The Church of St. Michael the Archangel is one of the oldest churches in YelEts. The very first, wooden church was built between 16th-17th centuries, almost simultaneously with the construction of the new YelEts fortress. During its long history, it changed its location several times, finally it was placed in the current location - in ArkhAangelskaya street (now SverdlOva street). It was this temple that captivated the imagination of the young Ivan Bunin in his first ‘fabulous’ trip to YelEts:
The Church of Michael the Archangel
Creation period
2010 year
Dimensions
15x10 cm
Technique
photography
Collection
Exhibition
0
Open in app#1
Ivanov S.E.
The Church of Michael the Archangel
#6
#7
‘I don’t remember how we arrived in the town. But I do remember the morning in the town! I was floating over a kind of precipice, moving through the narrow gorge of huge houses that I had never seen before, I was dazzled by the glare of the sun, glass, and signs, and above me a wonderful musical mess was spreading over the whole world: the ringing, the roar of the bells from the bell tower of the church of Michael the Archangel, which towered above everything in such grandeur, in such luxury, incomparable even with the Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome or the Pyramid of Cheops’.
Bunin I.A. ‘Arseniev’s life’
#8
In late 1845 the construction of a brick church instead of a wooden one began according to the project of the architect PomerAntsev. A local merchant Ivan ShAposhnikov contributed a lot in the construction by investing his own funds, and supplying hewn stone. The works were supervised by the church warden. In 1859, the construction was mostly completed, and in 1860, the main altar of the church was consecrated. The chapels inside the church building were installed in 1862 by the efforts of the merchant DobriAnov. His donations and donations of the YelEts residents were used to buy valuable icons in silver frames, chandeliers, vestments - all these were purchased later. For all his good deeds Dobrianov was awarded a gold medal on a Stanislaus ribbon in 1872.
The stone church functioned less than 100 years — it was closed in 1930 under the Soviet regime. During the war, the church basement was used as a bomb shelter. According to the documents of 1962, the church building was used as a warehouse for storing paper, and in the basement there was a warehouse of Gorprodtorg. In 1993, the church was transferred to possession of the YelEts Ascension Cathedral, whose clergy began to restore it: 4 domes were restored on the temple building, the roof was arranged on all the domes, the main dome drum was plastered and whitewashed. The first prayer service was served in the restored church. The full-scale restoration work is hindered by low funds, and the final restoration of one of the most interesting architectural landmarks of Yelets — the Church of Michael the Archangell — is still ahead.
#9
Yelets Local History Museum
read morehide
00:00
00:00
1x
The Church of Michael the Archangel
Creation period
2010 year
Dimensions
15x10 cm
Technique
photography
Collection
Exhibition
0
Point your smartphone camera to open in the appOpen in app
Share
