The Great Consecration of the central altar of the church of the Epiphany of the Lord in the selo of Bogoyavlenie in Dalnekonstantinovsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Region took place on August 14, 2026. The Epiphany Church is a monument of history and culture of regional significance, built in 1826 with funds donated by the faithful in memory of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.[1][2]

History of the Church

The church was built in 1826 and dedicated to the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.[1] The original interior decoration of the Epiphany Church has not survived to the present day.[1] In 2013, the church received the status of a dependency (podvorye) of the Exaltation of the Cross Convent of Nizhny Novgorod.[1][2]

Restoration

Restoration work in the church began in late 2022.[1] Side chapels dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and to the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos were prepared for the consecration. Further plans call for continuing the painting of the refectory and of the right and left side chapels, as well as for making side iconostases.[1] Volunteers and participants of the "Heroes. Nizhny Novgorod Region" program were involved in improving the surrounding grounds.[2]

The 2026 Consecration

The rite of the Great Consecration of the central altar was performed by Metropolitan George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas.[2] The event was timed to coincide with several anniversaries at once: the 200th anniversary of the completion of the church's construction, the 180th anniversary of the consecration of its central altar, and the 1,700th anniversary of Georgia's adoption of Orthodoxy.[1]

The selo of Bogoyavlenie originally bore the Mordvin name Inelei; in 1680 the first wooden church, dedicated to the Epiphany of the Lord, was built there, and the village took its new name from it. In 1799 the wooden church burned down in a great fire. The stone church was built from 1821 to 1826 with the blessing of Bishop Moisey (Bliznetsov-Platonov) of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, "through the diligence of Prince Gruzinsky and the parishioners": it was the owner of the selo, Prince Gruzinsky, who in 1812 headed the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate Militia and, in honor of the victory, conceived the idea of building a stone church. The building could be seen from 50 versts around.

For the similarity of its architectural forms, the Church of the Epiphany is compared to the work of the architect Auguste de Montferrand, who built Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg; according to Igor Petrov, a member of the Union of Architects of Russia and a historian of Nizhny Novgorod architecture, one of the model designs sent out to dioceses in the first half of the 19th century may have been used in creating the church.[3]

Sources

  1. Open Nizhny — The Church of the Epiphany will be consecrated in Nizhny Novgorod Region on August 14 (archive)
  2. GTRK "Nizhny Novgorod" (Vesti) — Today Metropolitan George of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas performs the Great Consecration of the central altar of the church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord (archive)
  3. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia — The selo of Bogoyavlenie originally bore the Mordvin name Inelei; in 1680 the first wooden church, dedicated to the Epiphany of the Lord, was built there,… (archive)