Church in the name of Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth of the cavalry guard regiment. Church of Zacharias and Elizabeth (Resurrection Church) Church of Zacharias and Elizabeth

Church in the name of Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth of the Cavalier Guard Regiment

Zakharyevskaya street, 22

Zachary is the father of John the Baptist, a priest who belonged to an ancient priestly family. Until his old age he was childless. When he had a vision of an angel in the temple, announcing the birth of his son, Zachary doubted why he was struck by dumbness and was released from it only after the fulfillment of the promise given to him. His son John was born, whose destiny Zacharias sang with a solemn song.

Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias and the mother of John the Baptist, was a relative of Mary, she was the first, after the Annunciation, to greet her as Blessed among women and as the Mother of God.

The church was founded in 1752 by order of Elizabeth Petrovna. The consecration took place in September 1756 in the presence of the Empress. The church was built for officials and those who served at the Reserve Court, in 1806 with the relocation

She became a regimental regiment of the cavalry guard regiment. Throughout the existence of the first church appearance it remained unchanged, only the interior decoration changed. The most significant was the alteration of 1856: then the iconostasis was renewed, granite columns were installed instead of brick ones, and a parquet floor was laid. Until 1844, the church housed an aisle church in the name of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, built under arches, which were dismantled in 1856. The iconostasis of the field church was kept here, all the icons of which were painted on white satin on a gold background. Iconostasis as a monument of Russian history and culture of the 18th century. in 1846 they were transferred to the Armory Chamber, to Moscow. The first church was single-altar, stone; its dome and bell tower are wooden, the iconostasis is three-tiered; the icons were written on a black background.

The shrines of the church were the altar cross with particles of saints; silver liturgical vessels granted to the regiment by its chief, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; the icon of the Mother of God, called the "Three Joys", with which in 1848 Alexandra Feodorovna blessed the regiment on the Hungarian campaign. The regiment's standards were kept in the church, decorated with St. George's crosses in memory of Patriotic War 1812 Between the standards, on a marble pedestal, there was a silver plaque with the names of dead and wounded officers and an indication of the number of killed and wounded lower ranks. The uniforms of Alexander I and Nicholas I were also kept in the church.

In 1897 - 1899. According to the project of the academician of architecture L. N. Benois, an elegant, stylized Baroque church was erected on the site of the former one. M. V. Nesterov, who made mosaic icons, took part in the decoration of its interiors. The utensils were made by the famous Faberge firm. The iconostasis and standards were transferred to the new church from the old one.

The building was demolished in 1948.

). The architectural appearance of this unusual building combines elements of pseudo-Gothic and Romanesque styles. According to its purpose, the church is not only a religious building, but also a clearly visible landmark from the sea for ships passing along the coast.

This is also the cultural center of Tarkhankut, one of the first parochial schools in the Western Crimea worked here for a long time.

Architecture

The Christian Church of the Saints and Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth, built in 1838, owes its creation to the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, the owner of the Ak-Mechet economy, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. The author of the project was the architect Torricelli.

The building of the temple, built in the pseudo-Gothic style, common in Europe in the 18th-19th centuries, attracted attention with its original architecture and served as a guide for ships sailing to the Ak-Mechet Bay. Travelers enjoyed looking around and visiting "an ordinary house with lancet windows, with a quadrangular tower attached to it, on which an octagonal pyramidal spire 120 feet high."

The church was built with an unusual bell tower, similar to the English cathedrals of the time of William Shakespeare. In the design of windows and doors, there are elements of Romanesque architecture (semicircular arches in window and door openings). The building is absolutely unlike Orthodox churches familiar to believers: there are no gilded domes or rich portals, complex window trims are replaced by modest stone carvings, stained-glass windows are used for decoration, and a high bell tower with a semicircular spire resembles a tower of ancient residences of feudal lords. Local residents are accustomed to the unusual architecture of the church building. But visitors express sincere surprise when they find out that this is the original building of the first half of XIX century - Orthodox church.

