Description of the attraction
The Church of the Intercession of the Virgin on Kozlen is an Orthodox church built in Vologda in 1704-1710. In the 17th century, on the site where the modern stone Intercession Church is now located, there was a church in the name of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, built of wood. When it was built is unknown. There are no entries in the annals about the time of construction. The earliest mentions of a wooden church appear in 1612. Vologda at that time was suffering from the Polish-Lithuanian invasion, during which many of the city's churches were plundered and destroyed. Among the victims was the Church of the Intercession on Kozlen. It was burned. Only in 1626 the temple was rebuilt. The newly erected wooden church functioned for fifty-two years.
In 1678, the dilapidated church was dismantled, and on this place, the third church was built, made of wood, in the name of the Intercession of the Mother of God with the side-chapel of the Holy Martyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum of Asia. The new church was built within four years and was consecrated in 1682.
At that time, Vologda was often exposed to fires, and the townspeople decided to build a temple of stone in the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Burning Bush, the patroness and defender of the city from fire, by universal efforts at the Kozlenskaya Church. In 1704, the construction of the stone Intercession Church began.
The stone summer church of the Burning Bush was built in 1704 - 1709 next to the wooden Pokrovskaya. In June 1710 it was consecrated by Archbishop Gabriel. In the fall of 1730, the parishioners of the Intercession Church addressed the Vologda Bishop Athanasius with a request for permission to build a temple of the same name made of stone instead of the dilapidated Intercession Church. The Church of the Intercession on Kozlen, rebuilt at one time from wood, was replaced by a stone winter church, however, when the church was built and consecrated is unknown. Summer and winter churches were combined into one building. Also in the church there was a chapel of Saints Joachim and Anna.
The architecture of the church is standard for the early 18th century. The architecture of the main building is similar to the architecture of the three Vologda temples, which were built in the same decade as it. These buildings have one basic compositional form - a two-story quadrangle with an octagon, completed with a domed roof and a dome. They are identical, the differences are felt only in proportions and some details of the decoration. The Church of the Intercession on Kozlen, built of stone, is one-story, one-domed and connected with a bell tower topped with a tent. The winter church is attached to the western side of the summer church and is, as it were, a continuation of its refectory. The bell tower, as well as the part of the temple where the altar and the refectory are located, underwent significant changes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The painting of the walls of the temple dates back to the early 18th century and is of particular interest in the Church of the Intercession. The dome of the temple, the sailing vaults that support the dome and the walls are covered with paintings. Together with the frescoes of the Yaroslavl school of the 17th century, the influence of secular painting is present in it. Many stories repeat Piscator's Bible illustrations. The painting was carried out by the famous Yaroslavl flag bearer Fedor Fedorov with a group of masters. Later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, frescoes by M. V. Alekseeva is a master from Vologda, who is the author of frescoes in many temples of the Vologda region. This painting is fascinating because it represents the final period of Russian mural art.
Today, the wall paintings and frescoes of the Intercession Church have been completely restored. In 1930, the temple was closed, and the building was occupied by a furniture factory. From 1950 to 1981, there was a recruiting center in the building. In 1985, restoration work was carried out in the temple, and since 1991, divine services have been held again.
