History

The Church of
St. Nicholas-on-the-Waters
Yaroslavl, Russia

History

Our parish church of St. Nicholas on the Waters (Nikola
Mokry as it is known in Russian) is situated close to the
centre of the modern city of Yaroslavl, situated in the
centre of the Golden Ring of European Russia.

At the beginning of 1930 Moscow ordered the church iconostasis to be
disassembled. Most of the icons were sold abroad or destroyed. Only the
carved "Tsar places" were undamaged and these were moved to the Church
of Elijah the Prophet.

One final twist in the tail:

In 1979 restoration of the frescoes and the repair of the church buildings
was started, in readiness for its return to us, which was in 1991, but it was
during this initial work that a macabre reminder of the church's violent
history was uncovered.

Whilst inspecting the top of the bell-tower for damage, the workers
discovered the remains of a brave young White Guard Officer still at his post.
He had been killed during the Red Guard's storming of the church, but for
over 60 years his body had remained at his station, still in his uniform, with
his machinegun by his side, on watch over our church until the dark times had
passed.

His body was laid to rest shortly afterwards, his uniform and arms are now
displayed in Yaroslavl's main museum, and Nikola Mokry is once again the
focal point for worship in our community.

In the beginning:

Our history starts in the 1640's when the wooden churches of St. Nicholas
the Miracle Worker and that of the miraculous icon of Virgin of Tikhvin
were built on the site that had previously been the centre of pagan
worship in the original settlement upon which Yaroslavl was later founded,
complete with its own henge (like Stonehenge in England), at the centre
of which was the sacred "blue stone". It is known that the pagans
worshipped this stone, but not documented that it was the actual
sacrificialstone, as was the case in other areas of Europe, but if it was one
can only imagine the horrors it may have witnessed over the many
centuries before our church was built.

Construction in brick:

In the late 1600's Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich gave the area to
the municipal administration of Yaroslavl, and in 1665 the
Nikola Mokry church in the form we now know it was built,
followed some 30 years by the small winter church of Virgin
of Tikhvin. The altar from the dismantled wooden church
was installed as well as a clock and the bells were hung in
the belfry.

Because of our extreme winters it is normal in Russia to have two church
buildings, so in our complex we have both the Nicholas Mokry church itself,
which is a summer church as it has no heating, and the smaller winter church
of Virgin of Tikhvin, which is heated.

At the end of 1690's the main porches, or galleries, were richly decorated
with coloured ceramic tiles and the church walls were covered with frescos,
both inside and out.

At the end of the 17th century such was Nikola Mokry's standing in the
community that it became the military chapel for Yaroslavl's local garrison,
which at that time was composed of troops loyal to the Tsar and the Royal
Family (the White Guard).

The October Revolution:

Divine service in the churches continued until the
October Revolution of 1917, when Red Guards
(Communists) stormed the church. The church was
heavily defended by the garrison's company, but they
were eventually over-run. The bombardment caused
heavy damage to the church buildings and especially the
bell-tower. Such was the Red Guard's hatred of the
building that it was used as warehouses for books on
the doctrines of Lenin and Marx, and later a chemical
factory was established inside.

To draw a final curtain over any pagan influences that may have still
remained within in the community, the church's builders buried the "blue
stone" directly under the church's main entrance, where it remains to this
day, so that worshipers show their contempt for the false pagan gods by
stepping on it as they enter the church.

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