The Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese
Encyclopedia
The Saint Vladimir Cathedral is a Neo-Byzantine Russian Orthodox
cathedral on the site of Chersonesos Taurica. It commemorates the presumed place of St. Vladimir's baptism.
of Vladimir the Great
took place in 988 in the Chersonese (or, as it was called by ancient Russian, Korsun), now - Chersonesos Taurica, a National Preserve
near Sevastopol
. In The Story of the Passing Years by the monk Nestor the city conciliar Church was mentioned: “in the middle of the city, where the inhabitants gather to trade”, which, as supposed, could be the probable place of the event crucial for the whole Rus.
The idea to immortalize the place of the Baptism of the Holy Prince Vladimir
Equal-to-the-Apostles was first represented in 1825 by the Black Sea Fleet
Chief vice-admiral
Alexey Greig
. On his initiative the excavations under the direction of K.Kruse were conducted in Chersonesos Taurica in 1827. As a result, the remains of the ancient Christian churches
, including cruciform basilica were found out at the center of the market square
.In 1830th the historians Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux and N. Murzakevich made the conjecture that Vladimir the Great was baptized in this basilica. After that, all doubts about the place of the future Church dispelled. In 1850 by the petition of prelates of the church Innocent, archbishop of Chersonese and Tauric, St. Vladimir's Cloister was found. On August 23 1850 grand laying of the foundation stone of the Church in honor of Saint Vladimir
took place.
. The construction took 15 years and was finished in 1874-1876, with the assistance of engineer M. Arnold. It was one of the biggest Cathedral of Russia
(height – 36 m, total area – 1726 sq. m, dome diameter – 10,5 m) that could accommodate up to thousand church people.
The decoration of a Church began on the eve of 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus
. It did not succeed to paint the Church for this significant date, that is why on June 13 1888 to the Memorial Day of Grand Prince St. Vladimir only the Lower Church in honor of the Birth of Mary was consecrated. That year the iconostasis carved out of wood was placed at this Church and the interior work at Upper Church under the direction of architect Nikolay Chagin begun. The painting and icons for the central iconostasis of St. Vladimir Cathedral were made by academician Alexei Korzukhin
. Furthermore, in the interior of the Cathedral it was also used works of the 1850th made by academician T. Neff, painter F. Riss, icons made by I.Maikov and E. Sorokin. Works out of marble, such as iconostasis of the Upper Church, mosaic floor of the Cathedral, marble balustrade along solea, were carried out by Italian masters J. Seppi and brothers Baskarini. Тhe consecration of the Cathedral took place on October 17 1891, though the final decorative design was complited only in 1894.
As far back as 1859 the marble reliquary in form of Gospel with relics of Grand Prince St. Vladimir was passed from the Small Church of the Winter Palace
in St. Petersburg
to Chersonese. After the building of St. Vladimir Cathedral, his relics were was placed in the Lower Church near the ruins of the ancient basilica. At the Upper Church altar is situated the list from the miracle-working Korsun icon of the Mother of God, which, according to legend, was brought from Chersonese by Vladimir the Great. Altogether, the relics of 115 saints were passed to Cathedral.
Vladimir Cathedral was destroyed. The work on its restoration began in the late 1990s, even though it was made more active only in 2000. The project of the reconstruction was carried out by Kiev Institute “UkrProjectRestoration” under the direction of architect E. Osadchiy. From 2002 Vladimir Cathedral was painted by artists from St. Petersburg, Kiev and the Crimea, which recreated the lost painting of academician A. Korzuhin. On the walls of the Cathedral the contemporaries can see the following monumental compositions: “The Holy Spirit” (authors – L. Steblovska, E. Revenko) “The Baptism of Christ” (author – A. Dmitrenko), “The Transfiguration of Christ” (authors – L. Dmitrenko, N. Dmitrenko), “The Last Lord's Supper” (A. Pigarev, K.Popovskiy). The icons for marble iconostasis of the Upper Church were painted by young artists A. Dmitrenko and N. Dmitrenko.
The consecration of the high altar
of Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese took place on April 3, 2004, and in a week the Easter liturgy was officiated.
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
cathedral on the site of Chersonesos Taurica. It commemorates the presumed place of St. Vladimir's baptism.
History
According to legend and historic facts the baptismBaptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of Vladimir the Great
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
took place in 988 in the Chersonese (or, as it was called by ancient Russian, Korsun), now - Chersonesos Taurica, a National Preserve
National preserve
National Preserve is a designation applied by the United States Congress to protected areas that have characteristics normally associated with U.S. National Parks but where certain activities not allowed in National Parks are permitted. These activities include public hunting, trapping, and oil...
near Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. In The Story of the Passing Years by the monk Nestor the city conciliar Church was mentioned: “in the middle of the city, where the inhabitants gather to trade”, which, as supposed, could be the probable place of the event crucial for the whole Rus.
