Alexander Nevsky New Yarmarka Cathedral, Cathedral of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky, popularly called the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Orthodox cathedral (a cathedral since 2009) of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Nizhny Novgorod, near the river port in the historic district of Strelka ("Strelitsa"), at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga. It was built in 1868–1881 to a design by the architect L. V. Dal.

The church is 87 meters tall. By height, the cathedral ranks third among the Orthodox churches of Russia, after the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg.[1]

The cathedral's altars are dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, and Saint Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles. In the projecting western vestibule, in the gallery of the main cathedral, is the winter church of Macarius of Zheltovodsk and Unzha.

Design and Fundraising

In 1856, the Yarmarka merchant community expressed a wish to build a second Orthodox church at the Yarmarka in commemoration of Emperor Alexander II's visit to the fair. They petitioned Bishop Anthony of Nizhny Novgorod for permission to build a new cathedral, and he in turn applied to Governor A. N. Muravyov. A collection of donations was held. The necessary funds (454,667 rubles 28 kopecks) were raised over 10 years (by 1866). The initiator and largest donor of the construction was Nikolay Vasilyevich Terlikov, a merchant from Kashin: at the very first meeting in 1858 he contributed 10,000 rubles and was unanimously elected chairman of the building committee. After his death in 1865 the committee lost its main financial backer, and the 75,000 rubles collected by that time were not enough to build the cathedral.[1]

On September 8, 1864, a symbolic foundation stone was laid for the future church. By 1864 a design by the Provincial Architect R. Ya. Kilevein was ready. Even before work began, a chapel was erected at the future construction site, in which the ancient Pecherskaya icon of the Mother of God was placed.[1] The design had to be reworked because of insufficient structural strength; after that it turned out that there was not enough funding for such a project. A new design proposed by a young architect, L. V. Dal, was likewise not approved.

On November 18, 1865, the government approved a "replacement" design for the church, reworked in the Department of Water Communications of the Ministry of Transport; the name of its author is not given in the documents.[1] In 1866, L. V. Dal returned from abroad to settle permanently in Nizhny Novgorod and refined the cathedral's design.

Construction

On September 15, 1867, a building committee was established for the construction of the church, and on August 11, 1868, the cathedral was founded a second time, on the Strelka. The first stone of the foundation was laid by Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, who had arrived in Nizhny Novgorod on July 15, 1868. In 1869–1870 the cathedral's walls were erected and the roofing was completed, while finishing work continued until the end of construction.[1] The main construction of the cathedral began on August 18, 1868, and lasted 13 years; interior work continued until 1881. To replenish the building fund, in August 1869 the Yarmarka traders were subjected to a special 10-percent levy — a land and stall tax — for the needs of the cathedral under construction.[1]

The cathedral was built without a traditional pile foundation and "was a centric monumental structure with five octagonal tent roofs, the central one of which rises to a height of 72.5 meters. The facade decor combined elements of different architectural styles. The plan of the cathedral was eclectic in character." In addition to the icons painted by the Moscow icon painter F. A. Sokolov, icons were brought to the church from the Makaryev Monastery, which had been closed after a fire.

Spiritual Life

On July 20, 1881, construction was completed and the cathedral was solemnly consecrated in the presence of Emperor Alexander III, his wife Maria Feodorovna, and the Tsesarevich Nicholas.

Only the heated winter church of Makary of Zheltovodsk and Unzha was in use.

The church housed a wonder-working icon of the Mother of God and the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, which many people suffering from paralysis and other illnesses came to venerate.

Confiscation of Property and the Soviet Period

In 1929 the church was closed and its valuables were confiscated, and in the winter of 1930, by decision of the leadership of the Volga Flotilla, the iconostases and all the wooden decorations of the cathedral were burned as firewood to heat local homes.

The parishioners still managed to save several icons, including an icon of the Mother of God and the Life-Giving Cross, which until recently had been kept in the Nizhny Novgorod Holy Trinity Vysokovskaya Church.

In the late 1920s, a project was developed to reconstruct the Yarmarka grounds.

It called for demolishing the cathedral and erecting a beacon with a monument to V. I. Lenin in its place.

This project was never carried out, but in preparation for it the tent-roofed towers were dismantled in the late 1930s.

Afterward, the cathedral building was used as warehouses and partly as housing.

