5 most famous naval cathedrals in Russia (PHOTOS)
Many cities have Cossack cathedrals and the main temple of the armed forces is located in Kubinka near Moscow. There are also naval cathedrals in the country – we’ve selected the most famous ones below.
Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas (Kronstadt)
The first naval cathedral in Kronstadt was built in the middle of the 18th century: first wooden, then stone. In 1909-1913, a cathedral-monument to the perished sailors was erected on the Yakornaya Square in the Neo-Byzantine style. Architect Vasily Kosyakov designed it in such a way that the church would be a landmark for ships and used the legendary Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as a prototype.
The construction cost two million rubles, of which almost 300,000 were donated by sailors and other believers. The Kronstadt Cathedral was the last one built in the Russian Empire.
Today, it is the third largest in Russia and can accommodate up to 5,000 worshipers. It is also the tallest building in Kronstadt – 70.5 meters! The interior decoration is stunning: the amazingly beautiful iconostasis is decorated with carvings and mosaics. The acoustics are excellent – a whisper is enough to hear each other.
St. Nicholas Epiphany Naval Cathedral (St. Petersburg)
According to legend, Peter the Great, having seen the Church of St. Nicholas in Astrakhan, ordered the same to be built in the new capital. However, the St. Nicholas Epiphany Naval Cathedral was built during the reign of his daughter, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna – and it became the first naval church in the city. An ideal place was chosen for the cathedral: next to the barracks of the naval department.
It is easy to see it from afar, thanks to the bright blue color of the facades. In fact, these are two churches: the lower one is in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of sailors, while the upper one is in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord.
One of the shrines of the church is the icon of St. Anna, which was painted by Sophia, the daughter of the painter Ivan Kramskoy. There is a legend that poetess Anna Akhmatova donated it to the cathedral.
St. Vladimir's Cathedral (Sevastopol)
The burial place of Russian admirals. Mikhail Lazarev, one of the discoverers of Antarctica, Vladimir Kornilov, the hero of the Crimean War and organizer of Sevastopol defense, Pavel Nakhimov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet squadron in the Battle of Sinop and the leader of the city defense, are all buried there.
The five-domed cathedral was built in 1854-1888 according to the designs of Konstantin Ton and Alexey Avdeev.
Assumption Admiralty Church (Voronezh)
The oldest church in the city, where the first ships of the Russian fleet and naval flags were consecrated. It was first mentioned in the 1590s. By order of Tsar Boris Godunov, the Assumption Monastery was built around the church and, under Peter the Great, a shipyard, an admiralty and the houses of the emperor himself and his associates appeared in the neighborhood. The tsar often even attended church services.
St. George's Naval Cathedral (Baltiysk)
This Reformist church was built in 1866. During World War II, the building was badly damaged – later, it was used as a warehouse and a sailors' club. Only in the early 1990's was the church handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church – now it is a naval cathedral of the Baltic Fleet. One of the church's shrines contains the relics of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov (1745-1817), who won five major naval battles.
