It is known that the 20th century brought down innumerable troubles on the Russian Orthodox Church caused by the coming to power of the Bolshevik Party. With the goal of turning people away from religion and forcing them to forget the name of God, atheists-Leninists took repressive actions of unprecedented scale against priests and parishioners. Over the decades of their tenure in power, they closed and destroyed tens of thousands of monasteries and temples, the restoration of which became the paramount task of the citizens of reborn Russia.
Patriarchal appeal to believers
Having visited Paris in 2016, Patriarch Kirill celebrated the liturgy within the walls of Holy Trinity Cathedral and, upon its completion, addressed the audience with a sermon. In it, he succinctly, but at the same time, extremely convincingly spoke about the importance of the common cause being accomplished in Russia - the restoration of churches.
His Holiness emphasized that over the past period of history, our compatriots have fallen on such trials that no one else had to endure, and they managed to maintain national unity only thanks to the Orthodox faith. That is why without the restoration of temples it is impossible to return the people to their spiritual roots.
Unemotional statistics
The pace of work related to the revival of previously shattered shrines is eloquently testified by statistical data. According to available information, at the end of December 1991, when the Soviet Union officially collapsed, there were less than 7,000 active churches in Russia, and by February 2013 there were already 39676. The number of foreign parishes belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate had also increased significantly.
Legal and financial aspects of the problem
It should be noted that the restoration of temples is a complex and lengthy process, requiring not only significant investments, but also the active participation of a large number of believers. The fact is that construction and restoration work cannot begin before a parish consisting of at least 20 people is created and officially registered.
In addition, proceeding with the restoration of the temple, the premises of which were previously used for economic purposes, it is necessary to resolve a number of legal issues, such as removing it from the balance of the previous owners and transferring it to the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church, determining the status of the land on which it is located, etc. d.
And of course, the main problem was financing the planned work, but as a rule, it found its solution. The whole history of Russian temple architecture is associated with the names of voluntary donors who considered it their duty to provide material support for a charitable cause. The Russian land has not become impoverished in our days. Millions of rubles were transferred to the accounts of newly formed parishes by private entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens, who sometimes gave their last savings.
Revival of the main temple of the country
A vivid example of such “public funding” was the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, destroyed in 1931 and completely recreated by 2000. Funds for its construction were raised through the activities of activists of the “Financial Support Fund” founded for this purpose. Among them were prominent Russian entrepreneurs, as well as figures in science, culture and art.
Significant assistance to the builders was provided by the state. Despite the fact that initially it was decided to do without budgetary investments, the head of government B.N. Yeltsin issued a decree on tax incentives to all organizations that took part in restoration work. The necessary funds began to come from both domestic and foreign companies, as a result of which the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was completed on time.
Exploded Shrines of Egypt
The problem of restoring destroyed shrines is very acute throughout the world and faces the followers of different religions. In recent years, a lot of work in this direction has been done in Egypt, where a significant number of temples belonging to the Coptic Christian Church were blown up by extremists. They were largely helped by fellow believers from other countries, who donated money and necessary building materials to the communities affected by the terrorists. All possible assistance was also provided by the government. A photo of one of these temples is given below.
The destruction of the First Jerusalem Temple
However, there are examples in the modern world of how the revival of a destroyed shrine lasts for many centuries, and the restoration of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem can serve as confirmation of this. In order to understand the reason for such a unique “long-term construction”, you should take a short excursion into the history of this amazing building.
The Temple of Solomon, whose restoration is the centuries-old dream of the Jewish people, will be the third religious center erected on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where its two predecessors, destroyed by the conquerors, were formerly located. The first of them was built in 950 BC. e. and became a symbol of national unity achieved by the Jews during the reign of King Solomon. Having become the main center of the religious life of the country, it lasted a little more than three and a half centuries, after which in 597 BC e. It was destroyed by the soldiers of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who had stolen the majority of the inhabitants of the country. The spiritual leaders of Jewish society, this tragedy was presented as a manifestation of God's anger caused by numerous sins.
Recurring tragedy
The Babylonian captivity ended in 539 BC. e. due to the fact that the Persian king Cyrus, having defeated the army of Nebuchadnezzar II, granted freedom to all his slaves. Upon returning home, the Jews first of all set about rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, because they could not imagine further life without God's protection. So, in 516 BC. e. in the midst of the city still lying in ruins, the Second Temple of Solomon was erected, which also became a spiritual center and served to strengthen the unity of the nation.
Unlike his predecessor, he stood for 586 years, but his fate was very tragic. In the year 70, according to the prophecy that came from the mouth of Jesus Christ, the Temple was destroyed, and with it turned into ruins and great Jerusalem. More than 4 thousand of its inhabitants were crucified on crosses installed along the city walls.
This time, the Roman legions, sent to pacify the rebellious citizens, became an instrument in the hands of God's wrath. And this tragedy, which became one of the episodes of the First Jewish War, was described by the lips of the rabbis as another punishment for violating the Commandments received by Moses on Mount Sinai.
Since then, for nearly two millennia, Jews have not ceased to mourn the ruined Temple. The western part of its foundation, preserved to this day, has become the main shrine of the Jews of the whole world and received a very symbolic name - the Western Wall.
Century-long construction
But what about the Third Temple, the construction of which dragged on for an unprecedented long time? Jews believe that someday it will be erected, as the prophet Ezekiel testified to them. But the trouble is that there is no unity between them in their views on how exactly this greatest event will happen.
Followers of the medieval spiritual leader Rashai (1040-1105), who became famous for his commentaries on the Talmud and the Torah, believe that at some point this will happen in a supernatural way without the participation of people. The magnificent building itself will weave out of thin air.
Their opponents, more inclined to trust the Jewish philosopher Rambam (1135-1204), believe that they will have to build the Temple themselves, but this can only be done after the Messiah promised by the prophets appears in the world (they don’t recognize Jesus Christ as such), otherwise he the same fate befalls as the first two. There are also many other points of view whose advocates are trying to combine both of the above theories. Disputes between them have been going on for many centuries, due to which, the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem is constantly postponed for an indefinite period.