Description of the attraction
In 1772, an imperial decree was issued prohibiting the burial of the dead within the city of Veliky Ustyug, in connection with which it was decided to allocate a place for the city cemetery behind the Intercession Church on Red Mountain. a cemetery, where a cross was erected at the site of the future church.
The Church of Stephen of Perm is one of the three functioning churches of Veliky Ustyug. The construction was started in 1722. A church was erected, like a cemetery, on Red Mountain. Initially, a wooden church was laid, transported from the Sukhonskaya Erogod volost from the churchyard of the Nativity of Christ. In 1774, or more precisely on October 15, the consecration of the church in the name of St. Stephen the Great was held.
In 1799 the Bishop of Vologda and Veliky Ustyug issued a charter for the construction of a stone church. In 1800, based on the letter of Right Reverend Arseny, Bishop of Vologda and Veliky Ustyug, the church was rebuilt from wooden to stone.
The church was built with funds raised by parishioners. The merchants Yamshchikovs supervised the construction. Simultaneously with the temple, a bell tower was built next to it. The bell tower had nine bells of various sizes. In 1807, the largest bell was cast, its weight was 107 pounds 30 pounds. But not only the weight set it apart from other bells. On this bell, images of the Mother of God, the Crucifixion of the Lord and Nicholas the Wonderworker were cast. When it was made and how much the second largest bell weighed, it remained unclear. The third bell was cast in 1786 in Ustyug and weighed 12 pounds. The other bells were small and did not stand out in any way.
In the period from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the church was considered "quite solid with well-equipped and decorated temples", with sufficient funds. As evidenced by the inventory of 1919, the cold church in the name of St. Stephen of Perm stood out for its special splendor. The altar had a marble throne with enamel inlays and gilding. Separate pictorial hallmarks adorned the vaults above the throne.
At the end of the 19th century, near the church, in the place where the former wooden church was located, a stone chapel-burial vault was being built, which was consecrated in the name of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. The chapel has survived to this day.
The wave of mass cover-ups of churches and the demolition of selected temple buildings did not spare Stefanovskaya Church either. In May 1936, the bells were removed from the bell tower, and in 1940 the property of the church and iconostases, as the old residents of the city testify, were destroyed. Nevertheless, Saint Stephen guarded his church, which, although they were ravaged, they did not destroy.
Since 1948, funeral services for the dead have been performed in the Church of Stefanovskoy. In 1964, by decision of the executive committee, one temple building was left for the use of believers - the Stefano-Perm cemetery church. The following repairs were carried out in the church: flooring, arrangement of the iconostasis, repair of steam heating, painting, plastering of the altar and cold temple, painting of cold and warm temples. In 1965-1966, the restoration of icons, gilding of the iconostasis located in the Stefanovsky limit, painting of the niches of the temple, painting of the domes of the temple and the roof were carried out. In 1970, the roofs were blocked and the iconostasis in the side-chapel was rebuilt, the chapel was put in order, the dome was painted. Gradually, the Stefanovskaya Church regained a form worthy of worship.
Until 1991, the Stefanovskaya Church was the only working parish church of Veliky Ustyug.
