Holy Transfiguration Cathedral. Transfiguration Cathedral, Zhytomyr Cathedral Zhytomyr

■ Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral Zhytomyr dioceses of the UOC is the architectural dominant of Zhitomir. Above the main entrance to the temple rises a 60-meter bell tower, the south-western corner of which serves as the "zero" point of coordinates for accurate maps of the city. In the 1770s. near this place began to build a stone Uniate Church of the Transfiguration. In 1793 Volyn, including Zhitomir, passed from Catholic Poland to the Orthodox Russian Empire and became the Izyaslav governorship. In 1795, the governorship was renamed Volynskoe. His administration was temporarily located in Zhitomir. For this reason, the newly built Transfiguration Church was consecrated in 1796 as Orthodox and received the status of a city cathedral. At the same time, the Volyn governorate was abolished, and in 1797 the Volyn governorate was established in its place. In 1804 Zhitomir, as a place of temporary residence of the provincial administration, acquired the status of a permanent center of the province. The Transfiguration Church, accommodating only about 200 parishioners, was too small for the high rank of the cathedral. The need for expansion became even more obvious when in 1841 the residence of the archbishops of Volyn was transferred to Zhitomir. In 1844, in St. Petersburg, they drew up a project for the reconstruction of the temple, which assumed the inclusion of the old walls in the new construction. In 1851 began construction works... Due to the mistake of the architects, who did not take into account the weakness of the local brick, in 1853 the almost finished cathedral collapsed when its own bell tower fell on it. They decided to build a new temple in a different place. In 1858, near the ruins, a wooden Transfiguration Church was consecrated, which temporarily served as a cathedral. In 1865 the ruins were dismantled, in 1866 a new cathedral was founded. It was built close to the foundations of the old temple according to the project Baron von Mikwitz ... The project was finalized by architects Karl Mayevsky , Ernest Gibert , Karl Rochau... Architects who worked on the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow were involved in the case. According to the project Vladimir Shalamov made the iconostases of the cathedral Nikolay Murashko , but painted Mikhail Vasiliev ... The riches of Volyn - local granite and labrador - were used in the decoration of the temple. The consecration of the cathedral took place in 1874.

■ In the crypt under the temple, the Volynsk Archbishops Agafangel (Soloviev, † 1876 ), Tikhon (Pokrovsky, † 1885 ), Modest (Strelbitsky , † 1902). Fulfilling the will of the late Bishop Modest, his successor Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) arranged in a crypt in 1902-1903. chapel prmts. Anastasia the Romans and transferred here the honest head of the ascetic: in the 1860s. it was transferred to Russia by the Patriarch of Antioch, Hierotheos, and later Archbishop Modest (in Soviet time the shrine disappeared from the temple).

■ After the revolution, the cathedral witnessed the persecution of the Church. At this time, the diocese was alternately nourished by three hierarchs who suffered for the faith: sshmch. Thaddeus (Uspensky) (from 1908 - vicar of the Volyn diocese in the rank of Bishop of Volodymyr-Volynsky, in 1919-1921 he managed the affairs of the entire diocese, from 1922 - Archbishop of Astrakhan, in 1937 - was arrested as the ruling ruler of the Kostroma diocese, in 1938 . - shot), lord Averky (Kedrov) (from 1915 - vicar of the Volyn diocese in the rank of bishop of Ostrog, from 1922 - bishop of Volyn and Zhitomir, was arrested more than once, after his release he returned to the administration of the diocese, from 1926 - an archbishop, in 1930 - again arrested and in 1931 he was exiled to the north of Russia, in 1937 he was sentenced to be shot), Vladyka Maxim (Ruberovsky) (from 1923 - vicar of the Volyn diocese in the rank of bishop Polonsky, from 1930 - bishop of Volyn, in 1937 - shot).

