In 1896, a stone church with a bell tower was built in the village with funds from parishioners, designed to accommodate more than three thousand people. The initiator of the construction and benefactor was the prosperous peasant Alexander Pavlovich Saprykin. The church had three altars: the first, consecrated in honor of the Kazan Mother of God on November 10, 1896, by Bishop Guriy of Samara; the second, dedicated to the holy elders Zosima and Savvatiy, consecrated on June 13, 1901; and the third, in honor of St. Theodosius of Chernigov, the date of which is unknown. The church was served by two priests, a deacon, and two psalmists.
The church was built according to the design of architect Mikhail Petrovich Korinfsky Varentsov, with engineering oversight by architect Talokonov. The building was executed in the Russian-Byzantine style with elements of classicism. The rotunda, topped with a dome, is surrounded by columns. Local red bricks from the Krasnikov factory were used for construction, and chicken eggs were used for the mortar.
The heating system of the church was unique: firewood smoldered in the stove, and hot smoke passed through the chimneys in the walls, heating them. The church amazed with its beauty and grandeur, and it was periodically whitewashed with lime. In 1903, an iron fence on a stone foundation was erected around the church square. In 1896, a stone house was built next to the church with an apartment for the watchman, a room for parishioners to rest, and a baptistry. The territory also included a watchman's hut, a bakery, and a small cemetery. Services were held daily, the church was considered a cathedral, and the choir numbered up to forty people.
In 1897, a wooden house was built in the village of Alexeyevka for a two-class church school, funded by the Holy Synod. The school had rooms for teachers and a dormitory for students, as well as a library with more than two hundred books.
In March 1934, a campaign began to close the church, and by January 1936, the church council had virtually ceased to exist. In May 1936, the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was closed and repurposed as a club, later being used as a warehouse. Subsequently, the brick fence was destroyed, and attempts were made to demolish the church walls, but they were unsuccessful. In 1989, the church was returned to the faithful, and restoration work began.
The restoration of the church became a communal effort, and people brought their ancient icons to decorate it. On January 2, 1991, the first Divine Liturgy was held in the church, and the first altar was consecrated. In January 1997, His Eminence Sergey, Archbishop of Samara and Syzran, consecrated the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Alexeyevka. There are many versions regarding the authorship of the icons and frescoes in the church. Two-meter images of saints have been preserved on the walls, one of which bears the initials 'F.I.' and the date 1902. According to specialists, the church was painted between 1896 and 1900, but the name of the painter remains unknown.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.
To leave a comment, sign in with Google.