The Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity in Koposovo is an Orthodox church in the settlement of Koposovo in the Sormovo District of Nizhny Novgorod (Kim Street, building 77), active, with interruptions, since the 14th century. The stone building was consecrated in 1803; today the church is the oldest in Sormovo. It belongs to the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.[2][3]

History: From the Founding to the Revolution

According to church tradition, the first church on this site was founded in 1365 by St. Sergius of Radonezh. According to the church tradition recounted in the church's wall frescoes, Sergius of Radonezh founded the church on the estate of Kopos Khabarshin — this was the name of the place before it came to be called Koposovo.[5] With the blessing of Metropolitan Alexius of Moscow, Sergius was traveling to Nizhny Novgorod to reconcile the brother princes Boris and Dmitry Konstantinovich and to restore the throne to Dmitry. The route from Moscow ran through the village of Likharyovo (now Koposovo) in the Balakhna Uyezd — the only overland route to Nizhny. [3] At that time a plague epidemic was raging across the Nizhny Novgorod lands. The venerable monk, according to tradition, prayed over the springs near the village and blessed them; the sick who drank this water were healed. In memory of the miracle, the residents of Likharyovo first built a chapel and then a wooden church dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity.[2][3]

From 1547 to 1764, the Trinity Church and the village itself were under the jurisdiction of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. In 1612, the militia of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky passed by the church on its march to Moscow. In 1764, an independent parish was established at the church.[3] By the end of the 18th century, the old building had fallen into disrepair, and in 1797 construction of a new stone church began, funded by parishioners. In 1803 it was consecrated by Archbishop Veniamin (Krasnopevkov).[3] The new church — an imposing five-domed stone structure with a bell tower built as a single complex — had three altars: the central one dedicated to the Most Holy Life-Giving Trinity, the right one in honor of St.

Sergius of Radonezh, and the left one in honor of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Temple.[2][3] In 1877, the building was partially rebuilt and a bell tower was erected; the repeat consecration was performed by Bishop Khrisanf (Retivtsev). The parish numbered about five thousand people, and a parish school operated at the church.[3]

Closure and Fate in the Soviet Era

After the Revolution of 1917, the Trinity Church continued to operate, but in 1933 it was ransacked: the crosses and bells were removed and the church plate was plundered. In 1937 the last clergy were arrested: the priests Vladimir Postnikov and Alexander Fomin, the deacons Nikolay Melnikov and Nikolay Tsvetaev, and the chairman of the parish council, the locksmith Nikolay Matveyevich Kirillov. On October 4, 1937, the four clergymen were shot; Kirillov was sentenced to 8 years in corrective labor camps.[3]

On November 22, 1938, the Trinity Church was closed by decision of the presidium of the Sormovo District Council. The building was handed over to the factory committee of the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant to be used as a club. From 1940 it was occupied by various organizations, including a zinc-plating plant. In the 1960s, the management of the enterprise demolished the remains of the bell tower. In the last years of the Soviet period and in the post-Soviet period, the premises were occupied by a private company, OOO Pride, which manufactured metal products.[3]

Revival

In 2008 — exactly 70 years after its closure — the church was returned to the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.[2] Initially, only the right side chapel was adapted for services; the first liturgy was held on February 8, 2009.[3] Subsequently, daily services resumed in the church, a Sunday school opened, and restoration work continued. As of 2017, the rector of the church was Priest Sergiy Rubtsov, and the parish belonged to the Sormovo Deanery District of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese, headed by Dean Archpriest Oleg Struchkov. As of January 2020, the rector of the parish was Priest Dionisiy Chibiryaev, who had succeeded Priest Sergiy Rubtsov; the dean of the Sormovo District at that time was Priest Aleksandr Kopeykin.

In June 2019, the rector of the Trinity Church in Koposovo was Priest Andrey Ruzanov.[8][5] On the feast of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost), the parish traditionally held solemn services with a procession of the cross and a water-blessing service, and after the Liturgy organized public festivities with a concert by the choir, pupils of the Sunday school, and local amateur groups — in particular, the vocal ensemble "Vatalinka". Thus, in 2016, on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity (Pentecost), a bell-ringing festival took place in Koposovo after the solemn service, a folk song ensemble performed, and a meal from a field kitchen was organized for all guests.[7][4][4][2] At the Trinity-Sergius Church, work was carried out on the educational project "Sormovo Sloboda", aimed at the spiritual and moral education of the district's residents.[2]

The shrine of the church is considered to be a spring that, according to tradition, was consecrated by Sergius of Radonezh in 1365; beside it stands a chapel dedicated to the Most Holy Life-Giving Trinity. In December 2019, with the blessing of Metropolitan George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, a reliquary containing a particle of the relics of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon remained in the church from December 2 to 22; during the days the relic was present, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and prayer services were performed before it.[6] By 2020, the church grounds had been landscaped: they included a lake, a park, the clergy house, a playground, a chapel, and bathing houses at the holy spring.

On June 22, 2019, a fruit orchard was planted on the church grounds: clergy, parishioners, and volunteers of the Orthodox youth movement "Sormovo Bees", as well as pupils of the district military-patriotic club "Skif", planted dozens of pear, cherry, apple, and other trees in open ground; a workshop was organized for children on sowing seeds of ornamental plants in containers for subsequent planting on the parish grounds.[8][5][3] In the Nizhny Novgorod State Regional Archive, drawings, a plan of the church, clerical registers, and service records of its clergy have been preserved.[3]

References

Sources

  1. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia
  1. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia (archive)
  1. nne.ru — In December 2019, with the blessing of Archbishop George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, a reliquary containing a particle of the relics of the holy great (archive)
  1. nne.ru — As of January 2020, the rector of the parish was Priest Dionisy Chibiryaev, who succeeded the previously mentioned Priest Sergy Rubtsov. Dean of the Sormovo (archive)
  1. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia (archive)
  1. koposovo.cerkov.ru — Schedule of Services — Parish of the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, Koposovo, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  2. pravsormovo.ru — 3. Trinity Church in Koposovo : Orthodox Sormovo. Churches in Sormovo, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
  3. nne.ru — Church of the Most Holy Life-Giving Trinity — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia (archive)