The Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov occupies a special place among the monuments of Vyatka architecture. This is the oldest parish church in the city of Kirov. It, as an interesting historical monument, can be put on a par with the pearls of Vyatka architecture such as the ensemble of the Assumption Trifonov Monastery or Velikoretsky Castle.
At the origins of the temple
At the end of the 17th century, the city of Khlynov (the city of Kirov was then called) was surrounded by a high earthen rampart with wooden walls and towers. Rapid construction was going on inside the shaft, and soon the whole settlement was densely built up. Outside the Kremlin, at the ends of Voznesenskaya and Ilyinskaya streets, a settlement of about 100 yards arose.
The parishioners of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov did not yet have their own church, and then they asked for a blessing from the lord of the Vyatka diocese Dionysius to transfer the old Pokrovsky church to the garden of Gerasim Shmelev (the name of one of the parishioners). An unassembled wooden building was located next to the stone Pokrovsky church, built in 1709. The petition was sent to Moscow. The answer to it immediately followed, and when Vladyka Dionysius was in Khlynov on May 24, 1711, he signed a temple credential.
By the end of the XIX century in Kirov, there were already almost 40 churches and cathedrals. The architectural temple ensemble made up a whole constellation of squares. One of 10 such and the most ancient was the square at the Church of St. John the Baptist. But its holistic formation began when, from a wooden temple, it began to be rebuilt into a stone one. This is its uniqueness today.
Special territorial location and church attractions
The city of Kirov itself had a special location. It should be noted that it was at the intersection of two trade routes. The main one passed from south to north along Preobrazhenskaya and Pyatnitskaya streets, then further across the Vyatka river and directly to Arkhangelsk. This explains why there were a large number of merchants in the parish who willingly donated funds to this temple. It is also no coincidence that from ancient times the church has the Georgian icon of the Mother of God, which was the patroness of all merchants who trade and travel. She is revered on September 4 every year in a new style.
Influence of the architectural talent of Ivan Apollonovich Charushin
The temple was rebuilt many times over decades and centuries. His last perestroika was at the beginning of the 20th century, according to the project of the famous Vyatka architect Ivan Apollonovich Charushin - a talented architect, one of the representatives of the glorious Vyatka family Charushins. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was fluent in many styles of architectural architecture. Under his leadership, more than five hundred buildings were designed in the Vyatka province.
In the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov, he uses his favorite architectural technique - the penetration of natural light into the depths of the room. He used the same method in the construction of his house.
Special painting in oriental style
At the beginning of the 20th century, another very famous person was engaged in the design of the temple - artist-decorator Nikolai Georgievich Dzhimuhadze. He was born in the city of Tiflis and graduated from art school there. The artist called his specialty "an ornamentalist in room painting." Artel Dzhimuhadze from 1900 to 1927 in Kirov trimmed the facades and interiors of stone and wooden buildings. Then the artist’s artel Dzhimuhadze painted the central church of John the Baptist. A feature of this decoration was the eastern facade painting, which is so unusual for residents of the Vyatka land.
The decline of the temple in Soviet times
Soviet time was reflected in the appearance of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov. It was closed, crosses were removed, the bell tower was dismantled. The former church housed the party archive, then the Monument Protection Society, and later the planetarium. Kirov pioneers under the dome of the temple studied the starry sky. Under the church vaults there is an exposition of the discoverers of space.
Revival of the pearl of Kirov
In the early 90s, as soon as the opportunity appeared to revive services in the church, the parishioners again turned to the Bishop and to the local authorities. The head of the Vyatka and Sloboda regions was then Metropolitan Chrysanthus. He blessed the rebirth of the temple, and in September 1994 the border of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God was consecrated again, and in 1998 the border of Zechariah and Elizabeth was consecrated. The first Divine Liturgy in the central limit of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Kirov was held in September 2005, led by Metropolitan Chrysanthus.
Church of St. John the Baptist restored
Now the old temple is restored to its former shape, services are held in the Church of St. John the Baptist according to the schedule. Parishioners can observe how the bell tower found new bells, how all the architectural elements of the church were restored, all wall paintings were restored. Great work was done by Vyatka artists Vladimir Vostrikov and Viktor Kharlov. They were able to reproduce all the images with amazing accuracy, relying on the style and design of artists of those distant times.
Church life today
Now the temple lives an active life. The services in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov are scheduled from 8 o'clock until late in the evening, and on Sundays from 9 in the morning. Also, the church regularly holds weddings, baptisms, funeral services for the deceased, and much more.
Today, the rector of the church is Archpriest Konstantin Varsegov, who recently was awarded the Order of “Parental Glory”.