Numerous auxiliary rooms and various offices were built onto the cathedral, changing it beyond recognition.

The church's basements held storerooms.

During the Great Patriotic War, an anti-aircraft battery was installed on the cathedral's central drum, defending the skies over Nizhny Novgorod from raids by fascist aircraft.

In the 1940s, a fire destroyed the interior of the cathedral building and the paintings on the ceiling and walls of the church.

After this, the remains of the interior plaster were knocked off entirely.

Revival of the Church

Restoration of the cathedral began in 1983, with volunteer restorers taking an active part during this period. In 1989, reconstruction of the church's demolished tent-roofed towers began.

In February 1991, the Brotherhood in the Name of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky was founded, and in June 1992 the cathedral was returned to the Church.

From 1992, services began in the winter side chapel of St. Macarius.

On December 30, 1998, Metropolitan Nikolai of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas consecrated the cathedral's central Alexander Nevsky altar.

The Mariinsky side chapel was consecrated on April 24, 1999, and the Nikolsky side chapel on May 18.

Services began to be held in the cathedral's main space, though restoration continues.

A new iconostasis design had to be developed for the cathedral, since the secret of the old masters who had installed and secured the 23-meter iconostasis in the last century — as tall as an eight-story building! — could not be recovered. On May 29, 2004, the day of the Trinity Saturday of the Dead, Bishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas performed the rite of consecration of the icons of the cathedral's central iconostasis: the icon of the Holy Trinity in the Forefathers tier, the icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" in the Prophets tier, and the icon of the Mother of God "Derzhavnaya" were consecrated; they were painted under the patronage of Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor G. M. Khodyrev and his wife G. I. Khodyreva.[7]

The outer decoration of the iconostasis will be restored using surviving old photographs.

On September 8, 2009, Archbishop George celebrated the Divine Liturgy and, at its conclusion, consecrated a new cathedral icon of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands — a copy of the miraculous image of the Tutaev Most Merciful Savior, painted in the "Traditsiya" icon-painting workshop. The icon of the Most Merciful Savior kept in the cathedral was painted in 2008 by the cathedral's icon painters and is an exact copy of a 14th-century icon from the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Tutaev, Yaroslavl Region.[2]

On September 12, 2009, the Cathedral in Honor of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky in Nizhny Novgorod was granted the status of a cathedral church (the seat of a bishop).

Painting

In October 2009, the painting of a prayer room at the Avtozavodsky boarding school for children with developmental disabilities was completed. The boarding school has been under the pastoral care of the cathedral's parish since the late 1990s.

Work on the cathedral's interior painting began in April 2010. The painting of the altar was completed in 2010, and in the summer of 2011 work began on two supporting columns. The total area of the paintings will be 11,000 m².

On July 1, 2010, Archbishop George consecrated the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God — the first of the 187 icons of the Mother of God planned for installation in the cathedral. During the consecration, the icon was placed in a large icon case by the left column. In August 2011, work was completed on the Don Icon of the Mother of God, a copy of an ancient original kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Veneration of the Belt of the Theotokos

On November 4, 2011, the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought to the cathedral. The relic was placed in the center of the cathedral and remained there until November 6. During that time, about 170,000 people venerated it, including Patriarch Kirill and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The "Cathedral" Bell

A 60-ton bell is planned to be installed next to the cathedral together with a bell tower.

The bell project is being carried out with the blessing of Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

It will be the third-largest bell in Russia (after the Tsar Bell in Moscow and the bell at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius).

It will be 4 meters tall and the same in diameter, and it will be cast from bell bronze.

An inscription running along the lower rim of the bell will commemorate the names of all the trustees and benefactors who took part in its creation. The design and construction of the bell tower are being handled by the firm Stary Nizhny, the bell will be cast at the Baltic Plant in Saint Petersburg, and specialists from Moscow are supervising the artistic design and the sound.

The bell was cast at the Baltic Plant on October 5, 2011. The work went on for several hours. Three weeks were allotted for the bell to cool.

