Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk was built between 1841 and 1844. The author of the project was the famous architect of that time K. G. Tursky. This temple is unique, as it was built at the expense of the community of fellow believers (Old Believers). We will tell about this church, the history of its construction and interesting facts in the article.
Temple History
The Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk was built according to the canons of Russian temple architecture of the 17th-18th centuries. An interesting fact is that the temple was built solely on donations, without state participation. Its construction was completed in the middle of 1844, after which Bishop Athanasius of Tomsk and Yenisei consecrated the church.
One of the main donors for the construction was the Old Believer P. I. Pozdeev (philistine), and later he became a trustee of the church. In 1858, a northern chapel was added to the church in honor of the Holy Martyr Harlampy of Magnesia. 18 years later, from 1876 to 1887, the construction of the southern chapel in honor of the martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica, consecrated according tocompletion of erection.
Temple in the XX century
At the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk, two Sunday schools were established - male and female. School buildings were erected in 1910 according to a new project of the architect V. V. Khabarov. Around the same time, a garden was planted around the church, this was done at the expense of a merchant from Tomsk, N. Tikhonov.
In the 1920s, the community of fellow believers of the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk was not numerous, no more than 20 people, and in the 30s it already amounted to 66 people. Its essence consisted in canonical communion (one faith, norms of veneration and canons) with the clergy and flock of the Orthodox Church.
In May 1925, the Trinity Church community and the city's executive committee signed an agreement on the free and perpetual use of the church and church utensils, as well as the procedure for their operation. In 1936, Chief Bishop Seraphim moved the pulpit from the closed Resurrection Church in Tomsk to one of the chapels of the Trinity Church.
Closing the temple
In early 1937, the Tomsk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church made the Trinity Church a cathedral. However, at the end of the summer, the rector of the church, Seraphim, was arrested. A real pogrom was organized in its premises, temple utensils were broken, many icons and sacred books were burned, and the archives of the temple were also damaged.
At the end of September of the same year, the Tomsk City Council decided to stop the work of the temple. The order to close the churches under the jurisdiction of the Tomsk diocese came into force in February 1940, it was adoptedNovosibirsk Regional Committee.
After the closure of the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk, the warehouses of Zagotzern were initially placed in its premises, and then the administration of the Sibkhoztras motorcade was located in them. All church utensils were transferred to the state fund (according to another version, they were destroyed). The building of the temple was significantly damaged - the walls of the aisle on the south side were partially destroyed, the floors, doors and window frames were torn off, and the crosses were dismantled from the domes in a barbaric way.
Temple in the second half of the 20th century
After the end of the Second World War, in 1945, the Peter and Paul Cathedral began its work in Tomsk, but it was not enough for all the believers of the city. In this regard, at the end of December of the same year, the Main Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church of the USSR decided to open the Holy Trinity Church on the street. October.
In a fairly short period of time, the temple was restored, and again at the expense of donors. A carved iconostasis of the 18th century was delivered to the church from an inactive church in the village of Zork altsevo and installed. Dismantled crosses were restored on the domes of the temple, and due to the fact that there was simply no gold for decoration, they were decorated with mirrors.
In mid-February 1946, the church was consecrated according to Orthodox canons, but since that time the church has ceased to be of the same faith. For half a century, the Holy Trinity Church and the Peter and Paul Cathedral were the only Orthodox churches that operated on the territory of Tomsk.
Currently, the church is working, services are being held in it. The church has a library and Sundayschool.
Address of Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk
This temple is very revered not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by guests of the city. The church is a standard rectangular temple with one large dome. On the sides of the church there are two aisles with small tops. A bell tower was built above the entrance to the temple.
Inside the church there are frescoes on biblical scenes, it is they and the altar that amaze with their beauty. One of the most revered shrines of the temple is the icon of the Holy Martyr Kharlampy with a particle of his relics. Also venerated is the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with relics and the icon of St. Martyr Anastasia the Patterner with a piece of relics.
Holy Trinity Church is located at: Tomsk, Tomsk region, st. October, 43. The church is open daily from 7-00 to 19-00. Various services are held, which attract many parishioners.
Holy Trinity Church is a must-see to not only see all its external and internal beauty, but also to get acquainted with the amazing history of the city.
