Address: Russia, Yaroslavl region, Yaroslavl, Volzhskaya embankment, 51/2
Main attractions: Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1688), Church of the Ascension of the Lord (1745)
Shrines: a cross with the relics of Saints Spyridon of Trimifuntsky and Theodosius of Totma, a water-sacred cross with the relics of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, a cross with a part of the stone of the Holy Sepulcher and 136 particles of the relics of various saints
Coordinates: 57 ° 38'03.9 "N 39 ° 53'29.3" E
Content:
The Annunciation-Ascension parish is a real decoration of the Volzhskaya embankment in Yaroslavl and a very unusual sight of the ancient Russian city. The white and red temples are very close to each other. Their story is a whole series of difficult tests. Churches burned in flames, rebuilt and destroyed. But time turned out to be not powerful, and today almost all guests of the ancient city - tourists and Orthodox pilgrims - strive to see these temples.
History of the Annunciation and Ascension churches
Once upon a time there was a Lovetskaya settlement on the banks of the Volga. As its name implies, the Yaroslavl people lived here, who hunted in fishing. The chronicle of the temple complex in Lovetskaya Sloboda begins in the 17th century. Researchers believe that its history was more ancient, but written evidence of the existence of the first wooden temple has survived only since 1630.
From left to right: Church of the Ascension of the Lord, Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos
A huge devastating fire that happened in the city in June 1658, according to legend, began with this wooden church. It is known that the flame from it spread to nearby neighborhoods, the wind caught it, and soon the whole city was on fire. After a while, the wooden church was restored. However, in 1670 it burned down again.
Lovetskaya Sloboda was not very rich, and was inferior to the wealthy Tolchkova or Korovnitskaya, but its residents found funds to build a new brick church. The construction took 4 years, and in 1702 the church was consecrated in honor of the Annunciation. With this holiday, Christians celebrate the news that the archangel Gabriel brought to the Mother of God when he told her about the birth of her son.
The church for conducting divine services in the warm season turned out to be rather modest in size and the nature of the decor, but very beautiful and slender. Its only side-chapel was consecrated in honor of Dmitry of Uglich. At the beginning of the 18th century, the interior of the church was painted on gospel themes. All 300 subject hallmarks were created by local masters headed by the famous bannermen Fyodor Ignatiev and Fyodor Fyodorov.
View of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord from st. Surkov
Time passed, and local residents began to collect money for the construction of a new church, where services could be held in winter. In 1745, the temple was completed and consecrated in honor of the Ascension of Christ. It turned out to be more magnificent than the Annunciation Church, had a refectory and one side-chapel. It was also painted with frescoes, and the famous Yaroslavl master A.M. Bazhenov in 1804 carved a beautiful wooden iconostasis for this church. With the money of a local resident, collegiate assessor S.M. Neznamov at the beginning of the 19th century, another side-altar was built in the church, dedicated to St. Mitrofan of Voronezh.
As time went on, in the second half of the 19th century, the Annunciation temple complex was expanded. According to the project of the architect Andrei Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, who was the younger brother of the famous Russian writer, a three-tiered belfry was erected near the churches. And, in addition, with funds allocated by a wealthy merchant and benefactor Mikhail Vasilyevich Vakhromeev, expensive church utensils were purchased for churches.
Until 1918, both temples flourished. The Annunciation church complex has been preserved in old photographs taken by the famous Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky in 1911.
View of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord from the side of the Fleet Descent
During the struggle of the Soviet regime with religion, in 1930, both churches were closed. A year earlier, the first, older church bell tower was demolished. The ancient frescoes of the Annunciation Church were saved only by the fact that the temple was transferred to the management of the city museum-reserve. The warm church housed the archive at that time.
The Ascension Church was returned to believers in 1991. And Annunciation - before the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of ancient Yaroslavl. After extensive restoration and restoration work, services were resumed in them. Today the Annunciation Church is known as the main wedding temple of Yaroslavl.
Architecture and interior decoration
The Annunciation Church is a cross-domed church, without a basement, encircling galleries and a refectory. Its pillarless main volume in the form of a quadrangle is completed by a hipped roof. The walls of the church have almost no decor, with the exception of arched recesses for windows and a laconic frieze on the drums. From the west, the church is adjoined by a porch, above which there used to be a bell tower, dismantled during the years of Soviet power.
The temple is crowned with five domes. Experts believe that the domes originally had a traditional bulbous end. But later the domes were redesigned, giving them a bizarre shape of baroque buds. The slender Annunciation Church became a model for many Yaroslavl religious buildings of later times, the builders of which tried to reproduce its laconic forms.
View of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the east
The one-domed Ascension Church is squat and has one wide altar apse. Its small volumes are typical for most warm temples. So the premises were easier to heat up in the cold season. The windows of the church, in the likeness of the nearby Annunciation Church, are framed by arched platbands.
The current state of the temples and the visiting regime
The Annunciation Church is a functioning Orthodox church. Services are held here daily, and the churches are open from 8.00 to 19.00. In winter, services are held in the Ascension Church, and Sunday school classes for parishioners are held in the Annunciation Church. In the parish there are two icons revered by believers - Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Three-Handed Mother of God.
How to get there
The Annunciation temple complex is located on the Volzhskaya embankment of Yaroslavl, 51/2.
By car. The federal highway M8 leads from Moscow to Yaroslavl. Within the city limits, it is called Moskovsky Prospekt. On it you need to cross the bridge over the Korotosl River, and after 1.4 km and turn right onto Pervomayskaya Street. It ends at the Volzhskaya embankment, which runs along the right bank of the Volga. The Annunciation Church is located on the Volzhskaya Embankment, 0.2 km north of Pervomaiskaya Street.
Bell tower of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord
By train. From Moscow to Yaroslavl, express train trains reach in 3 hours 16 minutes. The journey by regular train takes from 4 to 5.5 hours. From Moskovsky railway station in Yaroslavl, the distance to the Annunciation Church is 4.5 km. You can walk to it, as well as drive up by bus or minibus.
