Church of Saint Elia in Izvarino
The village of Izvarino was first mentioned in the time of Ivan the Terrible. In the second half of the 18th century, there were already two churches in Izvarina — the stone Nikolskaya Church and the wooden Ilyinskaya Church, which was built in 1770. By the beginning of the XX century . St. Elijah’s Church fell into disrepair, and local landowners and merchants — Abrikosov, Korzinkin, and Taumberg – decided to build a three-altar stone church at their own expense. The stone Church of St. Elijah was built in 1904, but by 1910 only one altar had been consecrated — in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. In 1939 The church of the prophet of God Elijah was closed and fell into disrepair. In 1990 The church was returned to the faithful, and worship was immediately resumed. The church has side chapels in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. Elijah was a biblical prophet in the Kingdom of Israel who lived in the 9th century BC. He was a formidable denouncer of idolatry and impiety. The activity of Elijah the Prophet dates back to the reign of Ahab, when the proud and power-hungry wife of the weak-willed king, the Phoenician Jezebel, decided to establish the cult of Baal and Astarte. The true zealots of piety were expelled from the country, and a staff of priests of Baal was established at the court. When the king’s wickedness reached an extreme degree, the prophet—barefooted, in a coarse camel’s hair cloak, with a leather belt around his loins and a staff in his hands—appeared in Samaria, went to the royal palace and announced to Ahab that a three-year famine was befalling the country for his wickedness. But Ahab did not repent, and a struggle began between the king and the prophet. During the sacrifice on Mount Carmel, arranged to test and compare the power of Yahweh and Baal, the priests of the latter suffered a complete defeat and were personally executed by the prophet. After visiting Mount Horeb, Elijah returned to the kingdom of Israel, rebuked Ahab for dishonorably seizing the vineyard from Naboth, by the will of the Lord chose a disciple and successor in the person of Elisha, finally humbled Ahab and rebuked his successor Ahaziah for his conversion to the Ekron idol Beelzebub due to illness. Elijah was taken to heaven alive: according to the Bible, only Enoch, who lived before the Flood, was taken alive to heaven before him. However, in Orthodox theology, there is an opinion that Enoch and Elijah were not taken up to heaven, but to some secret place where they await the day of the apocalypse. Elijah the Prophet enjoys special respect, he is the patron saint of the Russian airborne troops.
Address: village Izvarino, 4