The idea to immortalize the place of the Baptism of the Holy Prince Vladimir
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
Equal-to-the-Apostles was first represented in 1825 by the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
Chief vice-admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Alexey Greig
Alexey Greig
Aleksey Samuilovich Greig was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He was the son of Admiral Samuel Greig, brother-in-law of Mary Somerville, and father of Samuil Greig, Russian Minister of Finance.He studied at the High School of Edinburgh under the Rector Adam from 1783 to 1785, and then...
. On his initiative the excavations under the direction of K.Kruse were conducted in Chersonesos Taurica in 1827. As a result, the remains of the ancient Christian churches
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
, including cruciform basilica were found out at the center of the market square
Market square
The market square is a feature of many European and colonial towns. It is an open area where market stalls are traditionally set out for trading, commonly on one particular day of the week known as market day....
.In 1830th the historians Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux and N. Murzakevich made the conjecture that Vladimir the Great was baptized in this basilica. After that, all doubts about the place of the future Church dispelled. In 1850 by the petition of prelates of the church Innocent, archbishop of Chersonese and Tauric, St. Vladimir's Cloister was found. On August 23 1850 grand laying of the foundation stone of the Church in honor of Saint Vladimir
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
took place.
Building
The author of the project of St. Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese was academician David Grimm. According to his plan, the Cathedral had to be built in Byzantine styleByzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
. The construction took 15 years and was finished in 1874-1876, with the assistance of engineer M. Arnold. It was one of the biggest Cathedral of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(height – 36 m, total area – 1726 sq. m, dome diameter – 10,5 m) that could accommodate up to thousand church people.
The decoration of a Church began on the eve of 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus
Baptism of Kievan Rus'
The Christianization of Kievan Rus took place in several stages. In early 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople announced to other Orthodox patriarchs that the Rus', baptised by his bishop, took to Christianity with particular enthusiasm...
. It did not succeed to paint the Church for this significant date, that is why on June 13 1888 to the Memorial Day of Grand Prince St. Vladimir only the Lower Church in honor of the Birth of Mary was consecrated. That year the iconostasis carved out of wood was placed at this Church and the interior work at Upper Church under the direction of architect Nikolay Chagin begun. The painting and icons for the central iconostasis of St. Vladimir Cathedral were made by academician Alexei Korzukhin
Alexei Korzukhin
Alexei Ivanovich Korzukhin was Russian painter.A Korzukhin 000.JPGKorzukhin was born in Yekaterinburg on March 23, 1835. In 1858 he began his studies in the St. Petersburg in the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1860, Korzukhin won his first award for the painting his The Drunken Father.In 1864, he...
. Furthermore, in the interior of the Cathedral it was also used works of the 1850th made by academician T. Neff, painter F. Riss, icons made by I.Maikov and E. Sorokin. Works out of marble, such as iconostasis of the Upper Church, mosaic floor of the Cathedral, marble balustrade along solea, were carried out by Italian masters J. Seppi and brothers Baskarini. Тhe consecration of the Cathedral took place on October 17 1891, though the final decorative design was complited only in 1894.
As far back as 1859 the marble reliquary in form of Gospel with relics of Grand Prince St. Vladimir was passed from the Small Church of the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
to Chersonese. After the building of St. Vladimir Cathedral, his relics were was placed in the Lower Church near the ruins of the ancient basilica. At the Upper Church altar is situated the list from the miracle-working Korsun icon of the Mother of God, which, according to legend, was brought from Chersonese by Vladimir the Great. Altogether, the relics of 115 saints were passed to Cathedral.
Reconstruction
During II World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Vladimir Cathedral was destroyed. The work on its restoration began in the late 1990s, even though it was made more active only in 2000. The project of the reconstruction was carried out by Kiev Institute “UkrProjectRestoration” under the direction of architect E. Osadchiy. From 2002 Vladimir Cathedral was painted by artists from St. Petersburg, Kiev and the Crimea, which recreated the lost painting of academician A. Korzuhin. On the walls of the Cathedral the contemporaries can see the following monumental compositions: “The Holy Spirit” (authors – L. Steblovska, E. Revenko) “The Baptism of Christ” (author – A. Dmitrenko), “The Transfiguration of Christ” (authors – L. Dmitrenko, N. Dmitrenko), “The Last Lord's Supper” (A. Pigarev, K.Popovskiy). The icons for marble iconostasis of the Upper Church were painted by young artists A. Dmitrenko and N. Dmitrenko.
The consecration of the high altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
of Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese took place on April 3, 2004, and in a week the Easter liturgy was officiated.
See also
- St. Vladimir's Cathedral, SevastopolSt. Vladimir's Cathedral, SevastopolSt. Vladimir's Cathedral is an Orthodox church in Sevastopol which was built in the aftermath of the Crimean War as a memorial to the heroes of the Siege of Sevastopol ....
- Neo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian EmpireNeo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian EmpireNeo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian Empire emerged in the 1850s and became an officially endorsed preferred architectural style for church construction during the reign of Alexander II of Russia , replacing the Russo-Byzantine style of Konstantin Thon...