■ In 1931, the Soviet authorities decided to close the cathedral and create a museum in it, but in the end they set up a warehouse. At the same time, the graves of the archbishops were opened and destroyed. Risking their lives, the believers secretly entered the temple and hid the remains of the rulers in a secluded place. In 1932 the iconostases were destroyed. Since 1933 the cathedral was used as an archive, in 1941 it was reopened for divine services. In 1988, a monument in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus ... In 1993, the remains of the archbishops were discovered and reverently reburied in the cathedral.

The cathedral was erected on the site of the Basilian church destroyed in 1771 in the period from 1866 to 1874 by architects K.K. Rohau, E. Zhyber and V.G. Shalamov. Due to the complexity of the construction, specialists who worked in the years 1818-1858 in St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg took part in the construction. The wall decorations and icons are by Mikhail Vasiliev, an academician of arts.

The cathedral was designed in the Russian-Byzantine style with characteristic features ancient Russian architecture of the XI-XII centuries. The building is made of bricks. The temple is cross-shaped, three-nave, five-domed with hipped-shaped ends. A four-tiered bell tower adjoining the western façade. The height of the cathedral is 53 meters. The main bell weighing 500 pounds is installed on the bell tower. In the design indoor spaces temple used granites and labradorites from Volyn and Zhytomyr.

Zhytomyr Holy Transfiguration Cathedral is an architectural monument and is protected by the state.

Monuments of urban planning and architecture of the Ukrainian SSR. Kiev: Budivelnik, 1983-1986. Volume 2, p. 145.

Volyn Cathedral in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord was built in 1874 at the expense of the state treasury. Stone, with the same bell tower. The building has the shape of a cross, with double rows of granite columns inside the temple, lined at the base with polished labrador slabs and the same belts and cornice. The external view of the temple is proportional, gradually rising towards the middle, masses of middle and corner ledges with pilasters, columns and portals, topped with five domes. The architectural style of the cathedral is Russian-Byzantine.

The length of the cathedral with outer walls and a bell tower, without the main porch, is 25 sazh., The height from the base to the main dome with a cross is 23 sazh., And from the floor to the dome - 15 sazh. The height of the bell tower with a cross is 28 sazh. On a floor area of ​​251 soot. can accommodate over 3000 people. Three heating furnaces of the Krelev system are installed under the floor. The oak iconostasis. The main bell weighing 515 pounds. 8 lb There are three thrones: the right side-side - in the name of the leader. book Alexander Nevsky and the left side-chapel - in the name of St. equalap. led. Prince Vladimir.

The construction of the cathedral lasted 7 years, from 1867 to 1874. On August 30, 1874, Archbishop Agafangel of Volyn consecrated the main throne in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the presence of the local governor-general Prince Dondukov-Korsakov, governor Gresser, professor architect Zhiber, architect Shalamov. The next day they consecrated the right side-altar. The consecration of the left side-altar was done on September 1 of the same year by Bishop of Ostrog, Vicar of Volyn Justin.

The sacristy is full of excellent church utensils and clothes, new icons, Byzantine style, painted by Academician Vasiliev. Of the ancient icons are remarkable: icons of St. Basil the Great, inherited from the oldest church in Ovruch, and a copy of the Czestochowa Icon of the Mother of God. The land at the cathedral of the estate was up to 8 acres, but most of it is occupied by the highway, Cathedral Square and streets, the rest of it, with the exception of the one under the new cathedral and the wooden church, which was a temporary cathedral with houses attached to it, is leased. At the cathedral itself: a stone house for its own servants and three wooden houses for two priests, a deacon and clergymen, and the cathedral archpriest and other clergymen receive an apartment allowance from the cathedral.

Readers: 1 archpriest, priest, 2 priests, 2 deacons, 1 protodeacon, 2 subdeacons, 2 psalmists, sexton, etc. church servant. Copies of registers of births have been kept since 1798, and confession statements since 1801. The inventory of church property has been available since 1845. There are 389 courtyards, 3,295 parishioners of both sexes.

