The Church of Theotokos of Tikhvin in Yudmozero, Arkhangelsk region. History and architecture

The article describes three stages of constructing the Church of the Theotokos of Tikhvin in the village of Yudmozero located in the Onega district of the Arkhangelsk region, which were discovered through the analysis of data retrieved from the State Archive of the Arkhangelsk Region, and the architectural features of these stages. The construction stages correlate with rebuilding the church in 1863 and replacing its porch and erecting a bell tower in 1907. The church is a quadrangle with a five-walled altar. The porch and the bell tower were lost. The on-site inspection of the monument enabled to classify this chapel church as a “chapel-type prayer house”, combining features of a chapel and a dwelling house. It differs from the chapels of the Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions or Karelia, since its core log structure is similar to a log cabin (“izba”). The chapel is distinguished by its dome and antechamber with a tent-like bell tower. The study resulted in reconstructing how the Yudmozero chapel looked between the late 18th and the early 20th centuries, and providing a brief analysis of the distinctive features of similar buildings in the villages of Vorzogory, Maloshuika, Nimenga, Podporozhye. The authors conclude that there are differences in the architectural traditions of Pomorye and the mainland Russian North, and put forward a hypothesis on the connection between the spread of chapel-type prayer houses and the Old Belief, which requires further study.