Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is located in the city of Novaya Ladoga. It was built in the late 15th - early 16th centuries. Novgorod masters. The temple was built from the Volkhov slab, its lower vaults were lined with bricks and slabs, and the upper ones were made of bricks.
The temple is rectangular in plan and has a semicircular apse on the east side. The height of the building with the dome is 23 m, the length is more than 21 m, the width of the temple with the northern side-altar is 20 m. The side-altar is named in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin. It was added to the church in 1711 on the initiative of the merchant P. Barsukov. The antimension of the northern side-altar was consecrated by Archbishop Gabriel on August 14, 1776; it contained a particle of the relics of St. Archdeacon Stephen. On July 19, 1853, Bishop Christopher consecrated the Antimension of the main throne.
In 1812, the building of the church was renovated, as a result of which the zakomarnoe covering was replaced on the hipped roof, the porch with a 17th century porch was rebuilt, similar to the porch of the Cathedral of the Old Ladoga Monastery, the windows were hewn.
The entrance doors are located on the western side of the temple. Behind them is a staircase of thirteen steps made of limestone slab, which is fenced on both sides with slab walls and covered with an iron roof. The porch is a kind of narthex of the temple, which is separated from the main part by a gate with a glass transom. The ancient slab floor was later replaced with pine. The main iconostasis (1812) was gilded and consisted of four tiers, decorated with carvings in the form of vines, twisted columns and ended with a crucifixion with the Mother of God and John the Theologian. In the lower tier, large icons were decorated with silver vestments. The icons on the upper tiers were made in the Byzantine style.
In 1860 the temple was renewed: the iconostasis was gilded again, oak thrones were built, which were consecrated on August 14 and August 21. In 1872 the temple was renewed again - the windows in the lower tier were hewn.
On March 18, 1891, priest Nikolai Olminsky, headman of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, S. Kirillov, P. Kozlov and other patriotic residents of Novaya Ladoga petitioned for a chapel in honor of the prophet Hosea, Andrew of Crete and Lazar the Four-Day to be built in the basement of the cathedral. whose honor is celebrated on October 17, when Alexander III and his family escaped in a train crash in 1888. The project for the reconstruction of the temple was developed by the academician of architecture M. A. Shchurupov. The side-altar had a separate entrance, it was illuminated by light from three windows, its altar was located under the upper altar. By October 1892, the temple was mostly ready, but it was consecrated only on June 3, 1896. Most likely, at the same time, another tier was pierced above the ground to provide ventilation of the basement.
In the cathedral there were two revered icons, which were made by the abbots of the Medvedsky monastery Theodosius and Leonid in 1502-1503. The shrine of the temple was the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was located on the outer eastern wall of the church in an open niche located at a height of 8 m and facing the river. In 1859, a jeweler from St. Petersburg, Verkhovtsev, made a silver robe with a gilded crown for the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker. A bronze lantern with an icon lamp burned next to the icon. At night, this fire was a saving beacon for the ships sailing along the Volkhov. In the mid-1870s. in front of the icon was a flagstone porch, as well as a cast-iron balcony and a staircase, which were supported by columns. The graceful and at the same time solid spiral staircase on the apse was made with great professionalism. Most likely, the author of her project is the architect M. A. Shchurupov.
Prayer in front of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was mandatory when sailing or fishing. On a cast-iron table next to the icon, the believers put their offerings, threw small coins into the mug, which reached up to 250 rubles a year. On temple holidays, prayers were held on the porch. On the night of the feast of St. Nicholas in spring, pilgrims who came from the villages stood until morning in front of the image of the saint. Until now, the staircase and the assembly circle have survived, but the main shrine of the temple - the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker - disappeared without a trace after the cathedral was closed for the second time. It was closed for the first time in 1938, but in 1947 it was returned to the believers. It operated until 1961, then, during the times of Khrushchev's persecutions, it was closed again. The interior of the church, except for the fragments of the skeleton of the iconostasis, was taken out on dump trucks and destroyed.
Today the temple is in a semi-emergency condition. On the initiative of the parish in 2001-2003. Part of the roof, the base of the drum, the dome and the porch of the Assumption Chapel were covered with white tin.