The temple was built during the spread of the “pseudo-Gothic” style in Europe and Russia, reviving the architectural forms and decorative motifs of medieval Gothic. M. S. Vorontsov was the son of the Russian envoy in England, lived in London for a long time, had a passion for Western culture, so he was ordered just such a project.

Story

After the inclusion of the Crimea into the Russian Empire in 1783 and the settlement by immigrants from Russia and Ukraine of the territories emptied as a result of the emigration of the Crimean Tatars, the need to build an Orthodox church became obvious.

We must pay tribute to the skillful and enterprising owners of the Tarkhankut estates, who were able to equip this far corner of Crimea not only economically, but also took care of the spirituality of the settlers.

Here stands today in the village of Chernomorsky, formerly called Ak-Mechet, a Christian church as a symbol of a new era in the Crimea, the era of Catherine II, Potemkin, Dolgoruky and Suvorov, Ushakov and Kutuzov.

In the 30s years XIX centuries, M. S. Vorontsov resettled peasants from Russia to Tarkhankut and, in order to secure the Christian population, in 1838 he built a “stone church with a beautiful fence” and consecrated in the name of the saints and righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth.

“He who goes to the Ak-Meschet from the west will first see on the eastern cape Quarantine, with walls descending to the sea, then a fish factory, buildings on the embankment ... In the rear of the coastal buildings there is a Gothic church with a high bell tower, behind it is a settlement. As you approach the Ak-Mechet Bay, the church with the bell tower will be visible above the eastern cape…”, - mentions the Church of the Saints and Righteous Zechariah and Elisabeth Locius of the Black Sea for 1851.

It also says that the bell tower is visible for 16 or 17 miles like a minaret (1 mile is equal to 1852 meters).

Archival data indicate the date of construction of the church - 1838. This is also mentioned by Hermogenes, Bishop of Pskov, former Tauride and Simferopol in the book "Tauride Diocese".

The iconostasis in the Ak-Mechet temple was single-tier, did not differ in special luxury, dilapidated, as indicated in later church documents. The throne in the temple is one in the name of the saints and righteous Zacharias and Elizabeth, revered on September 5th. Parables, on the basis of the Decree of the Holy Synod of March 1, 1865, No. 3, was to consist of a priest and a psalmist.

Significant support was provided to the church by the landlords Count M. S. Vorontsov and V. S. Popov, who sent 100 rubles each from their savings for its maintenance. in year.

The names of the saints in whose honor the temple was consecrated were not accidental. According to Biblical tradition, the holy and righteous Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were revered in the Christian church as the forefathers of John the Baptist.

Count Vorontsov's wife's name was Elizaveta Ksaveryevna (née Branitskaya). Smart, charming, educated, she enjoyed the appreciation and respect of others. A. S. Pushkin was selflessly in love with her, he dedicated the poem “The Burnt Letter” to her. Until the end of his days, Alexander Sergeevich wore a ring given to him by Elizaveta Ksaverevna. And she kept the poet's letters for a long time, rereading them even after the tragic death of the poet.

The religious feast of Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth coincided with the birthday of Elizabeth Ksaveryevna Vorontsova.

The Crimean War of 1853-1856 left its mark on the history of the church. In 1854, during the shelling of the Ak-Mechet, a cannonball hit the bell tower of the church. After the conclusion of peace, Russia presented Turkey with a long list of losses incurred. The incident with the Ak-Mechet Church was regarded as an insult to the shrine, and until the First World War, the Turks carefully paid an annual indemnity for this.

