Description of the attraction
In the Ivanovo region, namely in the city of Ivanovo on Engels Avenue, house 41 stands the Kazan Old Believer Church, which today belongs to the category of historical monuments.
As you know, in the middle of the 17th century, a split occurred among the Russian Orthodox Church, as a result of which some priests agreed with the reforms of Patriarch Nikon and minor changes in rituals. It turned out that the Old Believers were against the centralization of the church and, accordingly, the strengthening of the influence of the West on Russia. In 1667, the Moscow Great Cathedral consolidated the schism, and the Old Believers had to move to remote areas, including the Volga region. The village of Ivanovo at that time was the center of the large-scale centralization of the Old Believers.
The story of the creation of the Old Believer Church in Ivanovo-Voznesensk became unique. In 1787 the peasant master O. S. Sokov studied in detail the technique of finishing fabrics at European manufactories in the city of Shlisselburg, after which he returned to the village and built printed brick buildings on the banks of the Uvod River.
The calico produced by Sokov was superior in quality to all local goods, but the manufactory worked for 13 years. It is known that in 1801 Sokov died, and the factory went to his brother Andrey, who also soon left this world. The second heir to the production simply sold the manufactory to a man named Yamanovsky, who was the mentor of the Old Believer community. According to the project of the architect Maricelli, the existing printed buildings were rebuilt into a house for prayer. On the east side, a large altar was added, and on the west side, almshouse rooms appeared on the third floor.
In the period from 1811 to 1817, numerous Old Believers sent petitions to the spiritual consistory of the city of Vladimir with a request to consecrate the premises, as well as send a priest from the monastery located on the Irgiz River. Almost all of the petitions were granted, but some remained unanswered. In the period between the 1830s and 1840s, the question arose about the closure of this prayer building, which functioned as a chapel. At this time, most of the Old Believers went over to the side of common faith. During the 1860s, all services were conducted by priests who came secretly from Old Believer monasteries. In 1846, the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy was formed, and 7 years later, the Old Believers' Moscow Archdiocese appeared.
Between 1901 and 1903, the prayer building was renovated and consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity. On April 17, 1905, the same rights were obtained between Old Believers and Orthodox believers, after which the prayer house was completely converted into a church that had a dome and a cross. Above the temple part of the premises, according to the project of P. G. Begen, a spacious attic was built, crowned with a five-domed.
The consecration of the temple took place in honor of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, the Holy Trinity and the savior Nicholas. A year later, the Kazan Old Believer community was formed.
For the 100th anniversary of the temple, which happened in 1910, it was surrounded by a fence equipped with metal bars, while an unusual Art Nouveau belfry was built over the main gate, including features of Old Russian architecture. The author of this project was A. F. Snurilov, and the construction of the belfry was carried out at the expense of the merchant N. I. Kurazhev.
On February 4, 1930, a decision was made to close the church, because the city experienced an acute need for housing due to the upcoming eviction of citizens from houses that were scheduled for demolition. The community was offered to move to the cold side-altar of the Church of the Annunciation, taking with them all the icons. In the summer of 1930, the Kazan Church was closed, after which a police club was opened in it, and some premises were adapted for housing.
Later it was planned to demolish the church building, but it survived, although the fence, domes and belfry could not be preserved. For a long period, the temple was used as a residential building. Today it is being restored.
