Symbol of Stavropol - Kazan Cathedral

City Council meeting

Any project begins with an idea, which is clothed in concrete intentions and calculations, and then embodied in material forms. And the history of the cathedral began with the fact that in 1838 the old wooden church was demolished in honor of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, and therefore the city needed a new temple. On this occasion, the City Council of Stavropol gathered on November 16, 1841. Her decision about her intention to build a church was brought to the district chief - Colonel A. Maslovsky. Numerous approvals began.

The original plan and calculations belong to the architect Durnovo. When the project was duly executed, it was sent for approval to the head of the Caucasus region, Adjutant General P. Grabbe, who liked everything. Then it was necessary to get the approval of the spiritual hierarchs, that is, the Archbishop of Novocherkassk and St. George Athanasius. And there were no problems. Then P. Grabbe, wanting to accelerate the progress of the matter, made this request to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Count N. Protasov. He took over and the project of the Kazan Cathedral of Stavropol appeared on the imperial table and, as already mentioned, after the adjustment of Alexander Ton was approved. On this the bureaucratic part was over.

Part Two - Financial

Donation collection has begun. The first, as usual, the merchant class responded. For example, Nikita Plotnikov contributed 1,000 rubles (a very large sum for that money) in memory of his son who died in Taman. Stavropol merchants I. Mesnyankin, I. Zimin, N. Alafuzov, hereditary honorary citizen A. Nesterov and many other eminent and unremarkable citizens did not lag behind him. Among the donors were many churches of the Novocherkassk and St. George diocese, as well as officers of the Tenginsky regiment, which in those years stood in the city. The whole world raised 20,000 rubles. However, this amount was insufficient for the continuous construction of the Kazan Cathedral in Stavropol.

Then it was decided to collect the missing money within 3 years systematically, that is, for each resident, depending on his estate, a certain amount was established, which was necessary to contribute to the public fund. And he was supervised by the trustees - the commandant of Stavropol and the merchant Korney Chernov.

Part Three - Construction

The merchants of Stavropol were both donors and contractors, supplying workers with the necessary specialties with all the tools, as well as materials for construction. When the walls and roof were erected, it was the turn of the interior decoration of the temple. It should be noted that the enthusiasm of the inhabitants did not decrease at all over time, as evidenced by archival documents. In particular, the merchant Sergey Lunev expressed a desire to contribute 12,000 rubles in banknotes for the construction of the Royal Gates and the acquisition of four icons: Jesus Christ, the Virgin, St. Nicholas the Ugodnik and St. Prince Alexander Nevsky.

Together, the construction of the Kazan Cathedral in Stavropol was completed in 1847. That is, it took 4 years to build it. Even by today's standards, it was a very short time. Apparently, with God's help, construction is much faster ...

On August 20, 1847, the temple was given the status of a cathedral. What does this mean? And the fact that the Kazan Cathedral of Stavropol became the main temple of the diocese, which is run by a bishop or other person of the highest spiritual hierarchy of the 3rd level (bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, etc.).

Further conversions

Of course, the corresponding bell tower was necessary for such a magnificent construction. In 1865, the Stavropol architect P. Voskresensky took up her project. After some time, west of the temple, construction began. The bell tower turned out to be three-tier and reached a height of 98 m, being the tallest building in the city. To accommodate 3 bells, 2 and 3 tiers were intended.

The bell ringing of the cathedral rang out many versts around, which is not surprising: one of them weighed 104 pounds, and was purchased at the expense of the same merchant Sergei Lunev; the second (525 pounds) was donated by the philanthropist Lavr Pavlov; and the third (Tsar Bell) weighed 600 pounds (9828 kg) and was made with the money of the entire merchant class of Stavropol.

For comparison: the bell in the Cathedral of Reims weighs about 10 tons, but is not currently used due to the weakness of the ceilings.

Entry into the 20th Century

The first 10 years of the 20th century were the last calm time for Stavropol and Kazan Cathedral. Photos of those years are witnesses of the peaceful life of the city and its inhabitants, not suspecting the advent of dashing times.

Then the time of “transformations” began, as a result of which the values ​​from the temple were withdrawn in 1922 to help the starving Volga region. An inventory of the property of the Cathedral has been preserved, confirming the delivery of 30 pounds of silver (about 500 kg) in favor of the state.

Then came the turn of the walls of the temple: in the 30s they were dismantled, because the country needed building material. Burials located within the temple were ravaged. The bell tower building, which was considered a cultural monument, was first used as a radio antenna, and in 1943 there was a reason to blow it up, as it could become a guide for enemy aircraft.

The hill on which the symbol of Stavropol was located was called Komsomolskaya.

New times

The 90s were crucial for the temple: the restoration of the complex began. As in the old days, the hope was only on voluntary contributions, for which an account was opened. Archaeologists conducted reconnaissance at the site of the destroyed temple and established the exact parameters of its location.

In 2004, a chapel was erected in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker at the expense of the chief technologist of the Krasny Metallist factory Alexander Nikolayevich Kapustyansky, whose son died in the Caucasian War. They say that time moves in a spiral, and every event of the past returns to the present at a new level ...

And then archival research began to recreate the original appearance of the cathedral. The architect of the diocese V. Aksenov was engaged in this.

In 2008, the temple was restored and consecrated, and on April 4, 2010 (to celebrate Easter) the first service was held in the Kazan Cathedral of Stavropol. The schedule of the temple is easy to remember: it is open daily from 7-30 to 20-30 hours.

And in the cathedral there is always a priest who will help you sort out the questions that have arisen.