Saint John Chrysostom Church, Russian Orthodox church in Kostroma, Russia.
Saint John Chrysostom Church is a five-domed stone church in Kostroma, built in the mid-18th century and consecrated in 1751. Its main volume is pillarless with a single apse, following pre-Petrine traditions, while the exterior decoration already shows Baroque features. In the late 18th century, two heated side chapels on octagonal drums and a three-tiered bell tower with a tall spire were added in the early Classicism style, bringing the total number of domes to seven.
The first record of a church here dates to 1628, when a wooden summer church of John Chrysostom stood beside a winter church of Florus and Laurus. The wooden church was rebuilt in the 17th century, and a five-domed stone church replaced it, consecrated in 1751. Two heated side chapels and a bell tower were added in 1791. From 1929 to 1964 it served as Kostroma's cathedral.
The church is named after John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, and its side chapels were consecrated in 1791. The winter church of Saints Florus and Laurus that once stood beside it gave its name to Lavrovskaya Street. Bishop Sergius (Kostin) of Kostroma was buried in the churchyard in 1959.
The bell tower and the two warm side chapels added in 1791 stand on the western side, so visitors approach from there rather than from the east. The church kept operating through the Soviet period, so services follow a regular parish rhythm; come outside service times to look around without disturbing worshippers.
The church kept its doors open throughout the Soviet period and from 1929 to 1964 served as the cathedral of the Kostroma diocese, after the cathedral on Rusinskaya Street was closed. In 1959 Bishop Sergius (Kostin) was buried in the churchyard. Under Khrushchev the authorities prepared it for closure and demolition, and it regained independent parish status only in 1966.
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