The main shrine and attraction of Dnepropetrovsk is the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The construction belongs to the monuments of architecture of the XIX century. Having survived the difficult times in its history, the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Dnepropetrovsk) is still acting to the delight of all truly Orthodox Christians. Every day, trebes are performed here, divine services are held.
Story
Holy Trinity Cathedral is called not by chance. In the XIX century the church was called Trinity, and at some time - the Descent of the Holy Spirit. They built a cathedral on the site of the old city church, which venerated the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. It was small in size, consecrated it back in 1791. After forty years of service, the church was significantly dilapidated, and the merchants of the city decided to turn to the famous architects Visconti and Bode to create a project for the new church. At the same time, the Assumption Church and the new merchant were designed. The place for the future temple was consecrated in 1837. The city could not afford to erect two great buildings at the same time, so all the emphasis was on the Assumption Church.
Eight years passed after the laying, and in 1845 Fedor Duplenko (timber merchant) donated three thousand rubles, which was enough only for the construction of the foundation. To the extent possible, Duplenko allocated funds for several years, on which the temple was built. In general, he contributed one hundred thousand rubles to the construction (huge money for that time). The merchant died in 1848 from a serious illness.
In 1855 they completed the construction of the church, at that time Leonid Zaretsky was the bishop. Consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity. Since then, the temple day - the feast of the Holy Trinity.
The cathedral has three chapels. The right one is the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the left one is St. Andrew the First-Called, and the central one is the Life-Giving Trinity. Three city streets received these names: Kazanskaya ( K. Libknehta St. ), Pervozvanovskaya (Korolenko St.), Troitskaya (Krasnaya St.) and Troitskaya Square (Red Square).
Description. The construction of the bell tower
One of the local architects developed a project according to which a stone high bell tower was erected in the 1860s. At that time in Yekaterinoslavl (Dnepropetrovsk) it was the tallest building. Later, an aisle was built between the church and the bell tower, which combined the structures into a single whole, the area of the church almost doubled. The patrons of this construction were Andrey Kirpichnikov and his family, who in total allocated fifteen thousand rubles.
Holy Trinity Cathedral (Dnepropetrovsk), whose address is 7 Red Square, at the end of the 19th century had the functions of a city parish church. A candle shop was built, as well as twelve church shops, a parish school and the Parable House on Trinity Bazaar. The elder at that time was Ivan Alekseenko.
The beginning of the 20th century. Painting Izhakevich
At the beginning of the 20th century, large-scale repair work began in Holy Trinity Church. An outstanding painter of Ukraine Ivan Izhakevich (1864-1962) was invited to perform painting (murals, icons), he was a great specialist in the field of Ukrainian folklore and folk art. Until the revolution, his main activity was precisely temple painting, the writing of which no one could repeat. His most famous paintings are the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Refectory), the main gates of the laurels, and the Church of All Saints in the laurel there. All these masterpieces of the author date back to the beginning of the 20th century.
Troitskaya Square, where the temple is located, hosts hundreds of believers daily. Everyone can go to the Holy Trinity Church and see the beauty, the uniqueness of the painting. For Yekaterinoslavl, the invitation of such a significant master at that time was a great achievement. The master’s hand belongs to the full-length images of saints on the pylons of the cathedral (Cyril and Methodius, Paul, Peter), as well as evangelists on sails in the central nave.
The advent of Soviet power
In 1910, the elder Ivan Alekseenko died, and the reconstruction of the cathedral dragged on. It was possible to complete the work only in 1917. But with the advent of the Soviets, new troubles began for churchmen. Holy Trinity Cathedral (Dnepropetrovsk) received the Department of the Diocesan Bishop, as the Transfiguration Cathedral was closed.
In 1934, at the time of atheistic trends, the temple was closed, explaining this by the “absence of parishioners”. Crosses were dropped, bells were torn by vandals from the bells and broken. On the territory of the temple were numerous shops, warehouses, workshops. The church building was divided into two floors, adapted for storage facilities. And the angels hovering over the portal, as before, praised God and watched from above the unloading of bags of provisions, as they once looked at praying parishioners. Dirt, damp, temperature changes caused great damage to the interior paintings, the decoration of the temple. The faces of the saints were even simply painted over with whitewash and paint.
