Theodore's Cathedral in St. Petersburg

Long before the commemoration of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty that was celebrated in 1913, preparation for this significant event began throughout Russia. In St. Petersburg, it was decided to erect a commemorative cathedral, with its architectural appearance, reproducing the temples of the beginning of the XVII century, when the Russian throne was built by the sovereign Michael Fedorovich - the founder of the ruling dynasty. It was such a monument to the three centuries of Russian monarchy that the Cathedral of Theodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God became.

The project of the Monument Cathedral

To implement these plans, in 1909, under the auspices of the Grand Duke and brother of Emperor Nicholas II, Mikhail Alexandrovich, a special committee was established, headed by one of the prominent statesmen of those years, Major-General D. Ya. Dashkov.

The committee began its work by considering several dozen architectural projects sent to the capital from all parts of the country. The best was recognized the work of the St. Petersburg architect S. S. Krichinsky, who designed the Cathedral of Feodorov in the style of Nizhnevolzhsky temples of the 16th-17th centuries. His project was accepted for implementation.

Place for future construction

It should be noted that the choice of a place for the construction of the cathedral at the intersection of Mirgorod and Poltava streets was quite random. He was the result of vigorous actions of the rector of the Theodore Horodetsky Monastery, whose farmstead was located exactly on this territory. Wanting to expand the land plot that belonged to the farmstead, and at the same time to build a large and spacious temple on it at public expense, the abbot managed to persuade the members of the commission to the decision he needed.

Subsequently, the choice of the place where the Cathedral of St. Theodore was built was criticized by many high-ranking officials, and in particular the Moscow Governor-General VF Dzhunkovskiy, who declared that the temple, in his opinion, was built on the outskirts of the city.

With such a categorical statement, you can hardly agree. Located in the immediate vicinity of the Nikolayevsky railway station and the adjacent square of the same name, even at the beginning of the 20th century, when the city's boundaries were much narrower than at the present time, the building was near its historical center.

Bookmark the Cathedral

The solemn laying of the cathedral took place in early August 1911 in the presence of members of the reigning House and the trustee of the construction committee. The divine service accompanying this significant event was headed by the Archbishop of Volyn Anthony (Khrapovitsky).

According to an ancient tradition, at the end of the prayer service, all the honorable guests lowered the mortgage coins into pre-prepared grooves. As the newspapers of those years testify, the Grand Duke sacrificed for this solemn occasion a genuine coin of the times of the first sovereign, Mikhail Fedorovich.

Completion of construction and consecration of the cathedral

Despite the fact that in those old years such concepts of the Soviet era as "shock" and "Komsomol construction" had not yet become common, they worked nevertheless quickly and conscientiously. The gods were afraid, they knew - at the Last Judgment, strict negligence is strictly required. As a result, in less than two years, as the central head of the cathedral still under construction, it was crowned with a cross. This event, as well as the laying of the cathedral, was accompanied by a solemn moleben served by Antiochian Patriarch Gregory IV, who was at that time in St. Petersburg.

The Feodorovsky Cathedral (St. Petersburg) was completed one year later, when in the January days of 1914, in the presence of the emperor, members of his family and high state dignitaries, the main chapel of his upper church was consecrated. With him, the parish was created, to which the Nikolayevsky railway station with all its institutions and services was referred. Simultaneously, the Cathedral of St. Theodore was part of the monastery of the Gorodets Monastery, established in honor of Theodore's icon of the Mother of God. It was this shrine that gave him his name.

Monument to the House of Romanovs

The cathedral, which became a monument to the epoch of the Romanov dynasty, was erected from reinforced concrete on the basis of a new technology for those times. The funds for its construction - half a million rubles, which was a huge sum for those times, were fully collected from the people's donations received from all over Russia. This, truly a national creation, in everyday life became known as the "Romanov Church."

The Cathedral of St. Theodore, a majestic structure forty-seven and a half meters high and crowned with a five-domed traditional for Russian temple architecture, accommodated more than three and a half thousand people at the same time. They could easily fit into the square of its interior, which was three hundred and sixty square meters.

