One of the main attractions of Yaroslavl is the Church of the Epiphany, located on one of its main squares. The exceptional artistic and historical value of this monument made it a kind of hallmark of the city. In addition, combining the objects of cultural heritage located around the church, the church is their architectural dominant.
Pious donor
From documents that have reached us, it is known that during the Time of Troubles, the site on which the Epiphany Church (Yaroslavl) is now located was the property of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastery located nearby, and the wooden church built here in time immemorial gave it the name of the Epiphany settlement. Historians have no common opinion on the date of its construction. Usually indicate the XV century, but there are supporters of an earlier period.
The existing Church of the Epiphany of the Lord (Yaroslavl) was founded in 1684. It was built, as often happened in Russia, at the expense of a private donor. In this case, it turned out to be the merchant of the first guild, Alexei Platonovich Zubchaninov. In his family, this was no longer the first great charitable deed - once the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery adjacent to it was once laid at the expense of ancestors.
Man-made miracle
The Epiphany Church (Yaroslavl) was built for nine years, and when it was completed, a real miracle appeared before the amazed citizens. What they saw in no way resembled other temple buildings erected by Yaroslavl craftsmen.
There were several differences, and all of them were fundamental. First of all, the church building was deprived of a basement - the traditional lower floor, usually used as a utility or storage room, and rested directly on the foundation. In addition, it was the first pillarless church in Yaroslavl. The absence of massive supports inside the building created a sense of volume and spaciousness. This effect was enhanced by a closed and vaulted ceiling vault.
Innovations and Traditions
In general, the temple seemed huge. But what was a perfect novelty for that time was the bright colored tiles used by architects to decorate most of the facade elements. Placed in the brickwork of the walls, encircling cornices and drums, they gave the building an elegant and festive look.
It should be noted that the Church of the Epiphany of the Lord (Yaroslavl) is not devoid of the elements traditional for local architecture, such as the covered galleries that surround the main building on three sides. Then, on the north-western side of the church, a tent-shaped belfry was erected, and after a century and a half the main facade was decorated with a porch with a carved porch.
The triumph of color wall murals
But despite all the architectural merits, the Church of the Epiphany (Yaroslavl) has always been famous, first of all, for its rich painting, covering the walls of its internal premises with a continuous carpet. In relation to their authorship, art historians do not have a single opinion, but it is generally accepted that they were created by masters led by Fedor Ignatiev and Dmitry Plekhanov.
A distinctive feature of the frescoes decorating the interior of the church is their color saturation and rich color of colors. Scenes written in biblical scenes coexist with intricate decorative ornaments. Of great interest to visitors is the iconostasis, which is not inferior to frescoes in beauty. There is reason to believe that he has not changed since the day the church was consecrated.
With all its splendor and outward wealth, the Church of the Epiphany (Yaroslavl) almost never received cash subsidies from the state and existed exclusively on the funds that it brought to it, candle trading, circle collection and individual donations from private individuals. These were hardly any significant amounts, since the parish of the temple was very small. According to available archival data, the largest number was at the end of the XVIII century, but even then it did not exceed two hundred people.
The fate of the church after the revolution
In the post-revolutionary period, the church remained operational until 1927, but was in very poor condition, since in 1918 during the White Guard uprising (rebellion, as they wrote in Soviet times), it was badly damaged by direct hits by artillery shells. Since the parishioners did not have money for its restoration, the building still remained standing, devoid of a roof and with holes in the walls.
In the mid-thirties, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee unexpectedly recognized the church as a unique monument of Russian architecture and included it in the list of protected objects, but this did not prevent the city authorities from converting its western porch into a garage with a car repair shop. Of course, this affected the condition of the already emergency building in an extremely detrimental way.
Only at the beginning of the fifties the Church of the Epiphany, the temples of Yaroslavl and many other cities of Russia began to gradually recover. At that time it was not a question of the resumption of religious life in most of them, but it was already encouraging that the authorities recognized them as historical and architectural monuments worthy of careful treatment.
The Church of the Epiphany brought to life
The holy places of Russia, which were in extreme neglect during the years of Soviet power, with the beginning of perestroika became the object of concern not only of the church, but also of the state and many public organizations. In 2000, full-scale restoration work began in the Epiphany Church. As a result, the building was restored to its original appearance, the copper roof, which was lost in previous years, was installed, and the wall tiles so glorified it once restored. Shortly thereafter, divine services interrupted for many decades resumed.
Today the temple is jointly owned by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Yaroslavl City Museum. It holds not only services, but also excursions. In a sense, this is good, as it allows you to rely on government subsidies in case of repair or additional restoration work. And they may be required. The church bell tower, tilted under the influence of the waters that once flowed here and subsequently buried the Nitecha River, is causing concern.