Temple - St. Onuphry

The Church of St. Onufry is one of the oldest temples preserved in the Kuban. The historical monument of the 19th century in the city of Anapa is the Temple of St. Onuphry. On the territory of the Temple there is a refectory and prosphoria. In 1828, after the capture of the fortress of Anapa, the city was completely destroyed. Almost complete isolation from the outside world, the constant threat of attack by mountaineers, the lack of drinking water suppressed the morale of its inhabitants. On October 3, 1830, Nicholas 1 issued a decree on the arrangement of the Greek-Russian church with iconostasis and other things in the fortress of Anapa and ordered “to release 25,000 rubles from the State Treasury with banknotes.” The Church should be named after the saint on whose feast the fortress of Anapa surrendered to our troops.” The appearance of the temple has its prehistory. After a long siege of the assault, 12 Nunya (25 in the new style) of 1828 4 thousand Turkish Gorinzon fortress Anapa capitulated. It was the day of remembrance of St. Onuphry the Great. The soldiers saw the intercession of heaven. Therefore, on the ruins of the fortress later built a temple in honor of St. Onuphry and since then he is considered the patron saint of Anapa. One of the first to visit the Temple was Emperor Nicholas 1 in September 1837. When Anapa was fired from a Turkish ship on January 2, 1878, one of the shells hit the temple building right through. Later, this place was marked by a circle of black paint, reminding future offspring of the damage to the shrine. Among the parishioners of the temple there were many outstanding personalities: General D.V. Pilenko, city mayor I.D. Tolmazov, founder of the resort V.A. Budzinsky, poetess E.Y. Kuzmina-Karavayeva. In the difficult years of revolutions and the Civil War, the temple remained a spiritual stronghold for the citizens. In the 30s of the 20th century, St. Onufry’s Church was ravaged by the Bolsheviks, bells were removed, domes were demolished, and the building itself was transferred to the local history museum. During the Second World War, at the request of parishioners, the occupiers allowed to hold divine services in the temple. The 1943 War Journal describes a remarkable event. When the first Soviet tanks appeared on the streets of Anapa, a gray-bearded old man approached one of them. Old man Onufry (name not established) showed all the firing points, and they were destroyed. It is not difficult to guess that Saint Onuphry himself helped our troops liberate Anapa. Since 1959, services in the temple were conducted by Archpriest Nikolai Melnikov, a famous priest-poet in Anapa. Poems oh. Nicholas is bribed by his purity and spirituality, they are filled with kindness and love for people. In 1964, a new wave of persecution of the temple, its building was transferred to the House of Pioneers, the domes and bell tower were destroyed, and a stage was built on the site of the altar. In 1991, the revival of Orthodoxy in our Fatherland began, and through the efforts of believers, the church was returned to the Orthodox community. In the same year, its restoration began, and on December 1, St. Onufrievsky Church was consecrated by Archbishop Isidore of Catherine and Kuban. The rector is Archpriest Viktor Polyankin, the staff priest is Father Gennady Klyuchnikov. During the Crimean War of 1855, it was destroyed, and in 1874 it was restored again on the initiative of the head of the Black Sea District, General D.V. Pilenko On the memorial plaque the inscription Moscow Patriarchate, St. Onufrievsky Church. The temple was founded in 1829. Consecrated in 1837 on June 12/25 on the day of the memory of St. Onuphry the Great, the patron saint of Anapa. Rebuilt in 1874. Until 1964, the temple was closed, the Palace of Pioneers was located there for a long time, and since 1995 services have resumed. Today, the Church of St. Onuphry is the center of the spiritual life of the city. In his parish there are Sunday schools for children and adults, an Orthodox library, which indicates the revival of the Orthodox faith.