The original architectural find was a wall adjoining the bell tower, and resembling the appearance of the wall of the Moscow Kremlin. According to the author's intention, it should symbolize the unity of the main Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow - the two capitals of the great empire.

Facade decoration of the cathedral

As is evident from the surviving documents, the Cathedral of the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God had a rich decorative finish outside, made in the technique of mosaic and majolica. In particular, a majolica panel depicting the Most-holy Mother of God, spreading her Pokrov over the reigning House of Romanovs, was located on the northern facade facing Mirgorodskaya Street and covered with white vintage stone.

On the same wall one could see the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God, as well as a tree with portraits of the kings of the last three centuries. Both these compositions were performed in mosaic technique. The domes of the church were made of gilded copper and, in rare sunny days for St. Petersburg, shone with unbearable brilliance.

Cathedral in the hands of the Renovationists

After the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, despite their godless politics, the Cathedral of St. Theodore (St. Petersburg) as a parish church, remained active for another fifteen years. Since the monastery compound on whose territory it was located was abolished in 1920, its inhabitants - one monk, four hierodeacons and six hieromonks - were forced to move to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where a monastic brotherhood was established at that time.

The cathedral itself up to its closing was in the hands of the Renovationists - followers of the schismatic current in the Russian Orthodox Church, supported for some time by the Bolsheviks. For the sake of justice, it should be noted that during this entire period, a Sunday school operated in its walls, in which children from six to fifteen years of age studied.

The temple turned into a dairy

In 1932, on the basis of the resolution of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council, the Cathedral of Theodore of Our Lady was closed, and its premise was transferred to the disposal of a nearby dairy. Having thus given preference to bodily food before the spiritual, the inhabitants of the city lost an outstanding monument of their three-century history.

Turning the temple of God into a manufacturing enterprise, the local authorities completely rebuilt and its internal premises. They were also demolished so dignified once the eyes of St. Petersburg dome. Leningraders of the older generation apparently remember this disfigured building with ridiculously rising drums on the roof, hurriedly demolished in 1970, on the eve of the expected visit of US President Richard Nixon to Leningrad.

New times - new developments

In the years of perestroika, when yesterday's fighters with a religious dope suddenly saw the light and began to baptize in front of the camera lenses, the Cathedral of the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God, or rather, what was left of him, was returned to the bosom of the Church. There was a lot of work to restore it. After decades of domination of the godless power from the former temple, only walls that had been perspicaciously erected by the pre-revolutionary architect SS Krichinsky from the new reinforced concrete, which was new for those times, remained unharmed.

As in the old days for the construction of the temple, and now for its restoration was established a board of trustees, which included representatives of the leadership of a new democratic state.

The second birth of the cathedral

The work began in 2005, and was completed in eight years. To the four hundredth anniversary of the Romanovs' house Feodorovsky "sovereign of the cathedral" gained his second birth. The reign of the great sanctification of the three thrones of his upper church was performed on September 14, 2013 by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Among the guests of honor were: Minister of Culture of Russia VR Medinsky, BV Gryzlov, as well as Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation V. I. Matvienko.

Currently, there are two temples inside the cathedral - the lower one, dedicated to the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky and executed in the style of Russian churches of the 13th century, as well as the upper one, stylized in the spirit of the beginning of the 17th century - the period of the reign of the first Romanov dynasty. This solution of temple interiors is not a fantasy of restorers, but fully corresponds to the creative idea of the architect, which realized it a century ago. The Cathedral of St. Theodore (St. Petersburg) once again assumed its original appearance.

Cathedral returned to people

After all the restoration works were completed, the same services were started in the cathedral as in other churches in Russia. In addition, here, in conjunction with the most active members of the community, extensive educational work is carried out among children and adults.

A Sunday school was opened, as well as catechetical courses for those wishing to receive holy baptism and everyone who wants to get to know the religion of their fathers. The parish also provides assistance to people who suffer from alcohol and drug addiction.