Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (Saurovo)

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is an Orthodox church at the Upolozy churchyard by the village of Saurovo, in the Pavlovsky Posad district of Moscow Oblast, just outside the town of Pavlovsky Posad. The stone building of the 1830s, in the late Neoclassical style, stands on a hill above the Klyazma River and is surrounded by the Saurovo cemetery, the town's main burial ground.

History

According to archival records, a church has stood here "since time immemorial". In 1577 there was already a wooden church at the churchyard, in the Vokhna volost, an estate of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, with icons, candles and bells. In the early 17th century a communion-bread bakery and four cells for the poor, who were fed by the church, were added. The parish owned woodland and fields and paid dues for them. A new wooden church was built in 1704, and in 1790 it was served by a priest, a deacon and two church clerks.

By the early 19th century the wooden church had fallen into disrepair. In 1830, with the blessing of Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) and funded by the landowner Ryumin and the parishioners, construction began on a stone church with a bell tower, designed by the architect Shestakov. Finishing and improvement work went on for many years.

In 1903 the parish covered several villages with about 4,500 Orthodox believers. In spring, when the Klyazma flooded, they reached the church by boat. After the revolution the church was not closed: the parishioners defended it, although many of them were arrested and repressed. The bells were taken down in the 1930s, but services never stopped.

Architecture and interior

The church is built in the late Neoclassical (Empire) style. Its tall bell tower ends in a dome with a spire and a cross; together with the main dome it can be seen from afar and has become part of the Klyazma valley landscape.

The main altar is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin. The left chapel is dedicated to St Nicholas the Wonderworker, the right one to the Prophet Elijah, and the baptismal church to the Apostles Peter and Paul. The iconostases of the side chapels were made in 1870 in an eclectic style with Russian Revival features, and the wall paintings date from the late 19th century. The church keeps 17th-century icons, among them the Dormition of the Virgin and the Saviour.

Legends

A local tale explains the name of the churchyard: twice, it is said, people tried to move the church a few dozen metres away, and each time it "crawled" back to the spot where it had been founded. Hence, according to the legend, the name Upolozy, from the Russian for "to crawl".

Saurovo cemetery

The Saurovo cemetery around the church is the main cemetery of Pavlovsky Posad. It covers about 17 hectares of woodland. Services and rites are held in the church for people from the town and the surrounding villages.

The churchyard lies just outside Pavlovsky Posad, by the village of Saurovo. A local bus runs here from the town; by car, head for the main entrance of the cemetery.