Chapel of Blessed Xenia is located in St. Petersburg, it still functions today. It is located in the Smolensk cemetery, which is located in the area of Vasilyevsky Island.
Appearance and interior decoration
The chapel is built of stone and painted with pale green paint. All sides of the facade are decorated with several pointed arched windows. They have struts in the form of columns. The windows are decorated with stained glass images. Front and rear, the cornice is decorated with a kokoshnik, made in the form of a semicircle, with mosaic icons of Jesus (on the inside) and blessed Xenia (on the outside). The chapel is crowned with a brown scaly tent, decorated with a gilded onion in the form of a bulb on which there is a cross. As for the interior, the gaze immediately falls on the iconostasis made of marble, which shows a mosaic image of the crucified Jesus. The chapel of St. Xenia the Blessed is striking in its beauty. I want to forever enjoy this magnificence.
The history of the chapel, opening hours
Not far from the Smolensk Church, on the grave of Blessed Xenia, which took part in the construction of a stone church and died at the dawn of the 19th century, a chapel was erected in 1900 according to the project of architect A. A. Vseslavin. They consecrated it after a couple of years. A little later, the Smolensk cemetery became the burial place of the founder of the chapel and the church of St. Demetrius of Solunsky, located in Kolomyagi, - A. A. Vseslavin. Few know about it. This man is buried near the northern facade of the temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. Built in a neo-Russian style, decorated with a low scaly tent, the chapel is one of the most interesting architectural monuments of the necropolis. She really deserves attention.
Moreover, many believe that the most interesting attraction of St. Petersburg is the chapel of Ksenia the Blessed. Opening hours should be known to everyone who wants to visit her. On
weekdays, its doors are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Amazing beauty
But back to Blessed Xenia. At the head of her tomb, made of marble, was an iconostasis of the same material and a mosaic image of Jesus on the cross. A lamp shone near him with unquenchable fire. A large number of images in icon cases hung on the walls. These included a couple of silver icons that were presented by Prince Masalsky, who was leaving for the Russian-Turkish war in 1877-1878. He also made a vow.
In the war he was not injured at all. Many people remember him when they came to the Smolensk cemetery. The chapel of Xenia the Blessed was transformed thanks to his efforts. She was magnificent, but with silver images she became even more beautiful.
Closing the chapel, pilgrimage to it and the loss of church utensils
In 1940, both the Smolensk Church and the chapel were abolished, and at the end of the summer the city authorities decided: it was necessary to destroy it within thirty days. Fortunately, the savage decision was soon reversed. In addition, no one and nothing could abolish popular recognition. A plywood wall was erected near the chapel, on which people wrote requests addressed to Blessed Xenia. Believers hoped that the intercessor would pray for them. At that time, silver icons donated by Prince Masalsky, embroidery with a portrait of a blessed one, and a magnificent stained glass image depicting Jesus disappeared somewhere.
Candlesticks, chandeliers, and robes were sent for re-melting. And from the rest of the icons made firewood. In the chapel during the war there was a warehouse of containers for fuels and lubricants. But blessed Ksenia was not forgotten, people remembered her.
Scary times
The times of the siege ... Passing all the obstacles, to the sound of the bombing in the frost that was breaking through to the bones, from all parts of Leningrad, believers were drawn to the revered shrine. They asked for intercession, prayed and wept, and many, kneeling near the wall, could no longer get to their feet. The chapel of Blessed Xenia saw many deaths. It was a tragic period in its history.
Restoration of the building, canonization of Xenia of Petersburg
After the war, from the end of the winter of 1947 until 1960, believers could freely enter the chapel. However, after some time, the authorities decided to open a workshop for sewing and repairing shoes in a sacred place. Only in 1983 the building returned to the bosom of the Smolensk church. It looked very bad: crumbling plaster, walls darkened with soot, a broken floor, and the absence of a bulb-shaped head. Many people decided to participate in the restoration of the chapel, at that time they already knew that soon Ksenia would be canonized. This was very wanted by Metropolitan Alexy, who supervised the work and worked selflessly. After the restoration, the chapel was once again consecrated; it happened on August 10, 1987. And already in June next year, Metropolitan of Novgorod and Leningrad Alexy II publicly announced that Xenia the Blessed is now considered a saint. This good news was heard by 10,000 people. The chapel of Blessed Xenia then began to gather even more people. Pilgrimages began to be regularly made here.
Another reconstruction of the building
In the middle of autumn 2002 there was a significant date: 100 years since the consecration of the chapel, made of stone, on the grave of Ksenia of Petersburg. Long before this event, the building was again reconstructed: the building, which survived the difficult historical events that took place in the twentieth century, was decided to return to its previous appearance. The craftsmen carried out hard work aimed at replacing the hipped roof, which, as before, following the model of ancient Russian architecture, is decorated with a gilded onion crowned with a cross. It looks very beautiful. The floors were also replaced. On February 6, 2002, the renewed Chapel of Blessed Xenia opened its doors to all believers.