In the city of Vladimir, on Knyagininskaya Street, there is the Nikitskaya Church, which looks more like a palace than a temple due to the magnificent design of the facades.
Short story
The church was consecrated in the name of the Monk Nikita the Stylite, a native of the Pereslavl land. In the world, Nikita was a collector of state taxes and for many years he mercilessly robbed the townspeople, accumulating huge sums for himself. Once during the divine service Nikita heard the words from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “Wash yourself, be cleansed; remove wickedness from my eyes.
General view of the Nikitskaya Church
Learn to do good, protect orphans and widows, ”and so on. Nikita spent the whole night without sleep, pondering his sinful life, and then left his home, family, large estate and took monastic vows. Having laid upon himself iron chains and a heavy stone cap, Nikita retired on a stone pillar, where he stayed day and night in fasting and prayer. For repentance and spiritual asceticism Nikita received the gift of miracles. He healed many infirm, and among them was the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who suffered from paralysis of the limbs. The saint died a violent death: the robbers took the shine of the iron chains for the shine of silver and killed Nikita.
Nikitskaya Church from Nikitskaya Street
The Orthodox celebrate the Day of St. Nikita the Stylite on June 6. Nikita died in 1186. And almost six centuries later, in the 1760s, a prosperous Vladimir merchant Semyon Lazarev erected a church in Vladimir, named after Nikita... In 1849, with the assistance of the merchant P.V. Kozlov, two-storey side chapels were added to the Nikitskaya Church. The Nikitskaya Church in Vladimir differs sharply from other religious buildings of the 18th century. Its composition is based on the refectory type of the temple, realized in the traditions of palace architecture. The three-storey white-green building is dissected by three tiers of large windows framed by baroque platbands. The corners of the church are decorated with pilasters with order capitals. Abundant decoration of facades, expressive plastic and dynamic silhouette, emphasized by a slender drum of the head and a high bell tower, make Nikitskaya Church a striking monument of provincial baroque. Sunlight streaming in through the side windows illuminated the spacious rooms through puffs of incense, creating an atmosphere of solemnity and spirituality that encourages prayer.
View of the southern facade of the Nikitskaya Church
Initially, the main pride of the temple was the magnificent iconostasis, made in the spirit of the times of Catherine II, with carved royal doors, similar in shape to the iconostasis Assumption Vladimir Cathedral. In 1794 - 1801 Nikitskaya Church served as a model for the Trinity-Tikhvin Church, erected in the city of Dmitrov near Moscow... In the new building, the Dmitrovsky architect almost exactly repeated the composition and details of the Vladimir church. Currently Nikitskaya Church in Vladimir is not used for divine services. Restoration workshops are located within its walls.
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