The church where Admiral Ushakov was baptized was consecrated in the Yaroslavl region

In the village of Khopylevo, the restored Church of the Epiphany on the Island was consecrated. The consecration ceremony and liturgy, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’, were led by Metropolitan Gregory of Voskresensk, Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Church of the Epiphany on the Island in the village of Khopylevo, where the future naval commander Fyodor Ushakov was baptized in 1745, is rightfully considered a unique monument of the Yaroslavl school of architecture of the 17th century. The church has five domes and a tented bell tower. In terms of its size and architecture, the temple could decorate many large Russian cities.

In 1905, a winter church was built in Khopylevo not far from the Epiphany Church, consecrated in honor of St. Alexander Nevsky. The iconostasis for it was made in St. Petersburg by the famous carver Pavel Shusharin. The opening of the church in 1907 was celebrated by the entire Yaroslavl province.

During the Soviet years, the churches of Khopylev did not escape the fate of many others. The Church of Alexander Nevsky was closed in the 1930s, and in the early 1940s, the Church of the Epiphany on the Island was closed and looted, and its interior decoration was almost completely destroyed.

The parish of the Church of the Epiphany on Ostrov was restored in 2008. Since 2014, monthly services have been held in the village of Khopylevo during the warm season, as well as festivals of spiritual and patriotic songs.

In the spring of 2017, Dmitry Mironov, who was then the governor of the Yaroslavl region, came up with an initiative to create a board of trustees to restore the original temple complex in Khopylevo. Dmitry Stepanenko became its head. As the head of the board said, over 900 million rubles of extra-budgetary funds were attracted for the restoration work. With this money, design, emergency response, and restoration work were carried out in several stages.

The Church of the Epiphany on the Island is rightfully considered a unique monument of the Yaroslavl school of architecture of the 17th century. Photo: yarregion.ru

About forty contractors were involved in the restoration of the churches in Khopylevo. And not only from the Yaroslavl Region. About 400 specialists came from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Ivanovo and Tver Regions. About a hundred icon painters representing different regions of the country were involved in the restoration of the iconostasis and the restoration of elements of the church interior alone.

Work was carried out separately to develop the rural area. Gas was installed in Khopylevo, the electrical substation was modernized, and utility networks were laid. A house for the church clergy with a refectory and guest rooms, as well as a pilgrim’s house, were built in the village. Serious landscaping work was carried out. An apothecary garden was laid out near the churches, and the Fyodorovsky Garden was created nearby. About two thousand decorative and fruit trees and bushes were planted there.

Now in Khopylevo pedestrian paths have been built, roads have been repaired, and car parks have been equipped. In the water area of ​​the Volga, berths for various types of vessels have been installed. Future plans include repairing the road to the village of Burnakovo, where Fyodor Ushakov was born.

The trustees have ideas to restore the estate where the Ushakovs lived. For this, it is planned to use mainly extra-budgetary funds. There are plans to create a museum complex “Big Small Homeland” in Khopylevo and a camp for children, working all year round.