The more than century-long history of a wooden church continued in 2017 in the village of Mandrogi. This beautiful, graceful, and light church in the eclectic style, with its characteristic domes typical of northern wooden architecture, was practically lost; half-rotted and dilapidated, it stood on the riverbank in the village of Sidozero, closed since 1939, until it was transported to Mandrogi for restoration and careful restoration.
Dear guests of the Tourist Complex! Please note that the Church of the Prophet Elisha is closed during the winter.
The emergence of the church
The church's construction in Sidozero was no accident. Its consecration in honor of the Old Testament prophet Elisha, a disciple of the prophet Elijah, stems from the fact that the church was built on the burial site of a certain monk named Elisha. According to popular legend, the monk Elisha was from the Yablono Hermitage, a small monastery located on Yablono Island in the middle of the Svir River—now the site of the Podporozhskoye Reservoir.
During the Time of Troubles, the Yablono Hermitage was ravaged by the Poles, and the monk Elisha fled into the forests on the right bank of the Svir and settled on the banks of Sidozero. Even as late as the late 19th century, local residents pointed out the "monk's path" along which Elisha walked from Sidozero to his destroyed monastery. It was here, on Sidozero, that Elisha died.