Description of the attraction
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior stands in the village of Bronnitsa, which is located 25 km from Veliky Novgorod. It is declared an architectural monument.
Back in 1888, in the village of Bronnitsa, on the Moscow road, not far from the covered bridge over the Msta River, erected in 1842, the rector, Archpriest Gabriel Favorsky, consecrated the stone Transfiguration Church. But the prehistory of the church was already more than one century old by that time. According to oral tradition, in the village of Bronnitsa there has long existed a small wooden temple, which stood at the mouth of the Glushitsa River, which flows into the Msta River.
Around the 1st quarter of the 14th century, the church fell into decay, turned into unusable and a new church was erected not far from it, again made of wood, which died in a fire in 1740. Church utensils were also burned. A legend is connected with this misfortune, which tells about the icon-patroness of the village of Bronnitsa. At the site of the fire in 1740, when the temple and everything in it burned to ashes, the only surviving icon of the Entry of the Mother of God was discovered on the ashes. At the same time, the reverse side of the icon was badly damaged, while the front and the holy face remained intact. After the miraculous rescue, the icon was placed in a place of honor: to the left of the royal gates. She was especially revered by the parishioners.
On the site of the burnt church, local landowner Anna Zabelina erected the first stone church of the Transfiguration of the Savior. In the summer of 1800, the church burned down again. But the local residents managed to defend it from the fire. Only part of the walls and roof were damaged. Parishioners and clergymen petitioned the Sovereign Emperor for funds for the restoration of the temple. The required amount was granted. In 1802, the burned-out church was demolished to the ground, and according to the resolution of June 13, 1802 and with the blessing of the Bishop of Old Russian Anthony, the construction of a new church was started, which existed unchanged until 1885.
In 1885, the village of Bronnitsa grew, and accordingly, the number of parishioners increased. By this time, the church was badly dilapidated. The parishioners decided to build a new temple. They were blessed for these actions by His Eminence Isidor, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. In the summer of 1885, construction began on a new church. Construction was completed in October 1888. And, a month later, Father Gabriel Taborsky consecrated a new church.
Fr. Gabriel was replaced by priest Vasily Sobolev, who served with him. In addition, deacon Nikolai Malinovsky and church head Alexander Gusev were in the church. Archpriest Gabriel, like other servants of the temple and their relatives, was buried in the place where the throne of the old wooden Transfiguration Church was located.
In the early 30s of the XX century, the bells were removed and broken from the church bell tower, crosses were removed from the domes, and icons were removed from the walls. In 1938, the church was closed and converted into a granary. But despite this, the services were still secretly held in the house of Father Vasily Bogoyavlensky.
In 1941-1945, the temple survived, despite the constant merciless Nazi bombing of the village and the nearby crossing of the Msta River. In 1946 (in another source - in 1947) the Transfiguration Church began its work, which continues in our time. In the post-war years, the church's rector, Archpriest Peter, took care of the church. The main altar was consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the other - in honor of All Saints. Father Peter served in the church until 1975. In 1975-2008, Archimandrite Father Hilarion was the rector of the Savior Transfiguration Church.
In August 1991, a significant event took place in the life of the parish: the Bronnitsky Church was visited by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II. The temple is currently active. Under him, the work of the Sunday school was organized.
