Okovets Cathedral (Rzhev)

Until recently, historians and local historians assumed that the first wooden church on the site of the cathedral was built in 1758-1759, however, archival documents found - census books of the 17th century , confirmed a different date. The Church of St. John the Baptist existed here in 1678 , and possibly even 100 years before.

In the seventeenth century, Rzhev survived the invasion of foreign hordes. Monasteries were destroyed, temples burned. From the wooden church of John the Baptist there was only a stone foundation.

In December 1715, believers and townsfolk of the Trans-Volga side asked the tsar to allow them to build a new wooden church in honor of the icon of the Rzhev Mother of God on the Church Forerunner’s land, next to the burnt church.

In 1717, according to the Decree of Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky , a wooden church of the icon of the Rzhevskaya Mother of God was built at the mouth of the Volga, as it appears in the annals.

The church, in addition to the Rzhevites assigned to the parish, was visited by parishioners of other parishes on holidays and Sundays. So every year the number of believers who seek help from the icon of the Okovetsko-Rzhevskaya Mother of God increased.

In the XVIII century in the Russian Empire, wooden churches began to be replaced by stone ones. Temples were erected in the same consecrated places and kept the same names. The Rzhev wooden church by that time ceased to accommodate parishioners. It was cramped, unpretentious, too close to the riverbank, the possibility of flooding during the spring floods was not ruled out.

The archival documents of the Rzhev historian T. Gorsky preserved a historical description of the parishioners' appeal, in May 1818 , to the Tver Archbishop Vladyka Seraphim . Parishioners asked for permission to put up a new church of the same name, but already on Spasskaya Square. They promised to carry out the construction on their own donations with the addition of a purse. The temple was to be executed in stone.

By that time (from the 19th century), the Decree of the Holy Synod forbade the construction of new wooden churches. With the modesty of materials and without architectural excesses, the construction of stone, the Synod believed, should not be more expensive than wooden.

The Tver diocesan authorities agreed with the decision of the Rzhev parishioners, but with the condition - “so that they do not touch the candle amount at all and do not bring the church to debts”.

In 1818 , the Okovetsky parish received from the lord Seraphim a deed of creed, a document which prescribed the procedure for building a new church. The Tver diocese ordered the design of a stone church, a new architectural complex with a bell tower, a chapel and a gatehouse. The provincial architect agreed with the project, and the archbishop of Tver and Kashinsky blessed the construction.

It was already possible to start the construction of the church on Spasskaya Square, but suddenly, in October of the same 1818, Vladyka Serafim received a message from the rector of the Okovets church Andrei Vasilyev: “twice,” he writes, “he turned to the Tver civil governor to allocate a place for the construction of the church, in the square, as indicated in the temple letter. And "no action." Meanwhile, a written contract has been drawn up with Rzhevsky landowner Evgraf Lansky for the supply of 600 thousand pieces of brick. If before the start of winter the place for luggage of this brick is not designated, the guilty party will have to pay 5000 rubles, the amount is not lifting. Priest Vasiliev cannot get a place on Spasskaya Square, but no other one either. ”

On the situation, the archbishop turned for help to the Tver Governor N. S. Vsevolzhsky . The governor’s response to Vladyka was detailed and unexpected: “on the Spasskaya Square there is the parish church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, but the priest Vasilyev believes that another can fit there.” Meanwhile, the Rzhevsky city mayor 3akrevsky, at the request of citizens, informed the province: “The square is not large, on trading days there are a lot of carts with goods on it and neighboring streets. The new Okovetskaya church will come closer to the Transfiguration and will be surrounded on all sides by buildings ... "

Being himself a deeply religious man, the governor urgently addressed the issue of building the Okovets Church. And soon after sorting out, he said: “... According to the master plan for the development of Rzhev in 1770, there is no plan to build a building besides the existing church on Spasskaya Square”, and this general plan is actually law for the authorities.

Since the question arose was serious, the governor visited Rzhev, settled matters with the mayor, met with the Dean of Rzhev, Archpriest Andrei Vasilyev - rector of the Okovets Church, together they examined the place for the future church.

According to the results of the inspection of urban places, the governor designated the final territory for construction - the site "... in the environment of the Baptist Parish, the place is convenient and constitutes the view and beauty of the city, where in ancient times there was a church, and now there are signs of burial of bodies." It was about a long-burned and destroyed church in the name of John the Baptist.

So, in 1821 , a place at the intersection of 1st and 2nd Predtechensky streets, on a hill where the foundation of the burnt church remained, became a construction site.

