Description of the attraction
The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is located in the village of Siversky, Gatchina region. Before its construction, there was no parish in Siverskaya. To get to the service, the few residents of the villages of Staraya and Novaya Siverskaya and summer residents had to make a short journey to the nearby temples of Suida, Orlino and Rozhdestveno.
The idea of building a church in Siverskaya arose back in 1857, when the Warsaw Railway passed through these places. But implementing these plans was quite problematic due to the lack of a suitable site and lack of funds.
In 1887, the local dacha owner, Vasily Timofeevich Nikitin, allocated part of his possessions for the construction of the temple, as well as a certain amount of money. This initiative was supported by the owner of the Siverskaya estate, Baron V. B. Fredericks, the owners of the dachas P. N. Zinoviev, D. N. Borodin, P. A. Maksimoym, N. A. Yudin, E. E. Trofimov, head of the station Siverskaya A. A. Dressen, priest of the Nativity Church, Father Eugene Dubravitsky, poet A. N. Maikov and other private benefactors. When the trustees received permission to build the temple, in 1888 the local residents elected a church building committee, which was headed by V. B. Fredericks and W. T. Nikitin. The committee included P. N. Zinoviev, D. I. Borodin, A. A. Dressen, N. A. Yudin, P. A. Maximov, A. S. Relnikov, V. P. Klimov, about. Evgeny Dubravitsky. Through their efforts, the construction of the temple began.
The church was built according to the project of the architect M. S. Samsonov. On June 25, 1869, the temple was consecrated by the chief priest of the army and navy, Alexander Zhelobovsky. The temple was dedicated to the holy apostles Peter and Paul and to the memory of the salvation of the emperor's family during a train crash on October 17, 1887.
In 1890, through the efforts of the poet A. N. Maikov, Doctor Nikitin and other parishioners at the church, a folk school was organized. For these purposes V. T. Nikitin allocated one of the one-story mansions of his country estate, located not far from the temple. P. N. Zinoviev and A. N. Maikov purchased the necessary teaching aids and furnished the room with furniture. The Old Siver peasants and summer residents pledged to collect 60 rubles annually for the needs of the public school.
The ceremonial opening and consecration of the school took place on October 1, 1891. The ceremony of consecration was performed by Archpriest Georgy Falyutin, rector of the church of the Semenovsky regiment. In a folk school in 1892-93. 16 girls and 23 boys were trained. The school taught literacy, reading, arithmetic, singing and the law of God. Teachers conducted extracurricular readings twice a week, as well as demonstrations using the "magic lantern" - educational pictures for children. On Sundays and holidays, readings for peasants were held at the school. The number of people wishing to study at school was constantly growing. Therefore, in 1891, Maikov raised the question of the need for a more spacious building for teaching children. The first thousand, received by A. Maykov from the 6th edition of his works, he donated to buy a new building for the school. Other donors followed the poet's example.
After a while, V. T. Nikitin, for the needs of the school, a new two-story house with outbuildings was purchased, which was located next to the Peter and Paul Church. After that, the school achieved particular prosperity, a monthly subsidy was assigned to it by the Ministry of Public Education. In 1900, the number of students in the school was 75 people.
Apollon Nikolaevich Maikov left his mark on the history of Siverskaya in connection with his organization in 1896. fundraising for the creation of the library. This dedication was carried out after the death of the poet.
For a long time the Church of Peter and Paul did not have its own priest, so the services were conducted by representatives of the St. Petersburg clergy who were vacationing here at their dachas.
In the recent history of the Siversky parish, the personality of Archpriest Grigory Potemkin, rector of the Peter and Paul Church, deserves special attention. In this church, he did not serve for long (1949-1952), but left a good memory of himself by repairing the church building in the post-war period.
The abbot of the temple Valerian Dyrgint (1952-1978) is famous for the fact that he collected a large library, which has not survived to this day. Father Valerian went through a difficult life path, he was subjected to repression and persecution of the Khrushchev times.
1979 to 1983 Archpriest John Mironov conducted services in this church. Now he is the rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Inexhaustible Chalice" in St. Petersburg. Since 1984, priest Sergiy Lomakin has been the rector of the Peter and Paul Church. Father Sergiy regularly conducts out-of-service conversations with parishioners, carries the word of God to orphanages and schools.
In the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Siversky, the icon of the Mother of God is especially revered, which is also called the "Three-handed" (its feast is celebrated on July 25). And the temple itself, prayed by several generations of Orthodox inhabitants of Siverskaya, is a beacon of heavenly harmony and spiritual peace.
