Smolensk Church (Pogi)

In the middle of the XIX century, the territory around the temple belonged to Vonlyarlyarsky .

The construction of the temple was preceded by the following event. The inhabitants of Smolensk , whose farms suffered in 1812, turned to E. P. Vollyarlyarsky. After the end of the war, they took money from the treasury into debt for the purpose of renovating houses. This debt gradually increased to 80,000 rubles in silver. Nicholas I forgave this debt, at the request of E. P. Vonlyarlyarsky. In gratitude, the residents of Smolensk presented E.P. Vonlyarlyarsky icon of the Smolensk Mother of God .

For the icon, the owner decided in 1846 to build a separate small temple with a family crypt . In addition, the construction of the church would allow Orthodox peasants to attend the services more often. .

In 1848, the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was temporarily built in the wooden manor house of E. P. Vonlyarlyarsky.

The project, compiled by architect B. B. Heidenreich, was approved by Emperor Nicholas I at the end of 1848. The laying of the temple took place in 1850. The construction of the church cost 80,000 rubles in silver - an amount made up of the means of the landowner and the collection.

In 1851, the church was consecrated in the name of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God.

The temple was closed by a resolution of the Presidium of the Leningrad Executive Committee on May 10, 1935.

After closing the warehouse was arranged in the church, cast-iron floors were installed, which later collapsed under their own weight.

In 1990, the church was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. With the blessing of Metropolitan of Leningrad Alexy (Ridiger) , the church was transferred to St. Sophia Cathedral in Pushkin .

In 1992, restoration was begun, and on August 10, 1994, the first liturgy was served after the break.

The stone church building stands on the basement. The temple was built in the forms of the “Russian-Byzantine” style popular in the second half of the XIX century.

The church is five-headed: with an octahedral drum, complete with a tent, and four small turrets in the corners.

The refectory is crowned with a bell tower with a hipped completion. The windows in the building are lancet with platbands, the walls are decorated with pointed arches.

In the church there were previously two thrones: the upper one - the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God and the lower one, in the basement - the Nativity of Christ (consecrated on July 11 (23), 1855 ). The antimins of the main altar was consecrated on June 17 (29), 1851 by Bishop Macarius (Bulgakov) ; antimins chapel - Metropolitan Nikanor (Klementevsky) January 30 ( February 11 ), 1855 .

When entering the outside, on an iron board was an inscription in bronze letters: “ Lord! Save and have mercy on Your servant Eugene . ”

The length of the temple to the pulpit is 15 m; width to columns - 1.8 m; height to the arches - 9.2 m; height from the floor to the dome of the dome - 19 m.

Inside the walls of the church are painted white.

The modern four-tier iconostasis was made by Vyatka workshops and installed in 2006. Icons are written for almost all tiers.

In 2018, 6 window units were replaced in the middle part of the temple. Window openings were decorated with stained-glass composition " 12 Apostles ", two figures in each of the windows. Stained glass is made in the classic technique of painted stained glass. The origins of the compositional solution were the Byzantine ornaments and the iconography of the Russian modern era. Works on the window filling device were performed by the A. A. Tanich Petersburg stained-glass workshop.

Above the entrance are choirs, in the vestibule, under the bell tower - a staircase to it. Earlier on the wall inside the temple was a memorial bronze plaque on which was the inscription: " The emperor Alexander Nikolayevich deigned to pray here on December 23, 1858, together with the Grand Dukes Nikolay and Mikhail Nikolayevich ."

Among the attractions that were previously in the temple:

• The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, 73 cm x 60 cm in size, painted on a cypress board by the artist Fedotov, is a gift from Smolensk residents. The icon had a silver salary with the inscription: “ For the diligence shown to Smolensk citizens in 1841, in memory of sincere appreciation, we blessed the servant of God Yevgeny with the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God Odigitria ”.
• The icon of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh was presented to Vonlyarlyarsky by Archbishop of Voronezh Anthony (Smirnitsky) , who took an active part in the organization of the church.

In the lower aisle of the temple was the family tomb of Vonlyarlyarskih. Here were buried:

• Evgeny Petrovich Vonlyarlyarsky, who died of "paralysis in the lungs" November 11 (23), 1881 .
• Natalya Petrovna Vonlyarlyarskaya, who passed away that “blow” on April 24 ( May 6 ), 1883 .
• Petr Evgenievich Vonlyarlyarsky, who died of consumption, on April 3 (15), 1854 . His remains were the only ones discovered in 2002. The tombstone is partially preserved.
• Nikolai Evgenievich Vonlyarlyarsky, who died of "inflammation" on February 11 (23), 1875 .
• Evgenia Evgenievna Man de Corvetto, who died of “acute hillocks” on March 1 (13), 1887 .

