In each city of Ancient Russia there were several monasteries and more than a dozen temples. Then the Russian Orthodox believed that for every 100-150 inhabitants it was necessary to have a separate church, so that everyone could offer their fervent prayer to God and hear an edifying sermon from the pulpit.
People in Ancient Russia were very religious. They took an active part in the life of their parish, knew exactly the schedule of church services, and always followed their home prayer rule. People lived together, and if one of the neighbors got married or baptized children, they celebrated these events with the whole street. And in the same way, they gathered together for the funeral of the deceased and escorted the deceased on the path of all the earth.
Tver was no exception either. There were several dozen churches in the city, which not only adorned the capital of the Upper Volga region, but also served as a solid spiritual foundation for the Orthodox people.
Construction of the main temple of Tver
Temples, first of all, were built in the Kremlin. The streets, diverging in all directions from the Kremlin, formed a settlement, a place where the townspeople lived. Everywhere between the roofs of townhousesdomes of churches were visible. In ancient times, almost all township churches were wooden, but one ancient stone church has survived in Tver.
The construction of a stone church in those days was an expensive and troublesome business, because princes, boyars or rich merchants could build a stone church. In 1575, the Moscow merchant Gavril Andreyevich Tushinsky began to build the White Trinity in Tver, but he did not have enough money, and therefore another merchant, Pyotr Lamin, gave the missing part of the funds. The walls of the temple were made of red brick, but people still called the church, red as an Easter egg, the White Trinity.
Why is it white?
Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the heart of Russian Orthodoxy. Gavril Andreyevich Tushinsky came here to present the newly built White Trinity Church in Tver to the Lavra of St. Sergius.
In Russia at that time there were 2 concepts: black and white lands. The sovereign exempted the owners of white lands from part of the taxes for special merits. The Trinity-Sergius Lavra and everything that belonged to this monastery were just exempted by the state decree from part of the taxes. Now the former tax benefit lives in the historical name - the White Trinity in Tver, and later the church walls themselves were plastered and whitewashed.
Exterior and interior of the temple today
From the time of construction in the temple, only forged gates and two small windows under the roof have been preserved. Through them, almost no light entered the interior of the church, but during the service from the light of many burning candles it was quite light andcosy. The abundance of light was created by ancient chandeliers. They have survived to this day, however, now the light is emitted not by candles, but by electric lamps. Some icons painted specifically for this temple have survived to this day. True, now they are mostly in museums, and today's temple icons are not as ancient as the White Trinity itself in Tver, but their age is still 200-300 years old.
Temple vaults were originally painted with white lime, and only 150 years ago they were touched by an isograph brush. The painting of the temple vaults has been updated many times, and today one can observe modern temple wall painting. In the most ancient part of the temple there is a magnificent carved iconostasis. Behind him, the Divine Liturgy has been celebrated in the altar for four and a half centuries.
White Trinity Services
Today the schedule of services of the White Trinity in Tver is from 8:00 until late in the evening, depending on the event and the day of the week.
Also, the church hosts hierarchal services dedicated to important events in Orthodox church life. On weekdays it is performed by committed clergymen, priests and deacons, and on holidays and Sundays by the Metropolitan of Tver himself. Readers and chanters, who in the Russian Orthodox tradition are usually called clergymen, participate in the service, being outside the altar, on the kliros, reading and performing liturgical hymns and texts. As in Ancient Russia, all these people live on well-meaning donations from parishioners.
Secrets and legends of the Time of Troubles
Time spared the White Trinity Church in Tver. Fires and other disasters bypassed him. Even at the beginning of the 17th century, detachments of Poles did not cause any harm to the White Trinity. At that troubled time, many "Tverites" kept their simple belongings in the temple, they even hid themselves in hiding places under small domes. These caches have survived to this day, but then at the beginning of the 17th century, the Poles nevertheless found those hiding and killed them right in the temple. After many decades, from time to time traces of blood appeared on the walls of the temple.
White Trinity - a symbol of the Orthodox spirit of Tver
In the 20th century, the White Trinity in Tver remained the only church where services were regularly held. At this time, the temple became a cathedral. In 1982, the future 15th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexei II visited, and in 2010, the now living His Holiness Patriarch Kirill visited during his archpastoral visit to the Tver diocese. To this day, the White Trinity is the oldest temple in Tver, which is a cathedral and one of the spiritual symbols of the capital of the Upper Volga region.
Metropolitan of Tver and Kashinsky Victor - mentor of the temple in Tver
The rector of the cathedral is His Eminence Metropolitan of Tver and Kashin Victor. The metropolitan has a very long history with the White Trinity Cathedral in Tver: first he was a sacristan (1987), then he received the rank of archbishop (1996). Today, His Eminence Metropolitan Viktor is the head of the Tver Metropolis and an honorary citizen of the cityTver.
Holy relics of St. Macarius of Kalyazinsky
The main asset of the White Trinity today can be called the presence in the walls of the temple of the shrine with the holy relics of St. Macarius Kalyazinsky.
After the destruction of the Trinity Monastery in Kalyazin in the 30s of the XX century, it was decided to preserve the relics in the main cathedral of the Upper Volga White Trinity in Tver. The schedule of worship and veneration of the holy relics of the venerable miracle worker can be found in the monastery itself, but often you can venerate the relics on any day of the week.
