Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Uglich

The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist is located on the bank of the Volga River near the Resurrection Monastery. This church can be visited if you go from the Uglich Kremlin to the Uglich hydroelectric power station. The exterior of the church resembles the shape of the Church of Prince Dmitry on Blood; however, the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist is built in a more elegant terem style.  

The Church of St. John the Baptist is called one of the most beautiful in Uglich. During the construction of the Uglich HPS, other churches were destroyed, but it was decided to save this church, despite that it was on the construction site of the hydroelectric power station. Some sources say that for the sake of preserving this church, the designers even altered the plan for the construction of a Uglich HPS, moving it 500 meters upstream. For the era of the 1930s, this sounds like absolute fiction. But, anyway, the church is preserved.  

The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist was built at the personal expense of the rich Uglich merchant Chepolosov. In 1663, his six-year-old son disappeared. He was killed by his father`s clerk Rudak, who had a conflict with the merchant. A few years later, in 1689, the father decided to build the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in memory of his murdered son.

The temple is similar to the churches of the Yaroslavl architectural school. The construction of the church looks very elegant, and the rich decor on the walls and domes makes the church very smart. Above the entrance to the church you can see a porch in the style of ancient Russian terems. In 1960, restorers discovered in the church the grave of Ivan Chepolosov, the murdered six-year-old son of merchant Chepolosov.