Odigitrievskaya Church is an Orthodox church of the 1760s in Smolensk , destroyed during the Soviet era .
| Orthodox church | |
| Hodegetria Church | |
|---|---|
 Hodegetria Church in Smolensk on a postcard from the beginning of the 20th century | |
| A country |  Russia |
| City | Smolensk |
| Denomination | Orthodoxy |
| Diocese | Smolensk and Vyazemskaya |
| Architectural style | baroque |
| Construction | 1764 |
| Status | nonexistent temple |
| condition | lost |
Location, appearance and history
The Odigitrievskaya church was located at the intersection of Bolshaya and Malaya Odigitrievsky streets (nowadays - Dokuchaev Street and part of Lenin Street, respectively). The first wooden church on this site was built in 1456 in memory of the return to Smolensk of the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God Hodegetria from Moscow . The temple was consecrated in the name of this icon. According to other sources, the wooden church was installed in 1655 after the liberation of Smolensk from the Poles .
The church served as the main temple of the city until the construction of the new Assumption Cathedral in 1740. For the maintenance of the Hodegetria Church, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich allocated a thousand archers and laid a salary [1] .
In 1764, instead of the wooden one, the stone Hodegetria church was built, along with it the chapel of John the Warrior and the bell tower were built [1] . The church was built in the European Baroque style and was a one-domed church with adjoining refectory and a bell tower. It differs from other Smolensk churches of that time in height and massiveness [2] .
On April 16, 1803, Nikifor Murzakevich was ordained a priest of the Odigitrievsky church, becoming the first Smolensk historian. Murzakiewiczβs house was located right behind the church. During the Great Patriotic War, it burned down, now in its place a five-story building with a memorial plaque. A number of historical milestones of the church are known only by its records.
On July 9, 1812, townspeople met Emperor Alexander I at the Odigitrievsky Church. On August 5, a French bomb flew through the window of the church, which, exploding, damaged the interior and caused minor injuries to several ministers, including Murzakiewicz. On August 6, the French, capturing about 50 citizens who fled from Smolensk, locked them in church premises. Soon the Smolensk were released. On August 20, the French tried to remove the bells from the Odigitrievskaya church, but Murzakevich did not let them in, for which he was seized and taken to the occupying municipality. However, the authorities did not allow the commission of actions against Murzakiewicz. On October 30, the church was attacked by Poles who tried to rob her and steal the property of the parishioners. During an attempted robbery, Murzakevich was beaten [2] .
On December 6, 1822, the chapel of John the Warrior was renovated, which was painted by Lev Petrovich Leonov [2] .
By the end of the 19th century, the Hodegetria Church had 2 thrones: the main one in the name of the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria and the side-guard in the name of the holy martyr John Warrior. The constant number of people living in the church was 97 men and 115 women, and those who lodged more than 800. Every year on July 26, a procession was made from the Assumption Cathedral to the church. At the church there was a literacy school in which 15 students attended [2] . The father of the Soviet science fiction writer Alexander Belyaev served in the church as a priest [3] .
On August 20, 1929, by a resolution of the Presidium of the Western Regional Executive Committee, the Hodegetria Church was closed with the wording:
| ... further use of this temple for its intended purpose is not necessitated, since 15 churches that are in use by the city community of believers, besides the one under consideration, are more than sufficient to satisfy their cult needs [2] ... |
The church building was initially transferred to Smolensk State University . On September 19, the decree was canceled as part of the transfer to the university, and the building was left at the disposal of the Smolensk City Council. Later, there were plans to host a club of agricultural workers, the House of Pioneers, and Komsomol organizations. On May 20, 1936, the Presidium of the Western Regional Executive Committee and the bureau of the Smolensk Regional Committee of the CPSU (B.) Decided to demolish the church, for which 40 thousand rubles were allocated. However, this decision was not implemented, since the printing house of the NKVD of the USSR was already located in the building by that time.
The church was badly damaged during World War II . In the early 1960s, its remains were finally demolished in preparation for the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of Smolensk. The Hodegetria Church was the last of the churches demolished during the Soviet era in Smolensk [2] .
Notes
- β 1 2 Hodegetria Church (inaccessible link) on the site "Cultural Heritage of the Land of Smolensk." Article 1
- β 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hodegetria Church (inaccessible link) on the website βCultural Heritage of the Land of Smolenskβ. Section 2.
- β "From Genius to Leader" . , the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets 03/28/2012
Literature
- Diary of Priest Nikifor Adrianovich Murzakevich 1776-1834 - Smolensk, "Years", 2005. - S. 22, 24, 29, 33, 35, 39, 47.
- Trofimovsky N.V. Historical and statistical description of the Smolensk diocese. - St. Petersburg, 1864 .-- S. 262-263.
- St. N.A. Murzakevich. History of the city of Smolensk / Anniversary Edition of the Smolensk Provincial Statistical Committee. - Smolensk, 1903. - P.111.