Old Believers who left the schism and recognized the unity of the church but preserved their traditional rites were granted permission to build places of worship known as Old Believer churches. The first of these was erected in Nizhny Novgorod in 1798 and consecrated in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. In the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese, 10 such churches were built, four of which were located in the Semyonovsky district. In the village of Mukhino, the Elijah Church was built in 1855 thanks to the efforts of G.N. Rotkov from the village of Egolevo, and it was popularly known as the Dukhivskaya. This was the only Old Believer church in the territory of modern Bor. By the end of the 19th century, the church had become multi-altar, with dedications in honor of the Protection of the Holy Virgin, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The parishioners of the church lived within a radius of 35 versts in the villages of Drozdovo, Yamnovo, Pershino, Kruglovо, Kazakovka, Ilyinskaya, Dyakonovo, Petrovo, Mikinskaya, Palkino, and Mukhino. The Elijah Church became the first in Bor to suffer from the actions of the authorities. In 1930, a document was fabricated, allegedly signed by 15,000 residents requesting the closure of two out of five churches in Bor, including the Old Believer one. The church was closed, the crosses were removed from the domes, and the bells were taken away. The building housed a carpentry and furniture cooperative, and later a market was organized on the church grounds.