To the south-east of the center of St. Petersburg, near the banks of the Neva, rises the dome of the magnificent Holy Trinity Cathedral, which is the architectural center and decoration of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Its noble outlines are familiar and close to every Petersburger. They became the same hallmark of the city as the boat on the spire of the Admiralty and the "Bronze Horseman" raised Russia "on its hind legs."
Monastery born of the command of Peter the Great
Historical chronicles indicate that in 1710, having visited the Black River at the confluence of the Neva - the old river Monastyrka was called in the old days - sovereign Peter I ordered the construction of a monastery there dedicated to the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky. His desire was not a momentary whim. These were the years of the war with Sweden, and the help of a heavenly patron, all the more experienced in smashing the Swedes, was necessary. The choice of a place for the construction of the monastery was the result of the erroneous opinion that existed in those years that it was at this place that Prince Alexander won his victory.
Having laid his great city “in spite of the arrogant neighbor”, Tsar Peter put his construction on a grand scale. A master plan was developed in accordance with which the city streets stretched in strict geometric order. The best foreign architects were invited to erect government buildings, temples and palaces of nobles. Through the labor of thousands of serfs, driven from all over Russia, Northern Venice rose from the swamps of Finnish marshes.
In the midst of the work, when the bastions of the Peter and Paul Fortress were being erected and the first ships of the Russian fleet were launched from the recently rebuilt Admiralty Shipyard, the emperor became preoccupied with the need to create a spiritual center. Tsar Peter wished that honest monks, far from the noise of the city, would constantly pray for the blessing of God to all his undertakings. In addition, as mentioned above, the war with the Swedes was in full swing, and the memory of the saint who once defeated them should have inspired the current warriors.
Preparations for the construction of the monastery
For the new monastery, the sovereign personally allocated a fair amount of land on the Neva banks, in addition, vast lands in the Olonets region were attributed to him. Work on the architectural complex project was carried out two years later by the Italian architect of Swiss origin, Domenico Trezzini.
Project D. Trezzini
It was originally planned that the complex of monastery buildings, spread symmetrically throughout the space allotted to it on the Neva coast, was to become another defensive structure in the southeast of the young capital, so it was built according to all the rules of fortification.
It was planned to connect the monastery with St. Petersburg through a forest path laid through the forest thicket, referred to on the plan as the “Neva Perspective” - the future main highway of the city of Nevsky Prospect.
The architectural center of the monastery under construction was to become a temple, the place for which was indicated on the plan by Trezzini himself, and from which he intended to start laying Nevsky Prospect. The design of the temple was entrusted to the recently arrived young architect from Germany, who managed to gain fame, T. Schwertfeger, an ardent supporter of the German baroque style that was fashionable in those years.
The first pancake is lumpy
This first Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which has not survived to this day, was a grandiose structure, decorated with two bell towers with spiers on the peaks. In 1719, a series of preparatory work began. The construction of the building, which lasted for eleven years, was completed by 1733, but it soon became clear that serious errors had been made in its layout.
In particular, the soil on which the foundation was built was not sufficiently strengthened. As a result, uneven settlement of certain parts of the cathedral occurred, which caused cracks in its arches. The commission created in 1744 came to the conclusion that there is a real danger of the collapse of the building and the impossibility of its operation.
The complete dismantling of the temple, begun in 1753 and carried out under the guidance of state adviser Ivan Yakovlevich Rossi, the namesake of the famous Karl Rossi, took two years. After the first Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg was completely dismantled, for six years it remained the only incomplete element of the entire monastery complex erected by that time.
The highest command of Catherine II
A new stage in the construction of the temple belongs to the reign of Empress Catherine II, whose command in 1763 established a competition for the projects of the cathedral. It was attended by the most titled architects of that time, such as Yu. M. Felten, A.F. Kokorin, F.F. Vist, S.A. Volkov and several others. None of the works presented received the highest approval, and the construction project was frozen for another eleven years.
Only in 1774, when further delays were not possible - the monastery was built, but there is no central church - did Catherine II order the Russian architect Ivan Egorovich Starov to entrust the project of its creation. Work on the technical documentation took two years, and in 1776, after the highest approval of the project, the construction management was entrusted to its author. The Empress personally attended the solemn laying of the cathedral. Immediately after the celebrations, blessing, set to work.
