St. Nicholas Cathedral in Omsk - the oldest church in the city. In addition, it is the only regimental church that was preserved in this settlement after the Great October Revolution.
This temple is also called St. Nicholas Cossack Cathedral. It was indeed built with funds raised by the service people of Omsk. It is no coincidence that the square opposite the Cossack military school was chosen as the place for its construction. Today this institution is called the Omsk Cadet Corps.
Construction history
Cossacks, as you know, were the first patrons and explorers of Siberia. They were engaged in missionary activities among the indigenous peoples of this region. Therefore, it is not surprising that in Omsk there is a temple, which is popularly called in their honor (Cossack). Not a single local resident, even one who is far from the Orthodox religion, can imagine his city without this majestic building.
As for the Cossacks, even today they revere St. Nicholas Cathedral, calling it theirs. Not a single major official event is complete without a church service.event held by the Omsk Cossacks.
The very history of this Siberian military estate went hand in hand with the events associated with this temple.
Nikolsky Cathedral opened in 1842, and five years later the Siberian Line Cossack Army was created. The official ceremony on this occasion was opened with a church service in this temple.
Soviet times
The revolution was marked by a sad turn of events both for the Omsk Cossacks and for its main temple. In 1919, after a prayer service, an emergency circle (meeting) took place in this cathedral, at which the fate of the glorious Siberian army was decided. For a long seven decades, the Omsk Cossacks ceased to exist. Nikolsky Cathedral stood for the same amount without church services.
In the late twenties, the city authorities decided to transfer the building to the Ministry of Culture. The bell tower of the temple was destroyed, and the bells were sent for melting down. Over the next few years, a cultural and leisure institution, the Stroitel club, was located here. Then, within the walls of the temple, there was a department of culture. A children's music school and a cinema added to the list of organizations that were here during the Soviet era. By the early 1960s, the cathedral, which had stood without repairs for many years, was in disrepair.
In 1960, the city authorities decided to demolish the temple. The church could suffer the sad fate of many other religious buildings destroyed inSoviet time. So, the city council at one time ordered the liquidation of the Assumption Cathedral, which was considered the main one in pre-revolutionary Omsk. It is known that it was restored only in 2007. Not only churches were mercilessly destroyed, but also other buildings and architectural structures that could rightfully be classified as architectural monuments.
Thus, in the sixties in Omsk the Tara Gates were demolished. And only thanks to the caring people who kept the bricks from this building, one of the main attractions of the city was recreated after a few decades.
But when the question arose about the demolition of St. Nicholas Cathedral, representatives of the city's intelligentsia and other sectors of society expressed their protest. Their bold and decisive actions prevented the destruction of this integral part of the historical center of the city of Omsk. The decree on the demolition of St. Nicholas Cathedral was canceled. But restoration work was not carried out in it either. During the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, the building was in disrepair.
The long-awaited restoration
In the late seventies, the long-awaited renovation of St. Nicholas Cathedral began.
After restoration, its building was given over to an organ hall. Here is located a one-of-a-kind instrument, and today it is considered one of the best in Russia.
Return of the temple of the Orthodox Church
When Archbishop Theodosius ascended the Omsk Patriarchal Throne at the end of the 1980s, Vladyka immediately drew attention to the majestic cathedral in the verydowntown.
In 1992, the temple was transferred to the joint ownership of the Ministry of Culture and the Russian Orthodox Church. For the first time in many decades, divine services were resumed in it. But at the same time, St. Nicholas Cathedral in Omsk continued to be used as an organ hall. And only in the mid-nineties another room was found for the organ. It was moved to the building of the former cinema "Artistic".
Omsk Cossacks were also revived in 1992. Its representatives today, as in the old days, consider this temple theirs.
Description of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Omsk
The temple was built in the Russian Empire style. It contains three thrones, the main of which is dedicated to Nicholas the Wonderworker, one of the most revered saints in Russia.
A large mixed choir, that is, consisting of singers of both sexes, sings at divine services in the temple. It was created in the nineties of the last century simultaneously with the return of the Nikolsky Cossack Cathedral to the Orthodox Church. During this time, this musical group has changed several leaders (regents).
For a large number of singers who have ever been members of the large choir of St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Omsk, work in it has become not only a good school of vocal performance, but also a path to the Orthodox faith. It often happened that the choristers, having thought about the meaning of the texts of the chants, came to a better understanding of them. And along with this, their faith in the Lord God was strengthened.
In the cathedral alsothere is another choir. It is called the small worker. This team serves to accompany the Omsk Metropolitan on his trips. His singing accompanies services held in orphanages, hospitals, schools and so on. It was created in the mid-nineties of the twentieth century by Bishop Theodosius, who himself taught its first members the art of church singing.
Information for parishioners
The temple to which this article is dedicated is located at the address: Omsk, st. Lenina, 27.
It is open to the public every day. The Nikolsky Cathedral in Omsk is open from 8:00 to 19:00.
