Description of the attraction
The Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, or the Resurrection Cathedral, is also known as "Nikolai-do". It was built at the end of the 19th century, and in 1962 it received the status of a cultural monument of Japan and is protected by the state. It also has the status of a cathedral of the Tokyo Orthodox Diocese and is active. It is located in Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda.
The first temple was built in 1871 after the Orthodox mission, led by Archimandrite Nikolai (Kasatkin), moved to the Japanese capital. The church was then a brownie and very cramped. For the construction of a new church, Bishop Nikolai (Kasatkin) raised funds by lecturing in different cities of Russia. It was erected by a truly international team: the author of the project was the Russian architect Mikhail Shchurupov, the author of the design was the British Josiah Konder, and the construction was supervised by Nagasato Taisuke. Only twenty years later, in 1891, the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was consecrated.
The temple was badly damaged during the strongest earthquake in September 1923. The broken bell tower fell on the dome of the temple, destroyed the sacristy and blocked one of the entrances. The fire burned down all the wooden equipment of the building, church utensils and bells melted.
During the Second World War, in order to disguise the building of the cathedral, it was painted black, and after the war, services almost stopped, the building itself was in a deplorable state. Funds for its restoration began to be raised only in 1950.
In the 70s of the twentieth century, the temple received the status of the cathedral of the Japanese Orthodox Church and became open for inspection. In the 90s, a large-scale restoration was carried out in the temple for six years, in 1998 the cathedral was re-consecrated.
Today the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ is an example of the Russian-Byzantine style. From a bird's eye view, the temple looks like a cross with narrow wings. The height of the temple to the highest point on the bell tower is 40 meters. Eight bells ring out over the Japanese capital. Some of the icons of the temple are copies of works by Viktor Vasnetsov and Mikhail Nesterov. In the altar part there are three icons: the Mother of God of the Sign, the Archangel Michael and the Archangel Gabriel. The cathedral is designed for 2000 visitors.
