The Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on the Lower Posad (Troitskaya Nizhnepосadskaya) — an Orthodox church in the historic center of Nizhny Novgorod, at the intersection of Rozhdestvenskaya Street and Vakhitov Lane (formerly Troitsky Lane, or Maly The Ilyinsky Descent). The original wooden church, which had existed since 1621, was demolished during the Soviet era; its reconstruction on the original site began in 2022–2023.[1]

History

The earliest written references to the Troitskaya Nizhnepосadskaya Church date to 1621, when it was a wooden structure. In 1663, a stone church was built on the same site at the expense of a Nizhny Novgorod posad resident; the clerical register of 1914 names Ivan Grigoryevich Yazykov as the builder (whereas earlier sources point to a certain Obrezkov). In 1715, the building was badly damaged by a city fire and was restored by the parish clergy. In 1858, a new bell tower was erected beside the church, and in 1863, at the expense of the merchant Vasily Buyanov, a stone three-altar church was built with two side chapels — the Donskoy and the Feodorovskiy. A stone bell tower connected to the church in one range was erected at the same time. In 1868, a stone clergy house was built at the expense of church elder Vasily Alekseyevich Buyanov. The parish also included stone outbuildings with cellars, shops, and a chapel.[1]

Closure and Loss

After the Revolution, the church shared the fate of many Nizhny Novgorod churches. A surviving inspection report dated December 14, 1928 records that a commission of the Building Control Authority and the Nizhny Novgorod Guberniya Finance Department found the building in progressive disrepair, with a stone annex on the northern side (facing Kooperativnaya Street — the name by which Rozhdestvenskaya was known in those years) pulling away, and resolved that the church be demolished. The bell tower was razed, and the church building was stripped of its dome and all projecting volumetric elements, then converted into housing. The bell tower was demolished in 1948; in the early 1950s a commercial pavilion was built in its place, surviving until the early 2000s.[1] Only a fragment of one of the walls has partially survived to the present day.[1]

Reconstruction

On July 28, 2022, the laying of the foundation stone for the new Church of the Most Holy Life-Giving Trinity took place on Rozhdestvenskaya Street; the rite was performed by Archbishop George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas. On November 3, 2022, the Archbishop consecrated the crosses, domes, and bells for the bell tower of the revived church. On June 4, 2023, on the day of Pentecost (the patronal feast), the first Divine Liturgy since the church's revival was celebrated. In March 2024, the reconstructed church was opened to worshippers.[2] The building's exterior is being recreated based on surviving photographs and drawings; the design was developed by Regional Engineering Center LLC under the direction of Yury Koval. The rector of the parish is Priest Aleksiy Korekhov.[1]

The Nizhny Novgorod Diocese began the preparatory phase of restoration work on the Trinity Church in September 2021; prior to the start of construction, archaeological work was carried out on the site of the future church. In addition to diocesan leadership and project designers, representatives of the Nizhny Novgorod Region's state authority for the protection of cultural heritage sites took part in the inspection of the church reconstruction site.[3]

Sources

  1. veralubov.ru — Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, Nizhny Novgorod — Moscow Deanery — Nizhny Novgorod Diocese — The church bell tower was demolished in 1948; in its place in the early 1950s… (archive)
  2. temples.ru — Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Lower Posad — In March 2024, the reconstructed church was opened to worshippers.
  3. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis — The Nizhny Novgorod Diocese began the preparatory phase of restoration work on the Trinity Church in September 2021; prior to the start of construction, archaeological work was carried out on the site… (archive)
  4. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis (archive)
  5. NN.RU — Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Rozhdestvenskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod: photos, renovation — 17 August… (archive)