Bishop Germogen reports that the church parish included 5 villages with a Russian population: Yarylgach (inhabited in the 60s of the 19th century), Kunan, Tarpanchi, Karadzha, Tarkhankut Lighthouse (now Mezhvodnoye, Krasnoselskoye, Okunevka, Olenevka) and 11 villages with mixed population - Tatar and Russian: Ablakh-Adzhak, Ak-Bat, Akulchuk, Bayki-yat, Kelegakh, Kerlut, Komrat, Kostitelkoy-chan, Sabanchi, Tabuldy-as, Terekly-as. Parishioners - 2087 people. Clergymen - 12. In addition, there are 3917 souls of both sexes and a small number of Jews and Gregorian Armenians in the Tatar parish.

Since 1885, a parochial school has been operating here; in the 1893-1894 academic year, 25 boys and 11 girls studied there. The teachers were Anna Andreevna Maryanenko, who graduated from the course of sciences at the Stavropol Olinsky Women's Gymnasium, and the priest Kondrat Kozitsky. The school was maintained with funds received from Ak-Mechetskaya, Count Shuvalov savings - about 500 rubles.

360 rubles, from the local church 100 rubles. and from guardianship 32 rubles. It is interesting to know that teachers received 300 rubles for their work, and priests - 120 rubles.

In 1890–1900, the local zemstvo built a number of public buildings. Instead of a two-year parochial school, a zemstvo school was built, in which they taught arithmetic, writing, reading, civil and church literacy, and the law of God.

The October Revolution changed the course of historical development.

Under the conditions of the formation of an atheistic worldview, persecution of clergy and believers began, churches were liquidated.

In 1930 the church in Ak-Mechet was closed. Minutes No. 68 of the meeting of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', Red Army and Naval Deputies of the Crimean ASSR reflect this as follows:

“In view of the refusal of believers to use the church and as a result of the demand of the working people, the church should be liquidated and used as a club.”

Since 1930, a club has been opened on the premises of the church, where films were shown and dances were held in the evenings. In subsequent years, the church building was used for other purposes. From 1941 to 1945 it had a warehouse. But after the Great Patriotic War, the church was reopened. In the courtyard lived the rector of the church with his family. However, by 1958-1959, the parish decreased, and again the question arose of the inexpediency of spending on the maintenance of the church. She was closed. Some of the icons were taken to the Evpatoria Church, some were taken to their homes by the parishioners. And in 1981, it was decided that a two-story building of a children's and youth sports school with a gym was attached to the former church building. The church building itself became a gymnasium. In this regard, it was re-equipped, significant changes were made to its appearance. At the end of the 1980s, the attitude towards believers changed. In 1990, a decision was made to transfer “to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church the previously closed Orthodox church in the name of the saints and righteous Zacharias and Elizabeth in the town of Chernomorsky ...”.

The parishioners, returning to their long-suffering temple, decorated it as best they could, brought disassembled icons. Unfortunately, many of them are irretrievably lost. The lost metal cross has now been replaced by a wooden one.

Orthodox Zechariah and Elizabeth at the Life Guards Cavalier Guard Regiment

Zakharyevskaya st., 22

W. Ulrich. Arrival of Alexandra Feodorovna to the barracks of Her Majesty's Cavalry Guard Regiment on May 7, 1849. Around 1851. From the original by Dupressoir (1849). State Russian Museum (Religious Petersburg / comp. P. Klimov; State Russian Museum. - St. Petersburg, 2004)

