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Church of the Epiphany of the Lord in Leonovo

Фото 1
Next to the ancient cemetery in the village of Leonovo stands a beautiful church dedicated to the Epiphany of the Lord. In the 16th century, the current village of Leonovo was the site of the village of Krutets, which was an ancient estate of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. It included forests, meadows, wastelands, thickets, lakes, fishing spots, beaver runs, and arable land. It is known that since 1574, the brothers Matfei, Grigoriy, and Yuriy Lovchikov lived here. The monastery's estate developed, and in the census books of 1678, besides the village of Krutets, Omutishchi, Krutoye, and Petushki are also mentioned.

The Church of the Epiphany is first mentioned in a land registry book of the 17th century, which states: "In Krutets, the church of the Epiphany of the Lord and God and our Savior, with chapels of John the Theologian and Matthew the Evangelist, wooden, with 4 bells on the bell tower, served by priest Anthim, living in the village of Leonovo; on the churchyard, there is a yard for deacons, sextons, and prosphora bakers, two yards for the poor, where the poor live and are fed by the Church of God." In 1818, after graduating from the Vladimir Seminary, priest Yegor Zotovich Smirnov was appointed to the church of the village of Krutets. In 1820, during his service, the construction of the current stone church with a bell tower began to replace the wooden church.

The architecture of the temple is done in the classical style. The main building is a two-story square with a massive spherical faceted dome topped with a small drum. The central entrance is adorned with a classical pediment. On the western side is the refectory, extended beyond the main line, adjacent to a three-tiered bell tower with wide cornices and paired pilasters. The exterior finish is simple and concise, with plastered and painted walls. The church has three altars. The central altar was consecrated on September 26, 1825, in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord by Archimandrite Nikodim of the Bogolubovo Monastery. The southern altar was consecrated on December 22, 1861, in honor of the Beheading of John the Baptist, and the northern altar, in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The iconostases of the side chapels were made with the funds of the parishioners, with significant donations from the church elder, merchant Pavel Danilovich Kuznetsov. His son Ivan Pavlovich financed repairs in the church. In the early 20th century, he built the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in the village of Starye Petushki. During the Soviet era, the church remained open.

Geo point

Церковь Богоявления Господня в Леоново

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