In Russia, an incredible number of churches are dedicated to the Virgin. The same goes for icons, by the way. Surprisingly, in the religion of Christ among the people among the people much more venerated the Virgin Mary. Most likely, this is due to the fact that it represents a more understandable and closer archetype of the mother, which has been revered for thousands of years in the person of the Mother Goddess. One of the temples dedicated to this woman, namely the temple of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Volgograd, we will discuss below.
About the Virgin temples
Almost all churches that are dedicated to the mother of Jesus Christ, revered as the eternal virgin and the highest creature after God in the Universe, are sanctified in honor of some of her icons or events in life. In this sense, the Church of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Volgograd is a very, very rare exception. Unlike others, it is consecrated in honor of the holiday, which is based not on historical facts, but on meta-historical, legendary traditions about how the Virgin was taken to heaven in a resurrected body and was crowned there as the heavenly queen. The Temple of Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Volgograd), the photo of which you see below, celebrates its patronal feast in the week of Akathist. There are similar churches in the Kremlin, Nizhny Novgorod and some other places, but they are still very few.
Temple Appearance
There was a temple of Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Volgograd in 2005. Historically, there was never a temple on the site of its construction. In order to open a church there, the city authorities had to allocate a building, in its original purpose, although cultural, but completely non-religious. It was a former movie theater called Mir. The cinema building and the surrounding area were transferred to the ownership of the Orthodox diocese of Volgograd. For about a year, preparatory work was carried out on them, transforming the former leisure center into a religious building intended for worship. And already in 2006, the temple of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Volgograd was opened for worship. Before this, the building first needed to be cleaned of the garbage that had accumulated in it. In the cleaned area, repairs were required. And in addition, in order to comply with the traditions of Russian Orthodoxy, the Church of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Volgograd) was equipped with an iconostasis and an altar extension.
Further history of the church
Gradually, the temple more and more ennobled and improved. So, in 2009, he acquired a well with holy water, and a water supply was made to the building itself. A year later, a Sunday school opened at the church, in which classes for children are held on Sundays. In the same year, a baptistery began to be built next to the building of the former cinema, that is, a baptismal church, so that it could be baptized.
Service and Shrines
This temple contains some religious relics that are significant for believers. For example, the relics of the Monk Alexander Sanaksarsky. In addition, at the disposal of the church are the relics of St. Demetrius of Rostov.
As for social service, a free legal aid center has been established at this temple. To increase its church consciousness, the parish offers theology courses for the laity. In addition, for those who wish there is a free gym with modern, professional fitness equipment. Needy and poor people find material help at the church - clothes, shoes, groceries. Another parish works with children through the mediation of the Volgograd Center for Custody of Minors. It publishes the temple and its own periodicals in the form of the “Praise Word” magazine, which, incidentally, is also distributed free of charge.
The church is located at: Volgograd region, the city of Volgograd, Cherepovetskaya street, 92/2.