, also known as , in Chiyoda, Tokyo

Chiyoda, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward. As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards...

, is the main cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of the Japanese Orthodox Church

Japanese Orthodox Church

The Japanese Orthodox Church or The Orthodox Church in Japan is an autonomous church of Eastern Orthodoxy under the omophorion of the Russian Orthodox Church.-History:...

.

History

The founder of the Japanese Orthodox Church

Japanese Orthodox Church

The Japanese Orthodox Church or The Orthodox Church in Japan is an autonomous church of Eastern Orthodoxy under the omophorion of the Russian Orthodox Church.-History:...

 Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin (1836-1912), later St. Nicholas of Japan, was an archbishop who devoted himself to improving Japanese-Russian relations during the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

. He selected the location on the hill at Kanda

Kanda, Tokyo

See also Kanda, Fukuoka and the disambiguation page for Kanda. is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It encompasses about thirty neighborhoods...

 Surugadai. The site is on a height that overlooked the Imperial Palace

Kokyo

is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains several buildings including the main palace , the emperor left Kyoto Imperial Palace for Tokyo...

. Today it is hidden among the many tall buildings erected since the 1960s.

St. Nicholas toured 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...

 raising funds for the Cathedral. The edifice was planned by Dr. Michael A. Shchurupov, designed by Josiah Conder, and constructed by Nagasato Taisuke. The Cathedral was completed on March 8, 1891, construction having begun seven years earlier. Depictions of its exotic Byzantine architecture and the unique sound of its bell often appeared in literature and illustrations of the day.

The original Cathedral was seriously damaged in the Great Kantō earthquake

1923 Great Kanto earthquake

The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...

 of September 1923. The main bell tower fell on the dome, collapsing it, thus causing major damage to the Cathedral. Rebuilding the cathedral became a major task for the then-ruling bishop, Archbishop Sergius (Tikhomirov)

Metropolitan Sergius (Tikhomirov) of Japan

Metropolitan Sergius of Japan was a Russian clergyman and monk of the Russian Orthodox Church and later Japanese Orthodox Church.- Early life :...

, who succeeded St. Nicholas after he died in 1912. Since Russia was no longer a source of funding, Archbishop Sergius had to look for funding within Japan. A significant amount of funding was raised by numerous concerts by the Cathedral choir, led by Victor A. Pokrovsky. The re-built Cathedral was re-consecrated in 15 December 1929, with a shorter bell tower, a modified dome, and a less ornate interior, according to design by Okada Shinichiro.

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