Holy Cross Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross is one of the oldest Orthodox buildings in St. Petersburg. At the moment, part of the complex’s structures is under reconstruction, but despite this, services are held in the temple, as well as Sunday school classes.
Address:
Ligovsky Prospekt, 128 a
The complex of the Holy Cross Cathedral has been rebuilt and reconstructed several times over its long, almost three-hundred-year history.
In the first decades after the founding of St. Petersburg, there was a settlement of coachmen on the banks of the Ligovskaya River. They sent a petition to the Synod to found a new church parish here. So in 1718, the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist was erected on this site. Five years later, a wooden bell tower was added to it, and seven years later the church burned down. But since a small cemetery was formed next to it during its existence, a year after the fire a new wooden church of John the Baptist appeared in its place. However, it also did not last long, as it began to collapse... In 1740, the parish's believers presented a petition to the Holy Synod to build a stone cathedral with two borders next to the dilapidated wooden structure.
The new church was named Holy Cross. Historians have no information about the author of the project, but it is known that the architect I. Schumacher monitored the construction process. In plan, the new church was an equilateral cross with a small rectangular apse on the eastern side and a bell tower above the western vestibule. In 1964, parishioners proposed to found a warm stone church on the site of a destroyed wooden church, since the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was cold and unheated.
The new Temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was founded behind the altar of a later building. In plan it looked like an elongated triangle with a slight expansion in the east, three naves and one dome on an octagon, which was decorated with pilasters. The name of the author of the project and this church remains unknown. In 1812, the complex of churches included another structure - a bell tower, designed by architect A.I.
Postnikov. It was located in the center of two symmetrically diverging semicircular colonnades, in the niches of which there were sculptures depicting the apostles Peter and Paul. The cross of the bell tower rises 60 meters above the ground, it has 12 bells, and the upper tiers are decorated with plaster reliefs depicting the 12 apostles. On the lower tier is the Temple of Cyril and Methodius, which was designed in 1871 by the architect L. Buglieri. After the bell tower was completed, the parishioners faced a new problem: by 1840, both old churches were very dilapidated.
Having calculated the costs of major repairs, it became clear to everyone that it was cheaper to build one new one. For this purpose, a project was developed for a grandiose temple in the Greek style for 2,500 pilgrims, the author of which was the architect V. Morgan. However, the architect’s large-scale plans were never realized. The foundation of the new stone Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was laid in 1848, but not according to the design of V. Morgan, but according to the plan of the architect E.D.
Dimmert. In 1851, all work was successfully completed. The new building's plan was a Latin cross, in the eastern part of which there was a semicircular apse. This is a five-domed, one-story church 53 meters high with three naves and five altars. The vault of the central dome was covered with images of cherubs, John the Baptist and seven archangels. The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was open to parishioners until 1939. During the Great Patriotic War, the building was hit by several artillery shells, which, fortunately, did not completely destroy it. In 1947, the premises were given over to accommodate restoration workshops. Now the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross is operational, despite the fact that work on its restoration has not yet been fully completed. It is widely known for being home to an Orthodox parish that unites the Cossacks of St. Petersburg.
In the first decades after the founding of St. Petersburg, there was a settlement of coachmen on the banks of the Ligovskaya River. They sent a petition to the Synod to found a new church parish here. So in 1718, the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist was erected on this site. Five years later, a wooden bell tower was added to it, and seven years later the church burned down. But since a small cemetery was formed next to it during its existence, a year after the fire a new wooden church of John the Baptist appeared in its place. However, it also did not last long, as it began to collapse... In 1740, the parish's believers presented a petition to the Holy Synod to build a stone cathedral with two borders next to the dilapidated wooden structure.
The new church was named Holy Cross. Historians have no information about the author of the project, but it is known that the architect I. Schumacher monitored the construction process. In plan, the new church was an equilateral cross with a small rectangular apse on the eastern side and a bell tower above the western vestibule. In 1964, parishioners proposed to found a warm stone church on the site of a destroyed wooden church, since the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was cold and unheated.
The new Temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was founded behind the altar of a later building. In plan it looked like an elongated triangle with a slight expansion in the east, three naves and one dome on an octagon, which was decorated with pilasters. The name of the author of the project and this church remains unknown. In 1812, the complex of churches included another structure - a bell tower, designed by architect A.I.
Postnikov. It was located in the center of two symmetrically diverging semicircular colonnades, in the niches of which there were sculptures depicting the apostles Peter and Paul. The cross of the bell tower rises 60 meters above the ground, it has 12 bells, and the upper tiers are decorated with plaster reliefs depicting the 12 apostles. On the lower tier is the Temple of Cyril and Methodius, which was designed in 1871 by the architect L. Buglieri. After the bell tower was completed, the parishioners faced a new problem: by 1840, both old churches were very dilapidated.
Having calculated the costs of major repairs, it became clear to everyone that it was cheaper to build one new one. For this purpose, a project was developed for a grandiose temple in the Greek style for 2,500 pilgrims, the author of which was the architect V. Morgan. However, the architect’s large-scale plans were never realized. The foundation of the new stone Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was laid in 1848, but not according to the design of V. Morgan, but according to the plan of the architect E.D.
Dimmert. In 1851, all work was successfully completed. The new building's plan was a Latin cross, in the eastern part of which there was a semicircular apse. This is a five-domed, one-story church 53 meters high with three naves and five altars. The vault of the central dome was covered with images of cherubs, John the Baptist and seven archangels. The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was open to parishioners until 1939. During the Great Patriotic War, the building was hit by several artillery shells, which, fortunately, did not completely destroy it. In 1947, the premises were given over to accommodate restoration workshops. Now the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross is operational, despite the fact that work on its restoration has not yet been fully completed. It is widely known for being home to an Orthodox parish that unites the Cossacks of St. Petersburg.
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