The old village ("selo") of Chelmuzhi, a record of which was mentioned in so-called scribe books ("pistsovye knigi") of XV century, is located on the east coast of Povenetsky Bay of Lake Onego, in Zaonezhje. From time immemorial people settled in this picturesque place, rich in woods, furry animals and fishy lakes. Archeologists discovered several sites of primordial man, one of which was found near Chelmyzhsky pogost (district or parish) in the beginning of XX century.
In XI-XII centuries active colonization of Zaonezhye was started by enterprising Novgorodians. At that time the main trade route was based over Lake Onego from Novgorod the Great (Veliky Novgorod) to northeast, Zavolochye. Settlements and pogosts (districts or parishes) sprang up along the route.
Novgorodians were famous as skillful masters-carpenters. On new lands peasants put up "izba" (peasants’ log houses), granaries, "banya" (bath-houses) made of perfect close-grained pines grown in dry pineries. Simultaneously almost in every village the chapels ("chasovnya") and churches ("tserkov") in larger settlements, centers of pogosts were built. Different districts developed their own favourite architectural design solutions of churches, which were fixed by tradition later.
Bogoyavlenskay church (Christ, Epiphany) is one of them.
Besides, there were some archeological finds in the territory of the village: bronze and silver pieces of jewellery, western European coins of X-XII centuries.
