The Ural capital has a rich history. There are many churches and temples in Yekaterinburg. The golden crosses and domes of most of the cloisters are still visible from afar. There are about a hundred churches that are part of the Orthodox diocese, there are also mosques and Catholic cathedrals. Many large religious cathedrals that have come down to us from pre-revolutionary Russia have a rather difficult fate. In Soviet times, when religion was banned everywhere in the USSR, clubs, warehouses, or, at best, museums were set up in most churches. One of these holy cloisters with a difficult fate is the Great Chrysostom temple.
Address
It is located in the very center of Yekaterinburg, on the corner of March 8 and Malyshev streets. Even from afar you can see the high domes of this beautiful building. The exact address where you can get to it is March 8 Street, building 17. There is a metro station a two-minute walk from the temple. The nearest public transport stop is twenty meters away. In Yekaterinburg, almost every adult local resident knows wherethere is a temple "Great Chrysostom". Tourists often come here. The cathedral has another name "Maximilian's Church", but most of it is still known as the temple "Big Chrysostom", whose history is quite rich in events. The monastery knew both revival and decline, after which it was restored and today it appears before people in a more beautiful form.
History
Many cathedrals and churches in Russia have a rather difficult fate. More than once experienced the vicissitudes of fate and the temple "Big Chrysostom". The Maximilian Church shared the hard fate of many cathedrals. Its history stretches from the moment of construction in the nineteenth century to the complete restoration of a copy of the destroyed monastery. She shared the hard fate of her brother - the temple of Christ of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, having also gone through destruction, desecration, oblivion and, finally, transformation and restoration from the ruins.
The Great Chrysostom Church was founded on the twenty-first of September 1847 on Pokrovsky Prospekt by Bishop Jonah. Initially, it was built as a bell tower for the monastery, erected in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Work went on for twenty-nine years. And as a result of painstaking work and long years of waiting, a beautiful temple "Big Chrysostom" appeared in Yekaterinburg, which has the highest bell tower in the city.
Need for a new bell tower
When a big fire broke out in Yekaterinburg in 1839, it also damaged the wooden buildings of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Its bell tower was completely destroyed. And so there wasthe need to build a new or to restore the old belfry. Initially, it was decided to reconstruct the church in order to erect a bell tower above it. Architect Mikhail Malakhov developed a project that was not approved by the city authorities. So for several years the church "Small Chrysostom", as many people call it, stood without a bell tower. But after some time, a new project was submitted for discussion, which was opposed by the majority of the city's residents. There were two reasons: firstly, they did not like it outwardly, and secondly, it was very expensive.
Two projects - the third won
As a result, the city authorities had to give in to the townspeople. They approved Malakhov's project and gave a building permit. Moreover, in 1844, Emperor Nicholas I himself approved it. At a general meeting of the townspeople, it was decided to build a majestic temple, increasing the dimensions that were indicated in the drawings several times. In addition, the locals themselves proposed another version of the cathedral - already without a bell tower. According to their project, it was supposed to erect another separate building for the belfry and consecrate it in memory of the martyr Maximilian. However, the parties did not come to an agreement: both options were rejected by the city authorities. And already in 1847, the architect Vasily Morgan developed a completely new project, approved by the Emperor. According to it, it was supposed to build a large majestic building for the church itself, having three aisles, and in front of its entrance to place a bell tower in honor of Maximilian the Martyr. And the oldthe construction of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was supposed to be dismantled.
Construction
According to his plan, it was supposed to build not only the bell tower itself, but also to build another - a fairly large building, similar to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, standing in Moscow. The work progressed with great difficulty, mainly due to the dedication of the construction managers and workers. Several times the central authorities did not approve the documents sent to them from Yekaterinburg. As a result of long months, the Great Chrysostom temple appeared. His photo proves that the building, which was originally supposed to be just a bell tower, turned out to be much higher than the Church of the Descent of St. Spirit. Therefore, the latter, based on its size, is today called the "Small Chrysostom".
About the first rector
Those who visit the temple "Great Chrysostom", at its southern wall along Malysheva Street can see a cross and a marble tombstone. The remains of John of Znamensky, the mitered archpriest, who became the first rector of the Holy Spirit Church, are buried here. The Clear Statement, dated 1896, says that he was born in 1831 in one of the villages of the Nizhny Novgorod province. His father was a deacon. After graduating from the Kazan Theological Academy, John Znamensky from 1858 taught at the Perm Seminary. In 1860, he received the priesthood and a year later was transferred to the city of Yekaterinburg, where he served in the Church of the Holy Spirit until his death.