Teodorovich N.I. "Historical and statistical description of churches and parishes of the Volyn diocese", volume 1, Pochaev, printing house of the Pochaev Lavra, 1888

The Volyn Cathedral was built by the Imperial command at the expense of the state treasury in 1877. The stone temple, in the style of Byzantine-Russian architecture, accommodates more than 3000 worshipers.

There are four thrones: the main one - in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the right one - St. Alexander Nevsky, left - St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, and the fourth - in the name of St. torment. Anastasia of Rome is located in the lower cave Anastasievskaya church, where the imperishable head of St. Rev. martyrs. In honor of St. Rev. torment. Anastasia twice a year: on June 13 and October 29, solemn services are performed, with a huge crowd of people.

In the large church of the cathedral, near the right choir, there is a cancer with particles of St. relics: St. Fedor, Prince of Ostrog, St. right. Juliana, Princess Olshanskaya, and priest. torment. Makariy Ovruchsky, in whose honor the festival was established on October 8. There is a fountain in the cathedral park, in which the water is consecrated on August 1 and January 6, on the day of Pentecost and every first day of the summer month.

The parish premises are available for all members of the clergy, with the exception of the cathedral archpriest and priest. The premises were arranged in 1911 - 12. at the expense of the cathedral capital, comfortable and spacious, buildings are located in the cathedral park. In addition to living quarters, each member of the clergy has a cold building and a cellar in the basement of the house.

There is a park around the cathedral and a vegetable garden. Manor land 3 dessiatines 1250 sq. soot., hay 82 dess. 98 sq. soot. of the whole earth 103 dess. 1348 sq. soot. Composition of the clergy: a cathedral archpriest, a priest, 2 priests, a protodeacon, 2 deacons, 2 subdeacons, 2 psalmists and a church servant. The number of souls in the parish is 1200, the city deanery.

"Reference book about the parishes and monasteries of the Volyn diocese" K. V. Pereverzev, Zhitomir. M. Denenman Electric Printing House, 1914

Photo: Holy Transfiguration Cathedral

On June 26, 1804, by the decree of Alexander I, Zhitomir was officially approved as the center of the Volyn province. Many Orthodox churches in Volyn at that time were miserable dilapidated buildings. In Zhitomir itself there were only two very old wooden Orthodox churches - the Exaltation of the Cross on the Castle Hill, built in the 17th century and the Assumption on Podolskaya Hill, built in 1700. As evidenced by archival documents, their condition was so miserable that during the service, streams of rainwater poured onto the parishioners, and birds flew through the holes in the dome. The bishop himself and the diocesan administration were then located in the Ostrog Preobrazhensky monastery, which in 1821 suffered a devastating fire.

The poor parish Pyatnitskaya church in Ostrog began to serve as the cathedral after the fire. Since 1825, the administration was located in the palace of Prince Yablonovsky in the town of Annopol, Ostrog district, since 1831 in the Pochaev Lavra, and since October 1, 1840, finally, in Zhitomir. The cathedral in Zhitomir was housed in a "wooden post office building that was ramshackle", and then until 1958 in the old Illarionovskaya church in the courtyard (from the history of the Zhytomyr diocese).

As early as October 1821, Emperor Alexander I remarked in his conversation with His Grace Stephen (Romanovsky): "The episcopal see cannot be without premises and without a decent cathedral church; I will think about it." But this conversation had no significant consequences. The order to build a cathedral in Zhitomir was given by Emperor Alexander II. The place of construction of the main temple of the Volyn province - the Transfiguration Cathedral in Zhitomir, was chosen Torgovitsa Square (present-day Victory Square), where there were suburban trading rows and shops, and in its center stood the Basilian Greek Catholic Church, built in the second half of the 18th century. The Rudavka river flowed through the square.

