The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Alexandre-Nevsky, russian: Собор Святого Александра Невского) is a

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

church located at 12 rue Daru in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was established and consecrated in 1861, making it the first Russian Orthodox place of worship in France. It is the see of the Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe, recently transferred to the jurisdiction of the

Patriarchate of Moscow , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. It was built in part through a gift of 200,000 francs from

Tsar Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...

. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral had not been aligned with the

Patriarch of Moscow The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (russian: Патриарх Московский и всея Руси, translit=Patriarkh Moskovskij i vseja Rusi), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the Bishop of Mo ...

since the Russian Revolution. But as of 14 September 2019 the jurisdiction of the parish community of the cathedral was transferred to the Patriarchate of Moscow. The cathedral should not be confused with Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, which is a provincial cathedral of the

Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe (Moscow Patriarchate) The Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe (PEWE, french: Exarchat patriarcal en Europe occidentale, russian: Патриарший экзархат в Западной Европе) is an exarchate created by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) on ...

. The closest métro station is Courcelles Metro-M

Associated notable people

* Nikolai Aleksandrovich Semashko, the first People's Commissar for Health of Soviet Russia, married Nadezhda Mikhailovna Nelidova (née Sokol’skaia) here on 13 August 1909. *Artist

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

married

Olga Khokhlova Olga Picasso (born Olga Stepanovna Khokhlova; russian: Ольга Степановна Хохлова; 17 June 1891 – 11 February 1955) was a ballet dancer in the Russian ballet. She was also the first wife of Pablo Picasso, one of his ea ...

here on 12 July 1918; the witnesses were

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

, and

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

. *

Henri Troyat Henri Troyat (born Lev Aslanovich Tarasov; – 2 March 2007) was a Russian-born French author, biographer, historian and novelist. Early life Lev Aslanovich Tarasov (russian: link=no, Лев Асланович Тарасов, ''Lev Aslanovich ...

made his first marriage here in 1938. * Vladimir Kramnik married here in 2006. He is the former world chess champion. *The funerals of several noted Russian artists, writers, and other cultural figures were held here:

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

in 1883, Fyodor Chaliapin in 1938,

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

in 1944,

George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...

in 1949,

Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga; – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...

in 1953, Andrei Tarkovsky in 1987, and

in 2007. * Alexander Schmemann, noted Russian theologian and writer, and future dean of

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) is an Eastern Orthodox seminary in Yonkers, New York. It is chartered under the State University of New York and accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It is a pan-Eastern Ort ...

(1962-1983) in New York, served here in the 1930s as an altar boy and sub-deacon. *Vassily Voskresensky aka Colonel Wassily de Basil, impresario of the Ballets Russe de Monte Carlo (and its iterations) was buried here in 1951.

Representation in other media

The 1956 film ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

,'' about one of the daughters of the imperial Romanov family. features the Cathedral in one of its first scenes.

Gallery

File:Boulevard Courcelles Paris 20060503 1.jpg File:Cathedral Saint Alexandre Nevski in Paris 002.JPG File:Cathedral Saint Alexandre Nevski in Paris 007.jpg File:Cathédrale orthodoxe Saint-Alexandre-Nevsky.jpg File:Intérieur Cathedral Alexandre Nevski.jpg File:Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Paris 19th century.jpg

Bibliography

* Nicolas Ross, ''Saint-Alexandre sur-Seine'', édition du CERF.

References

{{Authority control Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Paris Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe 1861 establishments in France Religious organizations established in 1861 Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris Russian Orthodox cathedrals in France Byzantine Revival architecture in France

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Cathedrals in Paris 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 19th-century churches in France