Description of the attraction
The temple in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was first mentioned in the chronicle books of 1585-1587 in the words that "the yard empty space came under the church." The temple is located in the Pskov region on the island named after Zalit. As you know, the island of Zalita, located on Lake Pskov, is part of the Talab archipelago, which is known throughout the world. The island is known for the life of the holy elder Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov, who lived on the island for about fifty years and served at the Church of St. Nicholas.
The very first church in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker was built of wood and was erected by local residents engaged in fishing. In 1703, the Swedes attacked, as a result of which the Verkhneostrovsky Monastery was severely damaged, which can also be attributed to the Church of Nicholas on the island.
Work on the construction of the stone St. Nicholas Church ended in 1792. According to tradition, the temple was built from the Pskov limestone slab. To this day, the church has preserved frescoes imitating a letter from an unknown author.
During 1842-1843, the chapel, which still exists today, was built at the church, consecrated in honor of the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Smolensk "Hodegetria" in memory of the miraculous deliverance from the deadly cholera epidemic that engulfed all the townspeople. The Mother of God appeared to one of the parishioners of the St. Nicholas Church in a dream with a certain order that her icon be surrounded by a procession along the perimeter of the entire settlement, after which the cholera will certainly recede. In the night vision, the parishioner discovered a place in which until that time the miraculous holy icon was kept in storage, located in the attic of one of the townspeople's house. As soon as the procession was held, punished by the Mother of God, the epidemic immediately receded.
In 1939, the temple was destroyed, after which it was closed. The reopening of the temple took place in 1947, although divine services were held only in the Smolensk side-altar. For 44 years, the rector was Nikolai Guryanov, an elder, for whose support pilgrims came from all over the country. They came to the famous Talab elder in order to strengthen their faith in God, and also to ask for strength and grace-filled light to solve problems in a difficult situation. Nikolai's father, first of all, taught everyone to love, because according to him, the most important thing for a person is to keep faith in oneself and bear love, but the impoverishment of faith and love are signs of the beginning of the Second Coming.
Even during the life of Elder Nikolai Guryanov, he was considered a living saint. It was the recluse Nikolai who predicted the salvation of Russia from the hands of the communists, the canonization of the tsar, as well as the collapse of the nuclear submarines Kursk and Komsomolets. On the island, literally legends were made about the amazing gift of foresight of the priest. The elder was able to find missing people from a photograph, and also rescued hostages from captivity, cured seemingly terminally ill people and saved those who asked from adversity. The glory of the miracle worker came to Nikolai Guryanov when he saved Igor Stolyarov, a man from the crew of the Komsomolets nuclear submarine. It is still not clear how the sailor who survived the accident arrived on the island and immediately recognized in Father Nicholas the old man who appeared to him at the time of his death and helped him get out of the hold in the icy waters of the Atlantic. In a vision, the old man called himself Archpriest Nicholas and told him to swim, after which a log appeared, and a little later a brigade of rescuers arrived.
Mother Elizabeth, who is the abbess of the Pskov Spaso-Eleazarovsky Monastery, said that Father Nicholas could always unite people with his love, this became his most precious trait and the greatest property of his character, because this is how the greatness of a person's spiritual development is determined, which helps to unite people and instill this love in them.
In 2002, on August 24, Father Nikolai passed away. Russia has lost a comforter and advisor, although this does not stop Orthodox believers on their way to the island - they come to his grave to bow to her, light a candle in front of the icon of the Mother of God in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and gain spiritual strength, strengthen their faith and love.
