In the north of our country is one of the oldest and very beautiful cathedrals. Today we will talk about the Znamensky Cathedral of Tyumen. It attracts attention not only with its long history and unusual architecture, but also with unique miraculous images that are carefully kept within its walls.
History of the main temple in Tyumen
The current stone Cathedral of the Sign is the third on this site. He had two predecessors made of wood. In the hot summer of 1766, a fire destroyed almost the entire city. The Church of the Sign did not escape the sad fate. On the ashes in 1768, a new stone Church of the Sign was laid, which was built in accordance with the new concept of the city's development.
Initially, it was planned to build a cold temple, but for divine services in winter it was decided to lay a warm throne, consecrated in honor of John Chrysostom. In 1769, the blessing of Bishop Varlaam (Petrov) of Siberia and Tobolsk was received for this construction.
John's aisle wasconsecrated in 1775, but construction work in the temple was delayed. The construction of the cathedral was carried out with parish funds - a very substantial amount was spent on it at that time - 10 thousand rubles. Funds were constantly lacking, and construction work, as well as the work of graphic designers, was periodically frozen.
Reconstructions
The history of the Cathedral of the Sign in Tyumen has several major transformations. The first renovation of the cathedral took place in 1820. A year later, the wooden fence was replaced with a stone fence with two gates and metal bars. In 1839, a new stone foundation was poured under the building, because by that time the old one had subsided.
The next repair was carried out in 1850, with funds collected by the entire parish. The Yekaterinburg merchant Ivanov in 1901 built the Zlatoust chapel (summer) that had burned down shortly before. The height of the dome has been increased. And in 1913, the temple received a new status - it was transferred from the parish to the category of the cathedral.
An interesting feature of additional outbuildings and structures is the preservation of a single style - Russian baroque. Thus, the entire cathedral complex is a single and complete composition, which is characterized by expressive decorations and grandeur of forms.
The skyward-facing domes create a feeling of lightness. Unfortunately, history has not preserved the names of the authors of the Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen. But the names of the icon painters who worked in the temple are known - F. I. Cherepanov, Tobolsk coachman (from1799), E. K. Solomatov, Tyumen tradesman (1789).
Soviet period
It can be assumed that with the advent of Soviet power, like most Orthodox churches, the Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen had to stop its activities. But, despite the persecution, divine services were held in the church until 1929. It was in this year that the cathedral was closed, and its building was transferred to the sports club. Later it was used as a prison and as a machine and tractor station.
It is interesting that in 1933 the believers of the city and the region managed to achieve the resumption of church services. And despite the fact that during the Second World War the church was closed again, after the end of hostilities, the temple was finally returned to the bosom of the Orthodox Church. This saved the ancient building from destruction.
In 2003, the crosses and domes were replaced with donations from parishioners. Today, the Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen, whose photo we posted in this material, is a major center of the spiritual life of the city and the Tyumen region. Craft clubs and a Sunday school operate in the cathedral complex.
Architecture
The main temple of Tyumen looks very solemn and festive. Here the compositional features, magnificent decor, white and blue shades of facades that imitate molding even in cloudy weather, and a variety of forms play their role, surprisingly creating a beautiful structure.
The most amazing thing is that the temple, created at the end of the 18th century, consecrated in the first half of the 19th century and rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century,retained the unity of style. The Baroque predilections of the builders of the Znamensky Church are quite understandable and justified: classicism, which had already played the leading roles in the capitals, had not yet reached the provinces by that time, and the baroque in its Siberian version provided architects with freedom in creativity. One can only be surprised at what a subtle stylist the unknown author of the temple reconstruction project was, who felt the peculiarities of its organization and was able, by expanding the church, not to spoil anything from the previously created one, and brought all the innovations into full compliance with what had already been built.
Interior decoration
The main entrance to the Znamensky Cathedral of Tyumen is located on the west side, under the bell tower. Passing through the narthex and under the choir stalls, you can get to the refectory. The choir stalls are the only place where decor elements dating back to the old pre-revolutionary era have been preserved today: a crate of wooden railings with a geometric pattern, carved wooden consoles.
The four-pillar refectory is the most spacious part of the cathedral. At the beginning of the last century, an octagonal light drum equipped with a small cupola was built above it. Through the arched openings, the refectory passes into the chapels: the southern one - John Chrysostom and the northern one - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The same arched openings unite the vestibules with the refectory, as well as with the quadrangle.
Such roundness of shapes and the combination of separate rooms with the help of wide passages convey softnessinterior. The temple is notable for its rich interior decoration: murals, architectural decorative elements, plot-based ornaments - all of them belong to the end of the 20th century, although experts do not exclude that they were made over the remains of ancient murals that were made during the reconstruction of the cathedral at the very beginning of the 20th century.
The main quarter, compared to the refectory, is not very spacious. Two rows of large windows give it great light, and its impressive height makes it look soaring.
Iconostasis
Unfortunately, the ancient iconostasis, for which F. Cherepanov (the Tobolsk coachman) once painted icons, has been lost, as, indeed, other decoration of the 19th century church. The modern three-tiered iconostasis was made in the late forties of the last century, when divine services were resumed in the cathedral.
It was made by the famous Tyumen master I. S. Shavrin. Even before the revolution, he worked in the icon-painting workshop of MS Karavaev in Tyumen. The Znamensky iconostasis by Shavrin looks very dignified and solemn.
Temple Shrine
The main shrine of the Tyumen Cathedral is the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign". A terrible misfortune came to the city in 1848: in the summer, an epidemic of cholera, unprecedented in scale, began in Tyumen - a disease that was previously unknown in these places. It would seem that the city is doomed and there is nowhere to wait for salvation. But it was brought by the image of the Mother of God, which was known to the townspeople from the beginning of the 17th century.
The "Sign" icon was a copy of the Novgorod miraculous image, whichHe became famous during the Suzdal siege of Novgorod in the winter of 1169-1170. In the troubled thirties of the last century, traces of the miraculous icon were lost. There are several conjectures about her further fate. One of them is based on the memoirs of A. Sartakova, a participant in the restoration of the cathedral after the war (1945).
She claims that after the transfer of the cathedral to believers, the Znamenskaya icon was found on the bell tower. She was turned to face the wall. If this is true, then later the icon was restored, since already in 1903 it needed serious restoration. According to another version, the cathedral icon "The Sign" is new. It was written in the middle of the 20th century.
Znamensky Cathedral of Tyumen: service schedule
In the main cathedral of Tyumen, liturgical services are held somewhat differently than in other churches:
- 08:30, 13:00 and 17:00 - services;
- liturgies are read on Friday at 06:30, 09:00 and 17:00;
- at 08:30 and 17:00 on Saturday;
- at 06:30, 09:00 and 17:00 on Sunday.
How to get there?
We told you about the history of the Znamensky Cathedral of Tyumen, whose address is: st. Semakova, 13. Today it is visited by numerous pilgrims from different regions of our country who want to pray at the miraculous images of the temple. Tyumen is a modern, dynamically developing city, so it will not be difficult to get to it from other Russian regions. In this northernplanes fly through the city, the main railway route to the east - the Trans-Siberian Railway - passes through Tyumen. Motorists can get to the city by the roads R-254 (from Kurgan), R-351 (from Yekaterinburg), R-402 (from Omsk).
Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen is located in the city center, on the street. Semakova, 13. There are several public transport stops nearby. Buses No. 13, 20, 34 or fixed-route taxi No. 34 will take you here from the railway station.
