St. Nicholas Church is one of the oldest in Barnaul, the capital of the Altai Territory. Originally built for soldiers, it became the center of the spiritual life of the city and a century later it was restored again and receives parishioners. Its central location embodies the entire Christian Barnaul.
St. Nicholas Church: the history of construction
The construction of one of the oldest temples in Barnaul falls at the beginning of the 20th century. During this period, there was a custom to build a regimental church for each military unit, if its number was at least one battalion. Since a soldiers regiment was stationed in Barnaul, the construction of a temple for his soldiers was simply necessary.
A considerable amount of 36 thousand rubles was allocated from the treasury for the construction, and the design of the stone church was approved by the emperor himself. By the way, this was not unique, but a standard project, according to which more than 60 soldier’s churches were built throughout Russia. The construction in Barnaul was led by architect Ivan Nosovich, known for designing other chapels and temples that Barnaul is still proud of.
The St. Nicholas Church received a seat in April 1903, when the city council allocated a 290-yard plot in the very center of the city, on Moskovsky Prospect, very close to the regiment's barracks. A year later, with a festive atmosphere, they laid the first stone from which the future St. Nicholas Church grew.
Barnaul worked hard, and its construction was at a record pace largely due to the fact that it involved a large number of not only soldiers, but also ordinary people, because in those days it was an honor to participate in the construction of the temple, many wanted to take part in this. Only 2 years the city needed for the construction of the church - after six months, the builders had already erected walls and a roof, and another half were required for interior decoration.
In February 1906, the church was consecrated and began to take Barnaul’s soldiers on oath. In addition to the military, locals also went to services here - the convenient location of the temple contributed to this. And the large territory around it allowed to hold special events for a large crowd of residents.
However, soon the sad fate befell St. Nicholas Church, like many churches throughout Russia. In the 30s, the church was closed, crosses were removed and destroyed, many were plundered and destroyed, for example, unique murals, ancient icons and books.
Modernity
For a long time the church was empty, in the Soviet period there was a military club and a school for pilots, despite the central location, the building was desolate.
However, in 1991 the Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II came to Altai on a visit, in honor of his arrival, the building was solemnly transferred to the Orthodox diocese, and in 1992 restoration was begun in the Nikolskaya Church. In the early 2000s, she again met parishioners.
Despite the fact that all the icons of the church have been lost, today there are faces that pray from all over the country. This, for example, the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, painted in the 19th century. It was found in one of the villages of the Toguchinsky district of the Altai Territory and was first transferred to the local history museum in the 80s, and after 10 years to the Nikolskaya Church.
Another acquisition of the church is the old bell of 1903 and new paintings, the author of which was the famous Altai artist V. Konkov. A new iconostasis with paintings of Palekh artists was also brought to Barnaul.
Nicholas Church found a new dome and crosses
In 2006-2007, the dome and crosses of the temple were reconstructed. First came the turn of the dome - on June 3, 2006, he found his place under the gaze of Altai Bishop Maxim and parishioners of the church. The titanium head was made in Chelyabinsk, and the new three-ton gold-brilliant dome, as similar as possible to the one that crowned the church during its construction in the early 20th century, took its rightful place.
As for the crosses, local craftsmen made them in Barnaul according to their own sketches. There are only 5 crosses: two on each side of the church and one most important in the center.
Temple architecture
The temple was built by the architect Fyodor Verzhbitsky, which was approved in 1901 as a model for the construction of soldiers and regimental churches throughout Russia. It is made in the eclectic style, which was very common at the end of the 19th century in Russia. There are elements of the Russian-Byzantine style in the project.
The type of church is a one-nave basilica, that is, rectangular in shape with one nave. The temple is built of red brick with a three-tier bell tower and a portal in the western part of the facade. During the construction, the building fit perfectly into the architectural ensemble of Moscow Avenue, the main street around which Barnaul grew. Nicholas Church today is located on the central avenue of the city between the building of the cooperative technical school and the educational buildings of the Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
The relics of St. Matrona of Moscow
St. Nicholas Church meets crowds of parishioners not only on Christian holidays, but also on days when you can touch the holy relics or icons brought from other regions of Russia within the walls of the church. This practice is very common today and allows believers to see with their own eyes the most important and praying shrines.
So, in March 2016, in the St. Nicholas Church, one could pray the relics of St. Matrona, which they brought to Barnaul from Kalmykia. By the way, this is not the first time that the shrine is received by St. Nicholas Church. Barnaul relics of Matron already met in 2013. Then the parishioners could not only touch them, but also take part in a specially organized procession.
Contacts: St. Nicholas Church, Barnaul
The address of the St. Nicholas Church is Barnaul city, Lenin Avenue, house 36. You can get to it from the bus station or railway station by bus number 55 or trolleybus number 5 to the stop “Medical Institute”. There is the St. Nicholas Church (Barnaul). The phone number of the temple is (3852) 35-49-75.
Church services are held daily from Monday to Saturday. The Divine Liturgy begins at 8.30 in the morning, and the evening service at 17.00.