Description of the attraction
The history of the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral began in the early 18th century, when on the place where the temple now stands, there was a parade ground of the Naval Regimental Court, and around it were the barracks of the elite part of the Russian fleet - the Life Guards naval crew, as well as the houses of the officials of the naval department. In 1743, a wooden church was built here, consecrated in the name of the patron saint of all wandering St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Greek merchants presented this church with a valuable Byzantine icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which is still the main shrine of the church, as well as a fragment of his relics. But the damp climate of St. Petersburg very soon rendered the wooden building unusable. And then, by the highest order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, on the site of the old church, the construction of a new stone cathedral was started according to the project and under the leadership of the architect S. I. Chevakinsky, a student of Rastrelli. The construction of the cathedral took almost ten years - from 1753 to 1762.
The cathedral in the plan looks like an equal-pointed cross and is crowned with five domes with crosses covered with gilding, which shine under the mean northern sun and are visible from afar. This is the late Baroque, which is characterized by a special splendor and rich decoration. Nikolsky Cathedral consists of two parts. The lower church was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The upper church was consecrated in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord. This is how the full name of the cathedral was formed - Nikolo-Epiphany Cathedral.
After the revolution, the cathedral suffered greatly from ruin, but it, nevertheless, is one of the few churches in St. Petersburg that has never been closed and services have never stopped there. Moreover, for almost sixty years in the twentieth century, it was the city's cathedral.
In April 2008, Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga consecrated the Epiphany Church after a year of restoration funded by parishioners, which had not been carried out since its construction in the 18th century. After that, the temple was returned to the shrines - the icons of the Kolokolnikov brothers and the ark with the relics of saints from different centuries, starting with the early Christian martyrs.
When the cathedral was consecrated, it was named "Marine", so the victories of the Russian fleet in naval battles were always celebrated here.
The temple also continues the tradition of commemorating all those who died on the waters. The Epiphany Church contains plaques with the names of sailors who died during the Russian-Japanese war on the battleship Petropavlovsk in Port Arthur, on the nuclear submarine Komsomolets and other sunken Soviet submarines. On the days of remembrance, memorial services are performed for the crew members. Since 2000, a commemoration of the sailors of the Kursk nuclear submarine has been held in the cathedral.
The blue color of the building and the magnificent white stucco moldings create an atmosphere of festivity and solemnity in any weather. The cathedral is truly one of the most beautiful churches in the northern capital. And a few dozen meters from the cathedral, the Kryukov Canal embankment is decorated with a four-tiered bell tower, crowned with a sharp spire, soaring into the sky. Tall, slender, reflected in the water, the bell tower turns this corner of St. Petersburg into an exceptionally romantic place. No wonder her appearance has inspired and continues to inspire the work of many painters.
