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St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Sargatskoye

Фото 1
The church in the village of Sargatskoye was built in 1836 with funds from local residents. It was distinguished by its sturdiness, capacity, and sufficient church utensils.

Against the dark green backdrop of large birches and ancient crosses of the cemetery, the church looked imposing. Today, a shopping square and a cinema occupy this site. The church was served by a priest, a psalmist, and a deacon. The annual income of the parish was about 300-400 rubles, formed from treasury salaries, teaching the Law of God in schools, and collecting bread for Christmas and Easter. The clergyman kept a metric book with records of births, marriages, and deaths, which were then verified in Tyumen or Omsk and returned to the church archive. The parish included the villages: Sib. Sargatka with a population of 1260, Intenis, 487, Kushaili, 78, and Urusova, 250.

The clergy of the Sargatskoye church consisted of priest Andrei Viktorovich Sevilov, a graduate of the Tobolsk Theological Seminary, who began his ministry in 1905, and psalmist Mikhail Andreevich Karpov, the son of a sexton, who became a deacon in 1860 and remained a psalmist. For his merits, he was awarded a stichera and a silver medal on the Anna ribbon. Three houses were built for the clergy, one of which, covered with iron, consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, belonging to the priest. The psalmist lived in a dilapidated five-walled structure. Firewood was harvested in their own lands or purchased for 3-4 rubles per fathom. Part of the lands was used for personal needs, and part was rented out for 3 rubles per tithe. On agricultural maps, the priest's forest, meadow, and field are still marked.

In 1917, new ministers came to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church: priest Father Arseny Petrov, deacon Fedot Prokopyev, and a choir consisting of Mitya Galaktionov, a singer, Dasha Pokrovyeva, Liza and Darya Prokoviev, Evdokiya Grishanova, Fedosiya Aristova, bell ringer Gennady Smirnov, and Dunya Grishanova, who baked prosphora.

The church was wooden, tall, with sky-blue walls and golden domes and crosses. It had two altars: one for baptisms and the other for funerals. The entrance was located on Kooperativnaya Street, next to a watchman's hut where candles and icons were sold. Around the church was a fence with the graves of priests, whose locations are now unknown due to the destruction of the church.

In the 1930s, significant changes began that greatly affected the Orthodox Church. Believers faced persecution, priests renounced their orders and went into civil service, and churches were closed. By the beginning of the war, many churches had been turned into clubs. During those difficult times, the Sargatskoye church fell into poverty, and the priest could not feed his family. Believers tried to preserve the church and protect their faith, but in September 1936, the Sargatsky district executive committee ruled: "Religion is harmful. It is the opium of the people. Close the church."

In 1934, the bells were removed from the church. In 1936, the church was converted into a club, the utensils were sent for melting down, and the icons were burned, although some were managed to be saved. Clergy were accused of anti-Soviet activities and were prosecuted under Article 58, Paragraph 10 of the RSFSR Criminal Code. Among them was former servant of the Sargatskoye church Maxim Lavrentyevich Levin, who was shot after his arrest. Legends about "insurgent organizations" were created to fabricate cases, and priest Alexei Petrov was recorded as the organizer of the "Sargatsk branch." The Omsk troika sentenced 17 people to execution, 11 to 10 years in camps, and two received 8 years.

In the 1990s, the revival of churches began in the Sargatsky district. Believers proposed to build a church on the site of the old building adapted for a club. More than 200 signatures supported the petition. Local authorities offered to transfer the cultural house for the church, which satisfied everyone. The initiative was supported by Metropolitan Theodosius of Omsk and Tara. In 1991, the parish of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was registered.

Geo point

Храм святителя Николая Чудотворца в Саргатском

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