St. Nicholas Gostinodvorskaya Church

The St. Nicholas Gostinodvorskaya Church (Nikolo-Gostinodvorskaya), the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker at the Merchant Court, is an Orthodox church in the historic centre of Kazan, on Kremlyovskaya Street in the Vakhitovsky District, a few minutes' walk from the Kazan Kremlin. Known since the 16th century, it is a cultural heritage site of federal importance; the present building dates from the 1860s and stands on the site of an older tented-roof church. Since 2017 it has again belonged to the Kazan Diocese.

History

The church appears in the cadastral books of 1565–1566, which means it was founded soon after Ivan the Terrible took Kazan. It stood within the Gostiny Dvor, the merchant court, and was dedicated to St. Nicholas, venerated as the patron of traders, so its parishioners were mostly merchants. Judging by its architecture, the stone tented-roof church was also built in the 16th century. According to tradition, the priest Yermolai, later Patriarch Hermogenes of Moscow and All Russia, served here.

In the early 17th century a side chapel dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was added, and in 1634 a "cold" (unheated) Transfiguration Church was built next to the heated St. Nicholas Church. It became dilapidated and was demolished in 1790; in 1797 the parish was abolished and the church was attached to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

The church burned in the fires of 1742, 1774 and 1815, and each time it stood unrepaired for a long while. By 1824 the building was close to collapse, and in 1825 its porch was dismantled.

Rebuilding in the 1860s

In 1861 the Kazan merchants Fyodor Yegorovich Postnikov and Yevdokim Savvateyevich Savvateyev took up the restoration. With their money the church was rebuilt in 1864–1870, and the iconostasis was designed by the architect P. V. Tikhomirov. Postnikov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class, for this work.

The new eclectic-style church, with motifs of 16th-century architecture, had five domes and three altars: the main one dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the right chapel to the Transfiguration of the Lord and the left to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Its main relic was an icon of St. Nicholas that drew many worshippers. It is said that during the cholera epidemic of 1830 nobody died in the houses to which the icon was brought.

Soviet years and revival

The Gostinodvorskaya Church was closed in 1929, and the tented tops of the church and the bell tower were pulled down; only the main body of the building survived. For a long time it housed the Main Archive Administration of the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan.

In February 2017 the building was handed over to the Kazan Diocese, and on 2 March 2018, the feast of the Hieromartyr Hermogenes, services resumed. The same month parishioners donated five bells for a future belfry. Restoration is still under way.

Getting there

The church is at Kremlyovskaya Street 2/6, next to the Gostiny Dvor and the St. John the Baptist Monastery. It is about a 5-minute walk from Kremlyovskaya metro station and 5–10 minutes from the Kremlin. The nearest public transport stop is Gostiny Dvor. The church is open during services; part of the building may be closed because of restoration.