Kaliningrad is the second most populated city in the cities of the Northwestern Federal District. About 500,000 people live in it. For three years in a row, the city has held a leading position among the best in Russia. This is how Kaliningrad looks on the map.
Number of churches
Will you believe that until 1985 there were no Orthodox churches in Kaliningrad? Later they opened in the premises of the former German Lutheran churches. And they got accustomed there, it should be noted.
The first Orthodox churches of Kaliningrad began to appear in the 90s of the XX century. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior became the main among them. Today, the city has 27 parishes, not counting chapels, 2 cathedrals and 4 convents.
How many churches in Kaliningrad are in total easy to count. Their number exceeds the number "30".
Cathedral of Christ the Savior
It is written above that it became the first Orthodox building in the city. It all started on April 30, 1995, on the day of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Orthodoxy in the land of Kaliningrad. Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was then Cyril (Gundyaev), and he consecrated the foundation stone. A year later, a capsule with earth taken from under the walls of the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior was laid in the foundation of the future cathedral.
In the summer of the same year, a small wooden church was erected next to the building. The first service was held in September 1996. For thirteen years the temple stood next to the building. In 2009, it was disassembled and transferred to a neighborhood called "Selma".
The Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad is a masterpiece of Orthodox architecture. Its appearance is similar to the structure of the Pskov Kremlin: white-stone, five-domed, with golden domes.
The cathedral seats almost 3,500 people. Its upper temple was consecrated in 2006, in honor of the Nativity of Christ. It is designed for 3,000 parishioners, the lower - for 400. The lower church was consecrated in 2007, in honor of the Holy Savior.
There is a Sunday school, an Orthodox gymnasium at the cathedral, classes for adults, conversations before the sacraments of baptism and weddings.
St. Elisabeth Convent
We dealt with the churches of Kaliningrad and their number. We explore monasteries, or rather, one of them. The St. Elisabeth Monastery is young, it was founded in 2001 with the blessing of the current His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in honor of the venerable martyr Elizabeth, the great Russian princess. On its territory, churches were built in honor of the images of the Mother of God "The Search for the Dead", "Softening Evil Hearts", "Three-Handed", "Feodorovskaya". Abbess Elizabeth leads the monastery for over 20 years, she took monastic tonsure in 1998.
The sisters carry various obedience: someone cares for the birds living in the monastery mini-zoo, someone works in the sewing workshop, others prepare for natives and pilgrims. There is a lot of work in the monastery; it is never translated.
Divine services are held daily, morning and evening. For the pious pilgrims who want to visit the monastery, we give the address: Slavsky district, pos. Priozerye, house 87a. You can clarify all the necessary information, arrange a check-in or an excursion, by phone: 8-911-851-87-15.
The gates of the monastery close at 20:00 pm. The exception is Christmas and Easter services, when the monastery is open all night.
Church of St. Olga
On July 24, 2013, on the feast day of St. Princess Olga, a temple was consecrated in her honor. One of the youngest churches in Kaliningrad, it was built in the village of Coastal for five whole years. Previously, the buildings were overgrown on the site, and the Orthodox went to services in the nearest churches. When they blessed the construction, people helped as much as possible. According to the ruble, but collected for the church, brought by brick and mortgaged. Everyone sought to take part in the construction.
Rector Oleg Korolev says that he feels himself a partaker of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, bringing the truth about Christ to the world. Not only believers live in the village, but also those who thought little about God before the appearance of the structure under study here.
The Church of the Holy Princess Olga in Kaliningrad is located at the address: 1 Pribrezhny settlement, Rabochaya street.
Parish in honor of Sergius of Radonezh
How not to mention the abbess of the Russian land? In his honor, the construction of a stone church near the South Station of Kaliningrad is underway. The construction was blessed by Patriarch Kirill in October 2010.
Among the churches of Kaliningrad, she is the youngest. Now, next to the construction site, there is a small ordinary church, consecrated in honor of the parents of St. Sergius. Divine services and church sacraments are performed here, a Sunday school operates.
In 2016, the basement of the church was built in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the bell tower was erected. A year later, the bells were hung, the laying of the first rows of the temple walls began.
Construction is underway at: pl. Kalinina, house 2.
An ordinary church in honor of the saint’s parents is open daily, working hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There is an Orthodox library at the temple.
Prayers are also held in chapels. One of them was consecrated in honor of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Hodegetria", the second - in honor of St. Nicholas. Both are open daily, in the building of the Southern Railway Station there is a chapel in honor of the Mother of God. She works from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The building, consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, is located at 52 Artilleriyskaya Street. It works from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Conclusion
Are you a believer? Once in the studied city, visit the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the female Elizabethan monastery or the temple of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga. Want to see other churches in Kaliningrad? Realize the need of the soul to be in the temple, do not be lazy.