The Samara Fortress was built by the Cossacks at the confluence of the river of the same name and the Volga in the 16th century on the site of a hermitage. Its foundation is associated with the name of St. Alexis, who two centuries earlier predicted the construction of a city on this territory and that this city would never be destroyed by anyone. For many years, this outpost protected the eastern borders from nomadic raids.
City of a thousand temples
For many centuries the inhabitants of Samara lived under the invisible spiritual protection of church domes and crosses. Numerous merchants and merchants coming to the city were surprised at the abundance of monasteries and church buildings in Samara. The convenient position of Samara on the banks of two rivers eventually made it a major center of economic and diplomatic relations with the eastern neighboring countries. For three hundred years, a large number of churches, temples, prayer houses and monasteries of not only Orthodox, but also many other confessions were built in the city, which testified to the religious tolerance of the local population. By this time, under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church, Samara had also become the spiritual center of the region. The Church of All Saints originates precisely in this favorable period for the city. Economic, political andcultural events in the life of this already large commercial, industrial and administrative center at the end of the 19th century dramatically raised the level of well-being of the inhabitants, which also had a beneficial effect on the spiritual life of the townspeople, on the volume of temple construction and assistance to the homeless and the poor.
XIX century. Construction of the temple
Since the transfer of the local cemetery to the outskirts of the city in 1864, the question arose of building a cemetery church. Samara merchants Yemelyan and Mikhey Shikhobalov donated money and building materials for the construction. With the active assistance of Bishop Theophilus Nadezhin, 1865 became the year of construction of a new elegant stone oval Church of All Saints with a bell tower.
Among the many other churches that Samara was famous for, the Church of All Saints was notable for its unusual for the city layout “like a bell”, an octal base, a tent and a high dome with two pylons.
This view of the building was until 1881, when the question arose of its reconstruction and major restructuring due to its small capacity. After the work was completed, the church became two chapels larger and acquired a 517-pound bell in memory of Mikhey Shikhobanov. In 1986, the right aisle was consecrated. With the money collected by the parishioners, a three-tiered pine iconostasis with 72 unique images of saints was made. 8 years have passed, work has been completed and the second aisle of the church has been consecrated.
In 1903, another reconstruction was carried out, many handmade icons were added, manyunique frescoes. When, after a meeting of a cell of militant atheists in 1931, the Church of All Saints was blown up, Samara shuddered.
New life of the temple
An attempt to revive the church was made only in 2000. The temporary location of the parish church was organized in railway cars. A collection of donations for the Church of All Saints was announced. Samara, and especially its Zheleznodorozhny district, in a single impulse in a short time collected not only the necessary amount for restoration, but the inhabitants also brought many icons and the necessary things for the services. In 2001, an unexpected fire destroyed the temporary location of the church and all the collected icons. Despite all the difficulties experienced, the foundation for new construction was laid. When the Church of St. Tatiana was built in 2006, Samara and its environs began to donate to the restoration of the Church of All Saints. In October 2007, the construction of the temple was completed, and on the feast of the Protection of the Virgin, a three-ton dome and gilded crosses were raised to the top. Many believers and pilgrims, surrounding the temple, kissed the crosses before they were lifted up and installed at the very top of the building.
XXI century. Samara. Church of All Saints
Today the arrangement of this beautiful church continues. The work in the basement has been completed; now there is the largest church shop where you can buy literature and everything you need for church services. Since 2010, a Sunday school for children has been opened at the temple,there are plans to build a kindergarten and a college. The collection of donations for the arrangement of the iconostasis, the altar, and the throne continues. If you want to visit the church, come to the address: Samara, Temple of All Saints, Tukhachevsky street. Here you will immediately see the brilliance of the golden domes of this beautiful structure.
