Description of the attraction
The Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is a functioning Orthodox church located on Krestovskaya Hill, in the territory of the Central Park.
In September 1773, the first city-wide cemetery was founded in Irkutsk outside the city, which required the construction of a special cemetery church. The one-story stone church building without a bell tower was built in the very center of the new cemetery. The funds for the construction were allocated by the Irkutsk merchant Mikhail Vasilyevich Sibiryakov.
The church was founded in September 1793. Its construction was completed in 1795, after which the consecration of the temple took place in the name of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem. Since that time, the cemetery has been called Jerusalem. However, the church quickly fell into disrepair and partially collapsed after the earthquake. In 1817, a proposal was received to build a new cemetery church. The author of the project of the new church was the Tomsk provincial architect Deev.
Construction began in 1820 and ended in 1835. The rapid erection of the new Entry into Jerusalem Church was prevented by the collapse of the vault and damage to the structures, which occurred in 1823. The iconostasis of the church was designed by the local architect A. V. Vasiliev. In July 1835, a solemn consecration of the new church took place.
In 1867, the old Jerusalem church was dismantled, some of the suitable building materials were used to expand the new temple. Initially, the church had one side-chapel, but in 1890 two more side-chapels were added on the north and south sides. The first of them is consecrated in honor of the Mother of God of Jerusalem, and the second - in the name of St. Mitrophan the Wonderworker of Voronezh. In the early 1920s. the church building was nationalized, and transferred to the use of the parish community on a lease basis.
In November 1931, the temple was closed. In 1932, the Jerusalem cemetery was also closed. The community of believers handed over the church with all the valuables and property to the representatives of the Soviet government. As a result, the temple was used as a warehouse for the East Siberian regional militia, a hostel, a ski base and one of the buildings of the school of culture. In February 1990 the church received the status of a cultural monument of local importance, and in March 2000 it was transferred to the Irkutsk diocese.
