Description of the attraction
One of the most famous temples of the Komi Republic is the Holy Kazan Church, located in one of the most visited picturesque places in Syktyvkar - above the Sysola River.
In the old days, a chapel was previously built on the site of a modern temple, originally erected in the village of Kochpona. It was consecrated in honor of Saints John and Procopius of the Ustyug Wonderworkers. The very first mentions of the chapel date back to the distant past, when it was listed in the documents of the Trinity Ust-Sysoevsky parish. Throughout 1860, thanks to the help of believing peasants, the chapel acquired an altar.
On May 27, 1861, the built Holy Kazan Church was consecrated in the name of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan by the priests of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. There were a lot of various temple utensils for the needs of the sacred services, which is why services became a frequent event and were held on holidays, Sundays, as well as at the request of the faithful parishioners.
On June 26, 1901, the weather was particularly hot, accompanied by strong gusts of wind. Due to a strong hurricane, one of the peasant houses caught fire, and the flame spread so quickly that there was no way to extinguish it. The presence of wind increasingly helped the flame move from one house to another, burning everything in its path - soon almost the entire village was at the mercy of fire, and numerous attempts to prevent the fire did not end with success. The church with the bell tower was also in the power of the fire, while the iconostasis with icons burned down, numerous church utensils and only a small part of the household items were saved. But the great event marked the sad fate of the village - the icon of the Kazan Mother of God turned out to be survived - soon it was found by the villagers among the piles of burnt objects. The holy icon, to this day, pleases the faithful parishioners, being in the iconostasis of the Holy Kazan Church. After all the events that had taken place, the villagers made a vow annually on the day of the terrible event to hold a prayer chant to the Lord God and his Mother about their salvation from the merciless flame of the crushing fire.
After the fire, local villagers spent a lot of effort on rebuilding their village. The fierce winter, which had to be endured only in a few huts, became an ordeal. Since the temple also burned down during the fire, a new wooden church had to be built. In the fall of 1906, the newly built church was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God.
The events of 1917 could not but affect the fate and condition of the temple, which became a refuge and the last hope of all believers of the parishioners. Numerous monks of devastated monasteries, laymen and clergymen settled along the perimeter of the temple, experiencing a terrible spiritual crisis. In 1937, the temple was in complete desolation - the community collapsed, there were no priests. In 1938, the question of stopping the work of the temple began, and the next year it was closed, after which it began to be used as a reading hut.
In the midst of the war of 1941-1945, the Holy Kazan Church was reopened, and the inhabitants of the village unanimously set about rebuilding the temple. At the same time, the church community wrote a letter to the Moscow Directorate of the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars with a request addressed to the museum of the city of Syktyvkar of the Komi Republic to return the once confiscated temple utensils.
A considerable number of clergymen from various dioceses began to retrace the priestly path in the newly opened Holy Kazan Church. Bishop Pitirim Volochkov of Vorkuta and Syktyvkar served as a deacon in the church. In the spring of 1996, the church was visited by Alexy II, His Holiness Patriarch of All Russia, who served a prayer service. In the summer of 1997, the first Liturgy in the Komi language was served in the Holy Kazan Church.
Today, the church has a library for parishioners. The temple is active in missionary work. Church parables and clergymen make trips to various districts of the Komi Republic and conduct divine services, organize new parishes and assist in the construction of new churches.
