Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesus and its history. St. Vladimir's Cathedral - the decoration of ancient Chersonesos

Location:

G. Sevastopol, st. Ancient, 1, historical and archaeological reserve "Chersonese Tauride".

Vladimir Cathedral in ancient Chersonesos- this is one of the most outstanding architectural structures of the city of Sevastopol, it amazes with its majesty, extraordinary beauty and proportionality of lines. St. Vladimir's Chersonesus Cathedral is a pan-Orthodox shrine, a monument temple, perpetuating the adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir.

The idea of ​​perpetuating the site of the Baptism of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir was first expressed in 1825 and belonged to the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet and Ports, Vice Admiral A. Greig. It was on his initiative that archaeological excavations were carried out in Chersonesos in 1827 under the leadership of K. Kruse, which discovered the ruins of ancient Christian churches, and among them the remains of a cruciform church in the center of the main square of the city. In the early 30s of the 19th century, historians F. Dubois de Montpere and N. Murzakevich suggested that the Grand Duke received Holy Baptism in this basilica. Already in 1850, at the request of St. Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson and Tauride, the St. Vladimir monastery was founded here.

During the first defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855. The monastery was occupied by the French. They made a firing position from the church and fired from here at the Russian troops who were located beyond Quarantine Bay. By the end of the defense of Sevastopol, the monastery and church lay in ruins.

After the Crimean War, the Chersonesos monastery was restored; Emperor Alexander II ordered a religious procession from Sevastopol to Chersonesos every year on July 28 and gave permission for the construction of a cathedral church. The cathedral was intended to embody the memory of the greatest event - the Baptism of Rus', and was also supposed to become a symbol of spiritual continuity between Byzantium and Russia. This is a symbol of the transition of the East Slavic world from paganism to Christianity.

The foundation stone of St. Vladimir's Cathedral took place in 1861 in the presence of the royal family and Emperor Alexander II himself, who laid the first stone of the temple. Alexander II personally approved the design of the cathedral on the territory of the Chersonesos monastery.

The author of the project was academician of architecture D.I. Grimm. Vladimir Cathedral became the first outstanding building designed by D. I. Grimm. This work earned the architect the title of professor and the right to teach at the academy.

The cathedral became one of the largest churches in Russia. Its height was 36 meters, the external volume was 20,500 cubic meters, the total area of ​​the premises was 1,726 square meters, the diameter of the dome was 10.5 meters, the internal height of the upper temple from the floor to the vault of the dome was 24 meters, the height of the main cross above the dome of the cathedral - 2.85 meters. The temple can simultaneously accommodate up to 1,000 parishioners. The walls of the cathedral, even at the level of the second floor, reached a meter in thickness.

The interior decoration was striking in its splendor - columns made of a valuable type of marble, mosaic floors. The Vladimir Cathedral was painted by famous artists of that time - academician of painting A. I. Korzukhin, who took part in the design of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, professor T. Neff, N. Maikov, I. Malyshev. The work was led by the author of the Foros Church project, A. Chagin. Money and funds for the construction of St. Vladimir's Cathedral were collected by subscription throughout Russia. When the subscription period ended, people demanded to renew it. But still, due to a shortage of funds, the construction of the cathedral was delayed for three decades.

The right side chapel of the cathedral was consecrated on July 12, 1892 in the name of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky.

The left side chapel of the cathedral was consecrated in the name of St. ap. Andrew the First-Called.

In the lower church of the cathedral there was also a right side chapel in the name of St. Martiniana. Archbishop Martinian, who died in 1898, and the rector of the monastery, His Eminence Innocent (Solotchin), who died in 1909, were buried in this chapel.

In 1859, from the Small House Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to Chersonesus, a particle of the relics of St. was transferred in a marble ark in the form of a Gospel. equal to Prince Vladimir. After the construction of the Vladimir Cathedral, this shrine was placed in the lower church next to the historical ruins of the ancient basilica. In the altar of the upper church there was a copy of the miraculous Korsun Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, brought by Prince Vladimir from Chersonesus. In total, the relics of 115 saints were transferred to the cathedral.

