Stephen of Perm chapel, Orthodox chapel in Perm, Russia.
The Stephen of Perm chapel is a single-storey brick building in the Russian style, designed by city architect V. V. Popatenko and consecrated in 1887. Its high, narrow single-leaf windows with oval tops were restored in 2012–2013 using old brick. A two-storey stone annex built in 1890–1891 adjoins it.
It honors Saint Stephen of Perm, who was appointed as the first bishop in 1383 and created the Old Permic alphabet. This development marked a turning point in the region's religious history and its relationship with written culture.
The full name honours Stephen, Bishop of Perm, and his successors Gerasim, Pitirim and Iona. From 1888 the building housed Perm's first two-class parish school; a church-teacher school for psalm-readers followed in 1891, an adult Sunday school in 1892 and a free reading library from 1896. In 1912 the diocesan church-archaeological society opened here and issued its own journal.
The chapel stands at the corner of Petropavlovskaya Street and Komsomolsky Avenue, and the former two-storey annex now houses an Orthodox pilgrimage centre. The facade was restored in 2012–2013, when the original semicircular windows were rebuilt from old brick. Look for the memorial plaque to Stephen of Perm, installed in 1996 and consecrated by Bishop Afanasy.
The chapel's full name honours Stephen and his successors Gerasim, Pitirim and Iona. A memorial plaque unveiled on 7 May 1996 and consecrated by Bishop Afanasy recorded that the chapel was founded on 9 May 1882 for the 500th anniversary of Stephen's first sermon in Perm land and built with public donations to a design by provincial architect V. V. Popatenko.
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