In the ancient Russian city of Tula, so glorious for its skillful gunsmiths, samovars and gingerbread cookies, there is a wonderful temple, the main aisle of which is consecrated in honor of the great holiday - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What made him famous was not the antiquity of the building (it was built a little over a century ago) and not the big names of the historical figures who visited it, but the wonderful architecture, which put it on a par with the best monuments of temple architecture in Russia.
Mother Empress's Care
In 1791, the pious Empress Catherine II ordered to allocate money for the restructuring of the Assumption Church, which had become quite dilapidated by that time, of the convent of the same name in the glorious city of Tula. These funds came in handy, since the old building, when it was completed (no documents were preserved), fell into complete disrepair. Over the years, the walls of this two-story building have sunk into the ground so much that on rainy autumn and spring days the ground floor mercilessly flooded with water.
In 1792, it was dismantled and in the same place a new, also stone, but one-story and three-piece building was erected. The Tula Civil Governor Andrei Ivanovich Lopukhin supervised the work. She served people and God until 1857, until she also began to show signs of dilapidation, somewhat strange for a stone structure that had not stood for seventy years. However, measures were taken: the building was strengthened and expanded, which is why, as it appears from the documents, it has come to an even worse state. A common thing - they wanted the best, but it turned out ...
Cathedral - beauty and wonder
However, they did not lose heart, but waited another forty years and, blessing, dismantled the temple to the ground. At the beginning of the next century, and more precisely in 1902, a new building was erected in its place. This time it turned out a really beautiful temple, known today as the Assumption Cathedral (Tula). A combination of red brick walls and black domes crowned with golden crosses and crescents was found very successfully. Two-story, built in pseudo-Russian style and richly decorated, it has become a real decoration, which Tula is rightly proud of.
Assumption Cathedral is famous for its interior painting. It accurately reproduces the frescoes made by Viktor Vasnetsov during the design of the famous Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev. The level of performance is so high that suggests the participation in the creation of masters, previously employed in the painting of the Kiev Cathedral. Work on them was completed in 1909, as evidenced by the inscription that has been preserved to this day on one of the walls.
Age of Destruction
The Bolsheviks, who seized power in 1917, abolished the monastery, dispersed its inhabitants, and closed the Assumption Cathedral (Tula). Since the priority was to destroy everything that was created before, and, as their hymn says, “to the ground,” they destroyed it without hesitation. Hundreds of the masterpieces of Russian temple architecture irretrievably perished in those years, but the Assumption Cathedral (Tula) survived against their evil will.
In the thirties they tried to blow it up several times, but the walls covered with powder soot stubbornly refused to give up. This was all the more surprising since the two buildings that had previously been erected on this site were dilapidated prematurely and threatened to fall apart without any explosions. One can only guess: whether the zeal of the builders of this "third temple" gave its walls such unprecedented strength or the Lord did not allow the evil deed to be completed and thanks to Him the ancient Tula did not part with his shrine.
Assumption Cathedral survived, and failing to destroy it, the city authorities decided to use the building for their purely secular purposes - they placed an archive in its walls. But since the Soviet institution could not be under the canopy of domes and crosses, which, as they said then, were a relic of the past, they were demolished, hopelessly violating the harmony of the entire architectural composition.
The difficult process of rebirth of the shrine
The Assumption Cathedral (Tula), a photo of which is presented in the article, was returned to believers as a result of new trends brought with it by perestroika, but this process turned out to be lengthy and complicated. In the late eighties, it was possible to reconstruct the facade of the building, and despite the fact that it still contained an archive, to install on the roof domes and crosses destroyed in the thirties. The exterior of the building began to look a lot like the one it was on the eve of the 1917 disaster.
Only in September 2006, when all formalities were settled, did ancient Tula regain its shrine. After many decades, the Assumption Cathedral has again become the property of the church. In January of the following year, Diocesan Bishop Metropolitan Alexy consecrated his lower warm temple, and in May the upper church was consecrated. This event is considered to be the day of the restoration work and the beginning of a new era in the life of the cathedral.
Temple today
Today, this magnificent monument of temple architecture of the early XX century is daily visited by parishioners of the temple and numerous tourists, who are welcomed by the hospitable Tula. The Assumption Cathedral attracts them not only with its amazing architecture, but with the significance that it acquired in the spiritual life of the region.
Among its shrines are particles of the relics of many saints, who glorified the Lord with their lives and death. Here you can also bow to the image of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who won fame for many miracles revealed through prayers before him, as well as for many other holy images that the Assumption Cathedral in Tula is famous for. The schedule of services conducted in it can be seen on the doors of the temple, and on its websites.
Temple hours
On weekdays, the Divine Liturgy takes place at 8:00, and evening services begin at 17:00. On holidays, however, the schedule changes somewhat. The early Mass is celebrated at 7:00, and the late at 10:00. Evening services begin the same way as on ordinary days - at 17:00. Additional information for everyone who wants to visit the Assumption Cathedral (Tula) - address: st. Mendeleev, 13 (letter L).