We invite you to get acquainted with one of the most famous Russian churches with a very interesting history. St. Andrew's Cathedral of Kronstadt is the unfulfilled dream of Peter I. This tsar saw the Russian capital "similar to Amsterdam." Its center was supposed to be on Vasilyevsky Island.
The idea of Peter the Great
From 1716 to 1718, in terms of the development of the city, the place where the St. Andrew Cathedral of Kronstadt was supposed to be located was already determined. It was supposed to be erected opposite the building of twelve colleges. The future life of this cathedral was thereby seen as the center of change of the Peter's era, which was distinguished by religious tolerance. Therefore, St. Andrew’s Cathedral of Kronstadt was intended to unite not only the inhabitants of our country: Orthodox, Catholics, Lutherans, but also foreigners into a single, Christian community, operating without borders. By construction, his secular power demonstrated unity with the Christian Europe of the Russian state.
However, the efforts of the government and the nobility to lay this cathedral under Peter I were in vain. Thirty years passed before the first stone was laid in its foundation.
Vasilievsky island until 1719
Until 1719, there were practically no buildings on Vasilievsky Island, except for Menshikov's chambers with a wooden church attached to them, as well as the French settlement, inhabited by artisans of foreigners. After 1719, wooden and stone buildings began to be built according to the plan approved by Peter I.
Beginning of development of the island
The construction of structures intended for the most important public places (collegiums) began in 1722. Here, in the square in front of them, the sovereign determined a place for the future church.
Catherine I, the wife of Peter, who inherited the throne after his death, fully shared the intentions of the deceased spouse. On Vasilievsky Island, by this time quarters of future avenues and streets had already been designated. Given the need to build a church for those who lived on the island, it was decided to change the place of future construction. It was provided at the corner of the 6th line and Bolshoi Avenue, where a stone church will eventually be located. But first they started building a wooden, temporary one.
First church
The laying of the building in 1728 was completed. The construction was completed in 1731. It was a one-story modest church, the windows of which overlooked Bolshoi Avenue. The author of the project is unknown, but it can be assumed that it was J. Trezzini.
In 1732, on October 8, Feofan Prokopovich consecrated a new church in the name of St. Andrew the First-Called. Three clergymen were enrolled to the clergy. Residents of Vasilievsky Island in November 1733 were attributed by decree of spiritual government to St. Andrew's Church. It was visited by many famous people of St. Petersburg, even the royal place was equipped. At the solemn service, held on July 30, 1745, Trediakovsky and Lomonosov took the oath in it. This church was under the auspices of the emperor's family. Anna Ioannovna loved to visit her. She donated funds for utensils and church vestments. A small cemetery was located next to the church. Here, according to legend, B.F. Dolgoruky, a senator, one of Peter's associates, was buried.
The construction of a new stone church
Parishioners in 1740 turned to Anna Ivanovna and asked her to build a stone church nearby. The city rebuilding commission on April 5, 1740 allowed the construction of a new stone building, now already heated (it was very cold in the old one). Already in the same year, on April 21, a plan was presented. The author of this project is also unknown, but the architect O.P. Trezzini on May 29 reported to the Spiritual Board that the building would be under his control.
The Holy Synod allowed construction on June 2, 1740, saying that the decision on the name would be made after the construction. After some time, various materials, nails and lime, which remained after the renovation of houses in St. Petersburg, where the Persian ambassador lived with his retinue, were given to the church.
In 1760, on October 17, the newly built stone church with stove heating was consecrated in the name of the Three Saints. St. Andrew's Cathedral of Kronstadt is located next to this building, in the same fence, on the right side of it. The new church was a two-story stone structure, rectangular in plan, on a plate base. The drum is small, octagonal, the overlap is made of cross stone vaults. The iconostasis taken from A. Menshikov’s house church stood in its place until 1827, after which it was replaced with a new one, which was donated from the house church of Titov, Major General. In the workshop of F.A. Verkhovtsev, a famous jeweler, in 1861 pood silver garments were made for the main throne. Images of Calvary with three crosses adorned him.
10 bells were placed on the two-tier bell tower of the new cathedral. They were famous for their beautiful ringing. Polyeleiny and Voskresensky are the largest of them. The cathedral was also famous for its carved wooden baroque iconostasis. Unfortunately, the artist who painted the icons of the savior (Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great and John Chrysostom) also remained unknown.
Solemn laying of the stone St. Andrew's Church
A great misfortune occurred in 1763, July 4. The wooden St. Andrew's church lit up from lightning. She could not be defended from the fire. The synod was allowed on October 6 to build a stone Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral instead of a burnt wooden building. The detailed history of the construction of this building with a bell tower and five chapters, unfortunately, is unknown. In 1764, on July 18, a solemn laying of the cathedral took place (below is a photo of it).