The cavalry guards appeared in 1724 as an honorary escort of Catherine I, who later led them with the rank of captain. Since then, the Empresses have always been the chiefs of the regiment. Under Elizabeth Petrovna, the cavalry guards formed a life company, which had a marching Vvedenskaya church consecrated on March 5, 1743. In 1800 the regiment became a Guards regiment. Mostly hereditary noblemen served in it. The cavalry guards distinguished themselves in the war against Napoleon - they participated in the battles of Austerlitz, Borodino and Kulm.
At first, the regiment had only a camp church. In 1803, the premises belonging to the employees of the Reserve Court and the court office were turned into regimental barracks. Together with them, the Zakharyevskaya Church, built in the 1740s of wood, also came under the control of the regiment. August 9, 1752 was followed by a decree on the construction of a stone church with a two-tiered bell tower. Utensils were brought to it from Moscow, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself was present at the consecration on September 5, 1753.
In 1762, Catherine ordered: “there should not be a church with this regiment, because it will always be where my court is,” and therefore, from now on, the cavalry guards were supposed to pray in the court church. However, the temple was left open for the employees of the Reserve Yard. In 1779, the main iconostasis was replaced, but the old one remained in the choirs, in the chapel of St. John the Evangelist. According to legend, this two-tier iconostasis made of atlas was brought in the 16th century from Greece and was with Ivan the Terrible near Kazan (in 1844 it was transferred to the Armory).
In 1844 the temple was re-decorated; in 1855 arch. K. K. Ziegler, according to the project of A. I. Stackenschneider, began the restructuring: he erected a bell tower, made choirs and installed a new iconostasis, which was carved by Ivan Vladimirov. The sovereign donated 3 thousand rubles. silver to decorate the temple. On October 1, 1858, a new consecration took place. During construction, they served in the marching St. Michael's Church.

Unknown artist. Iconostasis of the Church of Her Majesty's Cavalier Guard Regiment. Second half of the 1850s. Lithograph with tone. State Russian Museum (Religious Petersburg / comp. P. Klimov; State Russian Museum. - St. Petersburg, 2004)

In this form, the temple stood until 1896, when, according to the plan of L. N. Benois, its capital reconstruction began. Only walls remained from the old building, even the plan was changed, which took the form of a Greek cross. May 16, 1897 there was a solemn laying. Construction at the expense of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and the officers proceeded quickly, and already on January 14, 1899, the military protopresbyter A. A. Zhelobovsky, who served until 1888 in this church, consecrated it in His Highest presence.

L.N. Benoit. The project for the reconstruction of the Church of Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth of the Cavalry Guard of Her Imperial Majesty Maria Feodorovna Regiment in St. Petersburg. South facade. 1896. GMIR (Religious Petersburg / comp. P. Klimov; State Russian Museum. - St. Petersburg, 2004)

Stylized as an Elizabethan baroque, the picturesque church with a high spire on the bell tower accommodated 1,500 people and was richly decorated inside. Thanks to the sloping floor (a kind of novelty), the service was clearly visible from any place. The iconostasis was put the same, only restored. Acad. P. P. Chistyakov made sketches of outdoor mosaic icons; modeling inside was performed by P. S. Kozlov. The bells were cast by the Orlov factory.
The silver throne, made by Faberge and weighing 13 pounds, was presented by Z. N. Yusupova. Bronze lamps were cast by master N. A. Meltzer; the marble throne was made by Botta's workshop. The temple was illuminated with a beautiful bronze chandelier dated 1834.
The choirs housed the regimental standards; in the showcases were the uniforms of chefs, St. George's crosses and medals of soldiers; near the wall stood a small monument to those who fell in the war with Napoleon. IN late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, in the presence of the Empress, on September 5, a temple and regimental holiday was solemnly celebrated. Each squadron also had its own holiday, during which, after the liturgy, a prayer service was served before the squadron image.
The temple was presented with many valuable things from chiefs, commanders and officers: in 1848, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna presented gilded silver vessels; in 1896 book. S.S. Saltykov in memory of his son-cavalry guard - two images of the 18th century adorned with precious stones: Christ the Savior with a particle of the Robe of the Lord and the Mother of God of Vladimir; A. N. Bezak - Gospel in a silver frame by Faberge. Several more highly artistic works were kept here: “The Savior Not Made by Hands”, which in 1679 Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich presented to the deacon Vinius; two images on an atlas from the aforementioned iconostasis of the 16th century; a shroud of 1677 and an elegant Crucifix carved from ivory.
In 1891, M. V. Nesterov made sketches for the mosaic icons “The Resurrection of Christ” and “St. Alexander Nevsky”, in front of which burned silver lamps, made in the Faberge workshop according to a drawing by prof. E. A. Sabaneeva. On December 2, 1902, after another repair, the church was lit with a small consecration.

