Description of the attraction
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Zelenogorsk, built according to the plan of the Finnish architect and engineer Josef Stenbeck. It is under the patronage of the bishops of the Church of Ingria. Kirkha is a monument of the cultural heritage of Russia.
The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Parish of Terijoki was formed at the beginning of the 20th century, in 1904. A few years later, in 1907-1908, the Preobrazhensky stone Evangelical Lutheran church was erected, consecrated in 1908. In 1940, the bell tower was destroyed, and in the late spring of 1944 the temple itself was closed. Its premises were converted into the Pobeda cinema.
In early December 1990, the Evangelical Lutheran parish was officially recreated in Zelenogorsk. In 2001-2002, according to the plan of the architect A. V. Vasiliev and engineer E. M. Grishina, the building of the Zelenogorsk church was completely restored with the restoration of the bell tower. The church has a small Finnish cemetery.
The temple regularly hosts classical music concerts. So, from 2004 to the present day, in the summer period (July - August) on Sundays, the international music festival "Summer in Terijoki" is held here every year. Its artistic director is the Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Alekseevich Shlyapnikov.
In honor of the successful completion of the restoration work and the 100th anniversary of the construction, in September 2008 the bishop of the Church of Ingria Aare Kugappi made a new solemn consecration of the church. The Orthodox Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God donated funds for the purchase of new temple furniture, which was an excellent example of the good-neighborly coexistence of communities with different religious views. During the festive mass, a vocal quartet sang, an organ played, candles were burning, patrons, guests, and community leaders gave speeches. Currently, the pastor of the church is pastor Dmitry Galakhov.
According to the results of the St. Petersburg competition in 2010, the territory of the evangelical church was recognized as the best in the nomination for the most comfortable object of culture and cultural heritage.
A Monument of Reconciliation is erected next to the temple, dedicated to the participants in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. The author of the work is the sculptor Arsen Albertovich Avetisyan. Opened in July 2004. In the period from 1939 to 1943 (Winter and Great Patriotic War), the dead soldiers of the Finnish army were buried near the church. The Monument to the Fallen with their names and dates has survived to this day.