In 1830, the churchwarden and builder, the Rzhev tradesman Fedot Netunakhin wrote to Archbishop Ambrose that the construction of the church was coming to an end, but parishioners asked to build a separate bell tower at their own expense. At the position of its builders, the tradesman Andrei Myasnikov and others were approved, the contractor was the Novotorzh merchant Suvorov. By September, the first floor was erected, up to 200 thousand pieces of brick were used.

The year 1840 has come . Behind a whole decade, and in the construction of the Okovets bell tower, not everything is all right; the elected parish councils were in charge of collecting donations and procuring the necessary materials. In the Tver Diocese, a new Bishop was elected - Archbishop Gregory , Priest Michael Andreev, Rector of the Okovets Church in Rzhev. Parishioners of the church of the Okovetsko-Rzhevskaya Mother of God elect Archpriest Matthew Konstantinovsky as one of the builders of the bell tower of the Transfiguration. In 1840, he - "seconded to send the execution required on Okovetsky church." The choice of the parishioners was not accidental. Father Matthew from all walks of the Rzhevsky population had unquestioned authority, it was easier for him to decide on the acquisition of building materials and the organization of completion of the bell tower.

Meanwhile, the temple has already acted. As early as 1832, the altar and the main part of the church were consecrated by Archpriest Rzhevsky Assumption Cathedral Alexei Sokolov. Two years later, in 1834, the Archbishop of Tver and Kashinsky consecrated a chapel on the right side - the Nativity of John the Baptist . In the same year, Alexei Sokolov consecrated the left chapel church in the name of Saint Rev. Nil Stolobensky .

In June 1831, the construction of one of the best churches of the city - the Okovetsko-Rzhevskaya Icon of the Mother of God was completed. The temple was accepted by an authoritative commission, which included representatives of the Tver province and diocese, as well as the Tver architect Peter Nikitin , who led the construction of the temple.

Archival sources have preserved the description of the original form of the Okovets church: “The whole church is covered with iron painted with copper paint; the head (dome) is also upholstered with iron, and the cross on the head is wooden, bound with tin. The church is all plastered; in the upper floor there are glass frames in the windows, below are iron bars, in them there are frames without glass. The doors are iron, in the refectory there are two stoves made of white tile. In the real church, the iconostasis of the carpentry's best work with carved pieces, but sweetened, is arranged. The holy icons are written by “Greek art” (in the traditions of ancient Russian painting). ”

After the October Revolution, the church of the Okovets-Rzhev Icon of the Mother of God was abolished. For a long time there was a warehouse in the shrine’s premises, then a cotton sales office.

The church and the bell tower, severely damaged during the Great Patriotic War , were restored. For 20 years the temple was operated by the Rzhev Museum of Local Lore , then the building was abandoned.

During the desolation, the external state of the temple became depressing, the cultural layer inside the temple was destroyed. In 1991, the building of the Okovets Church was officially transferred by the city authorities to the Russian Orthodox Church , and its restoration began.

In the same 1991, Priest Konstantin Chaikin made his first service in the Okovets Church, still located in the decoration of scaffolding.

With tremendous efforts of the Rzhev enterprises, organizations and caring people, the temple was restored.

In 1999, a festive anniversary collegiate service was held in the church in honor of the 460th anniversary of the appearance of the Okovets-Rzhev Icon of the Mother of God and the Life-Giving Cross.

On December 28, 2011, by the decision of the Holy Synod , the Rzhev diocese was formed. The Okovetsky church in Rzhev adopted the status of a cathedral in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Okovetskaya”.

Currently ( 2018 ), the Sunday School, the department of Religious Education and Catechesis, the missionary department are operating at the cathedral. There is also a church shop, which presents a wide range of both church utensils and printed materials of various genres.

• "Okovetskaya" icon of the Mother of God
• Icon of the Monk Nil Stolobensky with a piece of relics
• Icon of St. Theophanes the Hermit of Vyshensky with a piece of relics
• Icon of the priest Luke, Archbishop of Crimea and Simferopol with a piece of relics
• Icon of the Holy Martyr Thaddeus, Archbishop of Tver with a piece of relics

• Temples of Rzhev - Russian national tourism
• Church of the Okovets Icon of the Mother of God (vOtpusk.ru)
• Cathedral in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Okovetskaya" in Rzhev (Tver diocese)
• Okovets Cathedral (Rzhev) - “The alphabet of the pilgrim”
• Cathedral official website

• Temples of Rzhev