M.V. Nesterov. The image of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky from the Church of the Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth. 1894-1895. GMIR (Religious Petersburg / comp. P. Klimov; State Russian Museum. - St. Petersburg, 2004)

The rector in 1903-1910 was the famous theologian Fr. Yevgeny Petrovich Akvilonov, professor of the Theological Academy and future protopresbyter, and the last before the revolution - archpriest. Stefan Vasilievich Shcherbakovsky.
A wooden Kazan temple in the summer camp of the regiment, built in 1905 in Krasnoye Selo, was assigned to the church.
Since the regiment was disbanded after the revolution, in the summer of 1918 the church became a parish. Since 1922 the church has been one of the centers of renovationism headed by Alexander Vvedensky. Closed by decision of the Presidium of the Leningrad City Council on August 1, 1835, later converted into a gym, in 1948 completely demolished. In its place, the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University was erected.

Archival sources
RGIA F.468. Op.1. D. 1734; F.544. Op. 1. D.468; F.796. Op.43. D.200.
TsGIA SPb. F 19. Op.1. D. 4668; Op.31. D.3641.
Literature
Historical and statistical information about the St. Petersburg diocese. T.4. Part 2. 1875. S.152-162.
Historical and statistical information about the St. Petersburg diocese. T.6. Part 1. 1878. P.15.
Voeikov V.N. Icon of the Savior ... in the Church of Zacharias and Elizabeth. SPb., 1897.
Tsitovich G. A. Temples of the army and navy: historical and statistical description. Part 1. Pyatigorsk, 1913. S.53-57.
Panchulidzev S. A. History of the cavalry guards. T.4. SPb., 1912. S.351-380.
Cherepnina N.Yu. Shkarovsky M.V. Orthodox churches in St. Petersburg. 1917-1945: a handbook. SPb., 1999. S.141-144.

Source: Antonov V.V., Kobak A.V. Shrines of St. Petersburg: an encyclopedia of Christian churches. - St. Petersburg. : Faces of Russia; Spas, 2010. - S. 159-160.

Church of the Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth at the Life Guards Cavalier Guard Regiment

The church was located on Zakharyevskaya Street in the Liteynaya part of St. Petersburg, where since the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, employees of the court department had lived, the laying of the first stone church for them took place in 1752. On September 3, 1756, in the presence of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the church was consecrated in the name of the righteous Zacharias and Elizabeth.

V.S. Sadovnikov. Church parade of the Cavalier Guard Regiment on Maslyany Meadow on Elagin Island. 1850-1851. Timing. Every year on regimental temple holidays (September 5 - the day of the righteous Elizabeth and October 5 - the day of the righteous Zechariah), a prayer service was served on Elagin Island and after the service on the Oil Meadow, a church parade was held in front of the palace. (Religious Petersburg / comp. P. Klimov; State Russian Museum. - St. Petersburg, 2004)

Almost half a century later, in June 1803, by the highest personal decree, the building of the Reserve Yard was ordered to be rebuilt into the barracks of the Life Guards of the Cavalier Guard Regiment. So the church moved into the category of regimental.
Under the vaults of the temple, a chapel of the Apostle John the Theologian was arranged, in which there was a folding iconostasis with icons painted on atlas. According to legend, it was the iconostasis of the marching church of Ivan the Terrible, which was with him during his campaign in Kazan. The iconostasis was in the temple from the middle of the 18th century until 1844, when, by order of Nicholas I, it was transferred to the Hermitage, and then to the Armory. The chapel with a newly installed iconostasis existed until 1855, when, on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of the temple, a decision was made to repair the entire church. Work on the development of a plan for restructuring and the preparation of estimates were entrusted to A. I. Stackenschneider. By this time, the construction of small choirs, the replacement of the stone floor with parquet, the manufacture of a new iconostasis and the restoration of old images belong.

