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The Ascension Cathedral in the town of Sophia (now a part of
Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
) in the vicinity of
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, was one of the first purely
Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
churches to be built in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Rather paradoxically, it may also be defined as "the first example of Byzantinism in
Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus’ state, the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and imperia ...
".Anthony Cross. ''By the Banks of the Neva''. Cambridge University Press, 1996. . Page 292.


History


Construction. Architecture

The cathedral was founded in July 1782 at the instigation of Catherine II of Russia as a reminder of her lifelong
Greek Plan The Greek Plan or Greek Project () was an early solution to the Eastern Question which was advanced by Catherine the Great in the early 1780s. It envisaged the partition of the Ottoman Empire between the Russian and Habsburg Empires followed ...
. The Tsarina, eager to liberate
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
from the Turks, wished to have a replica of the
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
in the proximity of the
Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of the ...
where she spent her summers. But the first project - an exact copy of the Hagia Sophia - was very expensive. Then the Empress called upon her favourite architect, Charles Cameron, to design this "Byzantinesque" church, but the Scottish architect, though well versed in the Palladian idiom, had a vague idea of what Byzantine architecture stood for. His design called for an austere and monumental whitewashed exterior, with Doric porticoes on each side, probably a reference to the works of
Lord Burlington Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice, the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1831. Since 1858, Earl of Burlington has been a courtesy title used by the duk ...
. Construction works, supervised by
Ivan Starov Ivan Yegorovich Starov (russian: Ива́н Его́рович Старо́в) (23 February 1745 – 17 April 1808) was a Russian architect from St. Petersburg who devised the master plans for Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Pskov, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, ...
, lasted for six years. In the eventual variant, the five wide domes were placed on squat drums, vaguely reminiscent of the
Hagia Eirene Hagia Irene ( el, Αγία Ειρήνη) or Hagia Eirene ( grc-x-byzant, Ἁγία Εἰρήνη , "Holy Peace", tr, Aya İrini), sometimes known also as Saint Irene, is an Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palac ...
. The church was consecrated on 28 May 1788 in the presence of the Empress. During the two decades that followed, the
Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...
had the interior adorned with Neoclassical paintings. A detached two-storied belltower was added considerably later, in 1905, to a design by
Leon Benois Leon Benois (russian: Леонтий Николаевич Бенуа; 1856 in Peterhof – 1928 in Leningrad) was a Russian architect from the Benois family. Biography He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandr ...
.


1788-1934

In 1784, the cathedral was to be the chapter church of the newly established
Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
. The first dean was archpriest Andrey Samborsky - the religion teacher of tsarina's grandsons. In 1817,
Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...
gave the cathedral to a hussar regiment of his
Leib Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russi ...
, which was quartered in Sophia. During the rest of the 19th century, the regiment had the cathedral transformed into a sort of military museum, its walls lined with marble plaques honouring the hussars' victories. Near the altar, for instance, were placed the banners captured by General Cherniaev from the Khan of Kokand.


1934-1989

In 1934, the Communist government had the cathedral closed down, with marble plaques and precious furnishings either nationalized or stolen.


Since 1989

In 1989, the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
resumed worship there. The same year, a bust of Alexander Nevsky was added nearby, by way of commemorating the 750th anniversary of the Battle of the Neva. The complete consecration after the restoration took place on May 19, 1999. In 2003, a monument to the Leib guard hussar regiment was erected south of the cathedral.


See also

* St. Catherine's Cathedral, Kherson - contemporaneous church highlighting Russia's claims to the Byzantine heritage *
List of large Orthodox cathedrals This is a list of the largest Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox church buildings in the world, based on area and capacity. Any Eastern Orthodox church building that has a capacity of 3,000 people or more, can be added to this page. Entries ...


Inline references


Online references

{{Commons category, Saint Sophia Cathedral (Pushkin)
Sophia Cathedral on the Alexander Palace Time Machine
- history, pictures, floorplans

- from Tsarskoe Selo in 1910 Buildings and structures in Pushkin Cathedrals in Saint Petersburg Byzantine Revival architecture in Russia Churches completed in 1782 Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Russia Charles Cameron buildings 1782 establishments in the Russian Empire Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg Neoclassical church buildings in Russia