The history of the city of Voronezh is inextricably linked with the name of the first Bishop of Voronezh, Mitrofan. The years of the reign of Saint Mitrofan fell on the years of church schism and unrest. The Mitrofanovsky Monastery has not survived to this day; at that time it was one of the pilgrimage centers throughout Rus'.
But today the Mitrofan Church in Voronezh appears in all the greatness of Orthodoxy, still keeping the commandments of Christ and the memory of the ascetics of the Orthodox faith. On the site of the monastery is the main building of Voronezh State University.
Holy Mitrofanevsky spring
The Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh began its revival not far from the holy spring. These are places where the saint came to pray with concern for his flock.
This is interesting! The source has been active for about three hundred years. The condition around this shrine was different during the period of the atheistic years, but the Lord, through the prayers of believers, directed the improvement and preservation of the spring as a healing place.
The bathhouse itself is lined with bricks, and there are equipped changing areas nearby.
There is a place to collect water. The Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh also has two fonts (women's and men's) in addition to the source.
Through sincere prayers to St. Mitrofan, believers receive healing of ailments by plunging into the holy spring.
Today, the Mitrofanevsky Church at the source is no less visited place than before. It is located on Sofia Perovskaya Street, 96 in the city of Voronezh.
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It began to be built using private construction teams and the participation of reputable enterprises in 1998. It has quite an impressive territory. It is a temple complex in the Baroque style.
The architect of the building was A.G. Fedorets. The complex itself has four domes. The bell tower is located above the central entrance, 16 meters high. The height of the entire temple is 32 meters.
Story
Russian church consciousness has long linked “evangelism” as the preaching of the Gospel with the Annunciation, as the beginning of our salvation. Therefore, churches dedicated to the holiday were often built on lands that were newly annexed, poorly developed, and most importantly, especially in need of the gospel and the preaching of Christ. This happened during the founding of Voronezh.
First Temple
The exact date of the founding of the city has not been established, since the royal decree about this has not been preserved. In any case, the fortress existed here at least since 1585. It was erected on a tributary of the Don, the Voronezh River, to defend the country’s borders from attacks by the Crimean and Nogai Tatars. The situation was difficult: not only military, but also spiritual. The Russian inhabitants of these places were a motley mass - from Cossacks, serving “sovereign people” to those who fled from justice, because, as they said then, “there is no extradition from the Don.” Apparently, this is why the dedication of the first city church to the Annunciation was chosen.
It is believed that a small wooden church was erected immediately after the founding of the city, but documents mention it only in 1620.
It was on the site of the current main building of Voronezh State University. It is reported in more or less detail by documents dating back to the time of the emergence of the Voronezh diocese, in the 80s of the 17th century. St. Mitrofan, the first archpastor, writes about the poor condition of the building: the rotten roof is constantly leaking, besides, near the house of God there is the so-called “circle yard”, or the location of the Voronezh drinking establishments, the region, or the location of the Voronezh drinking establishments, as well as the city prison . All this, of course, said a lot about the morals of the townspeople, who were not distinguished by either special piety or concern for church buildings.
Spiritual heart of the city
Despite the difficulties of the spiritual situation, the empty diocesan treasury of St. Mitrofan was convinced: the city needed a magnificent stone temple, which would become its spiritual center. Two years after his arrival at the department, in 1684, he received a blessing for this work from Patriarch Joachim himself, and eight years later he himself consecrated the Annunciation Cathedral. Using his own funds, Vladyka purchased church vessels and icons for the temple.
Attracted not only by the beauty of the church, but also by the holiness and virtues of the bishop, pilgrims flocked to the Annunciation. The spiritual life of the region gradually improved: under St. Mitrofan founded more than a hundred new churches and two monastic monasteries. The saint ruled Voronezh, which had already become his native city, for a little over 20 years, until his death on November 23, 1703. He was buried at the temple he founded.
New construction
The reconstruction of the temple had to be carried out under one of the successors of St. Mitrofan, Metropolitan of Pachomius (Shpakovsky). It turned out that the foundation had begun to crack, perhaps because the building was on the edge of a cliff. Therefore, the building built by St. Mitrofan, I had to disassemble it completely. By 1718, Voronezh received a new cathedral, which existed until the revolutionary events of the beginning of the 20th century.
Annunciation Mitrofanov Monastery
Since 1836, after the general church glorification of St. Mitrofan, a monastic community was formed at the cathedral - the Annunciation Mitrofan Monastery.
Destruction
The cathedral and the monastery were closed by the Soviet authorities in 1929. At the same time, its main shrine, the relics of St., was removed from here. Mitrofan of Voronezh. The fate of the building was finally decided by the Great Patriotic War: occupied by German troops, it was constantly bombarded by Soviet artillery, so that it was completely destroyed. After the war, university buildings appeared on the ruins of the former temple.
New life in a new place
The question of restoring the temple arose in the 1990s, when the Intercession Cathedral, which was a cathedral, could no longer accommodate a large number of believers. It is clear, however, that it turned out to be impossible to build the cathedral where it was previously located. The territory of the so-called Pervomaisky Square was allocated for him - a Soviet recreation park, which by that time was already very deserted.
