Churches of Tomsk - the history of the Orthodox life of the city

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

The formation of the city of Tomsk began back in 1604 with the construction of a fortress near the Tom River. Boris Godunov himself blessed the construction of the new city and sent an image of the Holy Trinity in honor of this. Construction of a new church began in the center of the future city of Tomsk. And from that moment, the Orthodox life of the townspeople begins to grow and develop. Numerous temples, chapels and churches are being built in Tomsk.

Holy Trinity Church

For more than 150 years, the consecrated building of the Trinity Church has been standing on Voskresenskaya Hill. It was erected and illuminated in 1844.

In the difficult forties of the last century, the rear churches were passed from hand to hand. First, in 1939, a garage was located there, and a little later, a bakery of a local bakery. After the end of the war, in 1945, the temple was returned to believers, and in February 1946 the church was re-consecrated. Restoration work in the Trinity Church of Tomsk was carried out at the expense of the parishioners. The church operates to this day, it worksSunday school and library.

Resurrection Church

Among the churches of Tomsk, this is one of the most ancient. It is practically the same age as the city. Initially, a wooden temple was built on the territory of the monastery in 1644. In 1789, the foundation of a new two-story church was laid. After the construction of the new building was completed, the old wooden church was burned and scattered to the wind, according to Orthodox custom. Like many churches in Tomsk, in the second half of the 30s of the last century, the temple was closed, and only in 1995 it was re-consecrated and Orthodox believers were able to attend services again.

Znamenskaya Church

The church is named after the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign". Initially, it was a simple wooden temple built in the 17th century. The construction of the stone temple began in 1784 at the expense of the nobility of the Kachalovs, descendants of Ivan Kachalov, who is considered the founder of the church. In 1935, the church was destroyed and rebuilt only in 1992 at the expense of parishioners.

Peter and Paul Church

On one of the hills descending to the floodplain of the Ushaika River, known to the locals as Mukhin Hillock, there used to be a cross and a chapel. Later, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was built on this site. The church was consecrated in 1911. In 1938, the services were stopped, and a distillery warehouse was located on the territory of the church. But already in 1945 the church returned to its usual routine. The Peter and Paul Church is one of the few churches in Tomsk that continued to receive parishioners in the period of the 50s-90syears of the XX century.

House church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

In the early 90s, on the basis of a psychiatric hospital, one of the churches in the city of Tomsk, named after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, was built and illuminated. Initially, it was built according to a certain concept, namely, the interaction of the spiritual forces of the Lord and the healing means of medicine in helping the mentally ill. However, the ideological side was lost in 1920, when the church was closed. In the late 1990s, the idea of opening a church at the hospital reappeared. Since 2003, restoration work has begun here. Currently, believers from among the sick and medical staff come to the service with pleasure.

Church of St. Sergei of Radonezh

This is the youngest of the churches in Tomsk. The founder of the church is G. I. Trigorlov, director of the sleeper impregnation plant. Seeing one of the chapels in Yaroslavl, he was so delighted with its color that he set about building the same church in his native city. According to the personal project of G. I. Trigorlov, the temple was built and consecrated in 1997.

Epiphany Cathedral

Initially, in 1630, it was a small Church of the Epiphany. It received the status of a cathedral much later. The wooden church often suffered from fires, but each time it was restored. In 1777, it was decided to build a modern stone building on the site of the old wooden building. In the 30s, the temple was closed, and a shoe factory was located within its walls. The building was repossessed in 1997. Russian Orthodox Church and began work on its restoration.