The 10th century Church of John the Forerunner is the oldest land-based Christian church in Eastern Europe, which has survived and is still active today. According to legend, the temple is set on the place where the Apostle Andrew preached, who founded the first Christian community here. In 1999 archaeologists discovered here an ancient depiction of a Christian cross, dating from the end of the first to the beginning of the second century.
It is a small, graceful, Byzantine-style church with a single dome on a high drum. The massive walls are made of alternating bands of white stone blocks and red bricks. The vault of the temple rests on four dark grey marble columns, preserved from an older temple. A stone bell tower of the middle of the 19th century is attached to the western side.
In the 80s the church building was reconstructed. The author of the restoration project - architect E.I. Dopushinskaya. The church was restored to the lost appearance of the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture and by 1990 it became active again.