In 1924, the Chersonesos Monastery was closed, and the Vladimir Cathedral was transferred to the museum.

During the Great Patriotic War, the temple received significant damage, the walls were cracked, and the interior was almost completely destroyed. By order of the German Governor Kolb, the cathedral was mined and blown up. The explosion was so powerful that it collapsed the ceilings between the lower and upper tiers and collapsed the remains of the dome. In the upper part of the cathedral, construction seams came apart, almost all the plaster collapsed from the walls, along with priceless paintings. The temple was entering the most tragic decades of its existence.
The cathedral suffered so much damage, and it itself was so huge that no one dared to raise the question of its restoration in the first post-war years.

The ruling bishop, Metropolitan Lazar, had to put in a lot of work to achieve the restoration of this great shrine. Issues of its restoration were resolved at the highest state level. The restoration of the cathedral began with the family of the President of Ukraine in 1998, when Lyudmila Nikolaevna Kuchma laid a memorial capsule with an appeal signed by the head of state. Under the patronage of L. D. Kuchma, restoration work began.

In 1992, services were resumed here. In 2002, in St. Vladimir's Cathedral, for the first time in the last 77 years, an Easter service was celebrated, served by Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea, which was attended by the President of Ukraine L. D. Kuchma and the leadership of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

On April 3, 2004, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Vladimir, in the presence of the President of Ukraine L. D. Kuchma, performed the rite of consecration of the restored St. Vladimir Cathedral of Chersonese.

Vladimir Cathedral  - the cathedral in the name of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, erected in the 19th century for the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' on the territory of Tauride Chersonese, at the site of the baptism of Prince Vladimir in Crimea.

The restored St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Chersonesus amazes with its majesty, beauty and proportionality of lines. In the lower church you get the feeling of being in an ancient Christian church. The upper temple, flooded with light, bright, delights with excellent paintings and an elegant iconostasis made in Italy. And under the dome hovers a silver dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Story

The idea of ​​​​creating a temple on Chersonesus in memory of the baptism of Prince Vladimir here belonged to Archbishop Innocent (Borisov). In 1825, the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet A.S. Greig submitted a memo to Emperor Alexander I on the construction of a small Byzantine-style temple and almshouse. To determine where Prince Vladimir was baptized, in Chersonesos in 1827, midshipman N. Kruse began to carry out the first archaeological excavations. Money for the construction of the church was collected by subscription. But in 1836, Emperor Nicholas I, yielding to the request of Admiral M.P. Lazarev, decided to build the Vladimir Cathedral in Sevastopol.

In 1852, the question of building a cathedral on the main square of Chersonesus arose again, they even developed a project, but the war prevented it. The author of the new project was the architect David Ivanovich Grimm (1823–1898). On July 2, 1859, the temple project was approved, and on August 18, a construction committee was created. The site for the construction of the cathedral was proposed by Count A.S. Uvarov; he carried out excavations and discovered an ancient basilica on the site of the former main square of the city. In his opinion, it was the very Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in which Vladimir was baptized in 988.

On August 23, the ceremonial laying of the new cathedral took place. After the prayer service, Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna laid gold ten-ruble coins on the first stone blocks of the future temple. The Tsar and Tsarina donated a rich silver and gilded frame, decorated with precious stones, to the miraculous icon of the Korsun Mother of God and money for a copper bell weighing 11 pounds. And Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich became the ktitor (patron) of the cathedral church; on August 14, 1867, he personally laid the foundation of the main altar of St. Vladimir, erected a marble cross for the holy relics and placed a stone in the wall of the high place.

The walls of the cathedral were erected around the remains of an ancient temple, which were covered with marble. In place of the font, a slab of dark gray marble with a white cross was installed. In front of the font there was a lectern for the laying of holy relics with the inscription: “Part of the relics of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Vladimir, transferred to the Kherson Monastery in July, by order of the deceased Emperor Alexander II in Bose.” The font and lectern were enclosed by an openwork lattice made of white marble.