In the second half of the 1890s, the Church of the Righteous Zacharias and Elizabeth of the Life Guards Cavalry Guards Regiment, built in the era of Elizabeth Petrovna, underwent a major restructuring. A commission was formed to organize the work dedicated to the centenary of the regiment. The architect L. N. Benois, at the request of the officers of the Cavalry Guards Regiment, drew up a project that received approval on February 21, 1897 from the august chief of the regiment, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The solemn laying of the temple took place on May 16, 1897. Somewhat earlier, in April of the same year, the construction of the building began with funds allocated by Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Maria Feodorovna and officers of the regiment. After the completion of all major works in November 1897, a camp church was placed in the still unfinished church. On January 14, 1899, in the presence of the imperial family and the entire regiment, Archpriest A. A. Zhelobovsky consecrated the church.
In fact, using the old walls, the architect built a new temple. In its external appearance, in the general dynamics of architectural forms, the features of the Baroque, chosen by L. N. Benois as a stylistic prototype, were easily guessed. Reminiscent of the Elizabethan Era characteristic shape cupola decorated with embossed gilded ornaments, round lucarne windows in the roof of the refectory, arched pediments, carved openwork doors with small mirrored glass.
Famous masters took part in the decoration of the facade and interior of the church. The exterior mosaics were made according to the originals of P. P. Chistyakov, the image “The Resurrection of Christ” and “Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky” were painted by M. V. Nesterov, and the altar donated to the temple by Princess Z. N. Yusupova was executed by the firm of C. Faberge. Among the items transferred to the new temple from the old one, a high baroque iconostasis stood out. Each squadron and each command of the regiment had its own special icon in the church and celebrated the so-called squadron holidays with indispensable prayers for the blessing of water. All images were decorated with silver chasubles by the zeal of the officers, and had rich gilded icon cases.
Church, like other similar temples. Played the role of the regimental museum. Regimental standards, uniforms of regimental chiefs, St. George's crosses and medals of soldiers and officers were kept in it, and near its wall there was a small monument to the cavalry guards who fell in battle with Napoleon.
In 1919-1923, the rector of the church was Archpriest Alexander (Vvedensky), who later became the first hierarch of the Renovationist Church. On July 1, 1935, the temple was closed and converted into a gym. In 1948, it was demolished, building on this site the building of the Military Construction School named after A. N. Komarovsky.

Source: Religious Petersburg / comp. P. Klimov; State Russian Museum. - SPb., 2004. S. 274, 383.

Church in the name of Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth of the Cavalier Guard Regiment

Zakharyevskaya street, 22

The church was founded in 1752 by order of Elizabeth Petrovna. The consecration took place in September 1756 in the presence of the Empress. The church was built for officials and those who served at the Reserve Court, in 1806, with the relocation of the Cavalry Guards Regiment, it became a regimental one. Throughout the existence of the first church, its appearance remained unchanged, only the interior decoration changed. The most significant was the alteration of 1856: then the iconostasis was renewed, granite columns were installed instead of brick ones, and a parquet floor was laid. Until 1844, the church housed an altar church in the name of the Apostle Evangelist John the Theologian, built under arches, which were dismantled in 1856. The iconostasis of the field church was kept here, all the icons of which were painted on white satin on a gold background. the iconostasis as a monument of history and culture of Russia XVIII in 1846 was transferred to the Armory in Moscow. The first church was single-altar, stone; its dome and bell tower are wooden, the iconostasis is three-tiered; the icons were written on a black background.

The shrines of the church were the altar cross with particles of saints; silver liturgical vessels granted to the regiment by its chief, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; the icon of the Mother of God, called the "Three Joys", which in 1848 Alexandra Fedorovna blessed the regiment on the Hungarian campaign. The regiment's standards were kept in the church, decorated with St. George's crosses in memory of the Patriotic War of 1812. Between the standards, on a marble pedestal, there was a silver plaque with the names of dead and wounded officers and indicating the number of killed and wounded lower ranks. The uniforms of Alexander I and Nicholas I were also kept in the church.