The initial project of the cathedral was drawn up in St. Petersburg in 1844, with the inclusion in its walls of the remains of the old Basilian church, destroyed in 1771. They began to build the cathedral in 1851, and in 1853 the almost finished building suddenly collapsed. Due to errors in calculations and insufficient strength of local raw bricks, the bell tower fell one night and destroyed the entire building. I had to build the temple anew.
On the right side of the beginning of the current street Kotovskogo (where the square is now) as a temporary cathedral in 1858 with donations collected with the active participation former governor Sinelnikov, built a wooden church in the name of the Holy Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky (dismantled at the end of the 19th century). And on the opposite side of the street they used old wooden houses a former coaching courtyard to accommodate church ministers.

The cathedral was built for the second time from 1866 to 1874 according to the project of the academician of architecture Karl Karlovich Rachau, with the participation of the professor of architecture Ernest Ivanovich Zhiber and the famous Petersburg architect V.G. Shalamov. This time they chose a place on the square slightly south of the previous one. The cathedral was designed as a three-aisled, five-domed cathedral with hipped roofs in the Russian-Byzantine style with the characteristic features of Old Russian architecture of the 11th-12th centuries.

In terms of the plan, the temple is designed in the form of a cross with double rows of granite columns inside the temple, lined at the base with polished labradorite slabs and the same belts and cornice. The cathedral has three thrones: the Transfiguration of the Lord, St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir and St. Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. The cathedral is designed for 3000 pilgrims. The building is made of bricks. Three heating furnaces of the Krolew system are installed under the floor. Great attention was given to the solution of the interiors, in which the idea of ​​displaying the mineral wealth of the Zhytomyr region was laid: granites from the quarries of the villages of Kroshnya and Trigorie, and the magnificent labradorite from the town of Goroshek (now Volodarsk-Volynsky).
The iconostasis was made of oak by the master A. Murashko according to the sketches of the architect V. Shalamov. Artistic wall decoration and icons were painted by Mikhail Vasiliev, an academician of arts. The main bell weighing 515 pounds and 8 pounds was installed on a four-tier bell tower 53 meters high, and all nine bells with tongues weighed 1017 pounds. Their ringing was heard at a distance of up to twenty kilometers. The bells have not survived. Now the new main bell weighs about 750 kilograms (46 poods). The crosses on the bell tower and domes of the cathedral were installed by the honorary citizen of Zhitomir and hereditary builder Alexander Nikitich Korol (he lived in King Lane - now Krasny Lane in the Khmelniki area).

This time, specialists who built St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg in 1818-1858 took part in the construction. Author's supervision during the construction period was carried out by the authors of the project Karl Rachau and Ernest Gibert.
On the initiative of the Volyn governor, in 1866, a special commission was created for technical control over the construction of the cathedral and inspection of the state of its structures, headed by engineer-colonel Ottobald Andreevich Glaser (grandfather of the famous poet and artist Maximilian Voloshin). The commission also included engineers Groshev, Avrinsky and Ludwig. The main contractor for the construction of the cathedral was the Zhytomyr merchant of the first guild, Cyprian Avraamovich Lyashkov. For the successful completion of the construction of the cathedral, by decree of the emperor, he was awarded the personal status of a nobleman, and he was also appointed the mayor of Zhytomyr, and held this position from 1876 to 1883. The construction cost 336,865 rubles, not counting church utensils and icons.

On August 30, 1874, the main throne was solemnly consecrated by Archbishop of Volyn and Zhitomir Agafangel (in the world Aleksey Fedorovich Solovyov) in the presence of Major General Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov, Volyn Governor Pyotr Apollonovich Gresser, authors of the project, Professor of Architecture E.I. Zhiber and architect V.G. Shalamov. Even during the construction of the cathedral, in 1871, a decree of the Volyn provincial government was issued about the closure of the trading rows on the square and about the creation of a city park around the cathedral under construction. At the same time, a new configuration of the square was determined, called Cathedral Square, which was planned to be the main square of the city. The park was founded only in 1886.
The configuration of the square has remained practically unchanged at the present time, and a small square has remained from the park. The ancient icon of Basil the Great was preserved in the cathedral, according to legend, brought by Prince Vladimir from Greece after his adoption of Christianity. Today her fate is unknown.

