In Yaroslavl, on the banks of the Kotorosli River, the right tributary of the Volga, there is the Transfiguration Monastery, founded in the XI century. On both sides it is surrounded by the Church of the Epiphany and the Church of the Archangel Michael. Yaroslavl is one of the most ancient Russian cities, and these temples are just as ancient. One of them, the one that was consecrated in honor of the archangel-leader of the Heavenly Host, today, as for many centuries, is a place of spiritual nourishment for earthly warriors - defenders of the Fatherland.
Documentary evidence of the founding of the church
About when and by whom the church of Michael the Archangel in Yaroslavl was founded, the history of which is inextricably linked with this city, we are told by ancient chronicles and church books that have survived to this day. One of them, compiled in 1530 and containing the lives of princes Vasily and Konstantin, for the humility and pious life of saints, also tells us that the prince of Novgorod, Konstantin Vsevolozh, laid two churches in Yaroslavl subject to him. One of them was the Assumption Cathedral, and the second was the church in the name of Archangel Michael, the patron saint of military people. Knowing the years of the rule of this Novgorod prince and the date of the laying of the Assumption Cathedral, it is easy to determine that the church, which is discussed in this article, was built in about 1215.
Also curious information is contained in the manuscript of the XVIII century stored in the church. It says that it was built in 1216, and stood safely for eighty years. But then the wife of the specific Yaroslavl prince Fyodor Rostislavovich Cherny, Anna, considering her too shabby, ordered to demolish, and in this place lay a new temple.
Gift of the wife of Khan Nogai
In passing, it is worth noting that a rather romantic story is connected with the princely couple, who attended to the laying of a new church. The fact is that the black name that is common among historians is actually pronounced as Chermnoy, that is, “beautiful”. According to chronicles, he really was a rare handsome man, and once, during a visit to the Golden Horde, the wife of Khan Nogai himself fell madly in love with him.
It is not difficult to guess what the jealousy of her husband could result in if even the slightest occasion was given to her. But she turned out to be wise and prudent as a woman - it was not without reason that she was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Paleolog. Unable to give her heart to the Russian prince, she gave him in love her beloved daughter, who adopted the name Anna in Orthodoxy. It was with her care that the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl) was founded.
Church - a monument of past centuries
There are several hypotheses about why the Russian princess of Tatar-Greek origin decided to consecrate the church in honor of the Archangel Michael. The most likely of them are two. According to one of them, this was done in memory of his father - Michael VIII Paleologist. Another hypothesis sees in her decision sorrow for her beloved but early deceased stepson Mikhail - the son of Prince Fedor the Black from his previous marriage.
Several icons have been preserved to this day, stored in the temple from the time of Princess Anne. This is the image of the Archangel Michael, which was in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery in the Soviet period, two theotokos icons - the Mother of God of Vladimir and Smolenskaya, as well as the image of St. Anthony the Great, according to researchers, which was a temple icon in the past centuries, since there was a chapel in the church, sanctified in honor of this saint.
Garrison Temple Status
In the XVII century, the territory surrounding the church was given over to settlements of archers, that is, people of the military, for whom Archangel Michael, the leader of the Heavenly Host, was the patron saint. It is only natural that since then the church has received the status of a garrison temple, which remains to this day. Then the former church building was decided to be renovated and partially rebuilt.
It should be noted that the transfer of the temple to the military department brought him more honor than the money needed for perestroika. The Yaroslavl governors turned out to be very stingy people, and the work dragged on for a quarter century. They ended only in 1682, at the very beginning of the reign of Peter I, the great commander who delivered a lot of trouble to the heavenly patron of his army.
Due to the scarcity of military funding, work was carried out mainly on donations from Yaroslavl merchants, but the one who pays, as you know, orders the music. Everything was done according to the wishes of the donors, whose tastes have changed over the course of a quarter of a century. As a result, the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl) has incorporated the features inherent in several temple architectural styles.
