When the future Archimandrite Sophrony arrived in Kaliningrad in 1985, there were no Orthodox churches. Believers gathered at home, and sailors attended political information instead of church service. It was difficult to register a small community.
After the collapse of the USSR on the wave of the rise of cultural and religious revival, the number of believers increased dramatically. There is an urgent need for temples. But if it was possible to restore destroyed and abandoned Orthodox churches in the Great Land, there was no such possibility in the west of the country. Then it was decided to revive the destroyed and abandoned churches – Catholic and Lutheran. One of these crumbling buildings was the Church of Ponart.
It was built in 1897, on the outskirts of Koenigsberg. The money was given by local breeders and citizens.
The building is made in the Gothic style, it is directed upwards. Heights are added and pointed windows. On the gable roof there was a spire, which has not survived to this day, but which served as a good landmark — it was visible from afar.
There was no ceiling in the church, the beams of the ceilings were visible high above the head. But there was an organ, which in 1929 was even replaced by a new one.
During the fighting, the church was almost not damaged, but was looted. For a while there were still parishioners, but then they almost disappeared. The room was used as a warehouse, a gym. They took little care of him, and he was crumbling.
In 1992, the building was handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church, there repaired and equipped the temple, according to Orthodox traditions.
At the entrance of the parishioners meets 2 mosaic canvases. These are images of Our Lady of Vladimir and Kazan. Inside the abundance of paintings, gilding, bright colors just breathtaking. Absolute contrast with a restrained appearance.
A special place in the church is a huge mosaic canvas. It tells about how righteous Anna had a daughter – Mary. The second canvas tells about the birth of Christ.
Fragments were made in the city of Gusev, and smalt for them was made at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. The paintings consist of thousands of small details, some of them thinner than a needle. Hours of painstaking work, prayer service are put into each fragment. They collected a picture from fragments on the spot, their own, Kaliningrad craftsmen.
Impressive iconostasis. Icons painted in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, donated by other parishes and believers, create a special atmosphere of reverence. In the temple are stored particles of relics of numerous saints, among them — John the Baptist, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom. Pilgrims and parishioners can ask for intercession from the saints of God who are invisibly in the temple.
There is a Sunday school and a library. The schedule can be viewed online or in the church itself.
Charitable Foundation Holy Land
Russian Temples and Monasteries
