St. Nicholas Church of Sevastopol is a monument to Russian soldiers who died on this earth during the Crimean War of 1853-1856. This bloody massacre cost Russia a huge number of lives. The bodies of the city’s defenders rest here in nameless graves. As they stood shoulder to shoulder in battle with the enemy, they remained inseparable after death.
Construction of the temple-monument
In this war, the fate of the country was largely decided, and the grateful Russians considered it their duty to preserve the memory of the heroes. A fundraising campaign was announced to build a memorial church in their honor. It is no exaggeration to say that all layers of Russian society took part in this good deed. In less than a year and a half, the amount was collected, which made it possible to begin work. And on March 18, 1856, the construction of the church in honor of St. Nicholas begins.
St. Nicholas Church of Sevastopol was built by architect A.A. Avdeev, subsequently awarded the title of academician. Construction and finishing work took more than three years, and in 1870 the temple was solemnly consecrated. Since then, thousands of Russians are sent to him to honor the heroes of this legendary defense. Their flow is especially great in the days when a memorial service for the dead soldiers is served. This happens annually on August 29th.
Creating mosaic panels
An interesting story is the interior decoration. Initially, it was decided to decorate St. Nicholas Church of Sevastopol with frescoes made with oil paint. For this purpose, a group of artists was invited, headed by the famous Russian painter F.A. Bruni They honorably completed the task entrusted to them. Particularly impressive was the figure of the Savior, painted above the main entrance.
But the designers did not take into account an important factor - the salty sea air. For a decade and a half, he rendered the picturesque layer of frescoes unusable. As a result, an imperial decree was received to replace the damaged painting with mosaics. Work on its manufacture was entrusted to the Italian workshop A. Salviati, and the sketches were made by the artist M.N. Protopopov.
So perpetuated the memory of his defenders Sevastopol. St. Nicholas Church, the fraternal cemetery and all this land, watered with blood, became a place of regular pilgrimage for members of the Royal House. As a sign of special respect for the memory of the heroes, it was decided after the liturgy to go around the church with a procession. This continued until 1917.
Post-Revolutionary Period and War
After the revolution, St. Nicholas Church of Sevastopol was closed, but, fortunately, was not destroyed, and its walls survived. Still, the hand of the atheistic authorities did not rise to the shrine of their people. Misfortune befell him during the war years. For many months, the defense of the city from the Nazis continued. As a result of artillery fire, the building suffered huge damage.
The outer wall cladding was corrupted by bullets and shell splinters. The mosaic is almost completely lost. A direct hit of a shell brought down the top of the building’s pyramid, as a result of which the diorite cross crowning it split into pieces. Towards the end of the war, the temple lay in ruins.
Restoration of the temple-monument
Restoration work began in 1968, but was delayed and completed only by the end of 1974. However, the former appearance was only returned to the appearance of the temple. The most affected part of the mosaic was lost by 95%. An important stage in the life of the temple-monument was 1988. A government decision was made to transfer it to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Different delays arose again, but by 1994 it had become the property of a religious community. From this moment, restoration work entered a completely different phase. In the same year, it was possible to restore the mosaic image of the Savior above the central entrance. It was recreated with the help of the masters of the restoration center in Zagreb. Two years later, with the help of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, the mosaic panel of the eastern portal was restored. It depicts the Myrrh-bearing woman.
But restoration work does not stop until now. In 2012, a crowning cross was installed on the top of the temple. Until that time, a specially made copy took its place. In addition, most of the exterior cladding plates were dismantled and sent to restoration workshops. All this allows us to hope that the shrine will find its original appearance.
The revival of spiritual life
Spiritual life is gradually reborn. Among the Orthodox churches, one that all of Russia knew again appeared. This is St. Nicholas Church (Sevastopol). “In the reeds,” the residents of the city affectionately add. So they call it by the name of the reed bay, near which it is located. Many people come to bow to the graves of heroes in the fraternal cemetery. Many Orthodox parishes organize pilgrimage trips to Sevastopol. St. Nicholas Church, whose address is st. Bogdanova 43 (Bratskoye Cemetery) - today it is known in all parts of the country, again became a temple-monument to our heroic history.