Church of St. Michael the Archangel: description
In general, it is similar to other Yaroslavl churches built in the same period. It is based on a regular quadruple with three apses - semicircular protrusions, inside which are the altars. The whole structure is installed on a high base, the lower part of the building. It contained goods intended for sale in a nearby market - merchants took care of their souls, but did not forget about their mammon. Initially, covered galleries were located on the north and west walls, to which two high porches, decorated with openwork carvings, led. Only the western gallery has survived to this day.
And, of course, the bell tower, built at the request of the donor merchants in the favorite Yaroslavl style, complements the general view - heavy, squat, ending with a small tent. There are two chapels in the temple, the northern one, consecrated in honor of the Solovetsky miracle workers, crowned with a picturesque turret. The facade of the temple is elegantly decorated with window frames and widths - square recesses in the wall, in the middle of which were placed colored tiles.
Temple murals and written evidence of the past
The Church of Mikhail the Archangel in Yaroslavl has always been famous for its wall paintings, made in 1731 by the icon painters' artel under the leadership of Fedor Fedorov. Their frescoes, which are somewhat simplistic in conveying the plot, somewhat resemble Russian lubok and are very characteristic of the late period of development of this picturesque genre.
A book stored in the church, called the “Keleyny Record”, compiled between 1761-1825 by the priest Semyon Yegorov, tells that in addition to the icons that came from ancient times, silver crosses with the relics of saints shining in Yaroslavl lands were also stored in the church . In addition, his work in all details tells about the events witnessed in these years by the Church of the Archangel Michael (Yaroslavl).
Years of Desolation
In the Soviet period, Yaroslavl also became the arena of a broad anti-religious campaign unfolded in the country. The Church of Mikhail the Archangel - the garrison, in which many generations of Russian soldiers prayed, going into battle, was closed and turned into a warehouse. In 1925, its bells were seized and sent for re-melting, and all utensils and other valuables were simply plundered. Very few of them have already been discovered in museums of the country these days.
The situation changed for the better in the sixties, when the church of Mikhail the Archangel (Yaroslavl) was transferred under the tutelage of the city museum-reserve. A partial restoration was carried out, but the state did not have enough funds, and the former merchants-benefactors have long sunk into oblivion.
On the road to rebirth
So the temple remained a museum exhibit used for household needs, until 1992, until it was finally returned to the Orthodox Church. During this period, in view of the changed state policy in relation to religious issues, many churches and monasteries, formerly taken from believers, returned to their former owners. These included the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Yaroslavl).
The schedule of services in those years, and today can only be seen on the doors of its southern limit - the warm part of the church, the restoration of which is completed. The rest of the building is still locked and is waiting in the wings. It only performed plastering and restored window stained-glass windows.
The tradition of voluntary donations
Much work remains to be done, since over the years of totalitarian deity the temple suffered significant damage. In 1995, she again, as in ancient years, was given the status of a garrison temple. But restoration work is not accelerated. It can be seen that without the generosity of voluntary donors, the Church of Michael the Archangel (the city of Yaroslavl) cannot be fully revived.
However, statistics show that even in our days the Russian land has not become impoverished by voluntary donors. Officially, the percentage of the funds invested by them of the total amount of funding for restoration work has not been announced, but judging by the pace with which the shrines that were previously in desolation over the past decades have taken their true shape, it is quite large.
What is dear to us the Church of the Archangel Michael?
Holy places - Yaroslavl and other cities included in the Golden Ring of Russia - today are the most visited as pilgrims, and just tourists. The historical center of Yaroslavl is included in the list of UNESCO, as it represents significant historical and artistic value. Thousands of people come here from all over the country and from abroad to breathe in the incomparable air of antiquity. But not only the cultural heritage of past centuries is famous for this Volga city.
He is known for his temples, a prominent place among which is the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, a description of which today can be found both in printed guidebooks and on its websites. Here, in the walls that have witnessed so many services, prayer becomes especially blessed.
It is important to note that the cause of the return of the people to their original spiritual roots is not only the services performed in it, but also concerts of choral and bell music held here every August as part of the All-Russian festival "Transfiguration". Both professional groups and church choirs created by the forces of individual parishes take part in them. Their singing, accompanied by the ringing of bells, becomes a symbol of holiness, reviving after decades of spiritual darkness and desolation.