Description of the attraction
On the bank of the small river Msta, in the southeastern side of the Holy Spirit Monastery, there was a large hipped-roof church built of wood, consecrated in honor of the holy icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness". The construction of the temple was carried out on a holy place where in 1452 the relics of St. James - the Borovichi miracle worker were buried. Unfortunately, in 1806 the temple completely burned down, but a temporary wooden chapel was built in its place in a short time.
In 1803, residents of the city asked for the blessing of the St. Petersburg and Novgorod Metropolitan Seraphim for the construction of a majestic stone cathedral on the site of the chapel. But Borovichi did not receive blessings due to the fact that the place was inconvenient for the construction of a large-sized church. Only in 1871 a cross-domed stone chapel was built on the site of a temporary chapel.
The chapel was consecrated in 1881 in honor of the "Tenderness" icon of the Mother of God. The painting of the temple was made not only from the inside, but also from the outside. Also, the temple had a high majestic drum of light and five chapters ending in crosses. The building was completely surrounded by a metal fence, made in a rather unconventional, but beautiful form. The temple built of stone, which was erected on the site of a wooden one in the 19th century, due to the all-Russian veneration and respect of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, was also consecrated in honor of the icon of "Tenderness" of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Mother of God, as evidenced by the temple painting on the walls. Since that time, some photographs have survived, which clearly show the image of the icon of the Seraphim-Diveevskaya Mother of God on the outer walls of the temple from the north side.
In the interior of the church there was a small iconostasis equipped with royal gates. On the opposite side of it there was a candle table, and on the left side there was an icon of the Iberian Mother of God; to the right is the icon of St. Panteleimon, next to which the singers have always stood. It is known that in 1937 the temple was closed, and its building was used for the needs of a shoemaker. During the Great Patriotic War, work was carried out in the temple premises to manufacture and create Molotov cocktails. For a long period of time, the building housed a kerosene store-warehouse. In recent years, the temple premises for the most part of the destroyed temple were used for a large warehouse of fuel and lubricants at the plant.
In 1993, the church building was again transferred to the hands of the Orthodox community, after which restoration work began according to the project of the architect V. V. Ovsyannikov. Services resumed in 1995.
Today the temple is also consecrated in honor of the Novgorod icon "Tenderness", which was previously located in the Trinity Church. In the summer of July 8, 1997, her glorification happened - by some invisible force the icon was raised into the air, and tears began to flow from the eyes of the Mother of God. Archbishop Alexy of Novgorod took the icon into his own hands and placed it in an icon case. Since then, every year on July 21, a holiday dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" is celebrated.
Inside the church, on the right side of the altar, there is an image of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Savior, and on the left side there is St. Nicholas. In the rest of the niches, images of the apostles Paul and Peter, the holy blessed prince Alexander Nevsky, Panteleimon the healer, as well as other images of the majestic temple are exhibited.
Over time, the temple was constantly replenished with icons. Next to the throne was the hagiographic icon of St. James, next to which was depicted St. Nicholas. Of particular interest was the analogue icon of St. James, where he was depicted on a small cloud above the city, as the guardian and protector of the city of Borovichi and all its inhabitants.
In the basement of the church there is a holy spring that appeared at the burial place of St. James. Healing water helps people get rid of various diseases. As a result of lengthy repair work in the church basement, the well was transformed in 1997, and since then, on the third day of Easter, city residents gather near the holy spring in memory of St. James.
