Sokolovo: History and Religious Heritage

• A church already existed in Sokolovo in the 16th century.
• A stone church dedicated to the Nativity of Christ was built in the village in 1858.
• The church in Sokolovo was closed in the mid-1930s and destroyed in the 1950s.
• A Poklonny cross was erected and consecrated in 2015 in the churchyard, at the site of the altar of the former wooden Church of the Nativity of Christ.
• Sokolovo’s history can be traced back at least four centuries; the village was also known as Petrovskoye and Rozhdestveno.

The village’s history cannot be reduced to a single construction date. A church is recorded in Sokolovo as early as the 16th century. In 1858, a stone church dedicated to the Nativity of Christ was built. The church in Sokolovo was closed in the mid-1930s and later destroyed, in the 1950s. This chronology encompasses different events: the early existence of a church, the construction of a stone place of worship, and, ultimately, its closure and destruction.

Another dated milestone is the Poklonny cross. It was erected and consecrated on July 19, 2015, in the churchyard at the site of the altar of the former wooden Church of the Nativity of Christ. These details describe the location and origins of the cross. They relate to a later stage in the local church history than the records of the church from the 16th and 19th centuries.

In the village of Sokolovo, the venerable fathers Tikhon, Nikon, and Vasily Sokolovsky are honored with prayer services before their icons. The date given for these services is the first Sunday after the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The date is therefore determined by its relation to this feast, rather than by a calendar date that stays the same each year.

A separate tradition is the communal water-blessing prayer service at the Poklonny cross. It is recorded as an annual celebration on the feast day of the Sokolovo Saints; the tradition was revived after a hundred-year interruption. The two forms of commemoration therefore have different calendar references: for the services before the icons, it is the Sunday after the Feast of the Apostles; for the service at the cross, it is the feast day of the Sokolovo Saints.

The village’s history reaches back at least four centuries. In the historical record, Sokolovo also appears under the names Petrovskoye and Rozhdestveno. These former place names add to the long historical perspective without conflating the different construction and commemorative milestones into a single event.

The connection to the Sokolovo Saints also extends beyond the village. A local church history published in 2019 describes them as the only Old Russian saints whose lives unfolded in the territory of today’s Solnechnogorsk District. This statement refers to the present-day district, not just to Sokolovo. Thus, the local records of the church and services sit alongside a regional historical perspective.

Discover more destinations: Pavlovsky Posad, Klimovsk, Perepechino, Ostrovtsy, Podmoklovo, Ryzhevo, Potapovo, Matveykovo.

How far back does Sokolovo’s history go?

It can be traced back at least four centuries. A church already existed in Sokolovo in the 16th century.

When was the stone church built?

The stone church dedicated to the Nativity of Christ was built in Sokolovo in 1858.

When are Tikhon, Nikon, and Vasily Sokolovsky honored?

Prayer services before their icons are held on the first Sunday after the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

What is known about the service at the Poklonny cross?

A communal water-blessing prayer service is recorded there as an annual tradition for the feast day of the Sokolovo Saints. It was revived after a hundred-year interruption.

What former names are recorded for Sokolovo?

The village was also known as Petrovskoye and Rozhdestveno.

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