The parish included:

• village (manor house) New Lisino
• village of Yeglizi
• village Kaibolovo
• village Kirpolovo (tract south-east of Kaibolovo)
• Krasnaya Gorka village (tract to the south of the former village of Kirpolovo)
• Kungolovo village
• New Village
• Peri village (tract west of the village of Cordon Peri )
• village Ryndelevo

The temple is located on the grounds of the St. Sophia Cathedral Tsarskoe Selo . The territory of the monastery is bounded from the west and north by fields of the state farm "Fedorovsky"; from the south - dear Pogi - Kaibolovo; from the east - the Vinokurka river.

Territory history

The Novolisin manor "with seven villages" was granted to the Life Guards by the soldier I. N. Zotov , then it passed to M. Saltykov, baron I. Y. Fridriks and V. M. Rebinder .

In 1783, the estate was acquired by the general from the infantry, F. F. Buxgevden, and his wife, N. A. Buxgevden.

After the death of F. F. Buksgevden in 1811, the estate passed to his son Peter Fedorovich, who owned it until 1839. The children of P. F. Buksgevden - Pavel and Natalya - owned the estate together until the partition in 1840, when the estate was taken to Natalya Petrovna.

Natalya Petrovna’s husband, E. Vonlyarlyarsky, completely transformed the estate, built new buildings, flooded the Vinokurku River, as a result of which a lake was formed. Along the coast was a walking path leading to the village of Pogi .

From 1874 to 1880, the estate was owned by the son of Vonlyarlyarskih earl Mok de Corveto (Pierre Louis Gaston Abel Magne de Corvetto (1846-1891), then, until 1889, the camera-fourier Raymond Nikolayevich Ingano and his children. From them the estate passed to Lyubov Grigorievna Gogel, and in 1899 her daughter Lyubov Grigorievna Katenina.

In Soviet times, the territory was used by local institutions. The park was launched, the dams were destroyed.

In 1990, the territory was transferred to St. Sophia Cathedral.

Social House

The wooden manor house was located to the south-east of the temple and was built under F. F. Buchsgövden.

In the 1850s, probably, architect R. A. Zhelyazevich erected a stone building. The manor house was a two-story, rectangular in plan, with a rectangular risalit that forms the central entrance. The main volume of the building was divided into three parts, while perhaps the central part was chronologically earlier. The side facing the church outbuilding was built later; and the opposite wing, probably of Soviet origin. The design of the facades of the central part differed: the facade facing the road was designed in the Baroque style ; and on the facade facing the river, techniques of ancient Russian architecture were used. A direct access road led to the manor yard. In front of the south facade was a round flower garden.

After 1918, the building housed a local school and a club. After World War II, it was transferred to an orphanage that existed here until the 1970s. In the 1980s, the building was redeveloped as a recreation center, but was not completed. As a result, the building began to collapse.

After the transfer of the manor to the Sofia Cathedral, it was decided to arrange a nursing home in the building. However, the state of the estate did not allow this to be done, by which time it was practically lost.

In 1998–1999, in its place, a new two-storey building of the “Sofia Manor” guest house was built according to the project of M. A. Reader.

The social home is designed for a stay of about 30 people at a time. Each is provided with individual rooms and care. Work with the residents of the house is carried out in conjunction with the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University .

Farm

The farmstead also includes the farm "Sofia", equipped with high-quality, advanced agricultural equipment. The farm plays the role of a model of efficient farming and the production of natural organic products.

It provides parishioners of Tsarskoselsky deanery , as well as social institutions under the care of the cathedral, healthy food, among which the main place is sour milk products.

The farm is engaged in beekeeping and poultry farming, breeding Romanov sheep, rabbits, dairy cattle, pigs; grow vegetables, fruits, honey and cereals.

In the future, it is planned to breed fish, plant an apothecary garden, create an equestrian complex.

• Meshchaninov M. Yu. Temples of Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk and their immediate surroundings: A brief historical reference. - 2nd ed., Corr. and additional .. - SPb. : Genio Loci, 2007. - ISBN 5-9900655-3-1 .