Over the past decades in Russia, in addition to the restoration and restoration of church buildings that were once taken away from believers and have fallen into disrepair over the years, a lot of work has been done to build new temple buildings. One of the clearest examples of this process is the history of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod. The schedule of services held in it, an overview of the main activities of the Orthodox cultural and educational center created on its basis, as well as the history of the emergence of the temple complex became the subject of this article.
The first steps of a good beginning
The history of the Nikolsky Cathedral community in Nizhny Novgorod is inextricably linked with the improvement of the spiritual life of the country, which was the result of perestroika and a radical change in government policy towards the church. In 1992, the idea of building a church arose in the circle of believers in the Avtozavodsky district of the city, since during the years of Soviet power all the churches,that once existed in the area were destroyed.
The first step towards the implementation of the plan was the registration of the local community, carried out in 1994. At that time, one of the most active Orthodox activists ─ Maria Stepanovna Pypina became its headman. However, a community is just a community of believers united for the purpose of joint performance of various divine services and ceremonies. In order to rise to the next level and become a parish, a temple and its ministers are needed, around which members of the previously created community will unite.
The parish in the district was created due to the fact that in 1997 the city authorities handed over to the believers the premises of the kindergarten, which was quickly converted for worship and services. Somewhat later, a house church was built in the same building, consecrated in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Construction of a wooden church
A year later, when plans were already underway for the laying of the future St. Nicholas Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod), the diocesan leadership decided to build a wooden church for the newly created community. It was intended for a more complete organization of the religious life of parishioners during the construction of the main temple.
This church was built and consecrated in honor of the holy martyr Tatyana, and all the work, both external and internal, was carried out during Great Lent, and the church was consecrated by the Bright Resurrection of Christ. In the same year, the community was givenbuilt under communist rule, but never completed the building of the city cinema, in which the forces of the diocese created a regional Orthodox center, headed by hegumen Innokenty (Samylkin).
The beginning of construction and the first difficulties
At the end of the summer of the same year, preparations began for the construction of one of the main churches in Nizhny Novgorod today - St. Nicholas Cathedral. According to the tradition that developed back in ancient times, the first step was the consecration of the place chosen for it with the erection of a worship cross. This rite, performed on August 21, was the beginning of the difficult path of the creators of the future temple.
According to construction participants, the difficulties began after a sharp shortage of funds. The donations made by the employees of the Gorky Automobile Plant, as well as the residents of the city, who expressed a desire to take part in this pious cause, were only enough to lay bricks in the foundation of the cathedral, after which the construction was frozen.
Resumption of work
However, it is well known that from time immemorial in Russia the main donor for the construction of God's temples was the people, on whose funds most of the shrines were built. Nikolsky Cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod was no exception. Thanks to the active actions of Orthodox activists, as well as the measures taken by the diocesan leadership, a very significant amount was collected, and in the spring of 2006, work on the construction of the temple resumed. In parallel with this, further fundraising continued both in Nizhny Novgorod itself and in many other cities of the Volga region and Central Russia.
In the architecture of the St. Nicholas Cathedral (address: Nizhny Novgorod, Druzhaev St., 3a), motifs are clearly traced, well known from the outlines of the Transfiguration Church, the Diveevsky Monastery, famous throughout the country. It is distinguished from this structure by such elements as a high multi-stage porch and a chapel and a bell tower separately attached to the main building.
In the process of work, technologies were used that were tested and proved themselves well in the construction of such famous buildings as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the capital and the Cathedral of St. Theodore Ushakov in Saransk.
Temple Giant
St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in Nizhny Novgorod, has a height of 68.5 meters, which puts it among the tallest temple buildings erected in Russia over the past century. The lower level houses a refectory for up to 100 people, a baptismal room, a conference room, a library, sacristies and a Sunday school.
The main temple room is located on the upper tier. It accommodates up to 3 thousand people at the same time. A spacious three- altar altar adjoins it. A characteristic feature of the internal structure of the cathedral is the presence of an elevator, with the help of which the disabled are delivered to the second floor.
The Cathedral of St. Nicholas is part of the temple complex, one ofthe constituent parts of which is the St. Nicholas Cultural and Educational Orthodox Center, organized on the basis of the cinema transferred to the church, which was discussed above. Today, within its walls there are a Sunday school, a library, an icon-painting workshop, as well as a singing school designed for both children and their parents.
St. Nicholas Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod): service schedule
Despite the importance of the cultural and educational center and its teachers, the main burden in the churching of the city's residents falls on the clergy. It is it that takes care of the care of the parishioners of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod. The schedule of services held in it fully corresponds to the annual circle adopted by the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church. On both weekdays and holidays, the early liturgy begins at 6:30 a.m. and the late one at 8:30 a.m. Evening services in the cathedral start at 16:00.
