ST. NICHOLAS NAVAL CATHEDRAL IN KRONSTADT

The Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the last and largest of the naval cathedrals of the Russian Empire. It was built in 1903-1913 in Kronstadt according to the neo-Byzantine project of V. A. Kosyakov. The stavropegic status of the cathedral indicates its direct subordination to the patriarch. Since May 2013, the cathedral is considered the main temple of the Russian Navy.

The initiator of the construction was the commander of the Kronstadt port, Vice Admiral N.I.Kaznakov. The prerequisite for the preparation of the project was that the height of the dome allowed the cathedral to serve as a guide from the sea, and the cross of the sea church was the first thing that caught the eye of the navigator. In 1907 the temple was ready, the interior decoration began. The cost of building the cathedral amounted to 1,876,000 rubles. The consecration of the cathedral took place on June 23, 1913 in the Highest Presence.

St. Nicholas Cathedral was conceived as a temple-monument to all the sailors who had ever died. The Naval Cathedral proclaimed the idea of ​​raising military service to the rank of spiritual achievement, linking it with moral purity.

Marble memorial plaques with the names of the dead soldiers and indications of the circumstances of the death were installed in the space of the temple. Black boards – with the names of naval officers who died in battle and in the performance of their official duties. On white marble planks located in the altar, the names of clergymen who served on naval vessels and died at sea were imprinted. Relics associated with the history of ships, naval crews, evidence of the exploits of sailors were collected in the sacristy-museum. This is the only temple in Russia, which every sailor could rightfully consider his own.

In 1929, after closing, the cathedral was converted into a cinema named after Maxim Gorky. The gilding was washed off the domes, the gilded parts of the icons were broken off, the marble iconostasis was dismantled, mosaic icons, murals, relics from the gallery of naval glory were plastered and all church property was taken from the church.

The first liturgy in 75 years took place on December 19, 2005. The great consecration of the cathedral took place on May 28, 2013, when the temple celebrated its centenary.