The construction of the temple was completed in 1877. The majestic two-story Byzantine-style cathedral was clearly visible from everywhere, as it stood in an open area. The lower part of the temple was faced with slabs of light gray Gasprin limestone. The middle one was decorated with four-pointed crosses and columns made of Carrara marble, on which the window arches rested. The dome, topped with a large gilded cross, was covered with zinc tiles. Granite stairs were built on both sides of the temple leading to the second floor. Famous artists painted the Cathedral of St. Vladimir.

The upper church was decorated with works by A.I. Korzukhin “The Last Supper”, “Baptism of the Lord”, “Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius” and 72 more icons. To quickly complete the decoration of the temple, artists used innovative methods: most of the paintings were completed in St. Petersburg on linoleum, and then transported to the Crimea, and already in the cathedral they were mounted on a reed base, which protected them from the main enemy - moisture. This is how the “Last Supper” was performed, taking 9 meters in length and 5 meters in height. A talented self-taught artist, peasant I. T. Molokin painted the altar in the southern vestibule of Alexander Nevsky and restored the icons that had fallen into disrepair, made for the temple back in 1849–1850.

The interior decoration of the cathedral was rich. In the lower church, the luxury of decoration, the fine work of the iconostasis, sparkling with marble whiteness, contrasted with the rough rubble masonry of the ancient basilica - the main shrine of the temple. In the upper temple, the lower part of the walls was faced with dark purple Carrara marble, the panels ended with a light pink cornice. The arched windows of the first tier rested on 54 marble columns, forming a gallery. The floor was laid out with a mosaic of white, red, yellow, and black cubes, the same ones that were used in the mosaic patterns of ancient Chersonesus. Red and yellow glass was inserted into the windows, making the temple seem filled with warm light even in cloudy weather.

The Cathedral of St. Vladimir had five altars, which were consecrated in several stages: first, the lower church in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, this happened on July 13, 1888, on the anniversary of the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'. The upper temple had three thrones. The main one in the name of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir was consecrated on October 17, 1891 by Archbishop of Tauride and Simferopol Martinian (Muratovsky) in the presence of K. P. Pobedonostsev. It was on this day, as the inscription on the left side of the iconostasis said, that “grateful remembrance of the wondrous salvation of the most pious Emperor Alexander III and his entire august family from the danger that threatened during a train crash” took place. The northern aisle was consecrated in the name of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. And finally, on July 12, 1892, the southern aisle was consecrated in the name of Prince Alexander Nevsky. Three decades of tireless worries, worries and great labors culminated in the birth of the greatest cathedral. In the same year, an iconostasis was installed in the cathedral.

The iconostasis of the main temple was made of marble by Italian masters Seppi and Bascherini. They made all the main parts, panels, crosses in their homeland in Seravessa near the island of Karary, and did the final processing in Chersonesos. A gilded carved wooden icon case was installed on the right side of the iconostasis. Eight images were placed on it in two tiers, crowned by a dome with a cross. In front of the icon case there was a marble pedestal for the laying of the holy relics of Prince Vladimir with the inscription: “O Most Blessed and All-Praised Prince Vladimir, pray for peace and health and a strong power to give to our Emperor and his greatness.” On the left side of the iconostasis is the same icon case, erected in honor of the miraculous rescue of the royal family during a train crash on October 17, 1888. In front of him stood a lectern for laying a fold with the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, who was with the Emperor on that sad day and donated by him to the Chersonesos monastery. Masters I. T. Safronov and I. A. Morozov made the bronze Royal Doors, made chandeliers, lamps and lanterns. In the temple on the lower floor, the court master Tikhonov installed a wooden carved iconostasis, which admired the subtlety and elegance of the work. The walnut iconostasis of the upper church, made in the workshop of Vladimir Koretsky, was not inferior to it in beauty.

