Nicholas, which belonged to the next street, was attached to the Church of the Apostle Philip.
The church acquired its current double appearance in 1527-1528. Much later, in the 17th century, a bell tower with a hipped roof was added. The churches of Philip and Nicholas had a common adjacent wall, and each had their own parishioners. But everything was changed by the total disaster - the plague of 1606-1607, which claimed the lives of many Novgorodians. The city died out, the parishes were empty. The surviving parishioners of the two churches decided to unite into one parish. In 1607, the two parishes were united, and services in the temples were held in turn. Over the past time, the churches have been repeatedly rebuilt. In the 19th century, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was almost completely dilapidated, and it had to be dismantled, only the retaining wall and the remains of the foundation remained. In Soviet times, the Church of the Apostle Philip was the only functioning church in Novgorod. That is why the decision was made to restore the previous appearance of the double temple: there was too little space, there was not enough space for all the city's parishioners. In 1978, then still young, but undoubtedly talented architect-restorer Ninel Kuzmina created a project to restore such a rare building for ancient Russian architecture.
In this temple there is a revered icon of Panteleimon the Healer, which believers consider miraculous. It is to this icon that the residents of Novgorod come to pray for the health of their relatives and friends. For about 20 years, the relics of St. Archbishop Nikita, who ruled in Novgorod in the 11th century, were kept here. According to legend, he saved the city from fires and drought with prayers. After his death, the bishop was buried in the St. Sophia Cathedral, however, under the rule of the Soviets, the relics were removed and taken in a package to the museum storage, where they were left. After a lengthy red tape, the authorities still gave permission to store this invaluable exhibit for believers in the church of St. Philip. In 1993, the relics of St. Nikita were solemnly transported to the Cathedral of St. Sofia, and to this day the cancer is located above the place where he was buried.
Nowadays, the architectural monument has been restored, and it appears before us, in the form that it was in the 16th century, the western porch and the bell tower of the 18th century are preserved. This architectural work, which has "twin" churches, is a unique building in Veliky Novgorod.
