Tserkov' Blagoveshcheniya V Arkazhakh

The Church of the Annunciation in the Arcades or another name for the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Myachin was built in 1179, which is believed to be 70 days to the tenth anniversary of the victory of Novgorod over the Suzdal army. According to some legend, when there was not enough money to complete its construction, the builders asked them for the Virgin and the next day a horse came with two bags on the saddle, one of which was gold, the other silver. Handsomely. And most importantly, there is something to believe in and not to despair. The church is the only thing that has been preserved from the Annunciation Monastery on Myachin. The church never belonged to the Arkazhsky monastery, as is sometimes indicated. The monastery was founded in 1170 by the Novgorodians two brothers Ilya (in the schema John) and Gabriel (in the schema Gregory). Both of them were alternately archbishops of Novgorod. Apparently, they assumed that they would be buried in it, but since both became archbishops, they seemed to be buried in St. Sophia Cathedral. And there remained two tombs, prepared for them, but left empty. Another archbishop of Novgorod Theoktist was buried in the monastery. In 1664 he was canonized and in 1786 his relics were transferred to the St. George Monastery. It is not clear what exactly happened to the church in the 17th or 16th century. It seems that at the end of the 17th century or the beginning of the 18th century the church was rebuilt and only the lower half was preserved from its original appearance, since by this moment it was destroyed. It is usually indicated that the arches, dome and upper extremities of the walls have fallen off. It is written that either this happened "even in antiquity" or, as probability, it happened during the Swedish occupation of Novgorod in 1611-1617. It turns out that in a state of collapse the church stood at least a hundred years. As a result of the restructuring, the building became much lower than the original building, there are no choirs (this is such an open gallery on the second floor), which were previously in the western part. There is also no narthex or narthex (this is such an entrance room). The Annunciation Monastery gradually became obsolete and impoverished and, apparently, was abolished during the monastic reform of 1764 or perhaps a little later, and the church became a parish. The church was closed and transferred to the museum in 1934. During the Second World War, the church was not destroyed, but was occupied by German troops under the stable and hay warehouse. Now there is a museum in the church (opened since 2015), but it only works in the spring-summer season. The Church of the Annunciation is a four-pillar, single-dome, square in plan construction with three semicircular apse. In the church, partially, mainly in the apse, preserved fresco painting. At the same time, the church was painted, apparently, several times in different centuries, so the painting has been preserved from different periods, including the original painting of 1189 and the painting of the 17th century. The walls were unevenly cleaned before painting: in some places the painting of one period was left, and in others - of another. If you look closely, the photographs show such seams between the areas of the painting, which are the boundaries of the painting. However, the colors on the frescoes mostly faded very much, losing their former brightness and freshness. You have to peer hard to understand what is depicted on them. The church is a fairly well-preserved most ancient example of small four-pillar single-domed Novgorod temples. Instead of grandiose, but not numerous buildings, began to build churches small in size, but in very large numbers. Around the church there is a working cemetery. Next to the southern apse is the symbolic grave of Archimandrite Photius (1792-1838) and Countess Orlova-Chesmenskaya (1785-1848), who was the daughter of Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky. Photius was the head priest of the St. George Monastery, and she donated huge sums for the construction of the monastery. Previously, they were buried in the Yuriev Monastery, but after its closure in the 30s and the opening of tombs, believers reburied them in the cemetery. However, the exact place of the reburial is unknown, therefore the grave is symbolic.

Frescoes of the 12th century have survived!

Not inside, but outside there is a very picturesque church. I recommend walking a little from it along the road to St. George's Monastery. There are lakes on both sides of the road - very beautiful.

The problem of this monument, like many others in Novgorod, does not work in the winter. And "does not work" means that it is not just closed, but completely inaccessible due to lack of roads, on all sides of the snow to the waist, and from the highway is closed by bushes and trees.

The classical temple of the Novgorod architecture of the pre-Mongolian era.