On August 9, the memorial day of the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, in honor of the patronal feast, Metropolitan Rostislav of Tomsk and Asinovo consecrated the foundation stone of the stone church in the name of St. Panteleimon.
The service was attended by representatives of the local administration, the head of the department for extra-urban areas of the city of Seversk, Viktor Valerievich Orlov, residents of the village and nearby settlements.
Addressing the audience with an archpastoral address, the head of the metropolis congratulated them on the day of the memory of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, as well as on the laying of the foundation stone of the temple. Metropolitan Rostislav emphasized that this event in its significance goes far beyond the borders of this village, the Tomsk region, and even beyond the Tomsk region.
– Today we consecrated this foundation stone for the temple that will be built here. And as His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II said, the more churches we build, the fewer prisons our people will have to build. Indeed, the temples of God are those spiritual and moral beacons that do not allow us to stray from the right path, do not allow us to get lost. Our ancestors felt it very well, they felt it very subtly. When they explored the vast Siberian expanses and came to new places, they always built temples first before cutting down huts and building houses. Because they knew that if there was a church, then a full–fledged, full-blooded life would be built around it," the bishop noted.
According to the archpastor, temples became not only centers of spiritual and prayer life, they were also centers of cultural, moral and commercial life.
Continuing the topic, Metropolitan Rostislav emphasized that churches usually resemble a ship sailing on the sea, or a lighthouse that shows the way where to go.
Touching upon the timing of the construction of churches, His Eminence stressed that it depends on the Lord. The hierarch shared his observations over almost 40 years of his ministry, both as a priest and bishop. Sometimes, even without the help of major benefactors, the temple was built within a year, and sometimes, with the assistance of major patrons, the construction stretched for decades. The head of the metropolis called on the flock to pray well so that the Lord would deign to build a temple here.
At the end of the sermon, the hierarch called on all those gathered to take part in the construction of the temple.:
Panteleimon parish was established in the village in 1990. The temple is built in a one-story wooden house.
The village is located on the right bank of the Tomi Channel, opposite Kizhirovsky Island, about 21 kilometers north of Tomsk. The population is about 5,000 people.