The Cathedral's Own Shrines and Relics

Shrines of the cathedral:

  • an icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov with a particle of his relics;
  • an icon of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow with a particle of her relics;
  • an icon of the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky with a particle of his relics;
  • an icon of the Holy Great Martyr Princess Elizabeth and the nun Barbara with particles of their relics;
  • an icon of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker;
  • since 2005 the cathedral has housed the first icon brought to Russia with particles of the relics of Hieromartyr Cyprian and Martyr Justina. In 2014, a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon was given to the cathedral from the Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, and in the same year the Greek Orthodox Church gave a particle of the relics of St. John of Damascus.[2] The cathedral also keeps the icon of the Synaxis of the Saints of the Nizhny Novgorod Land, painted in 2008 for the first celebration of the Synaxis of Nizhny Novgorod Saints; the icon was consecrated on September 14, 2008, and particles of the relics of the Nizhny Novgorod saints resting in the Nizhny Novgorod land were later placed within it.[2] The icon with particles of the relics of Hieromartyr Cyprian and Martyr Justina was brought in April 2005 by Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou (Church of Cyprus) and donated to the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.[2]

Educational Activities

The church has the following facilities:

  • Sunday School,
  • Catechist courses,
  • Library of Orthodox literature,
  • Icon-painting workshop. The cathedral houses an icon-painting workshop called "Tradition," which uses only natural materials in making icons.[6]

On Thursdays at 3:00 p.m., talks with a priest of the cathedral are held.

Service schedule

  • Daily: liturgy at 9:00 a.m., vespers at 5:00 p.m.
  • On Sundays and feast days: early liturgy at 6:30 a.m., late liturgy at 9:00 a.m.; on the eve, an all-night vigil at 5:00 p.m.
  • On Wednesdays, after the Divine Liturgy: a moleben (prayer service) with the reading of an akathist to Hieromartyr Cyprian and Martyr Justina.
  • On Thursdays, after the Divine Liturgy: a moleben to the Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky.
  • On Fridays, after the Divine Liturgy: a moleben with the reading of an akathist to the Holy Right-Believing Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia.
  • On Saturdays at 4:00 p.m.: a moleben with an akathist before the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God.

Interesting facts

  • The church was distinctive in having no permanent parish: its parishioners were merchants who came to the Yarmarka. For this reason, the main hall was open only during the fair and was not heated in winter.
  • The church was a place for receiving the city's honored guests — the imperial family (1913) and hierarchs of the Orthodox Church.

Every year, the "Great Rus" music festival is held at the cathedral's facade; by 2026 it had taken place for the sixth time. The festival's program is devoted to the history of the Russian army's victories — from the era of Peter I to the end of the Great Patriotic War — and includes military marches, works by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, and Sviridov, as well as poems by Lermontov, Gumilyov, and Simonov. The performance is accompanied by a large-scale video projection on the cathedral's facade.[3] Soloists, the chorus, and the orchestra of the Pushkin Nizhny Novgorod Opera and Ballet Theater take part in the festival's concerts. The festival is organized by the autonomous nonprofit organization "Center 800" with the support of the government of Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.[3]

Address

Telephones

  • (831) 277-99-26 (rector),
  • 277-99-80 (security).

Official website

See also

Originally, in 1856–1858, it was planned to dedicate the new yarmarka church to St. Nicholas of Myra; the decision to change the dedication was made at a merchants' assembly on August 24, 1858 — the day Emperor Alexander II visited the yarmarka with his wife, Maria Alexandrovna, and his daughter. In memory of this visit, the merchants resolved to dedicate the main altar to Alexander Nevsky, the namesake of the sovereign.[1]

Sources

  1. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis (archive)
  1. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolis — The Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky houses an icon-painting workshop, "Tradition," which uses only natural materials in making icons. (archive)
  1. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia (archive)
  2. nne.ru — The icon of the All-Merciful Savior kept in the cathedral was painted in 2008 by the cathedral's icon painters and is an exact copy of a 14th-century icon from the Church of the Resurrec
  3. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The "Great Rus" music festival will be held in Nizhny Novgorod for the sixth time (archive)
  4. nne.ru — In 2005, the cathedral's board of trustees rejected the new color scheme for the façade proposed by Nizhny Novgorod's chief artist Mikhail Sazontov, and adopted the de (archive)
  5. nne.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Metropolia — The cathedral houses an embroidered belt that was touched to the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was kept in the cathedral from November 4 to 6, 2011. Over three days, the shrine… (archive)