Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Susanino description and photos - Russia - Leningrad region: Gatchinsky district (Topic)

Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Susanino description and photos - Russia - Leningrad Region: Gatchinsky District. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

An Orthodox church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is located in the village of Susanino, Gatchinsky District, Leningrad Region. The history of its construction is connected with the fact that on the eve of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the royal house of the Romanovs, residents of the small village of Malaya Kovshovka asked the local authorities to change the name of their native village and the railway station of the same name in Susanino, in honor of the feat of the peasant Ivan Susanin.

The construction of the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Susanino began in 1908. The project was developed by the St. Petersburg architect Boris Nikolaevich Basin. Funds for the construction of the church were donated by Alexandra Gerasimovna Semyonova. The sacrament of the consecration of the new church took place in early September 1910. The service was led by Bishop Benjamin (Kazan) of Gdovsk. At the same time, a parish school was built in the village of Susanino, funds for the construction of which were also donated by Alexandra Semenova. The nearby wooden chapel also belonged to the new church. The church was very popular among the parishioners, and therefore the doors of the temple were almost never closed.

After the revolution in 1939, the temple was closed, the dome was dismantled, the bell tower was dismantled into bricks. Most likely, the whole church would have been gradually dismantled, but the war began. During the German occupation, local residents asked the German authorities for permission to open a church. In 1941, on October 22, the opened temple was consecrated by Hieromonk Sergius. According to the memories of old-timers, During the sacrament of consecration, Orthodox parishioners watched in amazement as ordinary German soldiers and ordinary German soldiers prayed with them to Orthodox saints. When SS men came to the village instead of army units, the temple was closed again.

After the end of the war, the church was opened. In 1947, a church house was being built next to the church. In 1951, a project was developed for the restoration of the bell tower and dome. Thanks to the persistence of the rector of the church, Father Nikolai Andreev, the work was successfully completed. In the 60s, the wooden iconostasis was renewed and rebuilt.

The churches in Susanino were lucky - most of the church utensils and almost all the icons survived both during the persecution of the faith during the years of the revolution and during the Patriotic War. This happened thanks to the parishioners who hid church utensils, and after that, as the danger of looting or destruction passed, they returned everything to the temple.

Now in the church you can see ancient icons, the main of which are the Kazan Mother of God, the martyrs of Faith, Hope, Lyubov, and the rarest image of the Savior Nesleep Eye, made by Palekh master icon painters. The floor kiot made of marble, commissioned by Alexandra Semenova, has also survived to this day. The icon case depicts the faces of the heavenly patrons of her family.

The icons, which are relics of the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, have not only artistic and historical value. They are also notable for the fact that once the wanderer Lyubushka Susaninskaya was kneeling before them. Blessed Lyubushka, as well as her spiritual mentor St. Seraphim Vyritsky, accepted the feat of pillar domination. She prayed, never allowing herself to sit down, nor lie down. In the village of Susanino, not far from the Kazan Church, Lyubushka's house has been preserved, which was built especially for her and in which she did not live a day. Today it houses a small hotel for pilgrims and a refectory. The memory of blessed Lyubushka is still alive today - every year on the day of her angel, September 30, pilgrims from all over Russia come to Susanino. Lyubushka Susaninskaya is not canonized, but, remembering the good deeds of the eldress, they pray to her like a saint.

An interesting fact is that for about 20 years, Archpriest Vasily Butylo, a clergyman who served Anna Akhmatova's funeral service, was the rector of the Susaninskaya church. For many years he was friends with Akhmatova's son, Lev Gumilyov.

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Topic: Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Susanino description and photos - Russia - Leningrad region: Gatchinsky district.