The cathedral kept a list of the miraculous icon of the Important Mother of Korsun. This is one of the icons painted by the Apostle Luke in the 1st century, kept in the city of Ephesus. The copy from the icon was brought by the Byzantine princess Anna to Korsun, and then on October 9, 988 it was transferred to Kyiv. With Saint Joachim of Korsun the icon came to Novgorod, where it was kept in the St. Sophia Cathedral. In 1571, the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered the Novgorodians and transported the Korsunok and Jerusalem icons of the Mother of God to Moscow, placing them in the Assumption Cathedral.

115 pieces of saints’ relics rested in the Vladimir Cathedral. Archbishop Martinian of Tauride and Simferopol was also buried here. To the left of the entrance to the lower church, above his grave, at the expense of the rector of the monastery Innocent (Solotchina), a small chapel was built, consecrated in the name of the Monk Martinian. Innocent himself, who died in 1919, is buried in the western part of this chapel.

The last service in the Kherson monastery was performed in the Vladimir Cathedral in 1926 on the patronal feast day. From now on, St. Vladimir's Cathedral became a historical and architectural monument. True, in September 1925, robbers got inside the cathedral, they dismantled part of the roof and broke the glass. Water entered through a hole in the roof and seriously damaged the wall paintings of the temple. During the Great Patriotic War, the cathedral was hit by a bomb, the explosion of which destroyed the dome. And in the spring of 1944, by order of the German amulet Kolb, the cathedral was mined, the explosion caused the ceilings supporting the tiers to collapse, and cracks appeared along the walls. The remains of the interior decoration were lost, left completely unprotected.

The cathedral stood destroyed for a long time, even on the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' there was no money for its restoration. The ruins of the cathedral towered above the ruins of the ancient city and seemed just as ancient - it was hard to believe that even at the beginning of the century it was a majestic and very beautiful temple.

In 1992, the Vladimir Cathedral was again transferred to the Church, the parishioners put in order the side-chapels and the northern porch of the Lower Church and began to hold divine services. And in 1997, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to restore the temple. Restoration work was planned to be carried out in two stages. By July 28, 2001, all external construction work was completed: the destroyed walls were erected, the dome was covered with a copper roof, a cross was installed, and stained glass windows were again displayed in the windows.

On May 5, 2002, the first Easter service was held in the cathedral, which was attended by the President of Ukraine L. D. Kuchma. On the same day, the bell on the seashore sounded again.

In Chersonesus there is one of the most outstanding architectural structures of Sevastopol, striking with its majesty, beauty and proportionality of lines.

Its foundation took place in 1861 in the presence of the royal family and Emperor Alexander II himself, who laid the first stone of the future temple. The Tsar personally approved the project of the cathedral on the territory of the Chersonesos monastery. Before this, the monastery had only a small church in memory of the holy princess Olga, the grandmother of St. Prince Vladimir. During the first defense of Sevastopol, the monastery was occupied by the French. They turned the church into a firing position and fired from here at the Russian troops located beyond Quarantine Bay. By the end of the defense, the monastery and church lay in ruins. After the Crimean War, the Chersonesos monastery was restored, Emperor Alexander II ordered annually on July 28, the day of memory of St. Prince Vladimir, make a religious procession from Sevastopol to Chersonesos and gave permission for the construction of a cathedral church. The cathedral was supposed to embody the memory of the greatest event - the Baptism of Rus', and become a symbol of spiritual continuity between Byzantium and Russia. This is a symbol of the transition of the East Slavic world from paganism to Christianity. The author of the project, academician of architecture D.I. Grimm.

