The Church of the Savior on Gorky Street is an Orthodox church in the center of Nizhny Novgorod, located at 179 Maxim Gorky Street. It was built in 1899–1903 to a design by the architect Aleksandr Mikhailovich Kochetov in the Russian style. It is a cultural heritage site of federal significance.[1]

History and Architecture

The stone five-domed church with a tiered bell tower was erected in memory of the miraculous rescue of the imperial family in a train wreck and to commemorate Emperor Alexander III. It was consecrated on October 12, 1903.[2] In the Soviet period the church was closed; the first service after its revival took place in 1992, and it was consecrated anew with the rite of Great Consecration in 2003.[2]

The church owes its revival to a city resident, M. S. Mikhailova, who, together with a group of like-minded people, prepared the package of documents required for its reopening. The altar and iconostasis were completely renewed; most of the interior decoration is the work of modern craftsmen, since almost nothing of the historic interior survived.

Parish Life

The church has three side chapels consecrated: the main one in honor of the All-Merciful Savior (feast day of the dedication, August 29), the right one in honor of Saint Nicholas of Myra (May 22 and December 19), and the left one in honor of the Moscow Saints Peter, Alexis, and Jonah (October 18). Among its especially venerated holy objects are the miracle-working icon of the Holy Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, the icons of the Mother of God "of the Sign" and of the All-Merciful Savior, an Orthodox cross from Jerusalem, and relics of a number of saints. Since 1997 the church has run a Sunday school for children and an Orthodox lecture series for adults.

The Clergy House

The plot adjoining the church (179 Gorky Street) was formerly occupied by a wooden clergy house, which was demolished by the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese because of its dilapidated condition. In 2023 the Metropolis began seeking approval to rebuild it: the plan is to erect a two-story brick building with a hipped roof in the style of provincial architecture. The sketch was developed by the Regional Engineering Center (RIC LLC); the architectural and urban-planning appearance of the building has been approved, and the land use commission unanimously supported the initiative and recommended preparing a draft amendment to the Land Use and Development Regulations for the plot with cadastral number 52:18:0060109:15.[1]

Links

Sources

  1. calameo.com — Calaméo — The Church of the All-Merciful Savior in Nizhny Novgorod
  2. kirpet.eu — The Savior Church in Nizhny Novgorod — The Blog