On May 22, the Old Believers of Vyatka celebrated the patronal feast in two parts of the city: in the existing church in the village of Krasnoe and at the construction site of a new church at the opposite end of the city.
The calendar allocates several days of commemoration per year to especially revered saints. One of them is Holy Hierarch Nikola the Wonderworker. On May 22, the Church celebrates the transfer of his relics to the Italian city of Bar in 1087. Although most churches of St. Nikola have their patronal feast in winter, the service for “St. Nikola of the Spring” is celebrated no less solemnly: with a prayer service, blessing of water and a procession of the cross.
St. Nikola Church in Kirov (Vyatka) is familiar to many people who took part in the Velikoretskoe procession of the cross. Looking at the small but cosy building, you can’t even tell that this is the building of the former village administration. It looks neat inside and outside, but in fact needs to be replaced down to the ground. Not only did the roof and walls fell into disrepair due to time, but the fire in 2014 left the community with a choice: either major repairs or a new church. Kirov residents chose the second. Having literally patched up the holes, they began to pray even more for God’s help in the new construction – the funds of the community itself are clearly insufficient for such a large-scale undertaking.
The community was allocated a place for a new church in the opposite part of the city, known to Kirov residents as Sloboda Zonovy. In 2016, in a picturesque place on a hill, a worship cross was erected as a sign that someday in the future a church would stand in its place. However, only last autumn it was possible to give a large-scale start to construction – to pour a monolithic slab.
On May 18, after a seasonal winter break, construction work resumed. For this stage of construction, at the beginning of last week, machines and some of the material were delivered, the foundation of the future church was cleared of sawdust, the fence and gates in the construction area were strengthened after a long winter. The first task on the list is to tie the reinforcement to fill the walls and columns of the basement.
May 22, on the commemoration day of Holy Hierarch Nikola, parishioners of the St. Nikola Church in Kirov prayed the Divine Liturgy in the existing church. For the moleben (prayer service) they went to the construction site of the new one. The very next day, those who with all their hearts asked St. Nikola to help in the construction, will come here themselves to help advance the work to the best of their ability. As the saying goes, time is for work, and holidays are for prayer.
Anyone who is familiar with construction issues to some extent understands that the costs of constructing a large stone building amount to millions. The community is building for donations, cordially asking for responses and warmly thanking those who have already provided assistance.
20202 2023 8054 4134 German Yevgenyevich Ch. Sberbank
