The capsule with the episcopal letter was laid on July 1 in the foundation of the future church-chapel of Archangel Michael on the territory of the Obukhov plant. The prayer service for the beginning of the good deed was performed by Bishop Veniamin of Kronstadt, vicar of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, co-served by the rector, Hieromonk Leonid (Mankov), and the brethren of the monastery. Vladyka sprinkled the capsule with holy water and laid it in the foundation.
The management and employees of the Obukhov plant were present.
"A new page is opening in the history of the Obukhov Plant," said Vladyka. - The plant's contribution to the development of the country's defense capability and military might cannot be overestimated. I recall the words of Emperor Alexander III that Russia has only two allies - the army and the navy. For them to be strong, we need people who will support them in the rear. And without spiritual support, faith, such work is impossible. Therefore, we are glad that there will be a temple here, where employees and everyone can come for spiritual support and comfort. So that, as they strengthen their faith, they work well for the benefit of the state."
Mikhail Podvyaznikov, General Director of the Obukhov Plant, said that it is impossible to build a future if you do not remember and preserve your history. He recalled that there had once been a church of St. Paul the Apostle here. It was destroyed, and last year the management and staff decided to correct this injustice. It is not yet possible to restore the historical temple, so a small chapel will be built. The construction of the shrine is funded by donations from the plant's employees and caring people. You can purchase personalized bricks on the website of the Construction Assistance Fund. The names of the donors will be recorded in a book, which will be kept in the museum of the plant. 

The first nominal bricks were laid immediately after the ceremony. One of them is named after Vladyka Benjamin. A copy of the bishop's letter was transferred to the museum of the plant.

Hieromonk Leonid (Mankov) said that the decision to dedicate the church to Archangel Michael was made in connection with the core activities of the plant, because the company mainly carries out defense-industrial orders.

"The temple is being built by the whole world," Father Leonid said. - About ten thousand employees work at the plant, everyone can contribute, purchase a personalized brick, having received a certificate. The memory will be passed down from generation to generation, children and grandchildren will come to this temple and know that it is based on a piece of their family."

The church-chapel of Archangel Michael will be located next to the place where the church of St. Paul the Apostle was located in the XIX - XX centuries. It was founded by the care of Empress Maria Feodorovna in memory of Emperor Paul I. The church was built in 1804-1826 according to the project of Andreyan Zakharov for the workers of the Alexander manufactory and housed 1,500 parishioners. Externally, the church, built in the classical style, resembled the Trinity Izmailovsky Cathedral and had the same blue dome with golden stars. When the Alexander Manufactory was closed, the Pavlovsk parish church was repaired and transferred to the diocese, and from it to the factory built on the site of the manufactory by the famous metallurgist Pavel Obukhov. In 1928, the Pavlovsk Church was closed, and two years later it was demolished. On May 16, 2025, on the 162nd anniversary of the founding of the factory, the foundation stone of the chapel church was laid. 

IA "Living Water" / Photo: Andrey Pavlyuchenkov