SAFMAR charitable fund has allocated 10 million rubles for completion of Holy Trinity church construction in Ukamenskoye village.

The fund was established by OAO NK RussNeft headed by Mikhail Gutseriev, major Russian businessman and benefactor.

SAFMAR fund targets implementation of socially important long-term projects in arts, culture, education, and spiritual development. A number of SAFMAR’s programs support restoration and construction of churches in Russia. The fund was touched by the hard history of almost three hundred years of the church destroyed in the soviet times and being restored now. It was decided to support completion of the construction of Holy Trinity church in Ukamenskoye village.

A team of journalists from “Izvestia Udmurtskoy Respubliki” travelled specifically to the north of Udmurtia to assess the scale of the eventual construction works in the regional center where the believers had lost their church for almost 85 years.

SHORT LIFE OF A GREAT CHURCH

A village of the river U was set up as long ago as in late XVIII century. The new residents found a stone mine next to the river and called the village Ukamenskoye combining the name of the river with the word “kamen” (stone).

Later, the Ukamenskoye stones were used to build open-fire stoves for baths and to make millstones. By the way, the arms of Ukamensky region depict water drops eating away a stone forming a millstone.

Despite the stones in abundance in the area, the first church in the “stone” village – Bogoyavlensky – was made of wood.

Only in 1823, Amvrosy, the bishop of Vyatka, granted a permit to Ukamenskoye villagers to build a stone church. A big church of three altars was built in Ukamenskoye in four years, and the village became a real spiritual center of the northern outland.

The names of the architect and the builders were lost in the history. But the picturesque drawings and old photos suggested that Holy Trinity church (new name for Bogoyavlenskaya church from 1834) was a grand architectural monument with a bell tower with a dozen of bell-voices. The bell-ringing in clear weather could be heard dozens of kilometers from the bell tower.

Historical challenges made the life of Holly Trinity church short. Early in 1930, Udmurtia region administration ordered to close the church which, in a short time, was also destroyed by an explosion. Having demolished the church, the soviet authorities did not have pity for its priests. Father Fedor (Fedor Alekseevich Tukmachev) was shot in the nearby Glazov. Andrey Kirillovich Lekomtsev, deacon, and Mikhail Nikiforovich Malykh, prefect, were prisoned in Kolyma camps where they disappeared with their own families…

500 THOUSAND RUBLES IN THREE YEARS

When the unreligious time in Russia was over, the residents of Ukamenskoye thought about restoration of the church. In late 1990s, an oratory was opened in the village, in the building of a former book shop belonging to the then regional consumers cooperation.

The believers did not want any consumer attitude to the God and in 2011 the thoughts about collecting charitable money for the new church were implemented and construction of the new Holy Trinity church began (though eventually frozen due to funding shortage).

- The sleeping fox catches no chickens, - Vyacheslav Romanovich Myshkin, resident of Ukanmenskoye and executive director of the foundation for assistance to Holy Trinity church construction, recalled the saying. – Almost half a million rubles have been raised for three years…

Contributions were made not only by local people – teachers, doctors, utilities services, farmers and officials - but also by people from Izhevsk, Sarapul and even Sverdlovks region.

- 500 thousand rubles is a serious amount for a purely agricultural area with no industry, Vyacheslav Romanovich says. Without specifying names, he adds that one retired person transfers one thousand rubles from his retirement pay on a monthly basis, and good people from Ural once transferred 7000 rubles.

- Vyacheslav Romanovich, do you think that local people will sincerely come to help the common cause – mix cement mud, carry bricks, arrange and organize the area around the church?

- Definitely they will! – Myshkin is sure. – We will build the church all-together. All the more so given the help from SAFMAR foundation.

FOLLOWING THE RIGHT PATH WITH FAITH IN THE HEART

- We will try to carry out construction works as much as possible with the 10 million rubles allocated by SAFMAR charitable fund, - Boris Vostrikov, head of Ukamensky region says. – We are currently choosing a contractor to complete construction of the dome, roof and fence, as well as infrastructure. In order to minimize the construction costs, we will not contract organizations. We will purchase materials ourselves and employ people based on individual contracts. By February 2015, when the republican agricultural winter sport games have taken place, construction of the dome and bell loft should be completed and the bells raised and installed. Besides, we intend to complete all carpenter works, installation of windows, area arrangement and fencing. The construction will be finally completed by fall 2015, most likely.

- May it be by Holy Virgin Protection Day? – the journalists asked.

- We will see! May be, by Protection, and may be, by another major orthodox church holiday. Anyway, we will make it! – Boris Vostrikov smiles.

- How did you know about the need to build the church three years ago? Did you do any monitoring among the Ukameskoye people? – we asked with a kind irony.

- No monitoring was needed. It was crystal clear without it. Our village was the only one in Udmurtia without church, - Boris Vostrikov affirmed. – So, the need was obvious – man should live with faith in the soul. The faith guides the man the right way in his life. It gives discipline and responsibility and directs to the true path. The soul and conscience should neighbor in the man.

WITH THE FAITH IN GOD AND OURSELVES

Opinion of the secular manager was to be supported by that of a priest.
- I want to thank kind people very much. In every liturgy we pray for all our benefactors, - says father Sergiy – prior of Holy Trinity church in another village of Ukamenskoye. – There are about 50 regular parishioners in our regional center and there are very many of those who come to the church on holidays.

- Father Sergiy, it is typical for modern Russia to have full occupancy once a new church is built.

- God grant! We hope for this!

We were about to leave Ukamenskoye when a local resident came up to us. He had been observantly watching us and all our actions.

- Do you know what was the church on the place of the present post office? – the person said extending his arm to the building and the birch grove. – Are you from Moscow?

- No, we are journalists from Izhevsk, - we honestly answered.

- It is a pity. I wanted you to pass my sincere bow to Mikhail Gutseriev in Moscow. He is a fantastic person with kind and open heart. He helped us and we will help at the construction! Will you pass him my words if you can?

- Sure, we will!

OUR REFERENCE

SAFMAR charitable fund is one of the major non-profitable charitable organizations in Russia. OAO NK RussNeft is the founder of the fund.

Mikhail Safarbekovich Gutseriev is the Chairman of the Board of SAFMAR charitable fund.

SAFMAR charitable fund was founded to implement socially important long-term projects in the area of culture, arts, education and spiritual development.

The programs of the fund comply with the criteria of transparency, strategy clarity and implementation consistency. The fund’s activities are based on the best practices of the national charity. The fund supports a number of major charitable projects carried out in cooperation with many renown educational, scientific, museum and public organizations of Russia.