Molokan Center, Kochubeevskoe,
Stavropol'skii krai, Russian Federation — 1997

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Location of the 200th Anniversary Celebration of Freedom of Religon for Molokans — 1805-2005

  New Center: Union of Spiritual Christians — Molokans
The world-wide Molokan Center was built near the city of Stavropol', in the town of Kochubeevskoe.
The building was modeled after the 2-story Molokan Church building in San Francisco, California
from plans drawn by architect Peter Kostrikin, assistant presbyter in SF (who died Aug 2005).  

View from top of nearby apartment.
Workshops are on left, caretaker's
home is in front of church. Dotted line
in background is the highway bridge railing.


The woodshop is the long building in the left foreground, and the brick factory is on the right. The toilet building is behind the left edge of the woodshop. Many large homes are being built behind the church in this new suburb served by the Molokan construction supply business.


View from top of wall between workshops looking north. Upstairs, the assembly hall is on the right
side, classrooms on the left.

Click to ENLARGEMaps: Kochubeevskoe is
about 20 miles south of the city of Stavropol'. 8 nearby Molokan / Jumper congregations are shown  underlined. Click here to see an aerial photo showing the exact location of the Center at the north end of town. 100s of family gardens — dachas — can be seen south of town, each about 600 square meters — 1/6 acre.

Sign at top of stairs, center entry.
Looking north-east.

Looking east at head presbyter Vasili Tim. Schetinkin in main hall. Pipes along the wall are for winter heating.
Looking south-west, from opposite corner of above. The brown pipes are for natural gas,
which are often above ground.
  Open-House Ceremonies — August 1997

Note the camera man at center-left,
video-taping the entire event.
A dozen presbyters lined the head table
with the city and province leaders. 


The Kochubeevskoe congregation offers
their prayer of thanks. Most in the front
row are wearing clothes donated by
American-Molokans.
Starting 3rd from left: American Elder
Presbyter Fred Kappsof from San Francisco,
Stavropol' administrator, then Elder
Pete Wm. Loskutoff also from San Francisco. 

Head presbyter Schetinkin and family
ask for forgiveness and blessings.
Final prayer with all presbyters.
   Day After Open-House — August 1997
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Guest presbyter Fred Kappsof
from San Francisco speaking on
Sunday after the open house.
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Guests from California at Sunday meal.
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Youth on steps. The older girls, wearing scarfs, were helping cleanup (below). 		Click to ENLARGE
Guests who wanted their photo taken for you to see.3 presbyters are seated in the center row.
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Girls (above) washing mop rags outside.
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Elder presbyter Kharitonov and wife from Melitopol, Zaparozhe province, Ukraine. He helped host the 1992 International Molokan Convention.
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Samovars fired with scraps in front of woodshop. 		Click to ENLARGE
Large pot for soup on the "outdoor" stove.
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Decoration wall towels in basement church, also seen above.
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Looking south. Caretaker family lives in this house at the Center to guard church and shops. Brick factory is in back.
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Woodshop interior. Here all the church doors, windows, stairs and floor planks were made with table saws, lathes and hand tools. The shop sells finished lumber and wood items to the public, providing a few jobs for Molokan refugees. 		Click to ENLARGE
Brick factory interior. Here bricks to build the shops, house and church were made. Cement is mixed, poured into the form (front) and vibrated. The form is pulled outside where the wet bricks are dropped on a slab (below) to cure. The factory sells rough brick to the public, providing a few jobs for Molokan refugees.

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Looking east. Customer picking up bricks on drying slab. Caretaker house on left, factory on right. Many buildings are made with large reinforced concrete slabs (behind tractor) which are positioned and welded together.
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