The temple was founded by Patriarch Alexy II on November 15, 1998. Upon completion of the laying ceremony, His Holiness said:
“In the Bible there are words: “A time to destroy and a time to build... A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather up stones” (Ec. 3:3,5). I would like to believe that the time when we destroyed, when we soullessly scattered stones, has passed and will never return again. The stones of their history, the stones of their faith, the stones of their shrines..."
Eight years later, on December 6, 2009, regular services began here. The day before, a religious procession with the participation of at least 10,000 townspeople brought its main shrine, the honorable remains of St., to the temple. Mitrofan, who were in the Intercession Church.
Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh
Mitrofan of Voronezh was seen quite often at the source, for solitude only contributed to the power of prayer. The saint himself received in his home travelers, the sick, and everyone in need of his protection.
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Mitrofan of Voronezh is remembered in Voronezh as a strong man of prayer. The clergy were the first to be commemorated in his synod, this gives reason to assume that the family of Mitrofan of Voronezh was priestly. He was often approached with a request to write down the warrior’s name in his personal commemoration book (synodik). He especially honored feats of arms.
The saint is known for his favorable attitude towards Peter I and his active state and political activities.
He carried out explanatory work among parishioners, convincing them to help the king with prayer, especially regarding the construction of a fleet.
For the majority considered this matter hopeless and useless.
Saint Mitrofan himself more than once helped the state treasury with funds to fulfill the dream of Peter I: to become a maritime power for Russia.
But when Saint Mitrophan Peter I invited him to a reception, he refused. Because he knew that there were pagan statues in the royal mansions.
The king was famous not only for his good deeds, but also for his extremely tough temper if his requests and orders were not fulfilled. This applied to almost everyone, regardless of position and rank. This did not bother the Voronezh bishop.
This is interesting! Peter I ordered the removal of obscene statues in order to be faithful to Orthodoxy.
Mitrofan's Church, since its consecration in 2001, has been updated with the necessary work for full-fledged service. The shrines of the temple are filled with the names of godly ascetics .
Here you can apply:
- to the icons of God's saints;
- to the holy parts of the Matrona of Moscow;
- to pieces of the holy noble princes Fyodor, David and Konstantin of Yaroslavl wonderworkers;
- to the particles of the Holy Martyr Cyprian and the Martyr Justina.
The foundation of the Voronezh temple
The construction site is famous for the source of holy water; pilgrims from all over the country come here in large numbers to get rid of serious illnesses. The saint himself loved to visit this corner and chant prayers for a long time.
- Glory came to the source after the first case of healing was recorded. Miracles have been happening in this place for three centuries: people are getting rid of infertility, headaches, colds and other diseases.
- Until 1993, the spring was not developed, but today pilgrims have the opportunity to stay near the spring and get enough of the presence of holiness.
Holy spring of Mitrofan of Voronezh - In the Church of Mitrofan of Voronezh there are special baths, ready to welcome everyone. To get water from the source, craftsmen made drains through a pipe.
On a note!
The church has its own website (https://mitrofan-hram.ru/), where anyone can see the schedule of services. On Thursday, an akathist to Saint Mitrofan is sung here, on Saturday the All-Night Vigil is celebrated, and on Sunday from 9.00 there is a Liturgy. Classes at the Orthodox school are scheduled for the weekend.
Official website of the Mitrofan Church
The Church of Mitrofan of Voronezh actively uses Internet resources for the glory of God. Promptly posts parish news, talks about changes and events taking place in church life. Has its own convenient website.
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Here you can:
- order requirements;
- provide donations to charitable causes;
- write a letter to the rector of the temple;
- honor spiritual testimonies;
- get acquainted with the lives of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh, Luke of Crimea, Matrona of Moscow and other saints;
- find out the schedule of services for the coming week;
- According to the Orthodox calendar, specify holidays and fasting days.
Clicking on the “Useful Links” tab will take you to friendly sites. The official website of the Mitrofan Church at the source in Voronezh contains a convenient navigation map for obtaining the most complete information about the events of the parish and church life in general.
There are also links to social networks where spiritual online work is carried out. This helps in educating and introducing young people to God. The posts of the group of the Voronezh parish of the Mitrofan Church on VKontakte https://vk.com/mitrofan_hram are actively updated.
By clicking on the “Voronezh Pilgrim” tab, you can plan an interesting trip and sign up for a pilgrimage trip not only for yourself, but also for your family and friends. It is better to find out what ascetic service is, what kind of love a person is capable of imbuing with God.
If you are just starting to turn to God and want to know more about him, the electronic encyclopedia “The ABC of Faith” will answer your questions. Through the “Contacts” tab, using the map, you can find out how to get to the Church of Mitrophan of Voronezh by different types of transport.
Everything has been done to come to the house of God to pray for the living and the deceased, to receive help and to help those in need.
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