Church of St. Elijah in the town of Teleneşti (from the time of foundation until the beginning of 20th century)

The first information about the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah in the town of Teleneşti is contained in the cen- sus of the Bessarabian churches, which was made during 1812-1813. The church was made of wood, with walls of interwoven twigs daubed with clay from the inside and the outside covered with fir planks. It had the shingle roof and was surrounded by the stockade. The belfry was built on four pillars and stood apart from the church. Over time, the old wooden church began to crumble; besides, it was not spacious enough. Therefore, in 1833 they start to build a stone church, which was opened in 1842. The new church was plastered, painted and covered with sheet iron. In 1899 and 1901 it was renovated. The church was built and maintained at the expense of landlord Feodosiu and his family, as well as due the contributions of residents of the town of Teleneşti. During the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah there served the following priests: Constantin Vasilovici, Teodor Băluţă, Ignatie Băluţă, Teodor Sechezliu, Vasile Băluţă, Pavel Coşleacov, Ioan Ioniţă, Andrei Timoşevschi, Constantin Băluţă, Ioan Chirilov, Iacob Samsonov, etc.