Location:
The Golden church (Zalathoi Certhkov in Russian) is one of the icons of the
Uralsk city in West Kazakhstan. It’s one of the historical hotspots of the city
and aptly located in the center of the city in Prospect-Dostyk Street.
The City:
Uralsk is a city situated in the bank of the Oral River. The Oral River
originates in the Oral Mountains in present day Russia and runs through
Kazakhstan. The city experiences all the four climates and best to visit during
any season except winter. The city is rich with old historical monuments like
the Orthodox Golden Church, Museums & Soviet style markets.
The Church:
The Orthodox Church was built during the year 1661 and stands to be the one
of the very oldest monument of Uralsk. The two years "1661" &
"1875" are marked on the two stones outside the church. The
significance of the years are unknown. The church is presently undergoing
renovation work for its interiors. The exteriors suggest that the church
belongs to imperial times (time of Czars)
Striking differences:
The priest wears a black rob in contrast with the Indian counterparts who
were white robs during the prayers. There are now chairs where people could sit
as opposed what one would find in churches in India or elsewhere, obviously
there is no aisle.
Christmas is celebrated on the 7th January every year instead of
the 25th December as it’s celebrated in other parts of the world.
Mass Prayer Description:
The Sunday Mass prayer starts as early as 8:30am which is marked by ringing
of the bell. The priest reads out the holy scripts from the Bible and he is
supported by his choir boys who carry bells and smoked fragrances along with
him as the Mass progresses. The proceedings run into well over two hours till
10:30 AM. Anyone who would want to witness this should go prepared viz, women
should cover their heads and men should not wear or a cap that covers his head.
These are few of the church regulations which should be observed.
Paintings:
The Paintings in the church are worth observing. Yet the time of the
creation is not so clear. The paintings are lovely and crystal clear which
makes us think that they do not belong to the 17th century or may be
recreated recently.
There are images of kings (Czars) from the Imperial times also on display in
addition to the images of Maria and other deities.
Especially the paintings on the ceiling are a great work. I could not
capture them as one frame in my camera. The ceiling is also decorated with
plant creepers and flowers.
As you can in this picture, the renovation work is in
progress.
The above picture shows you Maria with Christ in her hand. To our
surprise you will not find Christ on the Cross in this church. The Church
depicts the deep Russian influence on this religion. The locals believe that cotton balls kept inside the enclosed box of this
deity gains good perfume with time and it’s believed that it is due to the
divine powers of the Mother. The cotton is not exposed to
the fragrances
outside and yet it’s a mystery as to how it gains smell.
This picture is the painting of the Mother with Christ. One could
not possible ascertain the age of the paintings as they seem to belong to
different time. The inscriptions found on the images and paintings describing
them are very old Russian scripts. Modern day Russian speakers could possibly
read them but could not find out the meaning of these inscriptions.
This part is true in most parts of the world as most of the languages have
changed a lot from the past.
The central podium, as shown below, is the place where the priest would stand and give his discourse during the prayers. The doors (golden color) open out into a space where the priest has his room. Surprisingly there is no confession room or box in this church. The door in the end of the podium is richly decorated with golden colored metal and has pictures of Christ. On top is the picture of two men (possibly saints). There is a strong Russian influence on this as we find this totally different from what we will find in churches in the West.
There is a store inside the church which sells several things like candles (of two different lengths), souvenirs, pictures besides books. Should one really know about this store and what is sold its worth making a visit to the church.
There is really a unique way in which the lamps are suspended in front of the deities. If one should look closely then they could realize that these are oil light lamps. This is the first of its kind I had seen in churches. Please see the close up image below.
Bottom Line:
If one should get the real catch of what is church is about and what its historical significance is, then one should visit this place to realize it.
How to get here:
If you are from a foreign national, the nearest airport will be Uralsk International Airport. From the airport the centre is only 40 minutes drive away. Uralsk has several other attractions in addition to the historical important places.
If you are from Kazakhstan then you can take the train from the any of the cities to reach Uralsk by train or you can fly off to the Uralsk domestic airport. At the time of this writing Air Astana does not fly to Uralsk due to some technical reasons. The only option is BEK Air, which happens to be the only carrier to Uralsk for now.
Happy travelling guys.... & Don't forget to comment back
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