The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints is the cathedral of the
Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh
The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (russian: Суро́жская епа́рхия) is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), covering the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Since 28 December 2018, the Diocese of Sourozh is part ...
.
It holds the diocese's administrative meetings as well as weekly, seasonal and special services. Its building is the Victorian former church of a wealthy parish of its era that faces the north-east green of
Ennismore Gardens
''Ennismore'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Colin Blunstone of rock band the Zombies. The name of the album comes from Ennismore Gardens, a square in Knightsbridge where Blunstone was living; the name being a variant sp ...
,
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancien ...
, London, England. The main (western) façade is a very close copy of that of the
Basilica of San Zeno, Verona, in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
since remodelling in 1891.
Its interior is largely unchanged from that of its Anglican forebear church built, which was built in 1848–1849. The architect was
Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers.
Life
Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 17 ...
.
History
Anglican church
The building was erected as an
Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
to
All Saints. Architect
Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers.
Life
Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 17 ...
proposed to build a church in
Lombard style instead of conventional
Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...
. His full vision could not be realized financially.
Consecration of the church took place in July 1849. It became a
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
spanning outside much of
Hyde Park: in the west Kensington Palace and about 20 houses beyond and a more populous strip to the south. It is shown almost all as in the upper 3 of the 7 categories of wealth of
Booth's poverty map at the end of the century.
In 1860, architect
R. L. Roumieu completed the construction of the
bell tower from the draft designs of Vulliamy, at 36.5 meters.
Since reconstruction in 1891–1892, the western façade has borne a very close resemblance to the Basilica of St Zeno of Verona.
The first
interior decoration was by
Thomas R. Spence. The current forms including
sgraffito
''Sgraffito'' (; plural: ''sgraffiti'') is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in pottery, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive laye ...
and
stained glass windows are by
Heywood Sumner
George Heywood Maunoir Sumner (1853–1940) was originally an English painter, illustrator and craftsman, closely involved with the Arts and Crafts movement and the late-Victorian London art world. In his mid-forties he relocated to Cuckoo Hill, ...
.
In 1924, a house for church's priest was built on a very small square plot against the southern edge of its land: 66
Ennismore Gardens
''Ennismore'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Colin Blunstone of rock band the Zombies. The name of the album comes from Ennismore Gardens, a square in Knightsbridge where Blunstone was living; the name being a variant sp ...
, Church House.
Transfer
In 1955, the Anglican parish was merged so that the Church of the Holy Trinity on
Prince Consort Road
Prince Consort Road is a street in London, United Kingdom. It is named after Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. It is located between Queen's Gate to the west and Exhibition Road to the east, running parallel to Kensington Gore.
Several ...
to the west became the parish church. The church was let for the use of the Russian Orthodox faith, a trust having been set up in 1944. The building was consecrated as an Orthodox Church in December 1956 in honour of the
Dormition of the Mother of God
The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...
.
Russian Orthodox church
In 1978 it was purchased by the
Sourozh diocese, without funds from the Moscow Patriarchate. Over time, including the tenure of Metropolitan Anthony ( 2003), the parish gained multinational congregants.
In 2006, a substantial part of the clergy and laity, headed by Bishop
Basil (Osborne)
Alfred Herbert Ernest Osborne, formerly known as Basil Osborne (born 12 April 1938), is a former Eastern Orthodox Christian bishop. Osborne was formerly an auxiliary bishop of the Patriarchate of Moscow from 1991 to 2006 and a titular bishop under ...
, Administrator of the Diocese, decided to leave the
Moscow Patriarchate. In June 2007 the Parish Council of the Cathedral voted to place the Cathedral under the Episcopal Vicariate headed by Bishop Basil. This was challenged by the Moscow Patriarchate and in 2009 the High Court decided, on the wording of the 1944 Trust Deed of the Cathedral, that it should remain with the adherents of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Priors
* Metropolitan
Anthony (Bloom)
Anthony of Sourozh (russian: Митрополит Антоний Сурожский, secular name Andrei Borisovich Bloom, russian: Андрей Борисович Блум and commonly known as Anthony Bloom; 19 June 1914 – 4 August 2003) ...
(1956–2002)
* Archpriest John Lee (2002–2003)
* Bishop
Basil (Osborne)
Alfred Herbert Ernest Osborne, formerly known as Basil Osborne (born 12 April 1938), is a former Eastern Orthodox Christian bishop. Osborne was formerly an auxiliary bishop of the Patriarchate of Moscow from 1991 to 2006 and a titular bishop under ...
(2003–2006)
* Archbishop
Innocent (Vasiliev) (2006–2007)
* Archbishop
Elisey (Ganaba) (2007-2017)
Gallery
File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition.JPG
File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition_-_Lintel_-_"I_Am_The_Good_Shepherd".JPG
File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition_-_English_Plaque.JPG
File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition_-_Russian_Plaque.JPG
References
External links
*
{{Churches in Westminster
Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster
Eastern Orthodox church buildings in the United Kingdom
Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Europe
Churches completed in 1849
19th-century Church of England church buildings
Russian diaspora in the United Kingdom
Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
1849 establishments in England
Cathedrals in London
Knightsbridge
Grade II* listed cathedrals
Former Church of England church buildings