Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Saint Petersburg)
128 Ligovsky Avenue, Saint Petersburg (tel.: +7 812 572-40-63), Metro station: "Ligovsky prospekt".
The Cathedral has a long history starting from the first years of St. Petersburg's existence. Coachmen, who were settled by Peter I on the banks of the Liga River (formerly, the Black River) in the newly founded capital, did not have a church. Upon a petition by coachmen Vasily Fedotov, Peter Kusov and their friends, archmandrite Theodosius ordered to build the Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in 1718. A year later, it was consecrated by monk priest Barlaam, the Father Superior of the Convent of St. Alexander.
The Church was a small and oblong building with a high roof crowned with a Petrine-like spire. Originally, it did not have a bell tower. It was built of wood in 1723 and had several tiers. Four bells weighing 19 poods (311 kg or 685 lb) were taken from Cannon Yard. In Peter the Great's time, the bells were brought there from various monasteries to melt them down into cannons.
In 1730, the Church and all its utensils burned down. However, the Church was crucially important there because of a cemetery for Moscow inhabitants that was established by Peter I nearby. In 1730, it was told to build a new church at the same place and dedicate it to St. John the Baptist, while its side-chapel to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. An old wooden church was bought for that purpose in Okhta Factories. As soon as in two months, on 18 February 1731, the church was transported and installed. On 25 February, it was consecrated by an arch-priest of SS. Peter and Paul's Cathedral. The side chapel of St. Nicholas was finished by November, 1733.
It was a small church just like the previous one. This church was situated closer to Ligovsky channel than any other. It had a high roof crowned with a small cupola. Since the church was very necessary at the time, it was quickly built of old materials in a damp place. Of course, it could not exist long.
In 1740, the clergy and the congregation appealed for permission to build a new stone church, because the old one had a leaking roof and decrepit walls, which made it dangerous to hold services there. It is still unknown who designed the new church.
The construction was supervised by architect I. Schumacher. The congregation and the clergy wished to dedicate the new stone church to the Exaltation of the Honourable and Life-giving Cross, while its side chapels to the Nativity of St John the Baptist and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Thus, the church that had two altars before, now obtained the third one. The high altar was consecrated by archbishop Theodosius on 24 June 1794.
The one-storey stone church was unheated. It had a shape of Latin cross with a projecting rectangular apse on the eastern side and a corresponding forechurch on the west. There was a bell tower above the western forechurch.
After the illuminated stone church was built, the decrepit wooden one became useless and was demolished in 1756.
In 1764, the clergy and the congregation appealed for permission to build a new heated church instead of that which was demolished. They wanted to have a heated stone church and dedicate it to the Icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin so that it protected them against the cold.
The Church of Our Lady of Tikhvin was founded on 20 June 1764, behind the altarpiece of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross. Its shape surprisingly resembled the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross of 1748: an oblong rectangular, a scarcely noticeable widening of the eastern part, three naves arched with cross-shaped vaults, and one dome upon an octagonal decorated with pilasters.
The architect is unknown. The centre was occupied by the high altar of the Icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin, while on the right there was a small side chapel of St. John Chrysostom. The main side chapel was consecrated on 14 December 1768. Other side chapels appeared much later and were used for early liturgies and remembrance in prayer of those who were buried in the Church.
In 1804, architect Alexander Postnikov designed a bell tower. The bell tower was constructed in 1812 and connected with chapels by two semicircular colonnades. Statues of SS. Peter and Paul are in deep niches. The tower is approximately 60 meters (65.5 yards) high. Its upper part is adorned with eight plaster images of Apostles, while the lower one has four figures. Forged iron fence by blacksmith Fyodor Martianov was fixed into the openings in 1853. A belfry with 12 bells occupied the third tier.
To the left, on the second floor of the bell tower's lower tier, a church warden, merchant Ivan Shiglyov, managed to arrange a small church dedicated to SS. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs. The church was designed by architect Ludwig Bulleri in 1871. On 2 February 1878, metropolitan Isidorus consecrated it. A stone staircase with 40 stairs led to the church.
Soon after the bell tower was constructed, the parishioners and the clergy faced other heavy expenses. By the end of the 1830s, both churches — the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross and the Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin — became so dilapidated, that needed a major overhaul. After the congregation calculated how much it would cost to reconstruct both churches, they decided to build a new one instead.
