The St. Alexander Nevsky Church (russian: Храм Александра Невского) is a Russian Orthodox church in the city of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is directed by

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

Ioann Kopach. The church is cruciform and constructed of fired

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

. It features a wooden dome under a tin roof and has a capacity for 350 worshipers. The church was originally notable for its

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

of rococo-style carved lime wood, acquired for 1,000 rubles from craftsman A.I. Kuklin of the town of Torzhok, Tver' guberniya; the iconostasis disappeared during the Soviet period.

History

The Church of "Holy Blessed Grand Prince

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...

" was established in 1882 and consecrated in 1900 as the parish church of the 1st Taman Regiment of the

Kuban Cossack Host Kuban Cossacks (russian: кубанские казаки, ''kubanskiye kаzaki''; uk, кубанські козаки, ''kubanski kozaky''), or Kubanians (russian: кубанцы, ; uk, кубанці, ), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban re ...

. At the time, the church was located outside the city limit, in the village of Koshi, which was annexed by Ashgabat in 2013. It was designed to accommodate 350 worshipers and constructed of fired brick by order of General Aleksey Kuropatkin at a total cost of 14,740 rubles. In 1918 the church was deconsecrated and used as a warehouse on the military base. It was returned to the church in 1989 but required extensive renovations, including reopening two bricked-in doorways, replacement of the roof, replastering and repainting of icons on the interior, reconstruction of the bell tower and domes, and replacement of the iconostasis, which had disappeared. The church was reconsecrated in November 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Alexander Nevsky Church, Ashgabat Eastern Orthodox churches in Turkmenistan Buildings and structures in Ashgabat Churches completed in 1882 Religious organizations established in 1882

History

See also

References