Vladimir Cathedral is the first outstanding structure designed by Grimm. This temple brought the architect the title of professor and the right to teach at the academy. The height of the temple together with the cross exceeded 34 meters. Its walls, even at the level of the second floor, reached a meter in thickness. The interior decoration was striking in its splendor - columns made of valuable varieties of marble, mosaic floors. The temple was painted by well-known artists at that time - academician of painting A.I. Korzukhin, who took part in the design of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Professor T. Neff, N. Maikov, I. Malyshev. The work was supervised by A. Chagin, the author of the Foros Church project. Funds for the construction of St. Vladimir's Cathedral were collected by subscription throughout Russia. When the subscription period expired, the people demanded that it be extended. However, due to lack of funds, its construction was delayed for three decades. On the land of Chersonese, the destinies of St. Clement of Rome, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, who gave the Slavic peoples the alphabet and grammar, and St. Vladimir the Baptist united. After his Baptism, Prince Vladimir took the relics of St. Clement to Kyiv. About nine centuries passed, and now the holy relics of Prince Vladimir were taken to Chersonesos. A part of them, kept in the Small Church of the Winter Palace, was transferred to the monastery. This is natural, because the cathedral itself was built on the spot where the Kiev prince received Holy Baptism. Therefore, the St. Vladimir Chersonese Cathedral is a pan-Orthodox shrine, a monument temple, perpetuating the adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir. In 1924, the Chersonesos Monastery was closed, and the Vladimir Cathedral was transferred to the museum. During the Great Patriotic War, the temple received serious damage, the walls showed cracks, and the interior decoration was almost completely destroyed. The cathedral remained in this form until very recently. The ruling bishop, Vladyka Lazar, had to put in a lot of work and effort to achieve the restoration of this great shrine. Issues of its restoration were resolved at the highest state level. In 1992, services were resumed here. The restoration of the cathedral began with the family of the President of Ukraine in 1998, when Lyudmila Nikolaevna Kuchma laid a memorial capsule with an appeal signed by the head of state.

Under the patronage of L.D. Kuchma, restoration work began. In 2002, for the first time in the last 77 years, an Easter service was held in the cathedral, celebrated by Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea, which was attended by the President of Ukraine L. D. Kuchma and the leadership of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. On April 3, 2004, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine Vladimir, in the presence of the President of Ukraine L. D. Kuchma, performed the rite of consecration of the restored St. Vladimir Cathedral of Chersonese.

In Crimea, on the territory of Chersonesus, there is an unusual golden-domed Vladimir Cathedral, which can be seen from anywhere in the ancient city

It was in Vladimir Cathedral, according to church traditions, in 988 the baptism of Prince Vladimir took place

In 1825, the commander-in-chief of the Black Sea Fleet A. Greig came up with the idea to immortalize the place of baptism of the Grand Duke, and therefore in 1827 excavations were carried out in Chersonesus, as a result of which the ruins of ancient temples were discovered, among which was an ancient church that was once located in the very center of the city. It was in it, according to historians, that Prince Vladimir received Baptism

Very little time passed - and already in 1850, the St. Vladimir Convent was founded on this very spot, and on August 23, 1861, the construction of the Vladimir Cathedral itself began

The construction of one of the largest churches in the country lasted 15 years and was completely completed by 1876

The decoration of the cathedral began only on the eve of the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', and on June 13, 1888, the Lower Church was consecrated. The consecration of the Vladimir Cathedral took place only on October 17, 1891, although its design was completely completed only by 1894

In 1859, a piece of the relics of Prince Vladimir was transferred from the Small House Church of the St. Petersburg Winter Palace to Chersonesos, which after construction was completed Vladimir Cathedral placed in the Lower Church. In total, the relics of 115 saints were transferred here!

The Second World War was hard on the cathedral - it was completely destroyed, and began to be restored only at the end of the century. In 2002, through the efforts of many modern masters, the lost paintings of the cathedral were restored

The ancient city of Tauride Chersonesus is a historical and archaeological reserve of national importance. It is located on the territory of Sevastopol and is the place from where Orthodoxy spread throughout Rus'. The adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir took place in the cathedral, the ruins of which were found by archaeologists during excavations in Chersonesos (Korsun).

