# Church of Elijah the Prophet, Yaroslavl > The Church of Elijah the Prophet is a 1647–1650 merchant church on Sovetskaya Square, a Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve branch famous for its 1680 frescoes. Open 1 May – 21 October, daily 9:00–18:00, closed in rain. Tickets at the church desk: guides quote about 200–250 ₽; the museum publishes no price. Allow 45 minutes. Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/church-of-elijah-the-prophet - City: [Yaroslavl](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl), Russia - YesGo score: 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - With kids: Better without small kids - Season: 1 May – 21 October; closed 22 October – 1 May to protect the frescoes - Hours: Daily 9:00–18:00, no weekly closing day - Rainy days: Closed - Ticket: At the church desk only; the museum doesn’t publish the price — guides quote about 200–250 ₽ - Museum combined ticket: Doesn’t list the church — buy a separate ticket - Free entry: Children under 7 - Guided tours by the museum: On set days in season, 400 ₽, in Russian - Photography: Guides say allowed without flash; whether there is a fee is not published - Phone: +7 910 973-77-95 - Coordinates: 57.62694, 39.89444 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **1680** — the main church was painted in under three summer months by a team of 15 artists (source: Official website of the Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve; Russian Wikipedia, “Church of Elijah the Prophet (Yaroslavl)”) - **Gury Nikitin and Sila Savin** — the painters from Kostroma who led the team (source: Official museum-reserve website; Russian Wikipedia) - **1647–1650** — built for the merchant brothers Vonifaty and Ioanniky Skripin (source: Official museum-reserve website; Russian Wikipedia; Tripster journal) - **The Harvest** — the best-known fresco, on the south wall, part of the cycle of the prophet Elisha (source: Official museum-reserve website; Tripster journal) - **1650** — the Skripins received a relic of the Robe of Christ; a tent-roofed chapel was built to house it (source: Official museum-reserve website; Russian Wikipedia) - **1696** — the gilded carved iconostasis was installed; most lower-tier icons are attributed to Fyodor Zubov (source: Official museum-reserve website; Tripster journal) - **1920** — handed to the museum; in the 1930s museum staff saved it from demolition (source: Russian Wikipedia; Tripster journal) - **No. 1170** — part of the Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005 (source: UNESCO World Heritage List; RUSSPASS) - **1989** — reconsecrated; occasional summer services since then (source: Russian Wikipedia; Tripster journal) > **Closed inside from 22 October to 1 May** The museum shuts the church for the winter to protect the frescoes. You can still see the outside any time — the square is open around the clock. If your trip falls between late October and April, budget ten minutes for the façade and move on. ## Church of Elijah the Prophet tickets and opening hours The church opens **from 1 May to 21 October, every day from 9:00 to 18:00**. There is no weekly closing day, but it stays shut on rainy days, because damp air harms the paintings. Grey but dry days are usually fine. Tickets are sold **only at the desk by the church**. The museum’s website currently shows no price; recent guides quote about **200–250 ₽** for an adult. Children under 7 go in free. The museum-reserve’s combined ticket doesn’t list the church, so plan on a separate ticket. **Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards don’t work in Russia** (since March 2022). Bring roubles in cash or use a Russian card. Concessions need a Russian document, so most foreign visitors pay the adult price. ## Is the Church of Elijah the Prophet worth visiting? Yes — in season and on a dry day, it’s one of the two or three things you shouldn’t skip in Yaroslavl. The interior survives almost untouched from the 17th century: wall paintings, iconostases, even the carved royal and patriarchal seats. Few churches in Russia let you see a complete painted interior of that age. Outside the season, it isn’t worth a detour. Without the frescoes you get a handsome white church with green domes — lovely in photos, but a five-minute stop on the way to the river. ## Who built it and who painted the frescoes Two wooden churches stood here before the merchant brothers **Vonifaty and Ioanniky Skripin**, among the richest men in Muscovy, paid for a stone church in **1647–1650**. In 1650 the tsar and the patriarch gave them a fragment of the Robe of Christ, and a separate tent-roofed chapel went up to hold it. In summer **1680**, a team