St. Andrew's Cathedral of Kronstadt today looks just like that. A.I. Petrov, a historian of St. Petersburg, claims in his book entitled "History of St. Petersburg" that Alexey Ivanov was the author of the project. However, this fact is not confirmed. The history of perestroika and the construction of the cathedral is not well understood, but it is known that in 1766, on August 8, a dome collapsed inside the church during work. Architect A.F. Vist, the author of the project, was arrested. It turned out that the collapse was not caused by the author’s mistake, but by the poor quality of the materials from which the cathedral was made. In secular and church literature, the exact date of completion of its construction is not indicated, however, a memorial plaque was installed on the building in 1950, according to which, it was built in 1764-1780 (architect - Whist).
Flood
After the flood in 1824, the dungeon of the cathedral was flooded with water. The clergy ordered to fall asleep in order to avoid possible floods in the future and to close the former entrance into it with a deaf arch.
Stone aisles
On March 10, 1848, it was decided to attach stone aisles to the cathedral from two sides. Funds for them were collected from parishioners. The architect of the project is N. Grebenka. The chapel on the right was in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God, and on the left - in the name of N. Mirliki. They were laid in 1848, July 31, and consecrated two years later on October 15. In the nineteenth century, it looked like in the following photo, St. Andrew's Cathedral (Kronstadt).
The church is getting bigger
At the expense of merchants, parishioners A. I. Timenkov and V. A. Frolov in 1850, five chapters of the cathedral and the bell tower were gilded and covered with new iron. The interior decoration was changed in 1858. It was then that the vaults and walls were painted again, the iconostasis was redone, the ornament was gilded along the arches and vaults. The iconostasis was made in three tiers, carved, gilded. Fourteen images in the second and third tiers were written by the artist Shishkin. The icon painter Poshekhonov painted two in the first tier.
Together with the cathedral, a stone house was built in the courtyard for the parable. It was a small, two-story building until 1826. With church money in 1826 he was built on the third floor.
Fire in 1897
In 1897, on July 24, at about ten in the evening, a rather strong glow appeared on the island. The fact is that St. Andrew's Cathedral (Kronstadt) caught fire. Crowds of people rushed to the temple, and fire brigades rushed from different directions. The domes were gilded during the next repair. In the upper part, for some unknown reason, the woods set around the domes and the cathedral caught fire. By the efforts of daredevils and firefighters, they were dismantled, but part of the roof was damaged.
The fate of St. Andrew's Cathedral in the Soviet years
In 1918, on January 23, an SNK decree was proclaimed, according to which the church was separated from the state. It was pointed out that no religious or church community could own property. All their property was declared public property. The church has lost its influence on the hearts and minds of the younger generation, carried out over the centuries, since according to this decree the school was separated from the church.
After a number of regions of the country (the Volga most of all) were covered by an unprecedented drought, which put millions of people on the brink of starvation, the Soviet government issued a decree on February 23, 1922. All church valuables were subject to withdrawal from churches in order to be used by the state to purchase bread abroad.
All the values of St. Andrew's Cathedral in March 1922 were confiscated. Moreover, some of the priests who resisted this were arrested and convicted.
The most active parishioners were arrested by the NKVD at the beginning of 1938, after which they were taken to the Levashovskaya wasteland. Here they were shot. The Kronstadt St. Andrew's Cathedral, the photo of which is presented in this article, was closed on May 16, 1938. The parishioners managed to hammer the iconostasis with plywood and boards. Thanks to this, this relic has survived to our days, of which Kronstadt is rightly proud. St. Andrew's Cathedral, where the museum’s collection was now kept, was rented for many years by the Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography. The three-story house, which until 1974 was inhabited by the descendants of the clergy, was resettled.
Church return
The Church of the Three Saints was returned July 15, 1991. It was transferred to the community of St. Andrew’s Cathedral for unlimited use. Restoration work began in 1994, and today St. Andrew's Cathedral (Kronstadt) has been restored. Crosses were made on the bell tower and the dome, the roof covering was replaced, and cosmetic repairs were also made. Metallic vestments for the altar and the throne were purchased, as well as icons and numerous church utensils.
Address and Schedule
Today the church is active. Anyone can visit the St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt. Address: Vasilievsky Island, 6th line, house 11. Opening hours: daily from 9 am to 7 pm. On any day, you can come to the service in St. Andrew's Cathedral (Kronstadt). The schedule of services is as follows: the liturgy is held at 10 o’clock, the confession is held at 9:30, and the evening service is held at 17 o’clock.