One of the religious centers most visited by pilgrims in the Leningrad Region is the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Vyritsa and a chapel built near it on the grave of Seraphim Vyritsky - the holy saint of God who lived in these parts. This article is a brief outline of the events associated with their creation.
Pious donor
The history of the construction of the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vyritsa is closely connected with the name of one of the major political figures of the pre-revolutionary period - Prince Peter Fedorovich Wittgenstein. It is known that in 1910 he founded a cottage settlement near St. Petersburg, formerly known as the Princely Valley, and since its inhabitants could not do without spiritual nourishment, the question immediately arose of allocating territory for the construction of the church.
We should pay tribute to the piety of the prince - he chose the site chosen for construction to the members of the religious fraternity created on this occasion for only 50% of its true value and, in addition, made a large monetary donation. The rest of the necessary funds were collected by subscription announced among future parishioners.
Project of St. Petersburg architects
After the financial issue was resolved, the leadership of the newly made brotherhood announced a competition for the creation of a project for the wooden church of Our Lady of Kazan in Vyritsa, the construction of which was decided to devote to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty celebrated at that time. Of the five works presented, members of the commission preferred the project, the authors of which were young Petersburg architects M. V. Krasovsky and his colleague V. P. Alyshkov.
At the disposal of historians was a document according to which Prince P.F. Wittgenstein continued to provide all kinds of support for the construction of the church. He donated a large amount of materials, and also contributed additional sums of money, which greatly accelerated the work.
Under the auspices of the heavenly and earthly lords
In addition to solving organizational and economic issues, the creators of the Kazan Icon Church in Vyritsa took care to give significance to their undertaking in the eyes of representatives of high society. To this end, in March 1913, they sent a letter to a member of the imperial family, Prince John Konstantinovich Romanov, asking him to become the honorary head of the fraternity, which was soon agreed.
So, under the auspices of the heavenly and earthly lords, in July 1913, the bishop of Tobolsk and Siberia Alexy (Molchanov) made a solemn laying of the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vyritsa. The work begun after this was carried out at a fast pace, and by the beginning of winter, their bulk was completed.
In the spring of the same year, they began to exterior and interior finish the finished building, in addition, erected crosses and bells, which, in the presence of future parishioners, were solemnly consecrated by Archbishop Nikon (Rozhdestvensky). As the St. Petersburg newspapers then wrote, general joy was overshadowed only by the absence of the honorary chairman of the fraternity, Prince I.K. Romanov, who had left the army in the army because of the outbreak of war.
The first post-revolutionary years
Since the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, built in Vyritsa , was not heated, divine services were held there only in the warm season. After the Bolsheviks seized power, part of church utensils from the parishes closed in the district were brought into it. In particular, a unique oak iconostasis that adorned the Brusnitsins earlier shelter church became the property of the temple. Unlike most other religious centers operating in Vyritsa, the Kazan Icon Church did not close until 1938, when a wave of repression directed against the clergy and the most active parishioners reached its walls.
Closing of the temple and its further fate
The last period of the clergy's vigorous activity was marked by two important events. One of them was participation in the so-called Josephite movement, whose members refused to recognize the decision of the authorities to remove the then-ruling Metropolitan Joseph (Petrov) from leadership of the diocese. In those days, this was a very risky move. In addition, after the abolition of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, her former confessor, hieroskhimon Seraphim (Muravyov), became a member of the clergy of the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vyritsa. Over the next five years, he carried out tireless work on the spiritual nourishment of the inhabitants of the village and all who attended the services he conducted.
After the closure of the temple of the Mother of God in Vyritsa and the abolition of his community, the deserted building received at its disposal OSOAVIAHIM. From now on, where prayers were formerly offered, the voices of lecturers began to sound, enlightening the population in matters related to the country's defense, as well as the development of aviation and the chemical industry. Fortunately, this did not prevent the former parishioners from taking out and preserving, until better times, a significant part of the icons and various church utensils.
Years of war and the post-war period
Two months after the start of World War II, in August 1941, German troops entered Vyritsa, and the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was reopened. This decision of the occupation authorities was primarily due to the fact that a large unit consisting of Orthodox Romanians who fought on the side of Hitler was temporarily deployed in the village. Nevertheless, this allowed many of our compatriots to attend the services and pray to God for the gift of victory over the enemy and the safe return of their friends and relatives home.
After the war ended, the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Vyritsa was no longer closed, although in 1959 the authorities made such an attempt. To this end, they gave a formal refusal to register the priests who served in it. However, due to the active position taken by the residents of the village who sent a complaint to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the temple was defended, and the necessary documents were drawn up. Since February 1966, an officially approved clergy staff appeared in it.
Objects of Orthodox pilgrimage
In 2002, on the banks of the Oredezh River near the Kazan Church (Vyritsa), a chapel was erected in memory of St. Seraphim Vyritsky, who once lived in these places. She was installed at the burial place of the relics of the saint of God and the nun Seraphim (Muravyeva), with whom he was married before taking monastic tonsure. Since Seraphim Vyritsky is one of the most revered Orthodox saints, the flow of pilgrims arriving here all year round does not dry up at the chapel.
Many pilgrims are attracted to the temple of the Kazan Icon (Vyritsa) by sermons with which the parishioners regularly address their parishioners, Archpriest Father George (Preobrazhensky), who in 2005 replaced the late Archpriest Alexy (Korovin). In them, based on the texts of the Holy Scriptures, he explains to people many spiritual and moral issues. Thanks to the ability of Father George in simple and clear words to convey to listeners the depth of biblical truths, his audience is always numerous. Largely thanks to this man, the Kazan temple in Vyritsa and the chapel of St. Seraphim Vyritsky were among the objects of the Leningrad region, the most visited by pilgrims.
Sample of temple architecture of the North of Russia
And at the end of the article we dwell on the features of architecture and decoration of the temple. It was built in the style of wooden tent churches, once widespread in the North of Russia, especially in the Vologda and Olonets lands. The design is based on the classic scheme for such structures - the “octagon on the four”, in which the upper volume is eight-sided, and the main building has a rectangle in plan.
The church is surrounded by a continuous terrace - "gulbishche", and below it has a basement - a room located in the basement. In front of the entrance to the narthex, the first of the interior of the temple, a high porch was built, which is also a very characteristic detail for structures of this architectural type. The internal volume of the church is relatively small and is designed for the presence of about seven hundred people in it.
Shrines of the temple
The temple has three chapels, the main of which is consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Its striking attraction is the carved oak iconostasis, made in due time according to the drawings of the main designer of the temple - M.V. Krasovsky. Among the shrines of the temple, to which numerous crowds of pilgrims flock, one can name the epitrachilles that once belonged to the Monk Seraphim Vyritsky, as well as particles of his relics. In addition, temple visitors have the opportunity to bow to the relics of the holy saints of God: the Monk Simeon of Pskov, the holy martyr Antipas, Nikanor of Gorodnezersky and other saints.