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| Iconostasis of a new church |
The church in the village of Kostylev has a long and interesting history. It was constructed straight at the road from Merkushino to Verkhoturye, which was chosen to transfer the relics of the holy righteous Simeon in 1704. It is the very place where one of the miraculous stops on the way of the religious procession with the relics occured. Foolish Kosma in Christ who was crawling on his knees after the coffin applied to the righteous Simeon as if he was alive and asked him for a minute’s respite. The coffin with the relics of Simeon stopped and nobody could get it moving until Kosma was poised to proceed on his way.
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| The church in honor of blessed Kosma of Verkhoturye as it is today |
The church at a picturesque height not far from the river Tura for almost two centuries would serve as an object of worship and an adornment of the village. During Soviet times it was pulled down. Only stone walls lived up to now. These half-destroyed walls were transferred to the monastery in 2000. In July, its ressurection supported by the concerned people of both Ekaterinburg and other cities began. At present you can again contemplate the beautiful snow-white church towering over the village in the neighborhood of the monastery metochion recently arranged nearby.
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| The ceremony of consecration |
The consecration of the church was accomplished joyously and festively in these Paschal days. The entire rite of consecration of the altar is full of deep symbolism. First, warm water is poured onto the alter as a sign of spiritual cleansing, then wine mixed with rose water is poured onto it in the form of a cross. The rose water signifies the myrrh brought by the Myrrh bearing Women for Christ’s burial, and the wine signifies the Blood which was shed at Golgotha. Calling upon the name of God, the Archbishop anoints the altar with holy chrism as a sign of spiritual anointing, for the name of Christ our God is myrrh that is poured forth. The ropes with which the altar is wrapped crosswise remind us of the bonds with which Christ was bound. Priests vest the altar in a white satin covering which is an image of the shining raiment of the Savior. During the vesting of the altar the psalm, “The Lord is King, He is clothed with majesty” is sung. Then the Archbishop and all present pray together: “Fill this temple, which is founded unto Thy praise, with Thy divine glory.” Then, according to the rite of consecration, the Archbishop, accompanied by the clergy, the sisters of the monastery and the faithful, go in procession with the holy relics around the newly consecrated temple. And for the first time the exclamation at the beginning of the divine liturgy is heard: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.” The choir answers “Amen,” and the service begins in the small temple. The temple is indeed tiny, as only 30-40 people can fit inside it. Nevertheless the faithful within it are located as if in the right hand of God, right next to the altar, where the great and wondrous mystery of the Eucharist is performed.
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| Archbishop Vikenty |
At the end of the service the Archbishop thanked everyone who assisted in the church restoration and wished God’s help to those sisters who will live in a new metochion, which the Archbishop called a small island amidst this vain world, an island of hope and salvation.
Also look:
— Photoalbum of the consecration