Description of the attraction
The Church of Saints Kozma and Damian or the Church of the Smolensk Mother of God is located in the city of Rostov Veliky at Perovsky lane, 10. It was built in 1775 on the site of the former Kozmodamian monastery, about which there is very scant information, it is only known that it was located on the outskirts of the city, at the Chudsky end.
The first mention of a parish church at this place can be found in the documents of the first Rostov census, dating from the beginning of the 17th century. Then the Kletsky temple was built of wood, “on the monastery” - that is, on the territory of the monastery courtyard. At the Kozmodamian Church there was a second, small "warm" Annunciation Church.
Construction of the modern stone church began in the 1760s. The new building combines the winter and summer churches. In 1769, a ceremony was held to consecrate the warm chapel of Kozma and Damian, then the main altar in the name of Our Lady of Hodegetria. There is evidence that the work in the church was completed in 1775, and at the same time the second chapel was consecrated in the name of Constantine and Helena. Officially, according to the main throne, the temple was called Smolensk, but the people retained its old name - Kozma and Damian.
The Kozmodamian temple is single-domed, built of bricks, according to a three-part-axial composition: the central volume, the refectory and the bell tower are elongated along the same axis. The design of the church is notable for its simplicity and elegance, on the windows there are carved platbands, the facades of the building are separated by paired pilasters. On the west side, a low refectory joins the main volume, and a bell tower to it. The bell tower is high and has 3 tiers. It is the only one of all the surviving Rostov bell towers, which is completed with a hipped roof with sound holes - "rumors".
In 1926, the temple was abolished, icons and precious utensils were removed from it. The bell tower has lost its bells. After the closure, a pioneer club was built in the church building, and a barracks during the Great Patriotic War. In the post-war years, apartments appeared here, from which people were later evicted, and a glass container point was opened in the building.
In 1995, the church of Saints Kozma and Damian was returned to the believers. With donations from the Rostov Patriarchal Metochion, renovation work began, and in 2004 the revival of the parish community took place.
