On a high hill, in the picturesque and bright city of Sergiev Posad, which is not far from Moscow, there is one old, beautiful and bright monastery, past which it is simply impossible to drive in order not to enter it.
This is Elias Church. Both externally and internally, it is unusually elegant, unique, simple, but at the same time it amazes with its grandeur and spiritual purity.
A brief description of the monastery, its history, present, as well as some information about the city itself - is set out in our article.
Description
Elias Church in Sergiev Posad is considered one of the most beautiful. And this is not just so, because its architecture is a style of magnificent Pereslavl baroque, the most popular in the XVIII-XIX centuries for many Russian churches.
Bright dark red background of the walls, white portals and platbands of window openings, an expressive silhouette of the roof, subtle proportions, elegant paintings - all this distinguishes the monastery from the many.
The church itself is built of stone, single-headed, with a bell tower and a refectory. There are limits: the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God and Dmitry Rostovsky.
As the story goes, the Elias Church in Sergiev Posad is the only church that even worked in Soviet times. Therefore, many clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church served here at one time, believers constantly visited the monastery to pray and receive spiritual purification and wise instructions. There was a library.
But the temple has more than 300 years of its history! And at one time much was experienced.
About city
Sergiev Posad is a small town located 50 kilometers from the capital of the Russian Federation (70 kilometers by rail) and 200 kilometers from Yaroslavl.
It is also included in the famous Golden Ring of Russia, since there is a temple complex on its territory - the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (included in the UNESCO list). As well as the Stavropegial Monastery.
The population of the city totals about 100 thousand people. Area - 50 square kilometers.
The Konchura River flows through the city. The temperate continental climate prevails. The territory of the city consists of hills.
Sergiev Posad (Moscow) is also known as the oldest Russian center, where Russian dolls and wooden toys began to be produced.
And the name is associated with the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh, who founded the Lavra. It was around her that a settlement was formed, which later became a city. A monument to the saint has been erected and consecrated near the walls of the monastery.
Also in Sergiev Posad there are several museums, cultural centers, theater studios, educational and sports institutions, religious cloisters. One of the most famous churches of the city is the Elias Church.
Story
The Ilyinsky temple (named after the holy prophet Elijah) is located on a picturesque hill in the historical part of the city of Sergiev Posad near the Lavra. Near the Ilyinsky monastery there is a pond, in the water surface of which the slopes of a hill are reflected, on which a beautiful structure rises.
But in the XV century, the village of Panino was located on this territory. Later (in the 40s of the XVII century) a wooden church of the Mother of God of Kazan was built. It was in it that the chapel of the prophet Elijah was first equipped.
Already in the XVIII century, the part of the monastery was dismantled and a church named after this saint was built nearby. But soon there was a fire in which both structures burned down.
The new Elias Church in Sergiev Posad, known to parishioners, pilgrims and guests of the city today, was rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century, and consecrated in 1773 by Hieromonk Lavra - Pavel.
A little later (after 5 years), the side-chapel of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God was arranged in Trapeznaya space, and in the 19th century the library building was added to the bell tower building.
The monastery has preserved many icons painted in the middle of the XIX century, as well as wall paintings (the author of the icon painting is Ivan Malyshev).
The temple never closed, even in Soviet times, services, prayers, baptisms, weddings continued.
After the great Victory in the autumn of 1945, the Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow visited the Elias Church in Sergiev Posad
Under Archimandrite Guria, the Lavra Choir was revived. Also, clerics of the monastery for many decades have been helping students of the local vocational school (nursing department) in caring for the elderly and children from the boarding school.
Abode today
The spiritual and feasible physical work of the ministers of the Elias Church continues to this day. Parishioners and monks also work closely with medical institutions in Sergiev Posad.
There is also a Sunday school for children, where they study Holy Scripture, music, and painting.
A library is open for all parishioners, as it was many years ago. Within its walls, the best spiritual works are collected, which they managed to preserve in the maximum quantity (compared to other churches) during the difficult war and revolutionary years.
Information
This monastery is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful and unique in the city, located in such a picturesque and bright corner of the country.
The address of the Elias Church: Sergiev Posad, Kuzminova street, 1/5, Moscow region.
You can get from Moscow with your own transport or bus (75 kilometers on the road), as well as railway (70 kilometers) from the Yaroslavl station.
Opening hours of the church: from Monday to Friday - from 7.45 to 19.00.