The tradition known asobydennye khramyrequires that the church be completed within the course of a single day.
These one-day votive churches were built by communal labor and were simple in design and small in size.
Construction usually began at night and ended before sunset of the following day.
By nightfall, the church had to be consecrated.
Made of wood, they stood no more than 40-50 years.
All of these churches owed their existence to some epidemic disease threatening the community.
Sometimes, the Tsar himself ordered one built.
The last knownobydennyi khramchurch was built in 1654 in Vologda.
Thanks to a detailed account, we know a lot about why and how it was built.
That year, a serious plague epidemic broke out across central Russia, killing people by the thousands.
Bodies littered the streets like cordwood, said a contemporary account.
Up to a dozen people had to share a single grave, and those were the fortunate ones.
Many went unburied, and their bodies lay in the streets to be devoured by dogs.
Then they vowed to build a church, promising to erect it within 24 hours.
On October 18, 1654, at precisely 1 A.M., the foundation for the church was laid.
Some took charge of the ground plans; others supervised the hauling of the wood.
Icons were borrowed from several nearby churches for the formal consecration the following day.
The new church was dedicated to the Savior.
This include the Spaso-Vsegradsky Cathedral in Vologdathe same one that was erected in 1654.
It was rebuilt in stone some thirty years later.
Lately, many orthodox communities have tried to revive the ancient tradition.
Previously, similar projects were undertaken in Kemerovo, Moscow, Minsk, Kiev and many others.
