Kirochnaya St., 14, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 198411
The Tyurö parish was founded in 1642. In ancient times, it also included Retusaari, i.e., Kronstadt.
The old wooden church of the parish was built in 1691 and over time became very dilapidated. At the end of January 1748, Pastor Gustav Herkepeus submitted a petition to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna for the construction of a new church.
By the Empress's decree, the master of stonework Franz Broer was entrusted with drawing up the plan and facade of the new church, as well as the estimate for its construction. The head of the Construction Office, Lieutenant General Fermer, decided to build the church behind the pastor's house and at the same time abolish the old cemetery. The wooden church, designed by Franz Broer, was erected in 1749, but the idea of desecrating the cemetery remained unfulfilled.
Construction of the last stone church with 700 seats began in 1831 according to the design of the court architect Joseph Charlemagne. Emperor Nicholas I, in January 1828, by highest decree, allocated 90,000 rubles for the construction of the church. Building materials were delivered to Martyshkino by skilled workers Afanasy Makarov and Vasily Gavrilov from the Gostilitsy estate, and bricks came from a local factory. The church was consecrated on January 21, 1831, in the name of Saint John. The church, built of brick on a stone foundation, with a plinth and porches made of Putilov slabs, was plastered and painted with light gray oil paint. The bell tower was crowned with a cross with an orb made of gilded copper. The windows with small panes were covered with wrought iron grilles. The interior decoration was quite modest: a wooden ceiling with three crystal chandeliers was plastered and whitewashed, the walls were painted with "pearl" paint, and the pine plank floor was left unpainted.
The main decorative element was the wooden carved altar, consisting of several parts: the altar table, approached by two steps, behind which was a large semicircular frame in two sections with five coffers in the arch. Within it were two more frames with images of the "Prayer on the Mount of Olives" and the "Last Supper," works by Academician Dmitry Antonelli (1830), and a carved radiance with silver-plated clouds and cherub heads. All the altar carvings were gilded by master Khariton Wolf, and the carpentry work was lacquered. The altar was also decorated with fabrics in crimson and scarlet tones, embroidered with gold and silver. In 1840, K. Schröter wrote that on the church altar there was a "beautiful holy Bible with a silver clasp, printed in Stockholm in 1642."
On the north side of the altar was a wooden pulpit with a balcony and rooms for the pastor and sacristan; on the south side was a storage room. Wooden benches stood in the hall, and around the perimeter of the church were separated carved balustrade galleries, from which a staircase led to the attic and bell tower. The church was heated by four Dutch white tiled stoves. In 1834, an organ costing 3,000 rubles was installed in the church, built by the St. Petersburg organ master and composer Karl Wirt.
In 1831, a wooden pastor's house, school, common house, bathhouse, carriage shed, and cattle yard were built. Due to the large number of residents, there were not one but two pastors working in Tyurö. According to the 1835 land survey, the Tyurö parish had 85 desyatinas of land, more than 12 Orthodox parishes in the district.
Since 1895, a Sunday school operated in the parish. In 1911–1912, a wooden school for confirmands was built here, adjoining the general complex of the farmyard.
The church was closed in 1936. During the Great Patriotic War, the building housed a medical battalion, and afterwards workshops where cast iron cookware was made and jar lids were produced. Later, the premises were occupied by the "Zarya" cinema and the Martyshkino library. Recently, the building belonged to the Lomonosov Directorate of the cinema and video network, housed several cooperatives, and at one time served as the city House of Culture.
By the end of 1989, the building was closed because it was in an emergency condition and required major repairs.
On November 19, 1991, the church building was returned to the Tyurö parish, and restoration began in 1992.
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