Description of the attraction
The famous Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is a 20th century Orthodox cathedral located in the Leningrad region, namely in the city of Luga. The church building was built entirely of stone in the neo-Byzantine style.
The history of the cathedral begins with the fact that in 1899 numerous residents of the city of Luga submitted a petition for the construction of a new church in the western part of the city. The full-scale construction of the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God began in 1901 and continued until 1904. The architect of the new church building was Nikolai Galaktionovich Kudryavtsev (1856-1941). At the moment, there is information that it was this person who made a large donation to the new temple, namely, he presented a cross with particles of Calvary and the Life-Giving Tree. It is also known that the main funds required for the construction of the temple were collected by the believing townspeople. The construction of the cathedral was completed in the summer of 1904, after which the long-awaited ceremony of consecration of the church building in the name of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God took place on August 10. The consecration ceremony was conducted by Bishop Kirill Smirnov (Gdovskiy).
The cathedral was a spacious and spacious building, decorated in the Byzantine style and equipped with a large four-tiered iconostasis. As for the architectural appearance of the entire temple building, it is worth noting that it especially highlights the extraordinary combination of a characteristic and quite traditional for Russian cathedrals three-part composition with a small bell tower located above the church narthex, as well as the main volume with several semicircular protrusions.
During the 1920s - 1930s, the Cathedral of the Kazan Mother of God fell into the hands of the Renovationists and legally began to be called a cathedral. In mid-1936, the temple suspended its activities and was officially closed until 1938. From 1936 to 1938, a driving school was housed in the building of the previously existing cathedral, due to which the interior decoration was looted, and then somewhat subject to changes - uncharacteristic interfloor ceilings appeared. After some time, the church building began to be used as a warehouse, garage, and later it was transformed into a hostel and a city library.
During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the headquarters of the 41st Military Rifle Corps was located here. During the period when the occupation of the city of Luga began, a major overhaul was carried out in the previously existing cathedral, as a result of which the church in the name of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God became operational again. According to written data, in the fall of October 20, 1942, the church was consecrated.
In the spring of March 1947, the temple regained its status as a cathedral. In 1946-1963, the cathedral was considered a cathedral under the bishops of Luga, who were vicars of the Leningrad diocese.
From 1955 to 1965, Bishop Meliton Soloviev (Bishop Tikhvin) was the rector of the church. It was this man who re-consecrated the cathedral on February 3, 1977 after renovation work was carried out in 1975-1977, as a result of which the curtains were completely painted. In 1991, a church Sunday school was opened. In 2005, the cathedral underwent a major overhaul of its dilapidated facades and roof.
Among the shrines of the cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is the famous Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God "Pecherskaya" (Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos). This icon was revealed in the 16-17 centuries in a settlement called Malye Pecherki in the village of Turovo, not far from the town of Luga. In the process of acquiring, a small spring with life-giving healing water was miraculously discovered. In 1789, the icon was moved from this place to the famous Cathedral of the Great Martyr Catherine in Luga. Since 1941, the icon of the Pechersk Mother of God has been kept in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Also in the cathedral there are no less revered icons: the icon of the Savior, Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Tikhvin Mother of God, Saint Prince Vladimir and Princess Olga from the Resurrection Cathedral in the city of Luga.
Today the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is active.
