Karpovskaya Church (Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Karpovka) — an Orthodox church in Leninsky District of Nizhny Novgorod, at 58 Suzdalskaya Street, on the left bank of the Oka.[1][2] The stone building was consecrated in 1817 and reached its present form following a reconstruction in the late 1860s.[1][3] The church has three altars; the main altar is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord.[1][4] In the 20th century it was one of three churches in the city where services were held regularly.[5] It belongs to the Molitovsky deanery of the Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Diocese.[2]
Karpovka and its first church
The site on which the church stands was settled long before the city itself. In the 14th century a farmstead called Karpovka arose in the Strelitskiy Stan of the Zaochye area, preserving in its name that of its first settler — a beekeeper named Karp.[6][2] In the 16th century the village of Karpovka was listed among the sovereign's beekeeping settlements of the Nizhny Novgorod region and was described as the residence of the sovereign's beekeepers with seven households; at the end of the 16th century Boris Godunov granted it to the noble brothers Bezdelkin.[6]
The settlement stretched along the road leading to the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka; in the 20th century it was incorporated into the city limits, and the parish church of the village found itself in the industrial Leninsky District beside Molitovka.[6]
The wooden Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior was ordered built in 1722 by Nizhny Novgorod Bishop Pitirim.[1][3] The wooden building burned down several times, and in the early 19th century Bishop Moisey proposed that the village inhabitants erect a stone church.[3][6]
The stone church of 1817
The stone three-altar church was designed by provincial architect Ivan Ivanovich Mezhetsky; the building was constructed in the classical style and solemnly consecrated by Bishop Moisey in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord in 1817.[1][3][6]
In 1838 a parish school was opened at the church: two teachers instructed local children in literacy and arithmetic, sacred history, and the Law of God.[6][2]
Kilevein's reconstruction
By the mid-19th century the church was the only one in the entire area and could not accommodate all those who wished to attend on feast days.[3] A project for a thorough reconstruction was drawn up by Kileveyn Robert Yakovlevich; it was approved on 2 June 1868.[1]
After the reconstruction the church went from single-domed to five-domed, and the second-floor windows of the refectory received ornamental surrounds with triangular pediments rising above the roof cornice.[3][6] In the early 20th century the interiors were repainted from designs by Mikhail Nesterov and Viktor Vasnetsov; that paintwork has survived to the present day.[1][3][6]
20th century
In 1941 the church was closed for non-payment of taxes to the district finance department of the city.[1][6] On 14 April 1943 the building was transferred to the church community, and three services were held there.[1] During the night of 13–14 June 1943, in the course of an air raid on Gorky, the building was damaged.[1][6] After major repairs the church reopened on 19 July 1944 — and has remained open ever since.[1][6]
During the years of persecution, the ruling bishop lived and served at the Karpovskaya Church.[5]
This church served all the residents of Nizhny Novgorod in a special way during the 20th century. In those dark times it was one of three churches where services were held regularly. Here Metropolitan Nikolai, the ruling bishop, and his predecessors lived and labored. In this church hundreds of thousands of Nizhny Novgorod residents received Holy Baptism, came as to a life-giving spring for confession, and partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Chronicle of the church
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1722 | the wooden Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior built by order of Bishop Pitirim[1][3] |
| 1817 | the stone church designed by I. I. Mezhetsky consecrated[1][3][6] |
| 1838 | a parish school opened at the church[6][2] |
| 2 June 1868 | the reconstruction project by R. Ya. Kilevein approved[1] |
| early 20th century | interiors painted from designs by Nesterov and Vasnetsov[1][6] |
| 1941 | church closed for non-payment of taxes[1][6] |
| 14 April 1943 | building returned to the church community[1] |
| 13–14 June 1943 | damaged during an air raid on Gorky[1][6] |
| 19 July 1944 | reopened after major repairs[1][6] |
| 19 August 2017 | 200th anniversary of the church; completion of restoration[5] |
The parish today
The rector of the church is Archpriest Mikhail Nikolaevich Storonkin.[5][4] The parish belongs to the Molitovsky deanery of the Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Diocese; services are conducted in Church Slavonic.[2][4]
For the 200th anniversary, celebrated on 19 August 2017, the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the church was prepared over five years: the paintwork was restored, the iconostasis gilded, the main bell recast, a Life-Giving Cross from the late 18th century restored, and the facades and grounds put in order.[5] The celebrations were led by Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas George; several thousand people attended the service.[5]
The feast days are 19 August (Transfiguration of the Lord), 19 December, and 22 May (feast of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia).[1][4] Among the venerated shrines is a reliquary containing particles of the relics of Christian saints.[6] The church runs a Sunday school, a choir, and a film club.[6]
- Main altar — dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord[1][4]
- Chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker[1][4]
- Chapel dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God[4]
See also
Sources
- nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis — Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Karpovka)
- molit-nne.ru — Molitovsky Deanery — Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Karpovka)
- sobory.ru — Sobory.ru — Nizhny Novgorod. Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Karpovka
- nnhram-44.cerkov.ru — Parish of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior — Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Karpovka)
- nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis — The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Karpovskaya) in Nizhny Novgorod celebrated its 200th anniversary
- putidorogi-nn.ru — Puti-Dorogi — Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Karpovskaya) in Nizhny Novgorod