The Church of Elijah the Prophet is almost 200 years old. It was built in 1841 with the donations of the merchant Lepetov. Churches in Ivanovo survived many trials in the 20th century. And the temple in honor of Elijah the Prophet, unfortunately, was no exception.
For more than half a century he stood defeated. But years passed, and now this church is one of the most beautiful in the city.
Story
Ivanovo has always been famous for its cotton and cotton. And it all started with the ravaged Napoleon of Moscow. It was after the war with the French that production of chintz began in Ivanovo.
Then merchant Alexander Alekseevich Lepetov was selling chintz and yarn. He made his fortune himself, although he was a native of ordinary peasants. The merchant allocated funds for the construction of a church in Ivanovo in honor of Elijah the Prophet. And the land under it was donated by Ivan Deomidovich Kiselev. He, like Lepetov, was a merchant.
Initially, the site of the construction of the temple was called the Vorobyov settlement. But the locals decided to change it. They turned to Archbishop Parthenius, asking them to rename the Vorobyovskaya settlement to Ilyinskaya. The archbishop granted the request, the settlement was renamed.
The construction of the temple began in 1838, and was completed three years later. They consecrated it only in 1842. The priest, who led the parish for a whole decade, was Alexy Egorovich Pokrovsky. And in 1852 his son-in-law replaced him. For more than half a century, priest Grigory Afanasievich Leporsky was the rector of the Church of Elijah the Prophet. Until his death in 1904.
The late father was replaced by his son. Nikolai Grigoryevich was the rector of the church for 13 years, right up to the revolution.
And then a series of church closures began. Priests were exiled, arrested and shot. In 1935 the temple of Elijah the Prophet was closed. He was transferred to the regional archive. They dropped the bells, took off the crosses, and the desecrated church fell silent, it would seem, forever.
New time
But it was not there. The year 1989 has come. And the church in honor of Elijah the Prophet was returned to believers. And in 1990 - the Ivanovo diocese.
Restoration work has begun. The first service was served on Christmas 1990. By 1993, the impossible was accomplished - the structure was raised from ruins. However, full restoration work was completed only in 2013.
Today the temple is operational. In it daily services are performed.
Address
The address of the church in Ivanovo, built in honor of Elijah the Prophet: Koltsov street, 19/1. The map will help you quickly find the temple.
Services are performed every day. The beginning of the morning services at 8:00. Evening service starts at 17:00.
Conclusion
We talked about one of the oldest churches in Ivanovo. If you manage to visit this city, be sure to visit it.