Chapel of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God - uVisitRussia
Home Explore 1/7th of the World Karelia Chapel of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

Chapel of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

For the first time Kinerma was mentioned in the chronicles of the 16th century. At that time the village consisted of only 4 houses. Today the village unites  17 houses, 7 saunas, an old cemetery and a chapel. The chapel  is not only the spiritual centre of the village, but also its main attraction. It was erected in the 17th century in honor of the icon of Virgin Mary from Smolensk, which is the only miraculous icon in Karelia. The legend says, that the icons was brought to the village by a soldier and since that time protected the village from misfortune.

Temple of Our Lady of Smolensk in Kinerme is especially famous for being never used for any other purpose.
In the 30s, local residents defended their chapel and did not agree to make a club out of it, despite the threat of exile and the death penalty. Then the authorities decided to demolish the chapel by force.For the destructive work, outsiders were hired, and the villagers went to the meadows to not see the destruction. Demolish the chapel began with the bell tower - they piled up the pillars, tied them with ropes and began to pull them down. The bell-tower, falling to the ground, made such an unnatural sound that it would be heard in the meadows, and those present on the spot say that it seemed to them that the earth opened underfoot. The workers were so scared that they refused to continue the demolition work.
Before the war, the chapel with the ruined roof stood still. During the war, it was again allowed to conduct worship services and local residents were able to repair the roof. After the war, until the perestroika, the keys to the chapel were in the village council and the locals could not enter it. But on holidays people still gathered on the porch and read prayers. After the perestroika, regular robberies began and the iconostasis, which had been preserved completely until the 80s, was almost completely plundered by the vandals.
In modern times in Kinermu on the patronal holiday of the village Day of the icon of the Mother of God of Smolensk (August 10), the priest comes and conducts service.