of 15 painters led by **Gury Nikitin and Sila Savin** of Kostroma covered the main church in under three months. Work on the galleries and chapels went on until 1717; the gilded iconostasis arrived in 1696. The museum took the building over in 1920. In the 1930s it was twice slated for demolition and saved by museum staff, and from 1938 to 1941 it housed an anti-religious exhibition with a Foucault pendulum. It was reconsecrated in 1989. ## What to see inside - **The 1680 frescoes** — tier upon tier from floor to vault: the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the lives of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The colours are still bright. - **The Harvest** on the south wall — reapers in a field, the image on half of Yaroslavl’s postcards. Look for it first. - **The giant saints on the pillars**, including the patron saints of the two merchant brothers. - **The gilded iconostasis of 1696**, with many icons attributed to Fyodor Zubov. - **The royal and patriarchal seats** — carved canopies rarely found in a parish church. - **The Robe chapel and the painted galleries** from the early 18th century. - **The glazed tiles outside**, around windows and drums, restored to old patterns. > **What to wear** During museum hours there’s no strict dress code, but it’s still a church: cover shoulders and knees, and men should take off hats. On service days women usually wear a headscarf and a skirt or long trousers. ## How to get to the Church of Elijah the Prophet 1. The address is **7 Sovetskaya Square** (Sovetskaya Ploshchad), right in the old centre. Search “Church of Elijah the Prophet” or “Tserkov Ilyi Proroka” in a map app. 2. From the [Volga Embankment](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-volga-embankment): about 5 minutes on foot, up from the Governor’s Garden. 3. From the [Yaroslavl Kremlin](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-kremlin) on Bogoyavlenskaya Square: about 10 minutes on foot. 4. By trolleybus or bus, get off at **Krasnaya Ploshchad** or **Ploshchad Volkova**, then walk 5–10 minutes. Trolleybus 1 runs from **Yaroslavl-Glavny** station to Krasnaya Ploshchad — check the number in a map app. 5. From the river station (Rechnoy Vokzal): about 15 minutes on foot along the Volga. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] My dates fall between 1 May and 21 October - [ ] No rain in the forecast - [ ] I’ll be there before 18:00 - [ ] Roubles in cash or a Russian card - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered - [ ] Phone flash switched off ## Church of Elijah vs Yaroslavl Kremlin vs Assumption Cathedral | | Church of Elijah the Prophet | Yaroslavl Kremlin | Assumption Cathedral | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Highlight | 1680 frescoes and iconostasis | 1516 cathedral, bell tower, exhibitions | New cathedral at the Strelka | | Where | Sovetskaya Square, centre | Bogoyavlenskaya Square, 10 min walk | Strelka, 10–15 min walk | | Entry | Paid, desk at the church | Grounds 100 ₽, extras separate | Free | | Open | 1 May – 21 October, not in rain | Year-round; cathedral May–September | Year-round | | Time needed | 40–45 min | 1–2 h | 20–30 min | For old painting, pick the Church of Elijah — it’s the most complete interior in town. Go to the Kremlin for the bell-tower view. The Assumption Cathedral is new; drop in on your way to the Strelka. ## Yaroslavl churches compared Churches and monasteries in Yaroslavl rated by YesGo. - [Assumption Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-assumption-cathedral) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [Church of Elijah the Prophet](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/church-of-elijah-the-prophet) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · ≈ 200–250 ₽, May to October - [Metropolitan's Chambers](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/metropolitans-chambers) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 200 ₽, concessions 100 ₽ - [Church of St John the Baptist at Tolchkovo](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/st-john-the-baptist-tolchkovo) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Outside free, interior closed - [Tolga Convent](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/tolga-convent) — YesGo score 40/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free entry - [Yaroslavl Kremlin (Transfiguration Monastery)](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-kremlin) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Grounds 100 ₽, combined ticket 800 ₽ ## The old centre in half a day Start at the Kremlin, walk to the Church of Elijah, come out on the Volga by the Governor’s House and follow the embankment down to the Strelka. