Clement Church

The Church of Clement on Ivorova Street is located, let's say, in the courtyard of the Dental Clinic. Ivorov Street does not exist now. It disappeared during the redevelopment of Novgorod at the end of the 18th century. For the first time the Church of Clement was built in 1153. The stone church was built in 1386-1391. In 1517, the stone building of the church that existed at that time collapsed due to dilapidation and was dismantled. The church is named after Clement the First (died 97-101) of the fourth Pope, who is considered an apostle from seventy, that is, he preached Christianity in the first century of our era. The structure of the church that has survived to our time was erected in 1519-1520 by a Moscow guest Vasily Nikitich Tarakanov, whose courtyard was located nearby. The Tarakanovs were a Moscow merchant dynasty and, among others, were forcibly resettled by Ivan the Third to Novgorod after the destruction of the republic and the annexation of Novgorod to the Grand Duchy of Moscow to replace the evicted wealthy indigenous inhabitants of Novgorod. Later, the Tarakanovs were subjected to terror, disgrace and repression during the oprichnina defeat of Novgorod in January-February 1570. The church was built after the annexation of Novgorod to Moscow, where traditions in church architecture differed from those in Novgorod. However, it is believed that the church is sustained in the classical forms of Novgorod churches of the 14-15th century. It is a cubic, one-domed, four-pillar, one-apse temple with two aisles on the choir. The church has a choir and two corner chambers on either side of them on the second tier, where there used to be two limits according to the Novgorod tradition, such as in the Savior on Ilyin or Fyodor Stratilat on the stream. The staircase to the choir is in-wall. New elements, not typical for the Novgorod style, are reduced to the presence of a sub-church and a two-story vestibule. At the same time, the vestibule is simply enormous (probably half of the church itself), two-pillar and the entire length of the facade. In the 19th century and before World War II, the roof was eight pitched. It is unclear what it was originally. Now the church has a three-blade roof, made during restoration in the 50s of the 20th century. In the nineteenth century, there was a bell tower in front of the narthex. Originally, the bell tower was two-tiered, but later became three-tiered. Apparently, it was either built on or a new one was built. After the war, the bell tower was dismantled, so from the western side the church looks somehow empty and uncomfortable. Clement's Church operated either until 1937 or until 1930. After the church was closed, the building was converted into a warehouse and workshops. During the Second World War, the church was badly damaged, but was not destroyed. In 1953-1955 it was restored. It is believed that it has been recreated in its original forms, that is, with choirs and corner chambers on them and a three-blade roof. The bell tower, as a late construction, supposedly of no value, was dismantled, which was typical of the Soviet way of restoring churches. After the war, the church housed some art artels, and until recently there was a vegetable storehouse in the sub-church. In 2017, the church was restored and became a functioning church of the Russian Orthodox Church. The entrance to the church is through a wooden porch with a staircase from the south side through the narthex. In the 19th century, the entrance was through the porch under the bell tower, that is, directly from the side of Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street, and not from the side. The church is located on the second floor, as there is a sub-church. Inside, it is much smaller than it seems from the outside. Taking into account the huge vestibule, also with two columns, the interior of the temple itself seems to be very small. The interior decoration is all modern, so there is nothing special to watch. But it seemed to me somehow cozy in the church. The iconostasis is new, but well-made and beautiful, and most importantly, it is aesthetically installed in niches under the arches, fits well and looks good, and because of this, all the decoration looks thoughtful and well-equipped, unlike, for example, the Church of Fyodor Stratilat on Shchirkov, where a solid the long iconostasis does not harmonize with the architecture of the church and looks as if it was attached to the columns.

Visibly rooted in the ground, it looks somewhat abandoned or closed. There are several similar ones in the area, so there is no point in going specifically to this

Very beautiful historical church

Soothing effect

The wonderful church of Clement!