Church-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg). History of the Church-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg)

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

One often hears the question: "Why doesn't history teach anything?" It is impossible to answer it, just as it is impossible to convince pessimists that evil will be defeated by good anyway, or that truth will triumph. An example of this is one of the sad pages of Russian history concerning the Temple-on-the-Blood object. Yekaterinburg, Ipatiev House - the place where the family of the last Russian emperor was destroyed in 1918, and in 1981 its members were canonized as great martyrs and canonized by the Orthodox Church in 2000.

Historical crimes

Of course, the dead will not know that in almost a hundred years they will be rehabilitated, canonized as great martyrs, and thousands of people will come to the place of their death. But why do the living, having hundreds of historical examples before their eyes, do not understand that evil will still remain evil in the centuries? Difficult to findwords, so as not to talk about Russia in stereotyped phrases, but this is really a huge, great country with a tragic fate. There are many confirmations of this.

The tragedy of the royal family is an inexplicable, very sad page, and no costs of the historical process can explain the painful execution of children. Maybe all dynasties have their shameful pages, but the behavior of the Romanovs in relation to their representatives is sometimes simply amazing. The English cousin did nothing for the prisoners, doomed to torture and death, and Germany was silent, although Alexandra Fedorovna was German. And how unanimously all the Romanovs do not want to know about the achievements of Russia during the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich.

What is the Ipatiev House

In Tsarist Russia, the profession of an engineer was highly valued. Garin-Mikhailovsky even has a novel with that title. It was a fairly we althy and respected stratum of the country's population. The engineer could afford to live in a two-story mansion. But how could Nikolai Ipatiev, a civil engineer, imagine that his name would become famous for centuries, that the house that received his name - Ipatiev, demolished from the face of the earth - would be reproduced in a structure that is part of the overall ensemble - the Church on the Blood, Yekaterinburg will regain its historical name, and another holy place will appear in Russia?

The image of B. Yeltsin would have been much nicer if, on his orders, the Ipatiev House had not been demolished in the 70s.

Correcting a historical injustice

In 1990 at the place of deaththe ascetics of the royal family put the first cross. It was demolished and put up again until this site was transferred under the protection of the church. Almost 13 years have passed since the erection of the first cross, and on the site of the death of the martyrs in 2003, a beautiful ensemble was consecrated, which became known to the whole world under the name of the Church on the Blood (Yekaterinburg). The name of the city is always added to the name of the temple, probably not to be confused with the St. Petersburg Cathedral, built on the site of the death of Alexander II the Liberator. In Russia, there is another Temple-on-the-Blood - in Uglich, where Tsarevich Dmitry was slaughtered. The full name of the Yekaterinburg church is the Church-Memorial on the Blood in the name of All Saints who shone in the Russian land. A worthy, beautiful name, a stunning original design, a very majestic ensemble, standing on a hill, on Voznesenskaya Gorka.

Innocent victims

All this makes the Temple-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg) a desirable place for thousands of pilgrims and tourists. In addition, it is constantly visited by the first persons of states and the highest representatives of the clergy of many countries. It is understandable. The last emperor of a huge great power, who voluntarily gave up power even before the arrival of the Bolsheviks, his wife, five young girls, a very sick boy and several close associates - how can one justify their murder? Only an unhe althy psyche and the omnipotence of the media. What is the scene from the film "Lenin in the 18th year" when a simple worker convinces M. Gorky, who came to the leader to ask for the tsar's pardon, is worth it. Simplethe worker says that he will no longer live if the "bloodsucker" is not destroyed.

The hardships of construction

The history of the Church-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg) is interesting. Many events took place in the time that passed from the moment the church acquired the site to the construction of the temple: the troubled year of 1991 and the events arising from this. In 2000, Nicholas II and his family were canonized, and in the same year the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future temple. The construction was started by Patriarch Alexei II. Due to the confusion that is always full around great undertakings, the original project of K. Efremov, approved before 1991, was canceled, and a new one was adopted - by V. Morozov, V. Grachev and G. Mazaev. A round date was approaching from the day of the death of the royal family - 85 years, and the desire to finally pay tribute to the innocently killed ensured a record pace of construction, which was carried out in two shifts by 300 builders. The action "Bells of Repentance" was held, which allowed using the collected money (this has always happened in Russia - for a holy cause, by the whole world) to cast 11 bells for the belfry of the temple. They were hoisted in 2002, and the largest, 5-ton, with a low timbre - in 2003. It should be noted that Alexander Novikov, a poet and composer, was the initiator and active participant in the fundraising.

The area near Voznesenskaya Gorka was decorated with a new object - the Church on the Blood. The city of Yekaterinburg acquired a new sound - a place of repentance.

A unique compositional solution

An unusual compositional solution serves as a reminder of the evil committed here - the temple seemed to grow and rise above the crime scene. In the foreground is the restored part of the Ipatiev House, located at the base of the church. Here, in the basement, there is a "execution" room, erected on the site of the original. During the restoration, the remains of the demolition were skillfully incorporated into it. Here, next to it, there is an altar, a museum, a viewing hall for 160 seats. The "execution" room and the altar are the lower mortuary temple dedicated to the tragic event, while the upper one, flooded with light, is dedicated to the memory of all saints.

Ekaterinburg has many churches. Church-on-the-Blood (photo attached) is one of the largest and most beautiful not only in this city, but also in Russia.

Temple arrangement

Its area is 3000 square meters. meters. In height, the five-domed structure rose by 60 meters. The style of the temple is Russian-Byzantine, exactly the one in which construction was widespread during the reign of the last Russian emperor. This, according to the authors' intention, should symbolize the connection of times, and the burgundy-red color of granite, with which the facade is finished to a height of 9 meters, is the blood shed here. The building was built in such a way that from the upper temple, symbolizing the eternal light, lit to the glory of all the saints, one can see the gloomy place of the execution of the royal family. Around the entire perimeter of the temple there are bronze icons of the most revered saints in Russia - 48 pieces. The spaces between them, made in the form of arches, are often decorated with excerpts fromPsalms.

Beautiful must-see icons

Even a simple description speaks of the extraordinary originality of the building, located at the address: Church-on-the-Blood, Yekaterinburg. The icons of this holy place deserve separate enthusiastic words. The iconostasis itself is located in a room under the upper, largest dome. Windows are located in a circle, the location is a hill, there is always a lot of light. On sunny days, the iconostasis made of rare white marble is especially good. It is quite large - a height of 13 meters, a span of 30 meters in width. The faience iconostasis itself was designed and made by the Terem workshop under the direction of V. Simonenko. It has unique icons. One of them, made of Ural gems in the style of a Byzantine mosaic, is dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The work was carried out by Uraldragmet-Holding. In the left wing there are icons dedicated to the martyrs - members of the royal family.

The especially revered icon of the Mother of God "Three Hands" is another pearl of this extraordinary iconostasis. The relics of Seraphim of Sarov located in this temple of cancer are unique.

You can talk a lot about this extraordinary place, but it's better to see it all. The fame about the beauty of the complex called the Temple-on-the-Blood (Yekaterinburg) spread far. An excursion here is becoming more and more popular for guests from all over the country and abroad, where the tragic fate of the royal family is known. There are many hotels, sensible advertising and convenient routes are organized. This temple has become the pearl of Russian Orthodoxy.