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St. Nicholas the Epiphany Cathedral: photo, description, architect, address, schedule of services

The St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral in St. Petersburg is deservedly considered one of the most outstanding monuments of Elizabethan baroque. Built in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra, who is the patron saint of all the floating and traveling, he has for many years been the place of spiritual nourishment for Russian sailors.

Petersburg Sea Suburb

It is well known that the life of St. Petersburg is inextricably linked with the sea, and it began around the Admiralty Shipyard, built in 1704. Near it was located in those years Sea settlement - a settlement that consisted mainly of one-story stone barracks, in which lived those whose hands and created the Russian fleet. The memory of them remained in the names - Kanonerskaya street and the same alley. Gunners were called cannoners in Peter's times.

In addition, the cathedral erected here, referred to in this article, also gave its name to the square on which it is located, the market, the alley, the two bridges, and the street bearing Glinka's name today.

As is evident from archival documents, the choice of the place where the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Epiphany rose later was determined not only by the availability of free space, but also by the proximity of the waterways, such as the Kryukov and the Catherine's canals, as well as the Fontanka River.

The predecessors of the present temple

With the purpose of spiritual nourishment of those who served in the Maritime Department, several churches were built near the Admiralty Shipyard. At the place where the Nicholas-Epiphany Sea Cathedral now stands, there was a chapel, also consecrated in honor of the heavenly patron of seafarers and travelers. From the memoirs of contemporaries it is known that she was remarkable for her extraordinary wealth of furniture, but could not accommodate all comers.

Encouraged by the numerous requests of the parishioners, the Holy Synod decided to erect a wooden church in its place, also dedicated to the heavenly patron of the fleet, but to make it much larger, which was executed in 1743. In it were transferred from the former chapel of the icon, church utensils and everything that represented any value. The parish community of the new church was very numerous. According to the surviving documents, its members were 3396 public employees and craftsmen, not counting women and children.

The beginning of the erection of the stone church

However, the construction of the wooden church was only a half-measure. Fascinated by its glory, the Russian fleet demanded a more worthy temple for its heavenly patron, and in 1752 Prince Michael Golitsyn, president of the Adiralty College, applied to the highest name for the petition for the erection of a new stone cathedral.

All costs were planned to be covered from the funds of the Maritime Department, as well as from voluntary donations from citizens. In his address to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the prince emphasized that the construction of the cathedral would be a worthy retribution for the memory of the "glorious victories of the Russian fleet." Empress Elizabeth Petrovna did not hesitate to give her consent, after which works were started.

The architect who created the project of the cathedral

The St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral, the photo of which is presented in the article, was built by St. Petersburg architect Savva Ivanovich Chevakinsky. As a model of the future building, the architect was recommended to use the cathedral, previously built in Astrakhan, and his favorite features of Peter I during his visit to this Lower Volga city. It is known that the Emperor intended to build the same in St. Petersburg, but the sudden death, which followed in 1725, prevented the implementation of his plans.

Chevakinsky was forced to agree, but in the end the similarity of the two churches was limited only to their five-headed, which for St. Petersburg in those years was a rarity. The fact is that for a long time already all the temple buildings in it were erected on the model of a famous cathedral located on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress, that is, single-headed and crowned with a bell tower with a spire. Thus, creating the St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral, the architect made a significant step towards returning to the Russian Orthodox tradition.

Cathedral, which is not afraid of floods

The architect submitted his first project to the highest approval in the spring of 1752, but soon received it for revision, since the drawing of the drawings did not take into account the possibility of floods, so frequent in the northern capital. After proper processing, which took a year, the project was finally approved in the form in which the cathedral survived to the present day.

In its new version, its building was raised so that the floor was higher than the level, which in moments of natural disaster reaches the Neva water. In accordance with this, the general proportions of the cathedral were also considered. Separately from it in the period from 1755 to 1758 was built a bell tower, according to the St. Petersburg tradition, crowned with a high spire.

Nicholas the Epiphany Cathedral: description

This one of the largest cathedrals of St. Petersburg accommodates five thousand people at the same time. Its building has a cross-shaped plan in the plan and is richly decorated with Corinthian columns, stucco moldings, and also balconies with wrought iron gratings.

According to the project of SI Chevakinsky, the building of the cathedral was built in two floors. The vaults of the rooms have the shape of an equilateral cross. The upper church was consecrated in honor of the Epiphany. The solemn ceremony was held July 26, 1762 Archbishop Sylvester (Kulyabka) in the presence of Empress Catherine II, who visited the St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral. His lower church, as was originally conceived, was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Icons of the cathedral and decorative carvings

Particular attention should be paid to the iconostases of both churches, made in the 18th century by the outstanding craftsmen, SP Nikulin and IF Kanaev. Also interesting are the icons, the creation of which was entrusted to the best St. Petersburg icon painter of those years, Fedot Lukich Kolokolnikov, and also to his two brothers - Ivan and Mine.

It should be noted, by the way, that the sketches of both iconostases were designed by the architect of the cathedral, SI Chevakinsky. He was also engaged in drawing up a list of icons necessary for them. In addition to the works of these masters, the cathedral presents a unique icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with particles of his relics, made in the XVII century. It is the main cathedral shrine.

Memorial obelisk and charitable institutions of the cathedral

Everyone who comes to the St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral involuntarily draws attention to a strict obelisk hanging in his garden. It was installed in 1908 in memory of the crew of the battleship Alexander III, who died heroically in the Battle of Tsushima, which was one of the tragic pages of the Russo-Japanese War.

The sketch of the obelisk was created by one of the participants of those events - Colonel, Prince MS Putyatin. In the pre-revolutionary period, the cathedral opened a hospital for the poor, as well as a women's shelter-almshouse and a charity with a free school.

Cathedral in the Soviet and post-Soviet years

In the years following the October coup, the St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral, whose address: Nikolskaya Square 1/3, unlike many other city churches, was not closed, and in the period from 1941 to 1999 even had the status of a cathedral. In the premises arranged on the choir, in those years lived the Metropolitans of Leningrad - Alexis (Simansky), who later occupied the patriarchal throne, as well as Grigory (Chukov).

In April 2009, after Metropolitan Volodymyr (Kotlyarov) was re-consecrated the upper church, it returned many of the previously confiscated shrines, among which a special place is occupied by the ancient icons made by the painters Kolokolnikov (they were discussed above), as well as the ark with Particles of many Orthodox saints.

Since the St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral (St. Petersburg) was originally built as a tribute to the memory of the heroes of the Russian fleet, even today these traditions have found their continuation. Confirmation of this can serve as installed in the upper church memorial plaques with the names of dozens of submariners killed in the performance of their duty. Among them was the crew of the Komsomolets submarine, which sank in April 1989 in the Norwegian Sea, as well as the Kursk nuclear submarine, which was killed in 2000. In the days of commemoration, requiems for them and all sailors of the Russian fleet, who gave their lives for their homeland, are served in the cathedral.

Services held in the cathedral

Today, when Russia after long decades of total atheism again rushed to its spiritual sources, among other St. Petersburg shrines gained its worthy place and the St. Nicholas Epiphany Cathedral. The schedule of divine services held in it testifies to the completeness and richness of his religious life.

Two liturgies are held daily: early, at 7:00 and late, at 10:00. Each of them is preceded by a confession that starts 15 minutes before the specified time. In addition, at 8:45 and at 12:00, prayer services are held, and at 18:00 - evening worship. The rest of the time, as necessary, is filled with all sorts of trebs.

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