Church of St. Michael in Narva

The exact date of foundation of the first church in the city of Narva is unknown. The first mention of it takes place in 1345 . The temple was wooden; the Danes built it.

In the second half of the 15th century , during the reign of the Livonian Order , the Germans built a stone church in Narva, which was consecrated according to the Catholic rite in honor of the Holy Virgin Mary.

In the first half of the 16th century , during the Reformation , the church was re-consecrated and it became Protestant.

In 1581 - 1704 , during the period of Swedish rule in Narva, two churches were built, for the Swedish and Finnish Lutheran communities.

In the XVII century (with the exception of 1642-1651), Narva was the administrative center of Ingermanland .

Since 1641, the city has been the permanent residence of the superintendent of the Church of Ingria ^[1] .

In 1646, by decree of the Swedish Queen Christina , the provincial consistory of West Ingermanlandia was established in Narva.

In 1704, the drip parish of Kosemkin was attributed to the parish of Narva.

On August 9, 1704, Narva was captured by Russian troops. The Finnish church burned down, the Swedish church was re-consecrated to the Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church.

Since 1708, service in the Alexander Nevsky Church began to be performed only on the day of St. Prince Adexander Nevsky (as well as custom early masses), and the German church was converted into an Orthodox church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

In 1726, the Finnish parish received permission to build a new church to replace the one destroyed in 1704 during the storming of the city.

In 1727, the construction of a new church was completed; it was located in the New City and was consecrated in honor of St. Michael . The temple was intended for the Finnish and Swedish communities, jointly participating in its construction. The church was wooden and had a cruciform plan.

In 1733, the Alexander Nevsky Church (formerly a Swedish church) was transferred to the German community.

On August 9, 1773, during a great fire, the Finnish-Swedish church burned down.

In 1805, on the northern edge of the Old Town, next to a grocery store on the Gloria Bastion (currently 6 Westerwally St. ), the construction of a new stone church of St. Michael of the Finnish-Swedish parish of Narva was completed.

In 1898, an almshouse with 12 seats was opened at the temple.

In 1900 - 1910, services in the church were conducted 57 times a year in Finnish, Swedish and Estonian ^[2] .

In 1920 , in connection with the division of the territory of the united parish of Narva-Kosemkin by the state border with the RSFSR , the parish of Kosyomkin became independent, and on the part of its territory that was transferred to Estonia - the so-called Estonian Ingermanlandia , a new Lutheran parish of the Church of Ingria - Kallivire was formed .

In 1944, during the hostilities near Narva, the church was destroyed.

The ruins of the temple were finally demolished in the 1950s ^{[3] [4]} .

Currently, Narva Mikhailovsky Church (popularly referred to as the Finnish Church) operates in Narva. It is located in the building of the former little Alexander Church at ul. Krenholmi 22.

• Aleksandrova E. L., Braudze M. M., Vysotskaya V. A., Petrova E. A. “History of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingermanland”, St. Petersburg, 2012, 398 pp., ISBN 978-5-904790-08- 0
• Aappo Metiainen, Karlo Kurko "Entisen Inkerin luteranisen kirkon 350-vuotismuistojulkaisu", Helsinki, 1960, s. 137