St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog is an Orthodox church that bears the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Its construction has a close connection with the founding of the city itself. Belongs to the Rostov diocese. It was, in fact, the first naval base in Russia. It was founded in 1698 on Cape Taganiy Rog, which gave the city its name. It is believed that the place where the Taganrog Nikolsky Church was founded, named after one of the most revered saints in Russia, was determined by Tsar Peter I.
How did it all start?
One remarkable fact connects the construction of the temple and the founding of the city. It so happened that the history of St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog began even before it was built. There is a legend that it was founded exactly in the place where the tent of Peter I was located, which marked the center of the Russian camp, pitched during the laying period.port and fortress.
Today, the historical part of the city is located on a high cape jutting out into the sea. In fact, it is very convenient both for the construction of the port and for the location of the lighthouse. The St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog is also located here, the bell tower of which has always been clearly visible from the sea.
Temple in the Marine Quarters
It took almost eight decades between the formation of the city and the building of the church. This was due to the fact that the situation at that historical time was very unstable. Despite the fact that a strategic bridgehead was won on the Sea of Azov, in general this campaign was unsuccessful. Russia's position in the south remained precarious until its subjugation of the Crimean Khanate.
At the same time, following one of the military defeats, the fortress in Taganrog, under an agreement with the Turks, was demolished. Then for a long period the city was under the rule of the Ottomans, and freed from them, it was deprived of the right to build fortifications.
Finally, shortly after the end of the regular military operations against Turkey in 1777, Rear Admiral Fyodor Alekseevich Klokachev, who commanded the Taganrog port and the Azov flotilla, wrote a petition to Slavensky Archbishop Evgeny. In it, he asked for permission to build St. Nicholas Church in the "marine quarters" of Taganrog, which was received.
Building and consecration
In 1778 the temple was already built and consecrated. Its builders were sailors, and the parishioners were mainly fishermen and their families. And although specialThe church did not receive a “marine” status; being built in the port area where sailors and fishermen lived, it was dedicated to their patron, Nicholas of Myra.
Initially, the temple was even called "St. Nicholas of the Sea", but this name did not stick. Isidor Lyakhnitsky, a priest who arrived from the Voronezh diocese, was appointed the first rector.
At the completion of the construction, St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog was the largest. For some time, it played the role of a cathedral, although not for long, since the Assumption Cathedral, also belonging to the Rostov diocese, was soon erected. Initially, the church was mostly wooden. Only the bases of the walls and the foundation were made of stone. It is unknown when the walls and roof were replaced with stone ones.
St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog: description
The temple was created in a style that by the 1770s had already become not so relevant. It looked a little outdated. However, for the border province, which was actually under martial law, it looked pretty organic.
There is a domed octagon on a quadrangle here, which is a classic element. This form was very widely used in Russian baroque in the first half of the 18th century. The wide dome is also close to classicism and indicates a late interpretation of the form, although it was already old-fashioned at that time.
Apparently, the authors did not seek to create new outstanding architectural forms, preferring to solve more functional problems.
Change of status
As Taganrog lost its military significance, the church also changed. In terms of its professional composition, the parish turned into a more “peaceful”, but still the connection with the sea was not lost. Some changes have taken place in the decoration of the temple.
Many bells in 1803, as well as icons and other utensils, were sent to Sevastopol, which was replaced by Taganrog, which previously had the significance of the main seaport. The new location for the exported items was the St. Nicholas Church of the same name to Taganrog, which was under the patronage of Alexander I.
The Chersonesos bell, which later became famous, was among them. Now it is an adornment of the Quarantine Bay of Sevastopol. It was cast in Taganrog in 1778 specifically for the St. Nicholas Church. As the years passed, the old icons were replaced by new ones. Sailor Dmitry Ivanov built a school and a house near the temple in 1822.
Further transformation
In 1844 a new wooden bell tower was installed. In 1855-56, the Crimean War was going on, and on May 22, 1855, Taganrog was fired from artillery pieces. The temple was badly damaged, but survived. No less than seven cores hit the walls. After the restoration, it was decided to leave one of them in the wall forever - as a reminder of those formidable war years.
In 1865, at the request of the temple elder Smirnov before the city government, permission was obtained for the free allocation of land necessary for the construction of a new house. To accommodate schools and apartments in itclergy.
A three-tier brick bell tower dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva is being added to the church. They also improve the surrounding area. Later, a refectory is attached to the chapel.
Today the building in architectural and artistic terms is a typical parish church, created in accordance with the classical canons. The refectory and the bell tower have details in the Empire style. The church was completely restored only in 1866.
Pavel Taganrogsky
The relics of this saint are in the St. Nicholas Church and are revered as the main shrine. He was a parishioner in the 60s of the last century. He arrived in Taganrog from the Chernigov province and lived nearby in a small hut.
Even in his youth, throwing off the shackles of worldly fuss and freeing himself from parental care, Paul began to wander the holy monasteries and continued to do so for ten years.
Having settled in Taganrog, he led a simple life, hiding his noble origin. As novices, he received many people - young men, girls, widows, elderly people. Paul accustomed them to prayers, fasting, and kept them in great strictness. He himself attended church every day, standing there for all the services.
Many people knew him, often visited him, brought donations. Along with the cell in Taganrog, a chapel of Blessed Paul was opened in the old cemetery where he was buried.
The subsequent fate of the church
In the Soviet era, it took shape tragically and, togetherwith that unusual. Having survived years of persecution, it was not closed, and divine services were held in it. It was destroyed to the ground after the war.
In 1922, the Bolsheviks seized valuable items from the church: icons with chasubles, church utensils, diamonds, which were the decoration of especially valuable relics. At the same time, worship services in the temple did not stop.
During the war, in 1941, all wooden structures perished in a fire. At the same time, the dome collapsed, resulting in complete disrepair of the main part of the temple. In 1957, the upper tiers of the bell tower were blown up, and the St. Nicholas Church was closed. All that remained of it was a box of refectory walls and a side chapel. Subsequently, there were: a table tennis club, a car fleet, a warehouse, and then a garbage dump.
The revival of the temple began at the end of 1988, which was facilitated by the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the city. The following year, permission was obtained for its restoration and the opening of an Orthodox parish. In the spring of the same year, the first temporary altar was consecrated, located in the Pyatnitsky aisle.
The new history of the church began on April 26, 1989. The most important event that took place in June 1989 was the transfer of the relics of Blessed Paul of Taganrog here.
In the 1990s, the restoration of the premises was completed according to the project of the IC DP "Spetsrestavratsiya". Great assistance in this was provided by the rector A. F. Klyunkov and the headman A. Sysueva. Address of St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog: Taras Shevchenko street, house number 28.
