Description of the attraction
The Armenian community was founded in St. Petersburg in 1710, the first meetings were held in houses belonging to members of the community. In 1714, the first petition was filed for permission to build a church for Armenians, but the authorities rejected it. It was only in 1725 that the Synod finally gave permission to hold meetings in a prayer house, which was located in a wooden building on Vasilievsky Island.
At the beginning of 1740, Ghukas Shirvanyan was allowed to build a small stone church. However, after the death of the Empress, construction stopped. In May 1770, Hovhannes Lazaryan (the head of the Armenian community) again submitted a petition and received a positive response. Catherine II signed a decree according to which it was allowed for servicemen and Armenians to build churches in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. And in less than a month, a place was allocated for construction on Nevsky Prospekt opposite Gostiny Dvor.
Architect Yu. M. Felten developed the project and led the construction, which lasted from 1771 to 1776. About thirty-three thousand rubles were spent. This money was mainly donated by the head of the community, some were collected by parishioners. The design of the church building was very similar to the Lutheran church built a little earlier. Although the architect paid more attention to decorative design. The portico of the church was more extended, its side walls were decorated with pilasters at the ends. Openings of various shapes were made in the walls. The first tier had arched and rectangular openings, in the second tier small round windows were made. They matched very well with square-shaped panels. The austere capitals of the Tuscan order were replaced by Ionic capitals, and bas-reliefs were placed in the intervals between windows. Little angels erecting a cross were depicted above the entrance to the church.
Inside the church there are twenty pairs of columns, they are placed in the corners under the dome and are faced with yellow marble. The capitals are made in white, which makes it more expressive. A cornice, which had a decorative appearance, surrounded the ceiling of the room with a continuous ribbon; denticles gave it a special charm.
In mid-February 1780, the temple was consecrated by the Armenian Archbishop Joseph. The consecration was attended by Prince G. A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky. Armenian culture is concentrated around the temple, which has become a kind of center. Until now, the church has an Armenian school and printing house that publishes books in Armenian.
Over the years, the church was surrounded by a cast iron lattice, and a gate was installed.
In 1841 the architect L. F. Vendramini was in charge of the overhaul. In 1865, the temple tower was rebuilt into a belfry of three bells. In 1900-1906, the walls and ceilings of the church building were strengthened, choirs were built. In 1887, the artist Aivazovsky I. K. the community was presented with the painting "Christ on Lake Tiberias". In 1915, the relics of the Apostle Thaddeus and St. Gregory the Illuminator were handed over to the temple.
In 1930, the temple was closed, divided by ceilings and given to the military, who placed the air defense headquarters in it. After the war, the building was used as decorations for theaters. Only in 1990, at the request of the Armenian community of St. Petersburg, the temple began to be restored, and in 1993 services began in it. The restoration that began in those years continues to this day. In July 2000, Patriarch - Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II fully consecrated the temple, while Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II was present. At the same time, the relics of St. George, which were kept in the Hermitage, were returned to the temple.
