Intercession Cathedral of Barnaul - a shrine of the Altai Territory

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

There is hardly a single inhabitant of not only Barnaul, but of the entire Altai Territory, who does not know the Pokrovsky Cathedral. Having survived long decades of atheism and theomachism, it has always remained an invincible stronghold of Orthodoxy and a spiritual support for millions of Russians. Restored in all its grandeur, today it has again taken a prominent place among the religious centers of the country.

Spiritual center of the working outskirts

In the middle of the 19th century, from the land-poor Russian provinces, an active resettlement of residents began in the Altai Territory, rich in undeveloped expanses. Many of them settled in Barnaul and settled on its western outskirts, which was called the Hare Sloboda. The Cathedral of the Intercession in Barnaul did not yet exist, and numerous settlers took their meals in a small wooden church.

In 1863, it was dismantled, and a new church was erected on the vacant site from bricks produced by a local factory. However, by the end of the century, even it turned out to be insufficiently spacious for a significantly expanded area. With the initiative to build a more spaciousparishioners themselves spoke out, and thanks to their tireless labors, the present-day Intercession Cathedral in Barnaul was built in 1904.

Temple, which became the decoration and pride of the city

All work was carried out with funds donated by the townspeople, among which local merchants showed special generosity. The newly built cathedral, which soon received the status of a cathedral, became one of the leading religious centers of the diocese and was an outstanding work of temple architecture.

His project was designed in the then fashionable pseudo-Russian, or, as it is also called, Byzantine style, with five domes characteristic in such cases. Built of red brick, with crosses shining in the sun, Barnaul's Pokrovsky Cathedral contrasted sharply with the dull buildings of the working-class district that surrounded it.

The temple is a victim of the theomachist policy

The painting of the interior of the cathedral was made much later, in 1918-1928. Despite the fact that by that time the Bolsheviks had seized power in the country, the cathedral remained active until the end of the thirties, and the local Barnaul artist N. V. Shvarev managed to create in it a significant number of outstanding paintings on religious themes.

He drew subjects for his frescoes from the paintings of many famous Russian masters, whose names graced the history of Russian art. Some of the icons included in the iconostasis also belong to his brush.

Pokrovsky Cathedral inBarnaul was closed as a result of a large-scale anti-religious campaign in 1939. The bell tower was demolished, and crosses were thrown to the ground from the domes. This act of vandalism is presented in the photo included in the article. However, the building itself survived, and for the next five years the desecrated, but, fortunately, undestroyed Cathedral of the Intercession of Barnaul was used as a storage room.

The renaissance that began during the war years

It is well known that during the war years, in order to raise the patriotic spirit of the population and for its closer unity in the fight against the enemy, the government decided to open a number of Orthodox churches previously taken from the Church. Among them was the Intercession Cathedral in Barnaul, which was returned to believers in 1943. From that time on, his slow but consistent recovery began.

It should be noted that from the end of the war until the mid-eighties, there were hardly three or four functioning churches in the entire Altai Territory. This circumstance determined the role of the Intercession Cathedral as a leading spiritual center. Believers from a vast territory came to it, and all services were held, as a rule, in a crowded room.

The cathedral that became a national shrine

Today, when parish churches are open in almost all regional centers, the inhabitants of the region consider it their sacred duty to visit it every time they find themselves in Barnaul due to certain circumstances. Tribute to the memory of previous years and deep reverence for those stored inits shrines make them visit the Intercession Cathedral (Barnaul) again and again. Its address (137 Nikitin St.) is also well known to those who, having not yet joined religion, are interested in the past of their city and its cultural and historical heritage.