In the Yakutian village of Vitim, a new church dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord is under construction, as reported by ysia.ru citing the district administration's press service.

The opening and consecration are scheduled for May 2024, according to Father Anatoly Astafyev, the priest of the Church of St. Innocent of Moscow in the neighboring city of Lensk.

Vitim, the oldest settlement in Yakutia, was founded in 1621. The first mentions of the Spasskaya Church in the village date back to 1774. In the 1930s, the Spasskaya Church was closed, and two priests were repressed, with one of them being executed.

"The church that existed before the revolution was quite well-known because Vitim played a significant role in the development of Eastern Siberia and Yakutia. Missionary trips and expeditions passed through Vitim, and it had a strong community," said Father Anatoly, the priest of the Lensk church.

Once the construction of the church in Vitim is completed, a permanent priest is expected to be assigned. Father Anatoly believes that the opening of the church will have a positive impact on the overall spiritual and moral atmosphere.

"The Vitim parish is not only the oldest parish in the Lensky district but also one of the oldest parishes in Yakutia. Since the foundation of the settlement, believers have lived here, building chapels and churches," added Father Anatoly.

According to Father Anatoly, efforts to revive the Vitim parish began in 1991, making it one of the first in the republic to do so. However, the community did not have its own church all this time. Construction of the new church began in 2022, and now the interior finishing work is underway.

The funding for the project is provided by the oil and gas production management "Talakan Oil," a subsidiary of "Surgutneftegas." The construction is carried out with the blessing of Archbishop Roman of Yakutsk and Lensk.