In the very center of the city of Kerch, at the foot of Mount Mithridates, is the church of St. John the Baptist - a fine example of architecture, made in the tradition of Byzantine architecture . It is considered one of the oldest Christian churches not only on the Crimean peninsula, but also in Europe, and the picturesque elegant appearance distinguishes it from a number of Orthodox churches . Architecturally the church building is a three-pedestal temple with a single flat dome supported by a cross nye arches, which in turn are supported by four pillars . The entire structure is reinforced columns, they get married Byzantine Corinthian capitals . The masonry walls the eastern part of the temple used alternating rows of white stone and red brick, a technique characteristic of Byzantine architecture . By the way, this "layered pie" does not just look spectacular, but also performs an anti-seismic function that helped the building to reach our time. .

The history of the church

In the question of the exact time of the appearance of the Church of John the Baptist, there is no full certainty . The most widespread opinion is that the temple was built in the 8th or 9th century . According to one of the legends, the construction began with the blessing of Andrew Pervozvannogo . Already at that time the church of John the Baptist was very famous: they say that the Kerch Strait was then called Strait St. . John, and Kerch itself - port C . . to John In the era of the Crimean Khanate Church of St. John the Baptist, like most Christian churches, has been turned into a mosque, and eventually did come to desolation . an Orthodox church, she again became in 1774 ., when the Crimea was annexed to the Russian Empire .

In the 19th century, the church underwent a small rebuilding, a three-aisle vestibule was built in pseudo-Byzantine style, and later a two-tier bell tower and a northern porch. At this time, instead of naming the "Greek church" the church got its real name - the church of the beheading of the head of John the Baptist.

The 20th century was not very supportive for the temple, which shared the fate of many Orthodox shrines of that time: in the 30s. it was closed, according to the official version, due to the absence of the parish. The Great Patriotic War brought the church the loss of many sacred relics, the building itself was badly damaged by the fire. Overgrown bushes, with broken windows, partially destroyed St John the Baptist church produced a depressing spectacle, around noisy fish market.

Church of St. John the Baptist Temple Restoration

Revival church began in the 1960s., When he was declared an architectural a monument of republican significance. Ten years later, after this event, large-scale restoration work began, which took four years. At first, the walls of the annexes and bell-towers were rebuilt, and only then began to put in order the ancient building of the temple. Due to the strong subsidence of the foundation had to clear the land around it deep into the ground.

Temple today after completion of the restoration of the church of St. John the Baptist opened lapidary exhibition Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum - a collection of ancient stones with carved inscriptions on them. Only in the summer of 1990 the church was handed over to the Kerch Orthodox community. Now it is an active church in which worship services are regularly held.

Address and how to get there.

Address: Kerch, ul. Dmitrov, 2

From the bus station to the church, you can get on buses 3, 5, 6, 19, 28 to the stop "Lenin Square."

Church of St. John the Baptist in Kerch

Belfry, Church of St. John the Baptist in Kerch