The Church of St. John of Sochavsky was founded around the 14th century. The church acquired its modern look in the 19th and 20th centuries. The church was built in the rarest Byzantine style. This is almost the only temple in Bessarabia, which was built in this style. There is a source of purest holy water inside the structure. Initially, a chapel was built of whitewashed stone; inside there was an icon of the Holy Great Martyr George.
Legends
The architectural monument is shrouded in secrets and legends that were passed from mouth to mouth and have survived to this day. One of these legends says that a girl from a simple peasant family once lived in these places. She was distinguished by unprecedented beauty. The Turkish khan became embarrassed at her, wanted to take her as a concubine. He sent his janissaries after her and imprisoned her in the fortress. With the help of local residents, she escaped. Khan sent his soldiers to find and return her.
For a long time she wandered through the fields and meadows, crying and asking God for intercession. Khan's warriors found her sitting on a stone in prayers to the Creator. God heard her petitions, the earth parted and took her into itself, and in that place a source of the purest water began to beat. The janissaries overtaking it turned into stones, of which there were many around the spring a century ago. The girl's name was Praskovya, many still call the spring "Praskovya marten".
Another legend tells that a merchant from the once glorious city of Trebizond was tortured to death at the site of today's spring. Born and raised in a family of a merchant and a Christian, around 1300. While doing business with his father, he was faithful to Orthodoxy, had mercy for poor people, was honest and reasonable.
In ancient times, Tatars-idolaters ruled in the city of Belgorod, and John went there with his goods across the Black Sea. Acquainted, during the trip, with one of the Venetian merchants, John talked and argued praising his faith and Christ. Feeling weaker in the argument, Reis harbored an evil against John. Arriving in the city, he announced to the local nobility that the Trebizond wanted and was ready to renounce Orthodoxy. John was invited by the mayor to join Islam. The invitation was said with humiliation for true adherents of Christianity. Through the prayers of John, the Lord gave him courage and strength not to break in the claims of the Gentiles and to be faithful to the Lord God.
After the refusal, he was severely beaten with clubs. But the martyr did not stop praying even when his body began to fly apart in pieces. He was grateful to the Creator for allowing him to shed blood for him, atoning for his sins. After severe beatings, John was chained and dragged into prison. The next morning the mayor went to the martyr in the hope that he would break down and betray Christ. But the great martyr greeted him with a smile on his face. The mayor received a second refusal to abdicate.
John was publicly beaten so that his entrails were exposed. People, unable to withstand the bullying, began to shout and resent the inhumanity of the rulers. Then he was tied with his feet to the tail of a wild horse, which was launched through the city. The Jewish residents of the city did not stop mocking, throwing stones at the saint, and finally one of the Jews took pity and cut off his head with a sword. At that time, John was thirty years old.
They say that it was from this source that the great martyr took water to drink. The source was named after St. John of Sochavsky.
Church today
Today, church services and prayers are held in the temple. Thousands of pilgrims go to swim and improve their health in the font, to collect the purest water. Once a well was installed in the underground, people went down and collected water with buckets. But unfortunately, one of the negligent workers poured technical oil into it and it was spoiled. Therefore, today the water rises to the top with a pump, each of the parishioners can collect as much as they need.