Some Glimpses on Orthodox Monuments of the Upper Kuban Region

This article deals with the most ancient monuments of the cult architecture in the North Caucasus: Saintsky, Shoaninsky, temples and religious buildings of the Nizhne-Arkhyz hillfort. They represent typical examples of Byzantine (Lower Empire) architecture, confirm the powerful influence of Byzantium on the region under study. The temples were in oblivion for a long period of time. At the end of the 19 century the Saintsky temple was turned into a women's monastery, which is known now as the Savior-Transfiguration Women's Monastery. The nuns assisted local residents, at the beginning of the 20 century they provided shelter and food for the white Cossack officers. The inhabitants of the Shoanin temple used yew wood to make icons, household items, lining for guns, etc. The historico-archaeological complex of the Nizhne-Arkhyz hillfort, a kind of outpost of Byzantine influence, is unique for its preservation and scientific value and is referred to the era of the Middle Ages. At the end of the 19 century the St. Alexander Monastery of Athos was founded in the ancient temples of the site of the ancient settlement. The complex of temples of the Upper Kuban is made by architects of one of the architectural schools and testifies to the flourishing of Christianity in the 10-11 centuries on the described territory.