Description of the attraction
In the 1930s, practically not a single church remained in Orenburg. The dilapidated and looted churches turned into warehouses, production workshops, or were simply taken away by local residents for building material. The Dimitrievskaya five-domed church on Popova Street (formerly Feldsherskaya Street) was no exception, and in 1938 the building of the temple with the demolished domes and the destroyed bell tower was transferred to the cinema with the symbolic name "Petrel", after having painted over all the murals with holy images. Several generations went to the temple-cinema, admiring the acoustics and good sound, unaware of its origin.
In 1990, after the transfer of the diocese building, restoration work began, which stretched out for more than twenty years. The final stage at the beginning of 2012 was the work of the artists - restorers, who recreated the fragments of the unique ancient painting on the walls of the temple.
The five-domed stone church with a tiered bell tower was founded in 1887 and consecrated in 1890 by the Orenburg bishop as a single-altar temple of Demetrius of Thessaloniki. The construction was carried out under the direction of the architect V. P. Sakharov at the expense of the merchant brothers Degtyarevs and donations from local residents.
Nowadays, in the restored Dimitrievsky church, in addition to the main work with parishioners, a Sunday school and a library are organized. A chapel and a baptismal church were built on the territory of the church.
The Church of Demetrius of Thessaloniki is one of the restored historical sights of the city of Orenburg.
