Saints Boris and Gleb Church, Eastern Orthodox church building in Borisoglebsky, Murmansk Oblast, Russia.
The Borisoglebsky Church is an Orthodox house of worship in far northern Russia with characteristic domed roofs and ornamental details on its walls. The building displays typical features of Russian religious architecture with colored facades and decorative elements at entrances and windows.
A wooden church was built here in 1565 at the Pazretsky pogost founded by Tryphon of Pechenga, consecrated on 24 June by priest Ilarion. After the 1826 border demarcation the left bank passed to Norway, but a 1 km² enclave kept the church in Russia. The old church burned in 1944; the 1872–1874 replacement by engineer D. V. Vasilyev was restored in 1982–1992.
The church keeps the memory of the Skolt Sámi and Pomor fishermen who formed its congregation until the second half of the 19th century. Priests Georgy Terentyev and Konstantin Shchekoldin worked here among the Skolt Sámi and were among the first researchers of their language and culture. A cave near the former Pazretsky pogost, where Tryphon is said to have hidden from Sámi who resisted baptism, was venerated by the Sámi as a shrine.
The church stands on the left bank of the Paz River on the former Pazretsky pogost, in a border zone; as of 2007 services were held only twice a year, on 15 May and 6 August, and access is restricted because the site lies on border-guarded territory. The left bank became a Norwegian enclave of about 1 km² after the 1826 border demarcation, so check current entry rules before planning a visit.
The house of worship sits where boundaries between Russian and Finnish territories blur together, making it a rare example of a cross-border religious site in the polar region. This location has given the place special meaning for the cultural history of the high north.
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