The story of the miraculous salvation of a temple in the vicinity of the Angara region, where Nicholas II visited Source: Daniil Konin / IrCityThe Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Kimiltei is one of the pearls of the Irkutsk region. . A beautiful white stone building with gilded domes dominates the surrounding area, and bells ring in all directions during the holidays. But this was not always the case – in the “nineties” the fate of the temple was sad, it could have perished if not for its rector, Archpriest Vladimir Antonov, who found the strength and means to restore the temple in the form in which it was. it appeared back in the 19th century even before Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov. Our colleagues from IrCity visited Kimiltei and talked with a priest who does not like to talk about his role in the restoration of this place, but without whom it might not have existed at all. The village of Kimiltei was founded in 1796. railway, it was a volost village; The Moscow highway passed here. In the 19th century, Kimiltei was a wealthy village; here lived the merchant Yakov Metelev, about whose family we wrote in the project “Disappearing Irkutsk”. In 1891, the future Emperor of Russia, Tsarevich Nicholas, during his eastern journey, stayed with Metelev in Kimiltey for two days. Eggs for the temple The Church of St. Nicholas in Kimiltea is an architectural monument. It was built in 1884 according to the design of the Irkutsk architect Vladislav Kudelsky. The stone building of the temple in Kimiltey appeared in 1884, it was consecrated in 1885. Source: Daniil Konin / IrCityIn the second half of the 19th century, Kimiltey had 440 courtyards, each of which was supposed to bring 30 eggs per month for the construction of the temple. They held the masonry together. In addition, local residents themselves actively participated in the construction of the building: they mixed the mortar and delivered bricks. Professional workers were hired to build the temple; the old wooden church stood next to the new white stone building for many years. It was slowly chopped down for firewood for heating. After the revolution, the Soviet authorities carried out an inventory of church property and saw that according to documents there should be a wooden building next to the temple, but in fact it did not exist for a long time. Unfortunately, photographs of the old church have not been preserved anywhere, but a model of the temple is now in the Kimiltea Local History Museum. This is probably what the old wooden temple in Kimiltea looked like. Its model is collected in the local history museum Source: YouTube Dilapidated ceilings and a meter-long layer of excrement In the 1930s, the church in Kimiltey was closed under the pretext of reconstruction. In fact, this meant the end of the parish. The building has been empty for a long time; the bells were removed and sent for melting down in the late 1930s. During World War II there was a granary here, and in the 1950s a country club was opened in the former St. Nicholas Church. Below there was a stage, boxes for spectators and a booth for broadcasting films. Where the church shop is now, there was a cash register; in Soviet times, instead of a church, there was a club here. Instead of an iconostasis and an altar, there was a stage and a cinema booth Source: Daniil Konin / “IrCity” And instead of a church bench (on the left in the photo) there was a ticket office Source: Daniil Konin / “IrCity” To organize a cinema, the windows were completely bricked up or filled with slag. In addition, the building was divided into two floors. On the first there was a club, on the second there was a library. What saved it from complete destruction was the fact that the building was regularly used. There was no talk of any reconstruction, but work was carried out continuously: in 1991, the village council decided to return the building of the temple to the Russian Orthodox Church. By that time it had become very dilapidated, the ceilings and floors had fallen into disrepair. An almost meter-high layer of pigeon droppings had accumulated under the roof – birds have chosen this place since the time when there was a barn on the site of the temple, right up to the 1950s. From the thermal power plant to the church, Vladimir Antonov became the rector of the temple in Kimiltey in 1999. In his own words, he doesn’t really like to talk about himself. Before serving, Antonov studied at the Sayan vocational school and joined the army. There I became acquainted with the Gospel and was amazed by what I read: “Then I even began to bother those around me, telling them: “Look how everything is written correctly!” And they answered: “Listen, if you are sick, leave me alone, get away from me.” My coming to faith was gradual, it was a long process. Everything somehow went gradually, I began to think about life. Then he returned from the army, worked there for some time at the Novo-Ziminskaya Thermal Power Plant, and then the construction of a church began in Sayansk. I took part in this, and at the same time began to look at the people who were there, the priests… My coming to church was not was accompanied by some kind of vision, they say a miracle happened. Everything was gradual, step by step. Even now, I’m learning more and more about Orthodoxy and I think as if I really don’t know anything,” the clergyman recalls. Vladimir Antonov became rector of the Church of St. Nicholas in 1999. Source: Daniil Konin / IrCity Despite the fact that the rural parish is very small, many residents of Kimiltea have their own history connected with the temple. People come here to baptize newborns and perform funeral services for the dead; some attend church services regularly or