Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Village of Lezye: the Question of the Continuity of the Traditions of Military Church Construction

The article is dedicated to the Church of the Dormition of the village of Lesye of the Kirov district of the Leningrad region. The main milestones of the history of the temple are revealed: its prehistory in the 18th century, construction under the Yusupovs in the 19th century, its fate during the Great Patriotic War, revival in a new guise at the end of the 20th — early 21th centuries which became possible by the initiative of the St. Petersburg parish and within the framework of the Russian-German peacekeeping project. The church became not only a place of prayer, but also a unique monument i.e. a memorial museum, a keeper of the memory of the war years. With its current life, the church continues the tradition that formed a unique type of temple, the beginning of which was laid in ancient Russia. This article reveals this continuity through building parallels with the traditions of temple building in prerevolutionary Russia. Particular attention is paid to the description of the shrines of the church, the history and significance of the exhibits of the temple museum. The Dormition Church can be regarded as one of the monuments of the Great Patriotic War in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.