The Church of All Saints (Petropavlovskaya) is a late-18th-century Orthodox church located in Kulibina Park on the site of the former Petropavlovskoye Cemetery. Built between 1780 and 1785, it is the only surviving monument of Russian Baroque architecture from the second half of the 18th century in Nizhny Novgorod.[1]
History
The construction of the church is linked to the urban reforms carried out under Catherine II. In 1771, the Senate ordered that burials at city churches be discontinued and that cemeteries be relocated beyond the city limits.[2] In 1775, a site was chosen in Nizhny Novgorod on Varvarskoe Field — half a verst beyond the Varvarskaya toll gate — enclosed with a fence, and a chapel was erected there.[3]
At the same time, under the new city plan, the old Petropavlovskaya Church, which stood near Kremlin Hill where the Aleksandrovsky Garden now begins, was slated for demolition. The first written mention of it dates to 1621–1622: in the census charter of Patriarch Filaret it is listed among 27 Nizhny Novgorod churches.[1] Parishioners — chiefly the merchant brothers Averyan, Yevdokim, and Yegor Neudakiny — approached the first Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Architect, Yakov Ananyev, with a request to design a new church for the future cemetery.[3]
The masonry work was completed in 1780; interior finishing of part of the building was completed in 1781, and that same year Bishop Antoniy of Nizhny Novgorod consecrated the chapel in honor of the Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles, Emperors Constantine and Helena. In 1783, the second chapel was consecrated — in honor of Saints Basil of Parium and Peter of Alexandria. The main altar in the name of the Chief Apostles Peter and Paul was consecrated in 1785 by Bishop Damaskin (Rudnev) of Nizhny Novgorod, although according to some sources the main altar was consecrated in honor of All Saints.[1]
Following the custom associated with cemetery churches, the church acquired two common names: the All Saints Church — reflecting the nature of the cemetery dedication — and the Petropavlovskaya Church — after its main altar.[2] The adjoining cemetery became the burial place of the self-taught mechanic Ivan Petrovich Kulibin and Akulina Ivanovna Kashirina — the grandmother of Aleksey Maksimovich Gorky.[1]
Architecture
The building follows the "ship" (korabl') plan type, with the principal volumes arranged along a strict axial line. The column-free main volume comprises a Baroque octagonal drum (vosmerik) set on a square base (chetverik) and a refectory (trапezная). The Baroque window surrounds are carved from brick. Originally, a three-tiered tent-roofed bell tower rose above the western entrance; it was demolished during the Soviet era, and in 2014 a new two-tiered bell tower with a domed roof was erected in its place.[2]
The interior was adorned by a gilded multi-tiered iconostasis, which Nizhny Novgorod local historian N. I. Khramtsovsky described as tent-shaped, decorated with Rococo carvings and twisted columns wreathed in carved garlands; the icons were arranged in five tiers — three of large size and two of small — while the local icons were covered with silver rizas (icon covers).[1]
The Soviet Period and Return to Believers
In the late 1930s the church was closed. During the Soviet era a projection booth was added onto the altar area, and the building was used as housing, then as a disco, a billiard hall, and other entertainment venues; other sources indicate that in the 1960s a cinema called "Pioner" was located here.[1][2] In the 1990s the church was returned to believers and functions as the Parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.[1]
Sources
- hram-pp.cerkov.ru — About the church — Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- handcent.ru — All-Saints Church (Nizhny Novgorod) (archive)
- putidorogi-nn.ru — All-Saints Church in Nizhny Novgorod: description, photos (archive)
- mapy.com