occasionally. People come from other places – from Sayansk, Zima, surrounding villages and hamlets. Sometimes children come. According to Father Vladimir, he is very happy when one of them, after conversations, begins to wear a cross and thinks about the eternal. Full-scale reconstruction of the temple and the return of its historical appearance began in 2004 – then Antonov was already rector for a period of 5 years. At first, the services were held in very ascetic conditions: the Gospel and the cross were placed on the table, and they began to pray. Gradually the parish grew. In the end, the question arose about the reconstruction of the temple. But the abbot does not want to exaggerate his role in this: “It was God who clearly wanted something to be here.” I look at all this and understand that this is God’s providence. I only played a small role in this. At different stages of construction, people appeared who helped us, explained something, suggested something,” recalls priest Vladimir. “If they had waited, everything would have fallen apart on its own.” The first steps to restore the temple were taken back in 1996 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Kimiltei. Then not only local residents took part in the work, but also prisoners of colony No. 32 from Sayansk – At this time (for the 300th anniversary of the village – Ed.) it was possible to commission the temple. Everything here was cleaned, the benches were removed, the carbon deposits were removed. There was a stove right there in the church, heating pipes throughout the building, everything was smoked. An iconostasis was built in the temple and consecrated, recalls priest Vladimir. In the 1990s, the temple was in deplorable condition. Source: Daniil Konin/IrCity. It received its current decoration in the 2010s. Source: Daniil Konin/IrCity. .The appearance of the temple was restored based on the model of a similar church in the village of Uyan, Kuytunsky district Source: Daniil Konin/IrCity Similar features can be seen. Photo from 1920. Source: Andrey Agafonov/Sobory.ru – I looked at all this and realized that the Lord must intervene here; we cannot cope with this without God’s help. Gradually, over the years, people began to appear through acquaintances who were ready to help. We started small: we repaired a fence there and did something else there. In 2004, reconstruction had to be carried out. This had to be started, somehow God led us to this. In late autumn, with the blessing of Archbishop Vladimir Lazebny, we began dismantling the ceilings. They were so rotten that some simply fell apart. If we had waited a little longer, everything would have collapsed on its own,” the priest noted. The project for the restoration of the temple was developed by the Irkutsk Design and Restoration Institute “Heritage”, one of the owners of which is Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Irkutsk Polytechnic Institute Igor Pinaykin. Now he is participating in the restoration of another religious place nearby – the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the village of Bolshoy Kashelak, Kuytunsky district. Moreover, our interlocutor, Priest Vladimir, is also its rector. All work was done after approval and under the control of the Center for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Irkutsk Region – the Kimiltei Temple is an architectural monument. The big problem was to restore the historical appearance of the building. It so happened that there were no old photographs left. the church survived. A chance helped – a local resident found a photograph of the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village of Uyan near Kuitun. It was designed by Vladislav Kudelsky, the same architect from Irkutsk who created the design of the St. Nicholas Church. . The temple in Kimiltea was restored in his image and likeness. The church is named in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and its restoration can also be called to some extent a miracle. According to the director, the reconstruction required large financial costs, for which local authorities were not prepared. The parish did not have that kind of money either. But there were kind people who financed different stages of the work. Antonov did not say exactly how much money was needed, but noted that often he was only required to say what the temple needed, after which the benefactors themselves brought the necessary materials for construction or supplies for maintenance. Nicholas the Wonderworker is one of the most revered saints in the Orthodox world Source: Daniil Konin / IrCity Not only local residents come here, but also residents of Sayansk and Zima Source: Daniil Konin / IrCity The main restoration work was carried out in the period from 2004 to 2006 year. The roof over the chapel was completely built, new benches were installed, and a bell tower was erected. But the floors and walls remained old; they were covered with gypsum fiber. We thought for a long time about what to do with the new floor. They leaned against the tree, but then realized that it couldn’t support women’s stilettos. As a result, we managed to find a philanthropist who bought granite for cladding. Now Father Vladimir is thinking about improving the territory of the temple. According to him, it is necessary to pave the road for the religious procession, plant new greenery, make lighting, and update the fence. “I like it when there is more greenery, even if it’s something wild, like apple trees, but it’s still beautiful when they start to bloom in the spring.” “So that everything is green,” the abbot says with interest.
how a priest restored a church in the vicinity of the Irkutsk region – March 27, 2024 – Russia today
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