The Holy Trinity Cathedral (Russian: Свято-Троицкий собор,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: קתדרלת השילוש הקדוש) is a cathedral of 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 ...

, located at the heart of the so-called

Russian Compound The Russian Compound ( he, מִגְרַשׁ הָרוּסִים, ''Migraš ha-Rusim'', ar, المسكوبية, ''al-Muskubīya'', russian: Русское подворье в Иерусалиме) is one of the oldest districts in central Jer ...

in central

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The cathedral was built in 1860–1872 by a

Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem The Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem (russian: Русская духовная миссия в Иерусалиме, , Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem) was founded in the 19th century to serve as a representation of ...

, when the Holy City was part of the Ottoman Empire.

Layout

The church was designed by the architect as a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

building, a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

with one central nave and two side aisles, and two lateral rooms in the shape of rounded apses completing the cross-shaped layout. The cathedral is built from white stone, with eight

steeples In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

, each topped by a cross. The inside of the cathedral is covered with

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

and barely contains chairs. Most of the worshippers are praying standing, as is customary in Orthodox churches.

History

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was officially founded on 11 September 1860. In 1864 the outside was completed, but the construction was suspended due to budgetary issues. By 1872 the cathedral was luxuriously inaugurated, in a ceremony where Duke Nicholas participated. Since then the cathedral has been used by pilgrims and locals. The author of the project was German-Russian architect, Martin Eppinger. It was originally supposed to be consecrated as the church of St.

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 ...

(the patron saint of Alexander II), but finally it was decided to dedicate it as the Cathedral of the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. In 1895 to 1897, the cathedral was renovated. The process included repairing the roof and fixing the blind area. Further, the glutinous paints on the walls of the Cathedral were scraped off, with three interiors painted white, and then the cathedral was decorated with sacred images. Next to the altar an emergency exit was built. In the period of the British Mandate, the Trinity Cathedral remained independent and was under the jurisdiction of the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...

. During the

first Arab-Israeli war First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

the church was badly damaged. From 1948 it has been under the jurisdiction of the

Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

of the Russian Orthodox Church. The ownership of the church is undetermined as it is part of an ongoing legal and diplomatic controversy between Russia and Israel apparently centered on the arrest of an

Israeli citizen Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...

for drug smuggling.Lahav Harkov. (18 April 2022). "Putin demands Russia gain control of Jerusalem church as promised"
Jerusalem Post website
Retrieved 25 July 2022. Jerusalem_Church_of_the_Holy_Trinity.jpg, The outside of the cathedral RussianCompound2-1.jpg, The inside of the cathedral

References

External links

History of the holy trinity cathedral (in Russian)
{{Authority control Cathedrals in Jerusalem Russian Orthodox churches in Jerusalem Churches completed in 1872 Russian Compound Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Israel Russian Orthodox cathedrals in the State of Palestine

Layout

History

See also

References

External links