A 17th Century Church in Vologda to Be Given Back to Believers

St John the Baptist’s church in Roschenie, located in the centre of the town of Vologda, is to be given back to believers.

Although some formalities have not been settled yet, the church is open for worship after 60 years of devastation, a representative of the Diocese of Vologda said.

For the beginning there will be only supplication services on Tuesdays. Daily services will start only after the church is restored, has its frescos repaired, and is warmed and supplied with electricity.

As for now, St John the Baptist’s church in Roschenie officially is a part of the Vologda Museum, where its iconostasis, removed from the church in 1970s, is also kept.

It’s been already decided to give St John’s to the Diocese of Vologda. However, the icons removed from the church will stay in the museum, a representative of the Culture Department of the Vologda Region said.

The earliest notion of St John’s, then wooden, dates back to 1618. A stone church of St John the Baptist with a chapel of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow took place on 23 May 1710, but it is not clear when the church was complete and consecrated.

The church building consisted of two one-storey rooms, a warmed and an unwarmed. In the unwarmed church there was an altar dedicated to the Beheading of St John the Baptist. It is believed to date back to the times of Ivan the Terrible and to be devoted to his name-day, 29 August.

The unwarmed church was painted in 1717. The painting is believed to have been done by a team from Yaroslavl headed by Fedor Ignatiev, an assistant to Dmitry Plekhanov, the famous Yaroslavl artist who painted St Sophia cathedral of Vologda. Fortunately, the outline and partially colours of the frescoes have been preserved, which allowed repair then into their original look.

In 1924 the church was closed and given to the Vologda Museum. The church was listed among the town’s most valuable monuments and that saved its unique paintings.

Now St John’s is added to the state-protected monuments list.