The Temple of St. Andrew the First-Called on Vuoksa. Place History

When you look at this unearthly beauty, the soul immediately captures the warmth and divine grace. Such a shelter - the temple of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called on Vuoks - for the salvation of human souls was created in the village of Vasilevo Priozersky district of the Leningrad region. To understand what kind of place, we will plunge into the history of this region.

Vasilyevo

People in the vicinity of Vasiliev have lived since ancient times, as in the Middle Ages there were trade routes of two states - Sweden and Great Novgorod. Literally three kilometers from the borders of the village itself are the ruins of the ancient Tiverskoe hillfort, which once was a fortified settlement of the Karelians, until in the beginning of the XIV century it was conquered by the Novgorodians. All this is located along the lake-river system, called Vuoksa. In the Novgorod chronicles, it is referred to as Uzereva, which is translated from Karelia as a "new lake".

In XII-XIV centuries this land was part of the Gorodensky churchyard of the Karelian district. Then Vasilievo had the name of Tiuri, and it was a fairly large settlement area, which is often mentioned in ancient census books under the name of the village of Tivra. After the fall of Veliky Novgorod, this Karelian Isthmus was annexed to the Moscow state. During the period of the Troubles, the band of Swedish campaigns especially intensified, as a result only 10% of the Orthodox population remained in this region. And when the Peace of Stolbov was concluded (at the beginning of the 17th century), these lands were withdrawn to Sweden. The time has come for the mass displacement of the indigenous Orthodox population and the settlement of Lutheran settlers from southern Finland. This district was part of the Riisyala Vyborg Gubernia (Finland) until 1939.

Historic locality

Today's name of the village Vasilievo appeared much later - in 1948. Tiuri renamed Vasilyevo in 1948 in honor of junior lieutenant Vasilyev Alexander Makarovich - Hero of the Soviet Union. He was commander of the reconnaissance platoon of the 54th Infantry Division and died in one of the battles in 1941.

Since 1990, this village is part of the Melnikovo Village Soviet. According to the 1997 census, there were 98 people living in the village. The church itself is attributed to the Holy Trinity parish of the village. Melnikovo Priozersky district of the Leningrad region.

Miracle on the water

Returning to the topic "The Temple of St. Andrew the First-Called on Vuoks" and having previously got acquainted with the history of the origin of this region, at last, we come to the most important thing. Right on the rock in the middle of a mirror water surface stands, as if descended from the pages of fairy tales, a bewitching and calming temple in honor of Andrew the First-Called. And it's no wonder that it is noted in the Guinness Book of Records due to the fact that it is built on a tiny island. The foundation for him was a monolithic rock.

The Temple of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called: the River Vuoksa

Since in this place groups of people are engaged in boat trips, it was originally planned to build a resting place for boatmen on one of the stone ledges. However, a professor at the University of Herzen offered to build a temple. This original idea was supported by his friend summer resident Andrei Lyamkin, who lives near this place, which became the sponsor of the construction of this church. The rocky islet, which was chosen for building, had an area of 100 square meters. This idea was immediately approved by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, John (Snychev). He blessed the construction of the temple, the designer of which was the architect Andrei Nikolayevich Rotionov (now deceased). Two Andrews were so inspired by the project that they wanted the church to bear the name of their saint, who also patronizes seafarers and fishermen, so you can often see the St. Andrew's flag on ships.

The Temple of St. Andrew the First-Called in Vuoksi was established in 2000, and the same year on September 23, his consecration took place.

God's joy

The church was named after one of the twelve apostles and disciples of Christ - Andrew the First-Called. According to legend, he was here and baptized people in local waters.

The Temple of St. Andrew in Vuoks is a small tent church in the style of wooden architecture, made in the form of a figure-eight. An example of such an interesting architectural solution was the old Ascension church on the Moskva River in Kolomenskoye. Pilgrims and guests come to look at this paradise, not only from Russia, but also from other countries.

You can visit this church on liturgical days on schedule and with the permission of the rector of the church to perform the sacraments of the wedding or baptism. There are no pompous, crowded Christian ceremonies, as we are accustomed to seeing. This place is specially created for a solitary prayer with God, for thinking and rethinking your life in the most relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by picturesque nature, where the forest, water and birds singing create a real idyll. Soon it is planned to build a bridge here and put the way to the pier, and also arrange a parade around the church and a bathing place for performing the sacrament of baptism.

The Temple of St. Andrew in Vuoks is unique in its own way, but there are many temples in the world on the water. These are churches in Volgograd, Kalyazino on the Volga, Kondopoga, the Church of the Assumption in Slovenia. But this church on a rocky island is, in its own way, irresistible and attractive.

The Temple of St. Andrew the First-Called on Vuoks: how to get there?

The site is located near the village of Vasilyevo in the Priozersky district. It is necessary to get from Piter on the Priozernoye highway to Losevo, then turn left to Sapernoi, then you need to go to Melnikovo, and after 8 km, turn off the road to the left to Vasilievo. Passing Vasilyevo, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that immediately after him there will be an index, and it will be necessary to turn to the right (there will immediately be a parking lot). Further it is necessary to pass meters 200 on foot on the trampled path directly to the church. To get to the place, it will take two hours.

Attracts to itself the mystery surrounded from all sides by water the temple of Andrew the First-Called on Vuoksa. The photos of this place are so fascinating and beautiful that they can be seen endlessly. They act so pacifyingly. Pushkin would immediately be inspired by a couple of his magnificent poems.