Description of the attraction
On Onezhskaya Street in Vyborg, there is the Orthodox Church of the Prophet of God Elijah, which was erected by the famous architect Johann Brockman in 1796. It so happened that this temple successfully “survived” difficult moments in the history of Russia: the October Revolution, wars, change of power, intervention, but was destroyed in the 50s of the 20th century. The picturesque ensemble of the temple of the prophet of God Elijah, which can be seen today, is amazing, it is a restored complex. The church is located on a natural hill, to which a staircase was built. The entrance to it is decorated with a mosaic icon of Elijah the Prophet.
Initially, the building of the Church of the Prophet Elijah was structurally very simple: two side-chapels, a bell tower, a nave under a gable roof and a fence around the perimeter. In the third tier of the bell tower, 4 arches were built in the classical style. The bell tower was crowned with a multi-meter spire decorated with a cross. Later, the spire was replaced with the onion dome, which is more familiar to Orthodox churches. There was a similar dome above the altar. An unadorned fence was erected around the church building, and behind it was a cemetery.
In 1896, almost 100 years after the laying of the temple of the Prophet Elijah, a small house for the gatekeeper was built on its territory, the project of which was developed by the architect I. Blomkvist. The wall of the house was brick, its corners were decorated with columns, and the windows looked out onto the street.
The construction of the Church of Elijah the Prophet became possible thanks to donations and help from Russian parishioners. The temple was garrisoned. After the revolution, Finland received the status of an independent state, and an official Orthodox parish was created in the temple of the Prophet Elijah. Services here were held in Finnish, since this language was their native language for the majority of those who came here. When hostilities broke out between the USSR and Finland, the temple remained intact. He did not suffer during the years of the Great Patriotic War.
In the early 50s of the 20th century, the temple was demolished to make way for a monument to Soviet soldiers who died during the war. However, the monument was not erected. Where there was a cemetery, an industrial enterprise was located, and the place left from the church was asphalted and equipped with a parking lot.
Only in 1991 in Vyborg began work on the restoration of the temple. A charitable foundation was created, which was headed by an honorary citizen of the city, an art critic, veteran of the Great Patriotic War, a participant in the storming of Berlin E. E. Kepp. The complex began to be recreated from the gatekeeper's house. Then the foundation of the church was laid. The work on the reconstruction of the temple was completed 8 years later, in 1999, the consecration was carried out by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Father Vladimir.
During the construction, particles of the relics of the martyrs of Saints Prov, Andronicus and Tarakh, who suffered for their faith during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, were laid in the foundation of the throne. The final restoration work in the temple was completed in 2001, when the icon of the Prophet Elijah was installed over the entrance in its original place.
The renovated complex of the temple of the prophet Elijah is now open to believers. Surprisingly cozy and beautiful ensemble of the bell tower, as if drowning in thick lilac foliage, a house for the gatekeeper, an elegant ornate fence create a feeling of lightness and peace, tranquility and silence. No wonder this place is considered one of the most picturesque in Vyborg.
Now an Orthodox spiritual center operates at the church, where meetings with interesting people and priests are often held, there is a library and a Sunday school.