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and walks. 1. [Yaroslavl Kremlin (Transfiguration Monastery)](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-kremlin) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Grounds 100 ₽, combined ticket 800 ₽ 2. [Church of Elijah the Prophet](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/church-of-elijah-the-prophet) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · ≈ 200–250 ₽, May to October 3. [Governor's House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-governors-house) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · 300 ₽, everything 750 ₽ 4. [Volga Embankment](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-volga-embankment) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · Free, open 24/7 5. [Strelka Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-strelka) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free ## Good to know There are many churches of Elijah the Prophet in Russia, including two well-known ones in Moscow; service schedules you find online are often for them. Older guides give longer hours or a season ending in September — the museum’s current schedule is 9:00–18:00, 1 May to 21 October. ## Tips - Arrive at 9:00: it’s quieter, and you can study the walls without a crowd. - Look up — the busiest scenes are high on the walls and vaults. A phone zoom helps; keep the flash off. - Without a story the frescoes blur into a colourful carpet. A guided tour, or ten minutes reading about Elijah and Elisha beforehand, makes them legible. - If it rains in the morning, swap the order: do the Kremlin first and come back later. - Afterwards it’s 5 minutes to the Volga Embankment and the [Governor’s House](https://yesgo.io/russia/yaroslavl/yaroslavl-governors-house). - Museum tours are in Russian; for English, book a private guide in advance. ## Questions ### How much is a ticket to the Church of Elijah the Prophet? Entry is paid at the desk by the church. The museum doesn’t publish the current price; guides quote about 200–250 ₽ for adults. Children under 7 are free. ### What are the opening hours? Daily 9:00–18:00 from 1 May to 21 October. It closes on rainy days and for the whole winter, from 22 October to 1 May. ### Can you visit in winter? Only from the outside. The church closes from 22 October to 1 May to protect the frescoes. ### Is it worth visiting? Yes, in season — it has one of the most complete 17th-century painted interiors in Russia. Out of season it’s a quick photo stop. ### How long do you need? 40–45 minutes for the frescoes, iconostasis and side chapel; about an hour with a guide. ### Who painted the frescoes? A team of 15 artists led by Gury Nikitin and Sila Savin from Kostroma, in summer 1680. ### When was the church built? In 1647–1650, paid for by the merchant brothers Vonifaty and Ioanniky Skripin. ### Can I take photos inside? Guides say yes, without flash. Whether there’s a photo fee isn’t published — ask at the desk. ### Is it still a working church? Partly. It’s a museum shared with the diocese, and services are held on some summer feast days, notably St Elijah’s Day on 2 August. ## How we checked Hours, the season (closed 22 October – 1 May), rainy-day closures, the ticket desk, the phone number, museum tours and the under-7 rule come from the official museum-reserve website on 30.10.2026. The site’s price field for the church is empty, so we quote the 200–250 ₽ range from guides and mark it “verifying”. Other sources give a different season (to 30 September or early October) and longer hours (to 19:30 or 21:00); we follow the museum. The combined ticket’s list of sites doesn’t include the church. Photo and dress rules come only from guides. History is checked against the museum website and Russian Wikipedia; the 1696 iconostasis date is the museum’s. There is no English Wikipedia article. Walking times are our estimate from the map; the trolleybus number from the station is worth checking. ## Sources - Official website of the Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve: Church of Elijah the Prophet; opening hours, prices and concessions; combined ticket; guided tour in the Church of Elijah the Prophet — 30.10.2026 - Russian Wikipedia: Church of Elijah the Prophet (Yaroslavl); Wikidata Q4177920 - UNESCO World Heritage List: Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl, No. 1170, 2005 - Tripster journal: “Church of Elijah the Prophet” - Rusmania guide: St Elijah the Prophet’s Church - Putevka guide; RUSSPASS - Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022 --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.