Vologda: the temple of Constantine and Helena. History and description

The Church of the Holy Apostles Constantine and Helena, located in Vologda, is a federal monument of culture and history, built in the seventeenth century. This is one of the most beautiful Orthodox buildings.

History of the temple

Interesting monuments can boast of Vologda. The temple of Constantine and Helena was originally built of wood and dedicated to Dmitry Prilutsky. In the seventeenth century, he even called his name.

Then, in the place of his tombstone in 1503, a new church was erected. In the sixteenth century, according to one version, the road to Moscow and Kostroma began in this place. On the other hand, the icon of Dmitry Prilutsky was hired by Ivan the Terrible from Prilutsk Monastery.

Around 1690, instead of a wooden church, a stone church was built, which has survived to this day. The structure was consecrated in honor of the saints Constantine and Helena. And already a side-chapel of the lower part of the building - in honor of D. Prilutsky.

In memory of the event, because of which the church was founded, a liturgy was held every year on June 3, and then a religious procession to the Savior-Prilutsky Monastery. From 1989 to 1911 years. Father Sergius served as a priest. At the same time he was a writer and a local ethnographer.

Restoring the Temple

One of the oldest Russian cities is Vologda. The temple of Constantine and Helena now adorns the regional center and is open for its intended purpose. But for this it had to be restored for a long time.

Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the church stood on the city outskirts. The temple was closed in 1930. And its premises were used for cultural institutions and a knitting factory. The interior was not preserved, it was plundered. In one of the rooms was a warehouse.

In 1997, after the temple was returned to the church, its restoration began. And already in 1998 the divine services were resumed. First in the lower church, and since 2008 the upper one also works. The processions were revived. And the bell tower acquired 8 new bells, which were brought from Tutayev.

Temple architecture

One of the famous Russian cities is Vologda. The Temple of Constantine and Helena, Restored and already working, is made in the style of uzorochya. This is indicated by the general composition, the painted upper church, the porch, which has barrels, weights and a creeping arch.

Impressive and external decor - half-columns, kokoshniki, dormer windows in the bell tower. Above the porch is an upland dome. The facades of the temple have no analogues. The church was originally built by visiting visitors. And in those days attracted foreigners Vologda.

The Temple of Constantine and Helena stands on a podklet. It has three-part facades, pilasters in the form of semi-columns. The windows are framed by pediments in the form of kokoshniks. From the west there is a small extension-porch with a porch-shoot. From the north-west corner there is a bell tower.

Belfry of the Temple

The belfry of the tent adjoins the porch. Three-level, of equal octal. They are brought to the ground. The upper one is the open ringing ring. It is formed by arches, which have keeled endings and piers with triple half-columns. The tent is completed with a tiny cupola and auditory windows.

Iconostasis and icons

The Orthodox Church of Constantine and Helena (Vologda), whose address is Victory Avenue, 85, is built of two parts. In the upper church there is an iconostasis, which has five tiers. Made of thin carved boards. In the lower part of the temple there are baroque columns. The iconostasis originally, according to the historians' assumption, included several ancient icons. For example, the image of the Savior. In the new iconostasis, he is in the local row.

In front of the entrance, in the vestibule, was an icon of Zosima and Savvatia, which was painted by the Vologda icon painter Ivan Grigorievich Markov. On it is a view of the Solovetsky Monastery. An example for the icon was an engraving, which was performed in 1699 by Vasily Andreev.

Where is the Orthodox church of Constantine and Helena (Vologda)? The address has already been specified by us. In this temple, the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, transferred from the lower church, is kept. It was written in the first half of the fifteenth century. As experts suggest, the local master worked on the icon, which was influenced by the Novgorod iconography. But he added to the icon and the techniques of Rostov masters.

Rector of the church

Smirnov Andrey Veniaminovich - rector of the church of Constantine and Helena in Vologda. The archpriest was born on July 25, 1972, received a secular education in 1989. In 1992 - a spiritual in the St. Petersburg Seminary. Then, in 1996, he graduated from the Orthodox St. Tikhon Seminary in the United States of America.

He has rewards: the Legguard, the Kamilavka, the Pectoral Cross and the club. He was elevated to the rank of archpriest. Serves in the church of the Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena in the city of Vologda. Andrei Veniaminovich has several parishing parishes. He is the rector of the church of Archangel Michael in the village of Novelensky, located in the Vologda region.