Architect Vasily Morgan made a Greek-style design in concordance with the existing bell tower and meant for 2.500 prayers. It was supposed to be a magnificent church. The greatness was also achieved by obvious likeness to St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was not finished yet then. However, before starting the construction, it was required to enlarge the Church of Our Lady of Tikhvin. The design was made by Vasily Morgan as well.
The construction of the temporarily annex lasted quite a long time. On June, 1844, the side chapels dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. Nicholas were moved from the Church of Exaltation of the Cross to the Our Lady of Tikhvin's Church and consecrated on 24 June. As a result of the enlargement, the church, surrounded by a stone rectangular, became 8.5 meters (9 yards) wider on both sides and longer for the length of the porch. A sacristy and a gatehouse were added. Wide arches appeared in long walls.
Since the church was quite an old one, the clergy and the parishioners had all reasons to ask to preserve the Church of Our Lady of Tikhvin after the new church was finished. In 1844, the annex to the Church of Our Lady of Tikhvin was finally built and construction of the new Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was about to start. However, the construction was continually put off for lack of funds, since the Morgan's design was very pompous. The construction commission and the congregation asked for permission to rebuild the old church upon another design by Yegor Dimmert and abolish the previous one, which was approved in 1841. The old church was inspected and pronounced stable enough.
The architect of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross Yegor Dimmert was born in 1783. In 1800, he was accepted as a student to the Academy of Arts. In 1807 and 1808, Dimmert was awarded silver medals. In 1809, he graduated with an honour certificate and a sword. His assistant was Konstantin Lazarev, who graduated from the Academy of Arts in 1838.
In April, 1848, the construction began and was going at a very quick rate. Most of the works were done for six months. The building of 1848–1851 included some of the walls and pillars of the church, which was built in the 1740s.
In 1851, the interior decoration was in full swing and almost finished by December. The was an inscription on the middle pillar under the Church's sanctuary: "On 2 December 1851, the Church was consecrated by the Most Reverend Nikonor the Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg and dedicated to the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross. It was the 27th year of Nicholas I's reign."
The side chapel of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and the side chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker were consecrated on 1 and 8 June 1852, respectively. Thus, the construction of the new church, which was started by the clergy and parishioners in 1840, was finished in 1853. The new church adorned Yamskaya Sloboda and partially survived till our days.
A very interesting essay about the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross by Alexander Tomilin was published in his "Historical Works". It was written in 1852, the year when the Church was constructed. Tomilin was an eyewitness to the construction and the only historian who could exactly say which elements of the church of 1740 were included into the new building.
He wrote, "In 1848, the demolition of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross began. Some of the old walls remained in the western part, which was elevated to the level of the main entrance, was arched with vaults, and had a forechurch attached. The eastern part with altarpieces was newly built. The Church's centre was enlarged and illuminated through five open domes. Two rows of pillars with railings appeared on each side and went from the entrance to the middle of the Church. Only partially preserved foundation and the western part remind of the original building. On the whole though, the Church looks in an absolutely different way."
The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross is Latin-cross-shaped with a semicircular apse. The stone building rests on stone foundation. The Church is approximately 53 meters (58 yards) long, 35 meters (38 yards) wide, and approximately 41 meters (45 yards) high including the dome and the cross. It is a one-storey building crowned with five domes upon lantern drums. There were altarpieces in the arms of the cross and all three naves. The Church had five communion tables. The main altarpiece was dedicated to the Elevation of the Cross. The side chapel of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist was to its right, while the side chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker — to its left. In the southern arm of the cross, there was a side chapel dedicated to SS. Constantine and Helen. A side chapel of St. Sergius of Radonezh was in the northern arm. Images of seven archangels, St. John the Baptist, and cherubs were painted on the vault of the big dome.
The Church remained functioning until 1939, when it was shut down. In the 1940s, the interior was reconfigured: new walls and floors were added. During World War II, the Church was damaged by bombshells. In 1947, it was handed over to restoration workshops.
Now, the Church is returned to the believers and functions as a cathedral. The Church was given to an Orthodox parish that united St. Petersburg's Cossacks.
A bust of Nicholas II was fixed up at the sanctuary wall of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross in 2002.
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