Troitsky Cathedral

The Troitsky Cathedral is the forth highest architectural point after the spire of Peter-and-Paul Cathedral, St. Isaac''s Cathedral and the Admiralty. The Troitsky Cathedral, accomplished in historical style, was created in 1828-35 by the renowned Russian architect Stasov. This very place was chosen deliberately as the Izmailovsky regiment - one of the oldest guard regiments in the Russian army – used to be quartered there and had on this spot its field church, consecrated in honour of Holy Trinity. In 1733 a large field tent operating as a church was consecrated here and the icons, which were moved here, were painted on a dark blue satin. By 1753 the building of the settlement was over and the number of the men in the regiment was about 5000 people thus the field church could not accommodate them. Empress Elizabeth ordered to erect a large wooden church which should have been the tallest and largest one in the capital. Thus in 1754-1756 there appeared a new church with two altars, the main of which was consecrated in the name of the Savior of the Trinity. Unfortunately, by 1822 the church decayed greatly and the flood of 1824 made the situation even worse, so Emperor Nicholas I ordered to build a new magnificent cathedral instead of the old church and allocated funds for this purpose. The church was put to pieces and in May 1828 after public prayers had been performed, a grand ceremony of laying a foundation was held. In the middle of July 1832 the grand dome was painted light blue – the colour of the regiment uniform. Later 11 bells, with the total weight of 17 tons, were installed, and the chandelier, which could hold 300 candles, was placed under the central dome. Despite several accidents, which occurred during the construction, on May 23, 1835 all works about the Cathedral were finished.

The Cathedral is built in a shape of the Greek cross with five cupolas (the small ones painted with gold stars) and its fa?ade is decorated with angel figures installed on the large sculptured frieze, 24 Corinthian columns and framed half-circular windows were made of plaster. The interior decoration is perfectly executed. The iconostasis of the main altar is framed with six Corinthian columns that are laid out in a half-circle. All in all there were 3 alters in the Cathedral, which was renowned for its unrivalled collection of invaluable icons, books, church-plates, sacred vessels, and Holy relics. The uniforms of Emperors Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II were exhibited in show cases. After the cathedral''s opening, flags, keys from forts and other trophies that the regiment won in campaigns during 1854-1855 and 1877-1878 were also housed in the cathedral.

Since 1845 on the premises of the cathedral there existed an orphanage, an almshouse, a parish school, workshops for invalids, a hospital for soldiers and poor and a dinning-room for the last one. After the revolution of 1917 there came the period of hardships in the history of the Cathedral: most of its invaluable belongings were confiscated, and on the 22nd of April in 1938 it was closed. There were plans either to demolish the cathedral or to use it as a crematorium, but luckily the beginning of World War II prevented the fulfillment of these shameful plans. After the war the outer walls were restored but the interior decoration fell into decay as this sacred place was used as a store-house. Only in 1990 the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Institute. In 1991 the cathedral was reopened to the public and even though the restoration works are still going on, the cathedral keep on living and manages to impress people with its unrivalled beauty.

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