The St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral () () is a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

cathedral church located in Karosta in the north of

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Construction

The cathedral was built in the style of 17th century traditional Russian churches with a central dome representing Christ with 4 smaller domes representing the four evangelists on designs made by Vasily Kosyakov. It was built to serve as the cathedral church of the Russian navy stationed in Karosta. The cornerstone was laid in the presence of a number of dignitaries including Tsar

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

. The cathedral was completed two years later in 1903 and was formally consecrated and dedicated to the patron saint of seafarers in the presence of the Tsar himself. Liepaja Orthodoxe Kathedrale St

WWI

The cathedral's belongings, including bells and icons, were transported to Russia during the outbreak of WWI, for safe keeping. The rest of the items were stolen by the Germans who invaded Latvia. After independence in 1918, the church was converted into a Lutheran church to serve the Latvian navy personnel.

Soviet Occupation

The cathedral continued to function as place of worship until the

Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944 The Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944 refers to the military occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union in 1944. During World War II Latvia was first Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940, then was occ ...

. The Soviets prohibited anyone entering the Karosta area which was turned into a secret

Soviet 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 ...

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

territory. Consequently, the cathedral was converted into a gymnasium, a cinema and a recreation and entertainment room, referred to as the 'red corner' for the needs of sailors and soldiers. The interior of the central dome was closed to eliminate the

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

which made it difficult for navy personnel to hear movies in the cinema.

Independence

After

's independence from 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 1991, the cathedral was given back to the

Latvian Orthodox Church The Latvian Orthodox Church () is an Eastern Orthodox church in Latvia, part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy community. The Primate (bishop), primate of the church carries the title of ''Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia ...

under the authority of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

with the first service taking place that same year in December.

Mosaics and Paintings

The mosaics were designed by V. Frolov, while the wood carvings and gilding of the iconostas were made by P. Abosimov. The paintings of the central and the right-side altar spheres were made by F. Railyan and the frescoes of the left-side altar spheres were painted by M. Vasilyev."Karosta Saint Nicholas Maritime Cathedral – ANNO 1903"
''TheCeļotājs''. Retrieved on 27 August 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Nicholas Naval Cathedral, Karosta Cathedrals in Latvia Eastern Orthodox churches in Latvia Churches completed in 1903 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Church buildings with domes Buildings and structures in Liepāja 20th-century churches in Latvia