The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints is the cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh. It holds the diocese's administrative meetings as well as weekly, seasonal and special services. Its building is the Victorian former church of a wealthy parish of its era that faces the north-east green of Ennismore Gardens,

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, London, England. The main (western) façade is a very close copy of that of the Basilica of San Zeno, Verona, in Verona, Italy since remodelling in 1891. Its interior is largely unchanged from that of its Anglican forebear church built, which was built in 1848–1849. The architect was

Lewis Vulliamy Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers. Life Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 17 ...

History

Anglican church

The building was erected as an

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

to All Saints. Architect

proposed to build a church in Lombard style instead of conventional

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. His full vision could not be realized for lack of finance.

Consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

of the church took place in July 1849. It became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

spanning outside much of Hyde Park: in the west Kensington Palace and about 20 houses beyond and a more populous strip to the south. It is shown almost all as in the upper 3 of the 7 categories of wealth of Booth's poverty map at the end of the century. In 1860, architect R. L. Roumieu completed the construction of the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

from the draft designs of Vulliamy, at 36.5 meters. The first interior decoration was by Thomas R. Spence. The current forms including

sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...

and

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows are by Heywood Sumner. Since reconstruction in 1891–1892, the western façade has borne a very close resemblance to the Basilica of St Zeno of Verona. In 1871, the vicar lived at 29 Elvaston Place. In 1924, a house for the church's priest was built on a very small square plot against the southern edge of its land: 66 Ennismore Gardens, Church House.

Transfer

In 1955, the Anglican parish was merged in such a way that the Church of the Holy Trinity on Prince Consort Road to the west became the parish church of the new parish. The church was let for the use of the Russian Orthodox faith, a trust having been set up in 1944. The building was consecrated as an Orthodox Church in December 1956 in honour of the Dormition of the Mother of God.

Russian Orthodox church

In 1978 it was purchased by the Sourozh diocese, without funds from the Moscow Patriarchate. Over time, including the tenure of Metropolitan Anthony ( 2003), the parish gained multinational congregants. In 2006, a substantial part of the clergy and laity, headed by Bishop Basil (Osborne), Administrator of the Diocese, decided to leave the

Moscow Patriarchate The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the title of the Primate (bishop), primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). It is often preceded by the honorific "His Holiness". As the Ordinar ...

. In June 2007 the Parish Council of the Cathedral voted to place the Cathedral under the Episcopal Vicariate headed by Bishop Basil. This was challenged by the Moscow Patriarchate and in 2009 the High Court decided, on the wording of the 1944 Trust Deed of the Cathedral, that it should remain with the adherents of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Priors

* Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) (1956–2002) * Archpriest John Lee (2002–2003) * Bishop Basil (Osborne) (2003–2006) * Archbishop Innocent (Vasiliev) (2006–2007) * Archbishop Elisey (Ganaba) (2007–2017)

Gallery

File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition.JPG File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition_-_Lintel_-_"I_Am_The_Good_Shepherd".JPG File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition_-_English_Plaque.JPG File:Russian_Orthodox_Cathedral_of_the_Dormition_-_Russian_Plaque.JPG

References

External links

* {{Churches in Westminster Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster Eastern Orthodox church buildings in the United Kingdom Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Europe Churches completed in 1849 19th-century Church of England church buildings Russian diaspora in the United Kingdom Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia 1849 establishments in England Cathedrals in London Knightsbridge Grade II* listed cathedrals Former Church of England church buildings