Description of the attraction
The Church of the Epiphany rises above the right bank of Pskov, on Zapskovye, above Brody. It has 3 thrones: the main one - the Epiphany of the Lord, and 2 chapels - the Beheading of John the Baptist - southern, and Three Saints (Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom) - northern. The temple was founded in 1496, but at the same time it was mentioned for the first time in the chronicle in 1397. It was said about him that he is located on the "Epiphany Red Cross", the red cross means a beautiful crossroads. On the other side there were two other churches of the Epiphany of the Lord, therefore these three churches were called the "holy triangle", since in this place water was consecrated on the feast of Epiphany (Epiphany).
A road descends from the temple to the river and a pedestrian bridge. The ancient name of this area is Brody, since the river here could be waded. Hence another name for the temple - "Epiphany on Brody".
This beautiful building was admired by the famous architect Le Corbusier, who came from France during the Soviet years as part of the cooperation between the two countries in the field of architecture and construction. The image of the ancient Pskov temple is inspired by his work of the 50s, in particular the chapel built according to his project in 1950-1953 in his hometown of Ronshan.
The building of the temple, which has survived to this day, was built in 1496. Before that, there was another temple, which was replaced by a stone one. The architectural image of the last building is a quadrangular structure with one head, with an asymmetrical composition, it has 3 apses, a narthex, galleries and 2 side-chapels. The facade on the apses and the drum is decorated with the so-called "Pskov necklace". Inside it has a cross-domed structure with four pillars.
A bell tower with five spans and a basement was built at the temple in the 16th century. Until recently, there were 7 old bells on it. The largest of them was cast under Ivan the Terrible, the second smaller - polyeleos, the third, the size of the second, everyday. There were also two small rings and a sub-ring. Now the ancient bells have been replaced with new ones. On October 13, 2008, Metropolitan Eusebius consecrated 7 new bells, which were cast in Voronezh. After that they were taken to the belfry. The largest of them weighs about two tons.
In the 17-18 centuries, the temple was first restored. In 1897, a building for a parish school was built next to the temple, which opened on October 8, 1898. It had about 100 students.
In the 1930s, the Church of the Epiphany was closed by the Soviet authorities. During the Second World War, the building of the temple underwent severe destruction, significant damage was caused by an aerial bomb and artillery shells that fell into it. The 17th century iconostasis and all the wooden elements of the building burned down. In 1948-1953, the ancient building was again subject to partial restoration, during which ancient paintings were discovered, which indicates that the temple was decorated with frescoes in ancient times.
In the 90s of the 20th century, research and archaeological work took place here, emergency measures were carried out under the leadership of A. K. Bogodukhova. In 2000-2008, restoration work continued. The onion has been replaced on the central chapter. The south side-chapel was restored, preserving fragmentary ancient masonry, as well as its drum and cross. The northern aisle was completely rebuilt and parts of the old masonry were also preserved. The ancient southern gallery was also rebuilt.
In 2005, the building was handed over to the church again. The first service took place on November 6, 2007. And from December 9, 2007, regular services were resumed. On March 7, 2008, Metropolitan Eusebius consecrated the cross in the south aisle. Today, the Church of the Epiphany from Zapskovye is undoubtedly an ancient historical and cultural monument of federal significance and is protected by the state.