In 1897-1899. According to the project of the architect L. N. Benois, an elegant, stylized Baroque church was erected on the site of the former one. M. V. Nesterov, who made mosaic icons, took part in the decoration of its interiors. The utensils were made by the famous Faberge firm. The iconostasis and standards were transferred to the new church from the old one.

The building was demolished in 1948.

Source: Dluzhnevskaya G. Lost temples of St. Petersburg. - St. Petersburg: Publishing house "Litera", 2003. S. 130-132.

The Church of Zechariah and Elizabeth is one of the many sights of the city of Tobolsk, which is a monument of the Siberian Baroque. The temple is located in an open area, well viewed from all sides.

In 1752, the first wooden Zakharyevskaya church was built in Tobolsk. Metropolitan Sylvester ordered to build it on a plot of land acquired by the peasant M. Mukhin from the Tatars. In 1757, the temple burned down, and in its place a new two-story stone one with six altars was laid. The construction of the church dragged on for 20 years and ended only in 1776. Master A. Gorodnichev supervised the construction work.

The huge two-storey temple with a rich variety of decor and a solemn monumental composition is the best example of the "Siberian baroque". All its volumes - a two-storey vestibule with chambers, two aisles with semicircular apses and a quadrangle with a five-sided apse - are merged together, thereby forming a dense and weighty monolith. Two spherical vaults, located one on top of the other, make up the high stepped dome of the church.

Very little is known from the history of the temple in the Soviet years. Like all other churches in the city, the Church of Zechariah and Elizabeth was desecrated, its property was plundered by the new government, and the building itself passed into the possession of the Bolsheviks. Starting from 1930, workshops of disabled people's artels were placed in the building of the temple. After the end of the war and until 1959, the Tobolsk city farm was located here. Until May 1960, the second floor of the church was occupied by rooms for residents. In the future, it was decided to transfer the church from the balance of the Tobolsk city communal farm to the balance of the Tobolsk furniture factory.

And only in the mid-90s. one of the most beautiful temples of the city of Tobolsk in a ruined state was transferred to the administration of the Tobolsk-Tyumen diocese, which was engaged in its restoration. Of all the icons of the church, the icon "Joy of All Who Sorrow" became the most famous.

The wooden Zakharyevskaya church was built in 1752. Metropolitan Sylvester ordered to build it on the site bought from the Tatars by the peasant M. Mukhin. In a fire in 1757, the church burned down, and in its place a two-story stone one with six altars was laid. The church took almost twenty years to build and was completely finished in 1776. The master Andrei Gorodnichev was in charge of the work. The domes of the temple were gilded "through the fire" at the expense of the Tobolsk merchant Nevolin.

Of the icons of the Church of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow” is the most famous.

In 1819, the merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Pilenkov, a parishioner of this church, went on trade business to the Orenburg line. On the way to the city of Troitsk, his horses carried him. With bitterness and prayer, he turned to the Most Holy Theotokos, promising, in case of Her help, to arrange a new silver robe for the icon and establish a special feast in her honor. And as soon as he finished the prayer, his horses went quieter and soon completely stopped. When Pilenkov returned to Tobolsk, he went to Bishop Ambrose (Kelembet) and told him about everything that had happened on the road. In 1830, the merchant arranged for the icon a new riza, silver under gold, weighing 6 pounds 13 ½ spools, adorned with pearls and precious stones. In 1846, through a prayer to the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” merchant Pyotr Fedorovich Plekhanov was saved from a fire on a ship. In 1848, the icon healed the retired major Philip Shemetnin of cholera, and six years later the merchant's wife Evdokia Remennikova was healed of a serious illness. In 1854, the icon saved the inhabitants of the village of Usoltseva, Kugaev volost, Tobolsk district, from “rotten fever”.