On the island in the middle of Lake Sandal in Karelia stands a church, which is called the oldest tent temple of this region. It was built in 1620, and it still rises above the water, although time and war pretty much battered the ancient walls.
The island where the temple is located is a place with a rich history. Back in the XV century, the lands around belonged to the Novgorod boyars. Later, under Ivan the Terrible, they were taken to the oprichnina. Karelians always lived here: they fished, raised bread, kept cattle. By the end of the XIX century, there were more than thirty houses and a school in the main village, and small settlements with chapels hid along the surrounding hills.
The trouble came with the beginning of the XVII century. Foreign troops burned villages all over Zaonezh. In the winter of 1614, the enemies marched on the ice of the lake and destroyed the former church on the churchyard. But a few years later, local masters cut down a new temple in the name of the apostles Peter and Paul. He stood up on the cage, and initially it looked simple: a four-piece, eight-five on it, and a tall tent on top. This building marked the beginning of the famous school of wooden architecture, which later became famous Kizhami.
The church has changed over the years. In the late XVII — early XVIII century, the tent was rebuilt, and a separate bell tower was erected nearby. The refectory was expanded to accommodate more parishioners. The log walls were sheathed with a straight hex. In 1872, the bell tower was moved closer to the temple.
But the main tests were waiting in the XX century. During the Civil War, in 1918-1919, the troops of the interventionists reached these places. The inhabitants of the island refused to surrender. Then on the island opened fire from guns. The shells smashed the tent, later dismantled the damaged bell tower.
Only in the mid-1950s the temple was restored. He returned the appearance of the XVIII century, but without a bell tower. And in the early 2000s, architects Vakhrameeva and Kopnin carried out urgent work: the walls were reinforced with metal screeds so that the building did not collapse. The oldest tent temple of Karelia is still in a difficult state, but continues to stand on its island — a silent witness to four centuries of Karelian life.
Charity FundHoly Land.
Russian Temples and Monasteries
