What the old church of the Twelve Apostles in Balaklava did not see in their lifetime . Built by the Genoese in a distant 1357 g ., she is proud to be the oldest Orthodox Crimean shrine .Confirmation of this version of the time of the construction of the temple is considered to be the sign found during the restoration of the building in 1861 . a plate with the words: "1357, on the day of September, this building was started during the management of the humble husband Simon del Orte, consul and castellan" . This the find shed light and on the original name of the church - the temple of Simon del Orte . According to some assumptions, the mentioned Simono was one of the consuls of the Balaklava fortress Cembalo, and the church he built on the foundation of the Byzantine church of the 6th century . If this theory is true, in In this case, the church The Twelve Apostles is one of the oldest Orthodox churches not only in the Crimea, but also in the whole of the CIS .

From the history of the church

The stone church building appeared in 1794 ., during the Crimean War the temple was partially destroyed and restored only in 1875 ., in July of the same year it was consecrated in the name of Nikolay Chudotvorets . Before the war the temple was subordinated to the "ideological department" of the army and navy, the military priests kept in it battle banners of the Balaklava battalion . @ After the disbandment of the Greek battalion, the church moved to the service of the diocese .During the Great Patriotic War, the church was still used for its purpose: worship services were held here, but after the war, the House of Pioneers was first placed in the church, and then the Osoaviakhim club .

With the beginning of the perestroika, the Temple of the Twelve Apostles was placed under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church, and was solemnly consecrated on July 13, 1990.

External appearance

But this temple is famous not only for its considerable age, its architectural appearance was recognized as outstanding and listed in the monuments of the 18th century . Constructions of this kind for the Crimea are unique : this is a cross-domed building in the plan, built of rubble limestone . The central entrance is decorated in the form of a portico with Doric columns of white stone under a triangular pediment . Contrary to its externally small scales, the interior is very majestic, its snow-white walls are not decorated with frescoes , and the vault is also supported by the Doric order columns .

Recently the church passed as a farmstead to the Inkerman St. Clement Monastery. Believers come here to bow to the relics of St. Blessed Basil and St. Reverend Sergius of Radonezh.

How to get there

Address: Balaklava, ul. Rubtsova, 41.

To find the temple is quite simple, it is located in the heart of the city, not far from the embankment of Nazukin. From Sevastopol to the church, you can take a bus number 9 or bus numbers 9 and 119 to the stop "Area 1 May."