Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra: 300 years of history

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

The beginning of the construction of the Church of the Annunciation of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra took place in 1717 on the site of an old wooden church. In that year, the Northern War with the Swedes ended, and Emperor Peter I, in commemoration of the victory, decided to transfer the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg. And in 1722, Archimandrite Theodosius, together with the officers accompanying him, arrived in Vladimir, where the ashes of Alexander Nevsky had been buried in the Mother of God-Nativity Monastery since 1263. In July 1724, after a prayer service, the reliquary was installed in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which has been known by this name since that time.

The oldest church in St. Petersburg

This church, which recently celebrated its 300th anniversary, is located at Monastyrka River Embankment, 1.

Domenico Trezzini was the first architect of the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and he owns its project. However, a year later he was replaced by the architect H. Konrat, who supervised the construction of the church for about two years. Then the project was handed over to the architect T. Schwertfeger, who completed the construction.

The two-storey building has distinctive features typical of the era of Peter the Great: a high roof and decorative decoration of the facade, as well as pilasters and moldings. Lavra is an architectural complex, the construction of which lasted for many years: something was completed, some elements were changed in accordance with the tastes of the time. For example, in the middle of the 18th century, a 2-story baroque extension was added to the western side of the facade. Architect M. D. Rastorguev supervised the construction work.

Tomb at the temple

Since 1720, in the basement of the temple, work began on the arrangement of the tomb, designed for 21 people. It was intended for the repose of members of the imperial family and nobles. Even before the consecration of the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (in the autumn of 1723), the burial of the widow of John V, Tsaritsa Praskovya Feodorovna, took place here. The elder brother of Peter I and his co-ruler John V lived until 1696, and his daughter Anna Ioannovna would become Empress of Russia in 1730.

Temple arrangement

On August 30, 1724, celebrations began in the capital on the occasion of the transfer of the relics of Alexander Nevsky and the consecration of the upper church in honor of the prince. ATThe ceremony was attended by the entire fleet of ships available at the St. Petersburg pier, including the small boat of Peter I. In honor of this event, the emperor decided to establish the first military order named after Alexander Nevsky. However, his plan was realized only in 1725 by Catherine I.

As part of the Church of the Annunciation of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, there is also the lower church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the consecration of which took place in the spring of 1725. Since that time, the temple has gained integrity.

First burials

After both churches were consecrated, Peter I decided to reburial the remains of his beloved sister Natalia and the young Tsarevich Peter, the first-born born from marriage with his wife Catherine. Both tombstones are located next to the iconostasis of the temple in the eastern part of the tomb. Surprisingly, after all the revolutionary persecution, the carved white stone slabs of the Rzhevsky spouses, dating back to the same 20s of the 18th century, remained intact.

In St. Petersburg, in the Church of the Annunciation of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the last resting place was found for the granddaughter of John V, known as Anna Leopoldovna; and then Peter III, who was buried in 1762 without any honors. After the death of Catherine II, her heir Paul I ordered the solemn transfer of the ashes of his father to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where he personally crowned Peter III. So the spouses are next to each other after death, and the date of their burial is one - December 18, 1796.

The last shelter of A. V. Suvorov

From the time of construction inLavra buried many eminent nobles, one way or another left their mark on Russian history: A. R. Razumovsky, Field Marshal A. M. Golitsyn and Count N. I. Panin.

Scientists, writers, musicians and artists who are the pride of Russia are buried here.

Special attitude to the ashes of the great commander, on the tombstone of which a laconic inscription is engraved: "Here lies Suvorov".

Alexander Vasilyevich was an extremely modest person in life and ordered to bury himself without magnificent ceremonies and not to build a mausoleum from his grave. However, these wishes were not taken into account.

After 1917, judging by the descriptions, the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, like many others, experienced hard times. Tombstones were destroyed and deliberately destroyed. The same fate befell the grave of the great commander. Only in the autumn of 1942 it was restored, and it was to her that the soldiers who went to the front came to bow.

Soviet period

In the era of universal atheism, hundreds of churches were destroyed throughout the country of the Soviets. The same sad fate awaited the temples of the Lavra: in 1926, two of them were closed. The Spiritual Church worked until 1935, and then the service in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra ceased for 20 years. The reconstruction of buildings and their transfer to the balance of various organizations began.

Despite the fact that in 1933In the same year, the Leningrad Region Executive Committee decided to build a museum-necropolis in the Annunciation Church, and a branch of the Giprogor Institute settled in the upper church.

The Spiritual Temple was especially unlucky: it became the building of "Lengorplodovoshcha". The leadership of this organization did not delve into the historical value of the tombstones located in the cellars of the church, and therefore these monuments have not reached us.

Oddly enough, but the restoration of the Church of the Annunciation began during the war, despite the fact that there was a hospital. Further, the restoration of the historical monument took place intermittently, lasting several years. The most extensive reconstruction was carried out at the end of the twentieth century.

Memorial sculpture is on display in the upper hall today. There is also the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the photos of which confirm that, despite the test of time, this landmark place for St. Petersburg residents has found a second birth.