During the war
Divine services were resumed in the temple in 1941, during the war. Since then they have not ceased. When the city was liberated in 1943, in the confusion of the war years, the abbot Vladimir Kapustinsky, who was the head priest of the Vedeno church before the revolution, was killed. The protodeacon of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Hilarion, was also shot directly in the courtyard of the temple. He rests in the courtyard of the cathedral, as well as the bodies of many victims of the 1941 German bombing.
Despite the difficult times, the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Dnepropetrovsk) was partially restored according to the project of Vladimir Samodryga in 1942. There were few funds, so the most necessary work was done - they plastered the walls, hung bells, painted green domes and erected crosses on them. Inside, partly cleared the paintings, dismantled unnecessary overlap.
In 1944, the restoration of the church continued. At the same time, there was a reorganization in the Dnepropetrovsk diocese. So the cathedral officially began to be the residence of the bishop, and accordingly more funds were allocated for restoration work.
The restoration of the temple. Who is the mysterious author of the mural?
The large restoration of the temple at 7 Red Square began in the 1950s. The surviving unique author's paintings were restored: the icons of the apostles, ornaments, cherubs in the domes, "Joseph's Flight to Egypt." Murals that could not be restored were replaced with new ones. A new iconostasis was created, a porch, a balcony for the choir, and much more were built.
In those days, the name of the author of the paintings became clear. A sad paradox - the author Izhakevich himself was still alive during these years, but was forced to remain silent about his sympathies for Orthodoxy. Nobody already knew that all these paintings belong to him.
The first assumption about the authorship of Izhakevich was expressed by Archbishop Guri, who was an excellent connoisseur and connoisseur of church painting. Having written out Moscow restorers from Moscow, the archbishop became convinced of his guesses. One of the masters was Kutlinsky - a student of Izhakevich. By the handwriting of the drawing, he immediately determined the authorship of the paintings. The authorship was finally confirmed by the regional society for the protection of monuments. The elderly artist F. Konovalyuk helped with the painting of the cathedral back in 1909, he told many more interesting details about the work done.
Cathedral in the 21st century
Metropolitan of Dnipropetrovsk Irenaeus and Rector Archpriest Aksyutin Vladimir Viktorovich made a great contribution to the restoration of the church . During the capital reconstruction of the cathedral, the facade was completely renovated, the roof was closed, the domes were updated, new windows were installed, as well as granite window sills. In 2009, in the fall, one of the first green domes (central) shone with gold. Already at Christmas, January 7, during the service under the sun, he shone as if the flame of faith of all those gathered in the temple was lifted into the sky.
In 2010, the entire facade was completely restored, by the arrival of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow Cyril, the bell towers were gilded, the crosses were renovated, the remaining domes were painted, the molding and facade icons were restored.
Visit of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
In the summer of 2010, Holy Trinity Cathedral (Dnepropetrovsk) hosted a distinguished guest. Archpriest Vladimir Aksyutin, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, met at the entrance to the temple. In the temple itself, and around it gathered hundreds of believers. Inside the cathedral, all the shepherds of the city and important government officials were present. Vladyka Irenaeus presented the Patriarch with a list of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Samara, which is especially revered in the church. With a response, in memory of his visit, Cyril handed over the image of the Savior to the rector of the church. Every year on January 7, during the celebration of Christmas, the Patriarch of Moscow sends his congratulations to his brothers in Dnepropetrovsk.
Relics of the temple. Shrines
Diocesan bishops Varlaam (Ilyushchenko), Andrey (Komarov), Kronid (Mishchenko), creators, rectors of the church are buried near the walls of the cathedral. To the right of the central gate during the war in 1941, the victims of the first bombing were buried here.
The shrines of the cathedral are carefully guarded: the icon “The Crying Savior”, the icon of the “Holy Trinity” with a particle of Mamvri oak, the icon of the Mother of God “Kazan”, “Iverskaya”, “Samara”, “Worthy to eat”, two Reliquary crosses containing particles of revered Orthodox saints (including the baptist of Lord John). The Reliquary Cross with particles of the relics of the Optina Elders is located in the cathedral.
The most ancient relics are saved in the cathedral: the tomb from St. Nicholas Cathedral, the iconostasis of the Kazan Church.