Address: Russia, Yaroslavl region, Pereslavl-Zalessky, st. Moscow, 15
Build date: 1785 year
Coordinates: 56 ° 43'14.1 "N 38 ° 49'50.7" E
Cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation
Content:
The beautiful church, built in the second half of the 18th century, is located on a high hill between three famous Pereslavl monasteries - Goritsky, Fedorovsky and Holy Trinity Danilov. Together with them, the Sretenskaya Church is visible from afar and forms a picturesque temple ensemble in the south of Pereslavl-Zalessky. This snow-white temple is a fine example of provincial classicism.
History of the construction of the Sretenskaya Church
Until the middle of the 18th century, two wooden churches stood near the wall of the Goritsky Monastery - a summer one in honor of Sergius of Radonezh and a winter one in honor of the Meeting of the Lord. In 1753, permission was obtained from Bishop Serapion to build one brick temple, the Presentation, instead of two dilapidated churches, making it the side-chapel of Sergius of Radonezh.
But as soon as they started this construction, a new Orthodox bishop, Ambrose, began to dispose of in the city. He started a big reconstruction of the Goritsky monastery, which was then the cathedral. Parish churches near the monastery fence were ordered to be demolished. And they wanted to return the purchased brick to the parishioners so that they resume construction in a new place, at a distance from the Goritsky Monastery.
They intended to call the new brick church Sretenskaya and planned to make two side-chapels in it - Sergius of Radonezh and Prince Alexander Nevsky. But this was not destined to come true. The brick from the construction site was dismantled and used for the monastery needs. Bishop Ambrose decided that it would be easier to move the old wooden church to a new place. And that was done. The new church on the hill was assembled and consecrated in honor of the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky. For the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements, it became a parish.
But after a quarter of a century, the wooden temple has significantly aged and began to deteriorate. In this connection, in 1778, the priests of this church, Peter and Vasily Ivanov, as well as ordinary parishioners, wrote a petition to the newly appointed Bishop of Pereyaslavl Theophylact. They wanted their parish church to return the brick that had previously been used to build a temple near the fence of the Goritsky Monastery. At first, their request was not granted. But in 1785, a new stone Sretensky church with the border of Alexander Nevsky was nevertheless built, and on October 26 it was consecrated... Inscriptions about this event have been preserved on the church antimension and on the wall of the temple.
The memory of the ancient wooden church of Sergei Radonezhsky remained only in documents, as well as in the altar Gospel and the cross. But in Soviet times, these relics were lost, and their fate is not known.
History of the Sretensky Church in the XX century
According to an inventory made at the beginning of the last century, there were many valuable liturgical items in the church. These are satin air, embroidered with gold and silver threads and decorated with pearls - covering fabrics for sacred vessels. In the temple there were old altar crosses with particles of the relics of saints and the Gospel dating from the 18th century.
Church services were celebrated by a priest and a psalmist, and about seven hundred rubles were allocated annually for their maintenance. 30 acres of church land were leased to tenants. According to the records, about 400 men and the same number of women - peasants, burghers, commoners and military men - were parishioners. The church also had its own parish school since 1873.
After the coming of Soviet power, in the spring of 1919, the priest of the Sretensky church, Viktor Sergievsky, and the parishioners living in three settlements of Pereslavl-Zalessky, concluded a special agreement with the authorities on the use of the church. Three years later, when there was a mass confiscation of church valuables in favor of the starving in the Volga region, they transferred eight items made of silver to financial management: an old cross, two vessels for worship - a gilded chalice and a diskos, as well as a star and church vestments on the altar. And the liturgical utensils remaining in the Sretensky Church were estimated by the commission at eight and a half thousand rubles.
Later, at the end of the 30s of the XX century, the temple was closed for half a century, and in 1988 it was returned to believers... Some of the valuables removed from it were preserved. And today, within the walls of the Goritsky Monastery, in the Pereyaslavl Museum, ancient crowns are exhibited, which are used during the sacrament of weddings, and a pectoral cross dating from the 18th-19th centuries.
Architecture and interior decoration of the Sretensky temple
The general architecture of the Sretensky Church is traditional, simple and at the same time very beautiful. Compositionally, it stretches along one axis. On the west side, a one-story refectory and a bell tower are attached to it, and on the east - a semicircular altar apse. A powerful deaf octagon is brought under a large dome shaped like a hemisphere. And at the very top of the church there is a small neat onion dome with a spire raised high into the sky.
The massive main quadrangle is decorated with triangular pediments on all sides. The corners of the quadrangle, as well as the apses, are decorated with rustic decoration. And the southern and northern entrances to the church are framed by porticoes with four columns.
The interior of the church is very well lit. This is facilitated by wide, double-row windows, framed by strict and at the same time elegant platbands. The altar apse also has windows with the same platbands.
The current state of the church and the visiting regime
Now the church is active and is an object of cultural heritage of the 18th century. You can get into it every day from 8.00 to 14.00. On the twelve and great feasts, services in the temple are held at 8.00 and 17.00.
Two icons especially revered by all believers in this church - Alexander Nevsky and St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea with particles of relics. Sretensky Church celebrates temple and patronal holidays on February 15, June 11, September 12 and December 6. There are two thrones in this church: cold in honor of the Meeting of the Lord and warm in honor of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky.
How to get to the Sretenskaya Church
In Pereslavl-Zalessky, the Sretensky temple is located on Moskovskaya street, 11. This place is located in the southern part of the city blocks, opposite the road leading to the Botik of Peter I (the village of Ves'kovo). The church on the hill is clearly visible from the highway. The city bus station, which accepts intercity buses from Moscow and Yaroslavl, is located very close.
