The Church of Nikita the Great Martyr in Vladimir is a monument
of the provincial baroque. The church is standing on Knyagininskaya
street. It looks more like a palace than a church due to the
luxurious decoration of the facades.
The church was
consecrated in honor of the Monk Nikita the Stylite, who was from
the Pereslavl lands. In the world, Nikita acted as a collector of
state taxes and for a long time mercilessly robbed the population,
accumulating decent sums for himself. Once, during a divine service,
Nikita heard words from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, the meaning
of which was to wash and cleanse oneself of evil deeds, learn to do
good, protect orphans and widows, and so on. All night Nikita did
not sleep, pondering his sinful life, and at dawn he left his house,
family, huge estate and took monastic vows.
Putting on a heavy stone cap and putting on iron chains, Nikita secluded
himself on a stone pillar, where he spent the whole day in fasting and
prayer. For spiritual asceticism and repentance, Nikita found the gift
of miracles. He managed to cure many infirm, among whom was Prince
Mikhail Vsevolodovich from Chernigov, who suffered from paralysis of the
limbs.
Saint Nikita died a violent death. The robbers mistook the
radiance of the chains of iron for the brilliance of silver and killed
Nikita. On June 6, the Orthodox celebrate the day of St. Nikita the
Stylite. The death of the saint happened in 1186. And after almost 6
centuries, in the 1760s, a wealthy Vladimir merchant Semyon Lazarev
built a temple in Vladimir, calling it Nikitsky. In 1849, with the help
of the merchant P.V. Kozlov, side 2-storey aisles were added to the
church.
The Church of Nikita the Great Martyr in Vladimir differs
sharply from other religious buildings of the 18th century. The basis of
its composition is the refectory type of the temple, which was
implemented in the traditions of palace architecture. The 3-storey
white-green building is divided into 3 tiers of large windows decorated
with baroque architraves. The corners of the temple are decorated with
pilasters with order capitals. Abundant decoration of the facades,
colorful plastic and a dynamic silhouette, emphasized by the high drum
of the dome and the slender bell tower, characterize the Nikitskaya
Church as a vivid monument of the provincial baroque.
The light
of the sun, coming through the side windows, illuminated the spacious
rooms through clouds of incense, creating an atmosphere of spirituality
and solemnity, prompting prayer. Initially, the main pride of the church
was a luxurious iconostasis, made in the spirit of the times of
Catherine II the Great, with carved royal gates, reminiscent of the
iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.
In
1794-1801, the Nikitsky Church served as a model for the Trinity-Tikhvin
Church, built in the city of Dmitrov near Moscow. In the new building,
the Dmitrov architect almost exactly repeated the composition and
details of the Vladimir church.
At present, the Church of Nikita
the Great Martyr in Vladimir is not used for worship. Here are the
restoration workshops.