Father John was buried in 1910 on the territory of the Great Chrysostom. It is noteworthy thatat the beginning of the twentieth century, it was forbidden in the Orthodox diocese to bury church hierarchs next to the holy cloisters. But an exception was made for Father John. The reason was that he, being a holder of several orders, was also a member of the City Council.
Description
The Great Chrysostom wedding church (Yekaterinburg) has a unique appearance, typical for churches built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Russian state. The tier of the belfry in it is located directly above the entire space.
The building is built in the Byzantine-Russian style. After the construction work was completed, it was painted in the same colors as the neighboring Church of the Holy Spirit. The building is decorated with five domes, the central one, towering above the others, serves as a bell tower.
Temple "Big Chrysostom" in those years was considered the highest in Yekaterinburg. He reached up to seventy-seven meters. The belfry had ten bells, the largest of which weighed almost sixteen tons. His ringing was heard in almost all areas of Yekaterinburg. In winter, the service was held in the Little Chrysostom building, since the newly erected temple was not heated at that time.
Interior decoration
In 1897, the merchant M. Rozhnov, at his own expense, installed a heating system in the new premises of the monastery. Since then, services have been held here throughout the year. According to its interior decoration, the Great Chrysostom temple was luxurious at that time. He had a four-tiered iconostasis with twenty-five imagessaints. A couple of years later, with money from donations, the temple acquired ten more icons, which were placed in icon cases on the side walls. The building had perfect acoustics and was famous for its choir.
Hard times
After the Revolution, divine services were forbidden in the temple. Under him, a religious society gathered, which was attended by almost a thousand people, but all of them were registered with the Soviet police. Literally a year later, the number of parishioners decreased significantly: it no longer amounted to more than two hundred people. In 1920, the cellars of the temple were transferred to the city vegetable store, and in 1922, the authorities seized literally all church valuables - about seven hundred and forty kilograms of silver.
In 1928 the church in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was demolished. Literally at the same time, the city authorities ordered to remove all the domes from the "Big Chrysostom" - the Maximilian bell tower. Two years later, its building itself was demolished, and the House of Defense was built from bricks. A park was laid out on the square in front of the church, and a monument to Malyshev was erected on the site of the former altar.
Recovery
Already at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Russian Copper and Ural Mining and Metallurgical Companies made a joint decision to restore the Great Chrysostom temple. After receiving permission and support from the city administration in 2006, restoration work began. Almost immediately, the monument to Ivan Malyshev was moved to another place. On the day of the holidayThe first stone of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was laid. The temple was restored according to the drawings and photographs preserved from pre-revolutionary times. In 2008, a huge bell was cast. Its height is five meters, and the ringing is heard within a radius of fifteen kilometers. There are a total of fourteen bells in the bell tower.
Today
In 2007, during the archaeological excavations preceding restoration work, an ancient church crypt was discovered. It contains the remains of the very first abbot. "Great Chrysostom" was originally the only church-bell tower in the city. Its plinth is finished with natural stone, the building itself is decorated with plaster moldings and castings. The main bell was restored as an exact copy of its predecessor, ringing in the temple destroyed by the Bolsheviks. Inside there are three iconostasis with eighty icons.
Currently parish life is in full swing here. The church publishes a newspaper called "Zlatoust Blagovest". Trips to holy places are constantly organized, a Sunday parish school is functioning, which is attended by both children and adults. There is a shop on the territory where you can buy cheap religious items.
Temple "Big Chrysostom" - tips before visiting
Today, a trip to this holy monastery is included in the route of almost all sightseeing tours. Tourists are given the opportunity to climb the belfry, where the largest bell in Yekaterinburg weighing sixteen tons is installed. From hereopens a wonderful panorama. Many travelers take with them photos of the city, taken from a height of more than seventy meters.
A visit to the temple "Great Chrysostom" gives strength to many believers, and first of all - spiritual. Here the human consciousness is filled with wisdom. It is better to come to the temple some time before the start of the service. Judging by the reviews, manyvisit it to ask God for blessings, thank him for a miracle, repent of sins, etc. Here you can order a prayer service to calm or cleanse the soul. Those who wish to get married in it should sign up in the church shop for two conversations conducted by the priest. And only then the solemn day itself is determined. You can get married in the temple only after registering the marriage in the registry office. There are no ceremonies on fasting days. Before the wedding, it is recommended to confess and take communion.
