The Church of Simeon the Stylite is an Orthodox church in the northern part of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, located in the Governor's Garden near the Ivanovskiy Descent. It was reconstructed in 2020–2021 for the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod, on the site where a Simeonovsky Monastery stood during the late medieval period, followed by a stone parish church demolished in the 1920s.[1][2]

History of the monastery and the first church

The Simeonovsky Monastery is believed to have originated in the late 15th or early 16th century. It is mentioned in a land-grant charter of 1538–1539 ("within the city, at Old Semyon, beneath the walls") and in the Cadastral Book of the early 17th century: "Below the hill, beside the great bridge, the Simeonovsky Monastery, with a church of Holy Simeon the Stylite." In the Sotnaya Charter of 1621–1622 the monastery appears as an active institution.[1][2]

On 25 June 1715 the wooden Simeonovsky church burned down in a great fire in Nizhny Novgorod, after which the monastery was dissolved. In 1743 a stone church was built on the same site with the assistance of Daniil Andreyevich Drutskoy-Sokolnitsky, the Nizhny Novgorod vice-governor and prince. The church was erected under Bishop Dimitry (Sechenov); in 1821 a chapel in honor of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Temple was added.[3][1][2] From 1769 it served as the parish church of the Nizhny Novgorod Garrison Battalion; from 1826 to 1836 it was under military jurisdiction, then passed to the Old Believers in communion with the Orthodox Church (Yedinoverie).

It had three altars: the main one dedicated to the Passional Icon of the Mother of God; and two side chapels — to the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos and to the Venerable Simeon the Stylite. Its principal sacred object was a venerated copy of the Passional Icon of the Mother of God from the selo of Palets in Nizhny Novgorod Uyezd, which was kept in rotation for several months at a time in various Kremlin churches.[2] In the 1920s the stone church was demolished along with several other Kremlin churches.

In 1914, the parishioners of the Simeonovsky church comprised the residents of 102 households in Nizhny Novgorod and surrounding villages, predominantly peasants.[3] After the revolution, from the second half of August 1918 onwards, the Kremlin churches were closed to worship; by January 1924 the Simeonovsky church was listed as closed and its congregation "liquidated"; pursuant to a VTsIK circular of 7 January 1924, liturgical objects of artistic and historical value were transferred to the custody of the Guberniya Museum, and by 1 June 1928 the church building had been demolished.[3][1]

Archaeological excavations

In 2018–2019, staff from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences carried out excavations on the site of the demolished church. They uncovered a monastic necropolis of the 16th century containing approximately 900 burials, the remains of a timber log-frame structure of the Simeonovsky church dating to the 16th–17th centuries, and traces of earlier urban development and craft workshops — for bone carving, pottery, and blacksmithing. On 3 November 2020, the surviving remains from the necropolis were reinterred: they were placed in an ossuary beneath the altar of the church being reconstructed.[1][2]

Reconstruction and architecture

The church was laid down on 3 June 2020; at the foundation ceremony, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov and Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin were present and noted the importance of the church's reconstruction in the context of preparations for the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod.[3] The project architects are Yu. A. Koval and A. A. Ilyina.[1] The building is a pillarless, single-apse, single-domed structure with a refectory section and a tent-roofed bell tower; the height to the cross is approximately 30 metres, the area of the prayer hall is 224.9 sq. m, and the capacity is 50 worshippers.[2]

On 7 October 2021, Archbishop George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas performed the rite of consecration of the bells; on 31 December 2021, he performed the rite of Great Consecration of the church.[2]

Since no historical evidence of the interior of the former church has survived, the murals were designed by the Kovcheg workshop. The dome depicts the Ascension of the Lord, the narthex depicts the Creation of the World, and the walls of the main cube depict the forefathers and prophets. The ceiling of the refectory is adorned with four scenes from the life of Simeon the Stylite and images of the great ascetics, while the walls bear depictions of eleven stylites. The iconostasis, icon cases, and chandelier feature the rare technique of basma — stamping ornament into nickel silver to imitate aged silver. The local tier of the iconostasis contains rare icons: the Korsun Icon of the Mother of God and the "Savior of the Golden Hair."[2]

The church is under the jurisdiction of the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church and is open to visitors; the address is Nizhny Novgorod, Governor's Garden.[4]

Sources

  1. ngiamz.ru — QR — Church of Simeon the Stylite — Nizhny Novgorod Museum-Reserve
  2. nne.ru — Church in honor of the Venerable Simeon the Stylite — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis (archive)
  3. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis
  4. yandex.ru — Church of Simeon the Stylite, Orthodox church, Nizhny Novgorod, Governor's Garden — Yandex Maps