Intercession Cathedral, Sevastopol: description, history, interesting facts

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

Sevastopol is considered by many to be only a summer resort. But this is far from true. On its territory there are many places worth seeing for tourists. The ruins of ancient Chersonese, the city that was the cradle of Orthodoxy, have also been preserved here. Therefore, many believers today make a pilgrimage here to be able to visit temples, monasteries and many other religious shrines, including the Intercession Cathedral (Sevastopol).

History

Its construction began at the end of the nineteenth century. The Pokrovsky Cathedral was built in Sevastopol according to the project of V. Feldman. It was this architect who supervised all the work. Construction began in 1892 and was completed in 1905. It was carried out only at the expense of patrons and income from parishioners. In total, one hundred and thirty-four and a half thousand rubles were spent on the construction. The author used Russian stone churches of the sixteenth century as a base model.

In 1905 Pokrovsky was consecratedthe cathedral. Sevastopol is rich in churches, but the townspeople have always had a special attitude to this religious building. The rite was performed by Bishop Nicholas of Tauride and Simferopol, and the Rector of the Chersonesos Monastery, His Grace Innokenty, was in concelebration.

The upper church was consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the lower one - in honor of the saints Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia. In October 1905, according to the decree of the Holy Synod, located on the Great Naval Intercession Cathedral (Sevastopol is still proud of its architectural monument) began to be considered a city.

After the revolution

At the end of February 1919, Archimandrite Veniamin was consecrated here as Bishop of Sevastopol. The cathedral was closed by the Bolsheviks. But during the years of the occupation of Sevastopol, it was opened. During the Great Patriotic War, the building of the cathedral was bombed and badly damaged. Then a shell fell on him, from which several parishioners died and two of his southern aisles were completely destroyed.

In honor of the salvation of the sovereign-heir

St. Nicholas Chapel also belonged to the Intercession Church. It was located on the square, which today bears the name of Admiral Lazarev. It was built entirely with private donations. According to some reports, funds for the chapel were received from the Sevastopol merchant Feologo a year after the start of construction of the Intercession Church - in 1893.

It was a cruciform temple in plan and had a hipped roof topped with a dome. The architecture of the buildingin particular, stucco friezes, semicircular kokoshniks and arched windows were similar to the one in which the Intercession Cathedral (Sevastopol) was erected. An inscription was made on the chapel stating that it was built “For the salvation of the Sovereign Heir…” Unfortunately, in 1927 the building was demolished.

Restoration of the temple

In 1947, John Krashanovsky was appointed rector of the Intercession Cathedral. Sevastopol became his hometown. It was this spiritual father who began the restoration of the upper temple - its southern aisles, badly destroyed during the war. Through the labors of Father John, the Intercession Cathedral was completely restored and in 1948 the Cathedral of the Intercession was consecrated again. Sevastopol in those years has undergone many changes. But until 1962, divine services were held in the temple regularly, but then, by the decision of the city authorities, a gym was placed in the building, and after that, the city archive.

Thirty years later - in 1992 - the northern aisle was again handed over to the community of Sevastopol believers. On the eighth of April it was consecrated in the name of St. Great Martyr Panteleimon. And two years later, the entire building was handed over to believers.

Description

The architecture of the cathedral meets the cult of the Orthodox Church. The building, made in the style of a basilica, is a pillarless five-domed temple. Above its main dome is an ogival vault surrounded by four dodecahedral turrets.

In the western part there is a bell tower, not separated from the cathedral. It is connected with the temple by the continuation of the central volume elongated perpendicular to the street. The bell tower and its turrets have tented roofs and are topped with onion-shaped domes. From the north and south there are two aisles, and the southern one has not been preserved in its original form. A refectory adjoins the western side of the temple, in the inner part of which there are two rows of pillars, as well as a staircase leading to the choir.

Outside

Entrance to it goes through the porch, which has the type of a closed gallery, with stone steps. Intercession Cathedral (Sevastopol, phone: 692 54-54-84) is decorated with several rows of semicircular kokoshniks, while its cornices emphasize stucco friezes. The building was built of hewn Krymbala and Inkerman types of stone. The roofing on the domes is made of piece galvanized tiles, the rest is made of galvanized steel. The height of the entire building is about thirty-seven meters, the bell tower is ten meters lower.

Interesting facts

The Intercession Cathedral (Sevastopol), the schedule of services of which can be found by phone or directly in the church itself (daily services begin at 7:30 - matins, at 18:00 - vespers), inside it has two churches. The upper one - the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos - has been preserved. In the lower one, located in the basement, there was the St. Sophia Church. There, judging by the surviving documents, there were crypts, but their exact location is unknown today.

Crescents, unusual for Orthodox buildings, are depicted on the crosses of the cathedral. Researchers, historians and architects until today cannotcome to a single conclusion that somehow explains the meaning of these signs.

In the history of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, which survived many tragic events, there are some more interesting facts. For example, on the western facade of the building there is a burial in the wall, marked with a slab and a cross made of Crimean diorite. The text on it says that Archpriest Alexander Demyanovich, who died on August 18, 1988, is buried here, while the building itself was erected later - in 1892, and was completed in 1905.

In May 1917, the remains of Lieutenant P. Schmidt, and with him other revolutionaries who were shot on the island of Berezan, were brought to the cathedral and temporarily buried. They were brought on the ship "Princess Mary". Together with the remains of P. Schmidt, coffins with the bodies of S. Chastnik, N. Antonenko and I. Gladkov were placed in the crypts of the lower church. However, in November 1923, by decision of the city council, they were solemnly reburied at the Communards' city cemetery.

In the south nave in the 1980s, under a thick layer of plaster, restorers discovered a fragment of a well-preserved wall painting.

In 1993, there was such a strong fire in the temple building that even the concrete floor melted as a result. However, by the will of God or by a lucky chance, the iconostasis located at the epicenter of the fire was practically not damaged and has survived to this day. Currently, it is the decoration of the Serafimovsky limit.

Today, almost every city dweller knows where he isIntercession Cathedral. Sevastopol, the schedule of services of which every local believer knows, annually receives armies of pilgrims who want to see this temple, located on Bolshaya Morskaya, one of the most beautiful central city streets. And today the doors of this Christian monastery are always open.