Completion and Consecration of the Temple
Four years later, two two-tier bell towers rose to the sky. On one of them, south, chimes were installed at the same time, and on the other, north, a thirteen-ton bell was raised, which was formerly in the Iversky monastery and cast in 1658. By 1786, installation work was generally completed, and four years later, which required the completion of interior decoration and time for the settlement of the building, they consecrated the cathedral.
It was held with extraordinary solemnity in the presence of Catherine the Great herself. At the same time, from the nearby Annunciation Church under the incessant cannon salute, the silver crayfish, which had been stored there until that time, in which the holy relics of Alexander Nevsky rested, were transferred to the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra .
Temple - a tribute to the heroes
Since its construction, the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg belongs to the category of so-called chapel, that is, order temples. In this case, we are talking about the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Initially, the limit dedicated to him was placed under the south tower, but in 1838 it was abolished.
As a sign of special respect for all those awarded this award, for them in 1791 a special hall was opened in the Fedorovsky building adjacent to the cathedral, and a bit later a relief image of the order appeared above the entrance to the temple.
The beginning of the era of total atheism
With the beginning of Bolshevik rule, the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra did not escape the process of the general expropriation of values belonging to the church. Everything that, according to the new authorities, was valuable, was taken out of it, and a year later the building was handed over to the Renovationists - representatives of the schismatic movement that appeared after the February Revolution among the clergymen who advocated "renewing the Church" and trying to get along with the Bolsheviks.
From 1928 to 1933, the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra belonged to a different branch of the clergy, which went down in history as “unremarkable”. This group of clergy refused to compromise with the Soviet regime and prayerfully remember Metropolitan Sergius (Stargorodsky), who worked closely with her, at their services. At that time, this seemingly insignificant deviation from the Church Charter could be regarded by the authorities as a political action, and in order to decide on it, a fair amount of courage was required.
Temple during the years of the totalitarian regime
But in 1933 the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, whose history is largely in tune with the history of most churches and monasteries of that time, was closed. The last service in it took place on December 7th. A propaganda center was set up in the cathedral building, which is a recognized masterpiece of temple architecture. In the subsequent period, the premises of the cathedral housed the district housing department, warehouse and museum. The Alexander Nevsky Lavra was also abolished.
Trinity Cathedral was returned to the Orthodox people in 1957, but only as a parish church and provided that the community undertakes to carry out all necessary repairs and restoration at its own expense. Fortunately, over the years since its closure, the marble iconostasis of the Pinketi brothers was not destroyed, which greatly accelerated the restoration of the temple. A year later, when the initial stage of repair was completed, the temple was finally consecrated.
Lavra revival
The Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra itself was revived as a monastery only in 1989. Then they re-adopted the charter and determined the persons who occupied the main administrative posts in it, such as the housekeeper, deanery, sacristy, confessor and so on. At the same time, the community that was in charge of all affairs in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra was abolished. This was a consequence of his loss of the status of an independent parish church. Finally, all the buildings that were part of the monastery complex were returned to the monastery in 2000.
Temple - decoration of the architectural complex
Today the St. Petersburg Alexander Nevsky Lavra is one of the main historical monuments of the city, the Holy Trinity Cathedral is considered to be the architectural center of it. This grand single-domed structure, which is adorned with two monumental bell towers, is recognized as one of the masterpieces of early classicism. Inside it, three powerful pylons, dividing the entire space and giving it a cross-shaped shape, support the arch of the building. The loggia of the main entrance is framed by a portico of six Doric columns.
Before the revolution, the cathedral contained paintings, donated by Empress Catherine II and subsequently seized by the Bolsheviks. Among them were the works of many outstanding masters of the past. But today the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, whose traditions date back to the 18th century, adorn the work of recognized masters of fine art. The painting of the dome and arches made according to the designs of Quarenghi has survived to this day. Above the southern and northern entrances are bas-reliefs depicting scenes of the Old and New Testaments, the work of the outstanding Russian sculptor F. Shubin. Of particular note is the painting of the royal gates, made by famous artists I. A. Akimov and J. Mettenleiter.
These masters by the picturesque and sculptural decoration of the interior of the temple fully continued the artistic line, the beginning of which was laid by I.E. Starov. The Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in spite of all the losses it suffered during the years of total atheism, remained the highest example of Russian classical art of the 18th and 19th centuries.