Since 1876, the deceased archbishops of Volyn were buried in the basement of the cathedral (three archbishops are buried - Agafangel, Tikhon and Modest), and on May 29 / June 11, 1903, the opening of the lower church of St. Here in a silver shrine was placed the head of the Monk Martyr Anastasia. In the 60s of the XIX century she arrived in Zhitomir as a gift from the Antiochian Patriarch Hierotheos. It was brought by the Archbishop of Volyn and Zhytomyr Modest (Strelnitsky).
Pilgrims came to the miraculous relics not only from Volyn, but also from Kazan, St. Petersburg, Warsaw. Here they blessed the deputies from the Volyn region to the State Duma, met New Year students of parish schools, recruits prayed before being sent to the fronts of the First World War.

In the Soviet years, St. Anastasievskaya Church was closed. Anastasia's relics disappeared. Until 1991, the basement of the temple was used as a warehouse. In the 1930s, the city's General Plan planned to demolish the Transfiguration Cathedral, and in its place to build the House of the Red Army, and this despite the fact that even then the cathedral was included in the state register of architectural monuments. The implementation of this barbaric idea was prevented by the Second World War.

Today, the Transfiguration Cathedral in Zhitomir is an architectural monument of national importance, one of the largest Orthodox churches in Ukraine, as well as the greatest and most perfect building in the city.

Cathedral address: 10003, Zhytomyr, st. Pobeda 14, tel .: (0412) 47-49-34.

The Transfiguration Cathedral is the most outstanding cult landmark. The majestic structure, erected in the Old Russian style, might not have survived to this day, because in the 20th century it was planned to be demolished. However, fortunately, this did not happen. Therefore, today the cathedral is a functioning Orthodox church, the bells of which are called to worship and are heard at a distance of up to 20 kilometers.

History of the Transfiguration Cathedral

The Transfiguration Cathedral in Zhitomir rises on a place that has been prayed for for years, because earlier there were also temples - the Greek Catholic Basilian Cathedral, and then the Transfiguration of the Savior. The latter did not last long and collapsed. According to one version, the material from which it was built turned out to be of poor quality, according to another, it was impossible to build Orthodox church in place of the Greek Catholic.

The new Cathedral of the Transfiguration on the site of the destroyed one was built in 1851 by the famous architects Karl Rochau, Ernest Gibert and Varlam Shalamov. Upon completion of the work, the cathedral became the main temple of Volyn.

Cathedral in the 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Transfiguration Cathedral was included in the state register of architectural monuments, but this did not prevent the Soviet government in the 30s from issuing an order to demolish it and build a house for the Red Army on this site.

Fortunately, the plans could not be realized, this was prevented by the Second World War. The temple withstood the shelling and attacks and has survived to this day almost intact.

Temple architecture

The Transfiguration Cathedral was built in the Russian-Byzantine style with expressive accents of Russian architecture of the 11-12 centuries. The cathedral is cruciform in shape, has five domes and a four-tiered bell tower topped with a sharp spire. A large bell weighing 500 pounds (about 8 thousand kilograms) is installed on it, the sound of which is heard, according to local residents, for 20 kilometers.

Cathedral interior

Particularly striking is the interior of the temple, in the decoration of which granites and labradorites were used, mined in the Zhytomyr and Volyn regions. The eyes are immediately attracted by three thrones: the Transfiguration of the Lord and in honor of the princes Vladimir and Alexander Nevsky. The icons painted by Mikhail Vasiliev are a real adornment of the cathedral.

It is known that the ancient image of St. Basil, which Prince Vladimir the Great brought from Byzantium after being baptized, was kept in the Transfiguration Cathedral. But he disappeared without a trace in 1936.

How to get there

The Transfiguration Cathedral is located in the center of Zhitomir. You can get to it by trolleybuses No. 1, 3 and minibuses No. 11 and 58 from the railway station or by minibuses No. 25 and 108 from the bus station.

Opening hours: Morning services in the temple begin at 8:00, evening - at 17:00.