St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (Никольский морской собор, ''Nikolskiy morskoy sobor'') is a major

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

cathedral in the western part of

Central Saint Petersburg Central Saint Petersburg is the central and the leading part of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It looks nothing like the downtown district of a typical major city, and has no skyscrapers. The Central Business District's main borders are Neva River ...

. It has always been closely associated with the Russian Navy, serving as its main shrine until the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. In the upper church there are numerous memorial plaques for the crews of the sunken Soviet

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s, including K-278 Komsomolets. The crew of the submarine

K-141 Kursk K-141 ''Kursk'' (russian: Атомная Подводная Лодка «Курск» (АПЛ «Курск»), transl. , meaning "Atomic-powered submarine ''Kursk''") was an Oscar II-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Rus ...

has also been commemorated there. The marine regimental church was built on the bank of the

Kryukov Canal Kryukov Canal (russian: link=no, Крюков канал) is one of the Canals in central Saint Petersburg, Russia. Name In 1738, the canal was named after the contractor Semyon Kryukov. History The Kryukov Canal runs from the Admiralteysk ...

in 1753–1762 to a design by

Savva Chevakinsky Savva Ivanovich Chevakinsky (russian: Савва Иванович Чевакинский; 1709 – aft. 1774) was a Russian architect of the Baroque school. He worked in Saint Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo. Chevakinsky was born into a noble famil ...

, the main architect of the Russian Navy, in place of an earlier wooden church. A freestanding four story bell tower with a tall gilded spire was erected in 1755–1758. The main church is dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

(a patron saint of seamen) and the feast of the

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

. St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral consists of two separate churches. The Saint Nicholas Church is located at ground level, while the Epiphany Church is on the floor above. The altar of the upper church was consecrated in the presence of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. The main shrine of the cathedral—a Greek icon of St. Nicholas made in the 17th century with a portion of his relics—is located in the lower church. In 1908 the Tsushima obelisk was erected in the garden in front of the church in memory of those killed at

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...

. In 2000 another chapel was consecrated in the lower tier of the bell tower. St. Nicholas Cathedral is a major example of the so-called Elizabethan or Rastrellieqsque Baroque. It has the shape of a cross and is decorated by

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s, stucco architraves, a wide entablement and is crowned by five gilded domes. The church can accommodate up to 5,000 people. File:Navalstpete.jpg, A postcard from the 1890s File:Sergey Zaryanko 10.jpg, A painting of the cathedral's interior, 1843 File:Nikolsky Cathedral SPB 1.jpg, The facade in 2013 File:Saint Nicholas Church St Petersburg Interior.jpeg, The lower church in 2017

References

* * *

External links

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral (Saint Petersburg)

www.nikolskiysobor.ru—official site

www.encspb.ru Собор свт. НИКОЛАЯ ЧУДОТВОРЦА (Морской Николо-Богоявленский)
in Saint Petersburg encyclopedia

www.virtualspb.com—panorama at Virtual Saint Petersburg
{{Coord, 59, 55, 20, N, 30, 18, 01, E, region:RU_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Russia Cathedrals in Saint Petersburg Church buildings with domes Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg

See also

References

External links