Temple of Seraphim of Sarov (Tula)

The temple was built in 1905 at the expense of the merchants brothers Alexander, Nikolai and Sergey Stefanovich Yermolaev-Zverev, and was consecrated on February 5, 1906. At their own expense, a shelter for the elderly and children was later built at the temple. Each of them donated 8 thousand rubles to the temple, 22 thousand to the shelter for children, and b thousand each to the shelter for the terminally ill. In addition, the brothers each year allocated 160 rubles for the maintenance of the church clergy. There was a bookbinding workshop and a printing house in the shelter, in which not only 20 pupils of the shelter were trained, but also adolescents who came. Later, a blacksmith-locksmith school was opened at the shelter. Brothers Ermolaev-Zverev donated another manor place with buildings for poor widows with children to live. In official documents of that time, this complex is called the “Serafimovsky charity house”.

The iconostasis of the church in the name of Seraphim of Sarov was pine, in three tiers, with gilded carvings; the royal gates were also gilded. The chapel in the name of Theodosius of Chernigov was consecrated to the Seraphim Church, consecrated in September 1899 and was located in the New Trade Rows (the military commandant’s office and the military prosecutor’s office are located today in the former building of the New Trade Rows on Sovetskaya Street). The chapel was built at the expense of merchants who traded in the New Trade Rows.

In the early 1920s, “Almshouse St. Seraphim ”(the Soviet authorities gave this name to the charitable institution) was closed. At the same time, the church of Seraphim of Sarov was closed. Families of workers settled in shelter and shelter buildings. The dome of the church and the upper tiers of the bell tower were demolished. In 1976, the building was transferred to the archival department of the Tula Oblast Executive Committee. In 1991, the temple building was put on state guard as a monument of history and culture of regional significance.

In August 2002, archival documents were taken out, the church of Seraphim of Sarov was returned to the Tula diocese, and on October 4, 2002, the bishop of Tula and Belevsky Cyril served in it the first liturgy. In January 2004, a chapel was arranged in the church in the name of St. Seraphim Vyritsky , in the world of Vasily Nikolayevich Muravyov (1866-1949). A particle of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov , a particle of his rags and particles of the relics of the Diveevsky saints Martha and Alexandra are also stored in the temple.

In the temple there is a half-length icon of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov with a particle of relics and his growth icon with a particle of rags. Among the shrines are the icon of the venerable wives of Diveevsky Alexandra, Martha and Elena with particles of relics, the icon of the famous nuns of the Diveevsky monastery of Paraskeva, Pelagia and Mary.

In 2006-2007, the domed drum of the temple was crowned, crowned with a bulbous head. On the drum are placed bas-reliefs of St. Seraphim and the holy wives of Diveevo. As the rector of the church, Archpriest Sergiy Mosyagin, explained, the drum was designed without using old photographs of the church, since they had not yet been discovered. In 2008, the bell tower was restored. An orthodox spiritual center has been opened at the church, in which conversations with the priest are held, movies, tea parties are arranged, a library is open.

• Temple of Seraphim of Sarov on the site "Russian Churches"