The Chapel of the Transfiguration or the Chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord, is a religious building that is part of the

Apostolic Nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...

of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in the city of

Ashkhabad Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

, the capital of the Asian country of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. The church was built in Ashabad from natural brick, in a Gothic style. On the huge altar was an icon of the

Transfiguration of the Lord The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event described in the New Testament where Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is Transfiguration (religion), transfigured and becomes radiant in Glory (religion), glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) r ...

. On the sides of the altar were icons of Mary, donated by the Parish of St. Stanislav in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, and an icon of St. Expedite, ordered by the curator in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. After the destruction by the Communist authorities during the time of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in Turkmenistan of all Catholic churches in the town, the activities of the Catholic Church in that nation were very limited or officially prohibited. At the end of the twenties the Church was closed. The building fell into ruins and remained standing until 1932, when local authorities ordered it to be destroyed, in the era of religious persecution in the Soviet Union. Instead after the earthquake prefabricated wooden houses were built. These houses have remained until today. After the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

in the 1990s efforts were made to get approval from local authorities for reopening the places of Catholic worship. As part of these efforts, the nunciature managed to open a chapel that is the center of Meeting of Catholics in that city, until you can build a church outside the protection provided by the Vatican nunciature, or embassy in Turkmenistan. Religious services are offered in both

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

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. The name of the church is due to the missing Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord that was destroyed in 1932.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapel of the Transfiguration, Church Roman Catholic churches in Turkmenistan Buildings and structures in Ashgabat Embassy chapels Buildings and structures demolished in 1932

See also

References