Description of the attraction
All Saints Church was built in 1884. Its walls are made of Inkerman stone, from which all its architectural elements are also carved - platbands, pilasters, cornices. The white and shining temple was very much like the Russian dress uniform of sailors. No wonder the author of the project and the builder of the church is Captain Matvey Solomonovich Nich.
In terms of its architecture, the church is made in the style of old Russian church architecture. The central part of the church, square in plan, is crowned with a high dome; light fell through narrow lancet windows with stained-glass windows. The church was small in size - 29.5 x 8.4 m.
All Saints Church, located opposite the central market, borders the old city cemetery. Its gates, which have survived to this day, are also made of Inkerman white stone and are an architectural monument. The cemetery has many historical monuments. For many centuries, eminent and honorable residents of Feodosia were buried here. Among them is M. S. Nich, who did not live only a year before the completion of the construction of the temple and was buried near it.
The temple existed for more than seventy years, survived all wars, starting with the First World War, and revolutionary events. However, he did not manage to survive the period of the struggle of the Soviet government with religion. In 1961, the building of the temple was declared emergency and it was decided to destroy it. However, the temple turned out to be a very strong building and did not succumb to destruction. It was decided to turn to the military demolitions, who secretly, under cover of night, turned the white-stone temple into a heap of ruins. In the same year, unable to survive the destruction of the church, its last priest died, who was buried in the old cemetery.
The city cemetery was closed in 1978 due to a lack of burial space. Gradually, it was plundered, littered and destroyed.
The restoration work of the All Saints Church began in 1992. The working project was carried out according to old photographs and drawings by a group of architects. The temporary small church was located in a utility room, built in 1903, where the divine services were held. In 1999, with the help of the dean Mikhail Sytenko, construction work began, which was completed in 2003. A new temple was raised from the ruins, which turned out to be even more beautiful than its predecessor. From the inside, it was painted by a group of artists led by Elena Makovei, there are simply no analogues of these paintings in history: the walls of the temple are covered with a thin gold layer, and paintings are made on this gold background.
A spiritual school and a small museum were opened at the temple, which is developing thanks to the Guardian Council "Keep and Remember", created in 2000. The council is actively involved in the improvement of the city's old cemetery; the nearest plans include the creation of a lapidarium and a memorial. Excursions will take place at the cemetery, the routes of which will lead to historical burials and monuments of famous persons: doctors, public figures, test pilots, sailors, teachers, to mass graves of the times of the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War.
