The Church of St Procopius

Two more buildings located near the St Nicholas cathedral - the Church of the Holy Women (1508 - 1511) and the Church of St Procopius (1529) - were erected on the sites of the wooden churches that were destroyed by the fire of 1508. They furnish a clue to the changes that took place in Novgorodian architecture after the city's unification with Moscow. It is worth mentioning that the construction of both was financed by the Moscow merchant Ivan Syrkov (the Church of the Holy Women) and his son Dmitry (St Procopius). The Syrkovs were among the fairly great number of families that settled in Novgorod by order of Ivan III to replace the deported boyars and merchants suspected of anti-Moscow sentiments.

St Procopius was undoubtedly modeled on the Church of the Holy Women and repeated, its composition and inner structure. The building is notable for its well-thought-out proportions and clear-cut, seemingly weightless drum.