On the banks of the Volga, where the Kotorosl River flows into it , the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl is spread, since ancient times famous for its holy places, one of which is the Church of the Archangel Michael, towering near the walls of the Transfiguration Monastery. Built in honor of the leader of the Heavenly Host, today it, as in previous years, serves as a place of spiritual nourishment for the defenders of Russia.
Church in the name of the patron saint of warriors
About who and when the church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) was built, whose history is inextricable with the military glory of Russia, is told by ancient chronicles and church archives that have come down to us from past times. Among other documents there is a letter drawn up in 1530. It tells how the Prince of Novgorod, Constantine, ordered the laying of two churches in Yaroslavl, one of which was the Assumption Cathedral, and the second he dedicated to the patron saint of the military people, on whom then (and now) depended not only prosperity, but also the life of Russians people.
This information allows us to establish with high reliability that the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) was built in 1215, since the exact date of construction of the Assumption Cathedral, erected simultaneously with it, is known from the archives. From the same sources, it appears that after eighty years it has become very dilapidated, as it was built of wood - a material known to be short-lived, and was rebuilt already in stone by order of Princess Anna - the wife of the Yaroslavl specific prince Fyodor Cherny.
Granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor
It is curious that this Yaroslavl prince and his wife are mentioned in the annals in connection with one very romantic story. The fact is that Black is not the surname of the prince, but his nickname, which came from the Slavic word “chermna”, which means “beautiful”. Indeed, there is evidence that he was a man of extraordinary beauty, which was immediately noticed by the wife of the Tatar khan Nogai, to whom the prince arrived one day.
Having fallen in love at first sight with the handsome Rusich, she nonetheless understood that she was threatening both of them if her husband had even the slightest reason for jealousy. Therefore, not being able to give him love, she gave him her daughter, who was named in holy baptism by Anna, with whom the prince forever found a particle of her heart. It should be added that the wife of the khan was the native daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Paleologist and, of course, was refined in nature. Here is her daughter, the granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor, who became a handsome prince a faithful companion, and ordered to rebuild the Church of Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl).
The memory of the father and the sorrow of the stepson
When asked about why the princess, erecting the church, dedicated it to Mikhail Archangel, historians were divided. Some explain this by the desire to perpetuate the memory of the father, who was named Michael, while others are inclined to see in it grief for the prematurely deceased beloved stepson Michael - the son of Prince Fyodor from his first wife.
Since ancient times, several icons have come down to us, which after a long break again returned to the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl). A photo of one of them - the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - is presented in the article. In addition, the most revered shrines of the temple are: the image of the Archangel Michael, seized in the thirties and then placed in the Tretyakov Gallery, and the icon of St. Anthony the Great, painted by an unknown master of the Novgorod school at the beginning of the XIV century.
Garrison church
After accession to the throne in 1645, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, all the nearby territory was given over to the archery settlements, and the Church of Mikhail Archangel (Yaroslavl) became their garrison church, since the saint in whose honor she was consecrated was considered the patron saint of military people. This status, preserved for it over the centuries, has survived to the present day. Then, having been at the disposal of the military department, it was overhauled and partially rebuilt.
However, if we turn to the documents, it is easy to verify that the Yaroslavl governors were actually rather stingy, and the sovereign boyars were not in a hurry to fork out. There was a lot from the transfer of the temple to the military department, but there was no money for repairs. Yaroslavl merchants had to please the splendor of the garrison church and ease their taut wallets a little.
For all the delays, the repair lasted for many years and was completed only in the eighties of the XVII century, after the accession to the throne of Peter I, during the reign of which there were many wars, and the patronage of the Archangel Michael was relevant.
The appearance of a military temple
Such a long period of repair of the church left its mark on its appearance. Over the years, the architectural fashion has changed, and with it the tastes of the merchants, who paid for the work, and, accordingly, dictated its requirements to architects. As a result, a meticulous glance can reveal in her features traces of several styles that succeeded each other in that era.
According to its layout, the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl), the old photos of which have survived to the present day and give an idea of how it looked before, does not go beyond the traditions that once existed in the Volga cities. It is based on an unchanged quadruple, ending with three apses - the rounded protrusions of the building, inside which are the altar spaces.
The high basement is also traditional - the lower floor of the building, intended for household needs, and in large trading cities, as Yaroslavl always was, often used to store goods - the market was always nearby. The god-loving merchants, caring for the soul, never forgot about mammon.
Facade, bell tower and interior painting
The church bell tower - an integral part of any temple complex - is made in accordance with the tastes of customers who paid for its construction. This is a rather squat cargo structure with a tent-like finish. Particularly pleasing to the eye is the design of the facade, richly decorated with carved window frames and the so-called widths - rectangular indentations in which picturesque colored tiles are placed. The Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) is three-altered. In addition to the main limit, there are two more, one of which, dedicated to the Solovetsky holy miracle workers, is crowned with an elegant tower.
The undoubted landmark of the church are the frescoes, made in 1731 by the Novgorod icon painters' artel, led by the famous master Fyodor Fyodorov. Their works have many very characteristic features that distinguish them from the works of other artists. The main one is a certain simplification of the transfer of images, to some extent related them to the Russian popular print. The works of these masters are full of life and colors, very harmoniously combined with the architecture of the church and its interior decoration.
Years of ruin and gloom
When the Bolsheviks seized power in the country in 1917, the Church of Mikhail the Archangel (Yaroslavl), like most Russian churches, was closed, and a warehouse was built in its premises. With the exception of a small number of interior items donated to the country's museums, all values were looted, and what, in the opinion of the new masters of life, was of no interest was simply destroyed. The bells, several centuries calling for the prayer of the pious Yaroslavl, were removed and sent for re-melting.
Only in the sixties, as a result of the great work done by the representatives of the city intelligentsia, it was possible to transfer the church building to the local museum of local lore, which greatly improved its position and allowed to proceed with the restoration of the facade. But for many years, among the city temple buildings used for needs far from religion, there was the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl). Services were not held here until the beginning of the nineties of the last century, which became the frontier of the era of total atheism.
Waiting for God-Loving Sacrificers
Despite the fact that the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl) was transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate along with other city churches, the schedule of services can still be seen only on the doors of the winter church attached to the main building and which is part of the general complex. The main building, as before, awaits voluntary donors who are ready to make their financial contribution to the restoration of the shrine. In all centuries, Russian land has been famous for their abundance. It is hoped that they have not been extinct today, and one day the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl) will fully revive its religious life. The address for those who want to see it with their own eyes: Yaroslavl, Pervomaiskaya St., 67.