Trinity Church (Antarctica)
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Holy Trinity Church (russian: Церковь Святой Троицы) is a small
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
church on King George Island near
Bellingshausen Station Bellingshausen Station (Russian: станция Беллинсгаузен) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands. It was one of the first research stations fou ...
, a
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resear ...
in Antarctica. It is one of the eight churches on Antarctica. It is the southernmost
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
church in the world (cf. St. Ivan Rilski Chapel). The ambitious project to establish a permanent church or
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
on Antarctica first materialized during the 1990s. A charity named "Temple for Antarctica" (Храм — Антарктиде) was approved by
Patriarch Alexius II Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, russian: link=no, Патриарх Алексий II; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger russian: link=no, Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ри́дигер; 23 February 1929 – 5 December ...
and received donations from across Russia. They organized a competition for the project that was won by architects from
Barnaul Barnaul ( rus, Барнау́л, p=bərnɐˈul) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob Rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As ...
P.I. Anisifirov, S.G. Rybak and A.B. Schmidt. The church is a 15m-high wooden structure built in traditional Russian style. It can accommodate up to 30 worshippers. The structure was built out of
Siberian Pine ''Pinus sibirica'', or Siberian pine, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to 126°E in the Stanovoy Range in southern Sakha Republic, and from Igarka at 68°N in the lower ...
by Altay carpenters led by K.V. Khromov, then dismantled, taken by truck to
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
and shipped to King George Island by the Russian supply ship ''Academician Vavilov''. It was assembled on high ground near the seashore by the staff of Bellingshausen Station, under the general supervision of the 30-year-old Father Kallistrat (Romanenko), who was to become the church's first priest. Kallistrat, a
hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...
of
Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...
, had previously served at the Lavra's
skete A skete ( ) is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, al ...
on
Anzer Island Anzar ( fa, انذر, also Romanized as Anz̄ar and Anzer) is a village in Chavarzaq Rural District, Chavarzaq District, Tarom County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, i ...
in the subarctic Solovki Archipelago. The
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 the church was created by
Palekh Palekh (russian: Па́лех) is an urban locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Palekhsky District of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. Population: Painting Palekh has a very long history in Russian iconography, the art of painting R ...
painters. The church bells were commissioned by the descendants of
Sergey Muravyov-Apostol Sergey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Муравьёв-Апо́стол) ( – ) was a Russian Imperial Lieutenant Colonel and one of the organizers of the Decembrist revolt. He was one of five Decembr ...
. The church was consecrated on February 15, 2004, by Theognost ( Феогност), the Bishop of
Sergiyev Posad Sergiyev Posad ( rus, Се́ргиев Поса́д, p=ˈsʲɛrgʲɪ(j)ɪf pɐˈsat) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: It was pre ...
and the ''Namestnik'' (
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
) of
Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...
, who visited Antarctica for this occasion, along with a number of other clerics, pilgrims, and sponsors. The church is staffed year-round by one or two Orthodox priests, who are
hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...
s of
Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...
volunteering for the Antarctic assignment. Similarly to the personnel of most year-round Antarctic stations, the priests are rotated annually by the Lavra; however, several of them, including Father Kallistrat, chose to come back to King George Island for another one-year tour of duty after a year or two on the mainland. Among the priests' tasks is praying for the souls of the 64 Russian people who have died in Antarctic expeditions and serving the spiritual needs of the staff of Bellingshausen Station and other nearby stations. Besides Russian polar researchers, the church is often visited by their colleagues from the nearby Chilean, Polish, Korean, and other research stations, as well as by tourists. For the benefit of Latin American visitors, some church services are conducted in Spanish. (Interview with Father Vladimir Petrakov, a priest who twice spent a year at the station On occasion, the priest baptizes new adherents of Christianity in the
Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
. On 29 January 2007, the priest of the church celebrated the first church wedding in Antarctica. The husband, Eduardo Aliaga Ilabaca, is a staff member of a Chilean Antarctic base, who had joined the Orthodox Church soon after the opening of the Antarctic temple; his wife, Angelina Zhuldybina, is Russian. In 2016
Patriarch Kirill Kirill or Cyril (russian: link=Russian, Кирилл, chu, , secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, russian: link=no, Владимир Михайлович Гундяев; born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became ...
visited the church. Priests also assist with the general maintenance of the Bellingshausen station.


See also

*
Chapel of the Snows, Antarctica The Chapel of the Snows is a Nondenominational Christianity, non-denominational Christian church located at the United States' McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica and is one of List of Antarctic churches, eight churches on Antarctica. Ove ...
*
Religion in Antarctica Religion in Antarctica is largely dominated by Christianity, with Christian buildings being the only religious buildings on the continent. Although used regularly for Christian worship, the Chapel of the Snows has also been used for Buddhist a ...
* St. Ivan Rilski Chapel


Notes and references


External links


Photos of Trinity Church

History of the church
*
Itar TASS press release


{{coord, 62, 11, 47, S, 58, 57, 35.3, W , source:Google_Earth_region:AQ_type:landmark , format=dms , display=title Churches completed in 2004 2004 establishments in Antarctica Churches in Antarctica Outposts of Antarctica Russia and the Antarctic Polar exploration by Russia and the Soviet Union Christian organizations established in 2004 Outposts of the South Shetland Islands 21st-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings