Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk was erected in the period from 1841 to 1844. The author of the project was the famous architect of the time K. G. Tursky. This temple is unique, as it was erected at the expense of the community of co-religionists (Old Believers). We will tell about this church, the history of its construction and interesting facts in the article.
Temple history
Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk was erected according to the canons of Russian temple architecture of the XVII-XVIII centuries. An interesting fact is that the temple was built exclusively on donations, without state participation. Its construction was completed in mid-1844, after which the bishop of Tomsk and Yenisei Athanasius consecrated the temple.
One of the main donors for the construction was Old Believer P.I. Pozdeev (tradesman), and later he became the trustee of the church. In 1858, a northern chapel was added to the church in honor of the Holy Martyr Harlampius of Magnesia. After 18 years, from 1876 to 1887, the construction of the southern chapel in honor of the martyr Dmitry Solunsky, consecrated at the end of the construction, continues.
Temple in the 20th century
At the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk, two Sunday schools were established - male and female. School buildings were erected in 1910 according to a new project of architect V.V. Khabarov. Around the same time, a garden was planted around the church, this was done at the expense of the merchant from Tomsk N. Tikhonov.
In 1920, the community of fellow believers of the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk was not numerous, no more than 20 people, and in 30 years it already amounted to 66 people. Its essence consisted in canonical communion (a single faith, norms of veneration and canons) with the clergy and flock of the Orthodox Church.
In May 1925, the community of Trinity Church and the city executive committee concluded an agreement on the free and unlimited use of the church and temple utensils, as well as the procedure for their operation. In 1936, the chief bishop Seraphim moved the pulpit from the closed Resurrection Tomsk Church to one of the chapels of the Trinity Church.
Temple closure
In early 1937, the Tomsk diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church made the Trinity Church a cathedral. However, already at the end of the summer, the rector of the church Seraphim was arrested. In its premises, a real pogrom was organized, temple utensils were broken, many icons and sacred books were burned, and the archives of the temple were also damaged.
At the end of September of the same year, the Tomsk City Council decided to stop the temple. The order to close the churches under the jurisdiction of the Tomsk diocese came into force in February 1940, it was adopted by the Novosibirsk Regional Committee.
After the closure of the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk, Zagotzern warehouses were originally located in its premises, and then the administration of the Sibkhoztras motorcade was housed in them. All church utensils were transferred to the state fund (according to another version, it was destroyed). The building of the temple was significantly damaged - the walls of the chapel on the south side were partially destroyed, the floors, doors and window frames were torn down, and the crosses from the domes were dismantled in a barbaric way.
Temple in the second half of the XX century
After the Second World War, in 1945, the Peter and Paul Cathedral began its work in Tomsk, but it was not enough for all the believers of the city. In this regard, at the end of December of the same year, the Main Council for the ROC of the USSR decided to open the Holy Trinity Church on ul. October.
For a fairly short period of time, the temple was restored, and again at the expense of donors. A carved 18th century iconostasis was delivered and installed to the church from an idle church in the village of Zorkaltsevo. Dismantled crosses were restored on the domes of the church, and due to the fact that there was simply no gold to finish, they were decorated with mirrors.
In mid-February 1946, the church was consecrated according to Orthodox canons, but since that time the church has ceased to be single-faith. For half a century the Holy Trinity Church and the Peter and Paul Cathedral were the only Orthodox churches that operated on the territory of Tomsk.
Currently, the church is working; divine services are being held in it. There is a library and a Sunday school at the temple.
Address of the Holy Trinity Church in Tomsk
This temple is very revered not only among Orthodox Christians, but also among guests of the city. The church is a standard rectangular temple with one large dome. On the sides of the church there are two chapels with small tops. A bell tower is built above the entrance to the temple.
Inside the church there are frescoes on biblical subjects, it is they and the altar that amaze with their beauty. One of the most revered shrines of the temple is considered the icon of the Holy Martyr Kharlampiy with a particle of his relics. The icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with the relics and the icon of St. Martyr Anastasia the Solvers with a piece of relics are also revered.
Holy Trinity Church is located at: Tomsk, Tomsk Region, ul. Oktyabrskaya, 43. The church is open daily from 7-00 to 19-00. Various services are held, which are going to a lot of parishioners.
Holy Trinity Church must be visited to not only see all its external and internal beauty, but also to get acquainted with the amazing history of the city.