Description of the attraction
The Church of the Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus, or the Cuirassier Church, is located on Kadetsky Boulevard in Pushkin, in the historic district of Sofia.
On March 10, 1832, the Cuirassier regiment arrived in Tsarskoe Selo. The thanksgiving service and the occupation of the military barracks were observed by Emperor Nicholas I. No place was found in the regiment's barracks to accommodate the regimental church, so a place was assigned to it in the northern aisle of St. Sophia Cathedral.
Until 1833, the regimental holiday was the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (May 22), but in honor of the centenary of the regiment's reorganization, this holiday was postponed to the day of St. Julian of Tarsus, that is, to July 3. For this reason, a temple image of the saint was specially painted on a cypress board and placed in a silvered and gilded setting.
At the end of the 19th century. there was a need to build a separate church of the regiment. On July 3, 1849, a ceremony was held to consecrate the construction site of the future temple. After the celebration of the Liturgy in St. Sophia Cathedral, a procession of the cross was held to the site of the future church. On May 17, 1895, the project of the church by architect V. N. Kuritsyn was approved, and on September 29 the temple was solemnly laid, which was to be built in honor of the marriage of the emperor and empress. The construction of the temple was carried out at the expense of the adviser, the merchant of the first guild, Ilya Kirillovich Savinkov. After the architect V. N. Kuritsyn was exiled to Vologda; the architect S. A. Danini. On July 31, 1899, the lower temple was consecrated, and on December 31, the temple was completely consecrated with the participation of Protopresbyter A. A. Zhelobovskoy, Archpriest John of Kronstadt, Tsarskoye Selo clergy and in the presence of the imperial family. After some time, the regimental relics were transferred from the St. Sophia Cathedral to the church.
The church was built in the style of Russian temple architecture of the 17th century. and accommodated about 900 parishioners. The church was located in the center of a large area surrounded by iron bars. There were 12 bells on the bell tower. The bell tower was approached by two entrances to the galleries, which were made in the form of hipped chapels. Outside the right chapel was located the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker, the left - the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky.
The church had two side-chapels: the upper one - in honor of the holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus and the lower one - in honor of the prophet Elijah. A special place in the church was occupied by the iconostasis, the project of which was carried out by V. N. Kuritsyn, the images were written by N. A. Koshelev. The iconostasis was made by F. K. Zetler in Munich from transparent colored stained-glass windows. The Royal Doors were also made of glass and were decorated with traditional images of the Evangelists and the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. At the top of the dome was a large round stained-glass window with the image of the Savior. Small windows facing north and south were also decorated with glass mosaics.
In the lower church there was a white marble iconostasis with gilded royal doors. The image of the prophet Elijah was decorated with precious stones. He himself was placed in a gilded bronze icon case. I. K. Savinkov with his wife Elizabeth, the first church leader, V. N. Shenshin. Today the premises of the lower church are filled with water. But the marble tombs of the Savinkovs have survived.
After the revolution, the church became a parish church. In 1923, the eagles were removed from the tents of the church. In 1924 the temple was closed. After that, the iconostasis and all the decoration of the church were destroyed. Most of the icons were handed over to the Administration of Children's Palaces-museums. The building of the church was used for the economic needs of military units, incl.and those who were in the barracks of the former Cuirassier regiment. During the occupation of Pushkin, the temple was occupied by units of the Blue Division. After the war, despite the petitions of believers to open a church, the building was used as a locker and production workshops of the Guards Artillery Division. In 1987, the temple building was taken under state protection as an architectural monument. The temple was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1992, and in 1995 the first prayer service was held here.
Today the church building is mothballed. In 2010, new tents and domes were installed on the temple; in September 2012, they began to recreate forged gilded crosses and heraldic eagles. It is planned to open a museum of Pushkin's military history in the lower aisle.
