Good morning, dear subscribers!

The white-stone beauty, the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the village of Nischnee Abljasovo in the Kuznetsk District of the Penza Region, was built in 1724 on the initiative of Grigori Abljasow, the great-grandfather of the writer Alexander Radishchev. The oldest church in the Penza region, which is the most beautiful in its interior decoration, has remained almost in its original state to this day. For over three centuries, services have never been interrupted. The interior of the Abljasov Church is a brilliant example of the Baroque era and deserves attention as a unique example of monumental art from the first half of the 18th century. The church holds many secrets and mysteries, inspired by its unusual interior decoration. You will likely not see such a rural church anywhere else.

The most famous of the existing legends is about a certain Italian who decorated the church. A common version of the legend goes: "The landowner Grigori Abljasow, upon learning that an Italian artist, Laure Morrel, was being transported to Siberia on the Vladimir route, exchanged him at the transfer point for his serf and kept the Italian at his estate to commission him to create the iconostasis for the Christmas church. For his wonderful rescue, Laure fully repaid Grigori Abljasow by creating a monument of unmatched beauty." But that is just a beautiful legend. The white-stone beauty is the result of the works of Russian masters.

The father of A.N. Radishchev, Nikolai, grandson of Grigori Abljasow, also contributed to the beautification of the church, being an enlightened and cultured man. He renewed the church's decoration in the style of the capital between 1762 and 1764.

The church has preserved a complete ensemble of interior decorative furnishings: a magnificent five-tiered carved gilded Baroque iconostasis, a carved gilded Baroque altar curtain, a unique architectural-sculptural group of the Entombment, and the iconostases of the chapels with carved Tsar gates. The church has three altars: the main altar is dedicated to the Nativity of Christ, while the side altars are dedicated to the Mother of God and in the name of Saint Alexander of Svir.

The stone church, of octagonal type on a square plan, dominates against the backdrop of private buildings and looks advantageous on the high hill, which sinks into the lush greenery of the trees. Next to the church is an apple orchard, which the locals call the Noble Garden.

For many years, the image of the Holy Mother of God, painted on Mount Athos specifically for the Abljasow Church, has been healing people.

The village of Nischnee Abljasovo has ethnographic peculiarities. At the end of the 17th century, a group of people settled here, calling themselves "Masy." Visually, they were distinguished by a special stature and possessed certain spiritual knowledge and abilities to remain inconspicuous ("unreadable") to the outside world. The Masy already spoke a secret language among themselves that was incomprehensible to the common people. It was said that the Masy had the gift of influencing people. One might believe that it was no coincidence that Afanasij Abljasow built the first of the three churches still standing today in Roschdestwenskoe. Why did Grigori, who had extraordinary practical skills, start building the church here? Was he attracted by the sparsely populated area and the fertile lands? Or was it the mystical influence of the Masy? And why did the church exist outside of time and reforms during the Soviet era? We will probably never find answers to these questions.

📍 Coordinates of the location (map point) available here

💥 Our channel: @node_of_time_EN