Old Believer Elias Church description and photos - Belarus: Gomel (Topic)

Old Believer Elias Church description and photos - Belarus: Gomel. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

Elias Old Believer Church in Gomel was built on the site of the dilapidated Old Believer Spasskaya Church in 1737. At the moment, the Elias Church is the only functioning Old Believer church in Gomel. A unique monument of Belarusian wooden architecture of the 18th century stands on the high bank of the Sozh River. There is a legend about this church that Emelyan Pugachev allegedly prayed in it after returning from Turkey.

There were several attempts to close the Ilyinsky church. For the first time in 1850, the Gomel authorities tried to close the church under the pretext that it spoiled the view of the city from the newly built road. The Old Believers' community took an unprecedented step - turned to the tsarist authorities (knowing all the dislike of the Old Believers towards the tsarist power - this is an amazing fact), and, not immediately, but the Ilyinsky church was returned to the community.

For the second time, the Bolsheviks launched a large-scale agitation of young people and the poor, trying to distract the least staunch believers with atheistic propaganda and involve them in socialist construction. Having failed to achieve his goals, Stalin began to repressions. The Old Believers were exiled to the Gulag camps, but the community continued to exist, despite all the trials. During the Stalinist anti-religious persecution, Father Ivan Mamontov, the rector of the Elias Church, was killed.

Nowadays, a large and prosperous community of Old Believers lives in Gomel. Elias Church, functioning, in excellent condition,

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Topic: Old Believer Elias Church description and photos - Belarus: Gomel.