, also known as , in

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

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 denominations ...

of the

Japanese Orthodox Church The is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox church within the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. History Early Orthodox Christianity The first purpose-built Orthodox Christian church to open in Japan was the wooden Russian Consulate chapel of t ...

History

The founder of the

Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin (1836–1912), later St. Nicholas of Japan, was an archbishop who devoted himself to improving Japanese-Russian relations during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. He selected the location on the hill at

Kanda Kanda may refer to: People * Kanda (surname) *Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician Places * Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan **Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Kanda River, a ri ...

Surugadai. The site is on a height that overlooked the Imperial Palace. Today it is hidden among the many tall buildings erected since the 1960s. St. Nicholas toured

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-ei ...

raising funds for the cathedral. The edifice was planned by Dr. Michael A. Shchurupov, designed by Josiah Conder, and constructed by Nagasato Taisuke. The cathedral was completed on March 8, 1891, construction having begun seven years earlier. Depictions of its exotic Byzantine architecture and the unique sound of its bell often appeared in literature and illustrations of the day. The original cathedral was seriously damaged in the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

of September 1923. The main bell tower fell on the dome, collapsing it, thus causing major damage to the cathedral. Rebuilding the cathedral became a major task for the then-ruling bishop, Archbishop Sergius (Tikhomirov), who succeeded St. Nicholas after he died in 1912. Since Russia was no longer a source of funding, Archbishop Sergius had to look for funding within Japan. A significant amount of funding was raised by numerous concerts by the cathedral choir, led by Victor A. Pokrovsky. The re-built cathedral was re-consecrated on 15 December 1929, with a shorter bell tower, a modified dome, and a less ornate interior, according to design by Okada Shinichiro. Despite the damage caused during the 1923 earthquake, the restoration preserved important original aspects of the building, as well as the adding new aspects of cultural importance. The Agency of Cultural Affairs conducted a survey of the building, and on June 21, 1962, ''Nikolai-do'' became a, .

Gallery

File:Nikolai-do.jpg, Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral, also known as ''Nikorai-do'' File:Nikolai do Alex K 01.jpg, Entrance to ''Nikorai-do'' (2007) File:Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral 1891 image.jpg, The cathedral in 1891 File:Воскресенский собор (Токио), 1891.jpg, An artist's impression of the cathedral in 1891 File:Nicholai-Do after Great Kanto earthquake.JPG, The cathedral after the 1923

Great Kanto earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great ...

File:Nikolai-do 1409.JPG, 1/25 architectural model of Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral as it appeared in the 1890s File:Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral, 21 July 2013.jpg, Cathedral in 2013

References

External links

Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nikorai-do) Web Site
in English or Japanese Orthodox Church in Japan Buildings and structures in Chiyoda, Tokyo Churches in Tokyo Eastern Orthodox churches in Japan Japanese Orthodox cathedrals Buildings of the Meiji period Neo-Byzantine architecture Rebuilt buildings and structures in Japan Churches completed in 1929 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 20th-century churches in Japan 1929 establishments in Japan {{Orthodox-church-stub