Description of the attraction
The Church of St. John Chrysostom is located in the village of Saunino, Kargopol district, Arkhangelsk region, 5 kilometers from the city of Kargopol. For the northern landscape, it is customary that monuments of wooden architecture, "pieces of wood", as the locals affectionately call them, are located in a picturesque area, usually by a river or lake. However, the ancient church of St. John Chrysostom, built in 1665, stands in the middle of a field, not far from the village, in an old cemetery, once surrounded by a wall of huge stones.
Sauninskaya church is a classic example of hipped roof architecture: an octagon on a quadrangle. The height of the temple from the ground to the cross is 35 meters. The tent is covered with boards in 5 rows. The trimmed ends of the boards form toothed belts. At the foot of the tent above the felling plank boards with carved ends are lowered, which function as water streams. On the east side, an apse is attached to the church quadrangle, which has a square shape in plan. It is, according to tradition, covered with a curvilinear barrel with a tong, on which a small head is located. From the west, a refectory is attached to the temple quadrangle. It is a rectangular log house covered with 2 slopes. In the refectory, they discussed rural affairs, organized holiday treats, in addition, it made it possible to expand the premises with a large crowd of people. A service was often held here, for which an altar with an iconostasis (side-altar) was arranged. It was such a side-altar that was in the refectory of the Church of St. John Chrysostom (the dome rises along the southern slope of the roof, which symbolizes the II church throne).
If you go inside the church, you find yourself in a small vestibule, from which a low door leads to a spacious refectory. Leaving the refectory into the temple, you can see a small prayer room. The height of the interior decoration of the temple is approximately 1/3 of its height. The painted ceiling ("sky") hides the overgrowth of the structure from the four to the eight and to the tent. "Heaven" is arranged with a slight rise up to the central circle, in which you can see the image of the Trinity. It is divided into 12 sectors (jambs) in which evangelists and archangels are depicted.
The refectory may have been built a little later than the Saunin church. It was cut down not close to the temple, so it only adjoins it. Apparently, this did not bother the ancient master. In the Church of St. John Chrysostom, the refectory is shifted to the south, towards the chapel, so its wall protrudes beyond the wall of the quadrangle. The northern wall of the refectory was cut in line with the church wall.
Sauninskaya church is located on a high basement, so the windows of the refectory are located approximately under the cornice. Often, at a later time, when the building was being renovated, the windows were expanded. Initially, the windows were mica (mica was expensive), they were made small, and therefore not all of them let the light through, but only some of them, which were called red. Traditionally, these were medium-sized windows. The side windows were called draglines, they were moved (covered) with plank shields.
The bell tower, distinguished by its beauty and originality, stands near the temple on the south side. The shape of the log house is 6-sided (more often bell towers with 8 sides were built), and also, in contrast to the temple building, the reception of felling in the paw without protruding ends is a thoughtful technique that allows you to highlight a straight line of edges. Inside the bell tower, each facet corresponds to vertical pillars that form the belfry spans on the upper open area. An axial pillar is installed in the center of the bell tower, with which a cross is connected. The bell tower tent has a rafter structure, in contrast to the chopped temple tent.