Excavations

Archaeological research in Akhtiarskaya Bay began during the time of Prince Potemkin, who first brought a Russian squadron into it. By his decree, they immediately began to build the Sevastopol fortress, which he named Akhtiar. The ruins on the peninsula aroused keen interest among historians and romantics, as well as practical builders. Some examined ancient ruins, others dismantled stone walls for new buildings.

In 1799, Pavel Sumarokov wrote: “... they brought marble, stones, pillars, cornices from it. Sevastopol lent every last stone to the ancient Chersonese... In Chersonese, Akhtiar dug out all his jewelry.” Travelers, statesmen, and writers lamented the destruction of the ancient city, which was perhaps the first example of the pressure of public opinion on government structures. In 1805, Emperor Alexander I issued a decree in which he ordered to protect the antiquities of Taurida from theft. This did not completely stop all thefts, but it significantly reduced their scale.

The collection and systematization of the antiquities of Chersonesos began in 1803. On the initiative of the Marquis de Traverse, a small museum was opened under the auspices of the state, where artifacts flocked from all over the world, including from the Black Sea region. Later, in 1839, the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities was created, whose members actively searched for traces of Orthodox churches throughout the Black Sea region.

The activities of society members in the archaeological research of ancient Taurida attracted the attention of church ministers, and in 1850, Tsar Nicholas I agreed to the restoration of ancient temples. As a result, a monastery was opened on the territory of the settlement. Consulting manuscripts, the monks carried out leisurely excavations, and discoveries were made by enthusiastic people. One of them was Count Uvarov, and through his efforts the largest ancient basilica with perfectly preserved mosaics was acquired. Further work was prevented by the Russian-Turkish and Crimean wars that began one after another.

Laying the foundation stone for the cathedral

During the first defense of the city of Sevastopol (1854-1855), the monastic monastery was occupied by French troops, setting up their combat positions here. By the time of liberation, all buildings were destroyed as a result of shelling. An examination of the rest of Chersonesus after all military operations showed that the destruction was not as great as expected.

The restoration of the monastery took place only after the Crimean War; the abbot of the monastery was Archimandrite Eugene. With his care, two churches, a refectory, a hotel, a rectory, and outbuildings were built. The archimandrite managed to interest the royal family in the further development of the monastery.

In 1861, Emperor Alexander II transferred a particle of the relics of Saint Prince Vladimir to the monastery, made a large donation for the casting of a bell, and arrived to lay the first stone in the building of the future Vladimir Cathedral (Chersonese Tauride). Construction began on the site of the old basilica, discovered by Count Uvarov, where, according to assumptions, the baptism of the saint of Rus' took place.

Construction

In Tauride Chersonese it was built according to the design of the architect D.I. Grimm. He chose austere for the temple as a symbol of the continuity of two cultures and one religion. Construction progressed rather slowly. Money for the cathedral was collected by subscription throughout Russia for thirty years. Work began in 1861, and it lasted until 1892.

The walls of the cathedral were erected around the ruins. The entire floor area was covered with valuable dark gray Carrara marble, hiding the ancient foundation underneath. In the place where the font was discovered, in which, according to legend, the baptism of the Russian sovereign took place, it was decorated with white stone inserts, arranged in the form of an Orthodox cross. In front of the font there was a lectern, intended for the laying of the relics of the Holy Blessed Prince Vladimir. The font and lectern were surrounded by a carved lattice made of white marble.

By the time the work was completed, the Vladimir Cathedral (Chersonese Tauride) was one of the largest churches in Russia, and in importance for spiritual life it surpassed many shrines.

Lower Temple

After the completion of construction, many years passed before work began on the interior decoration of the Vladimir Cathedral (Chersonese Tauride). The history of the final stage of the construction of the temple began only on the eve of the 900th anniversary of the celebration of the Baptism of Rus'. By the beginning of the celebrations, the painting of the walls was not completed; for this reason, in 1888, only the lower church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was consecrated, where all the work was completed and a carved wooden iconostasis by the famous carver V. Koretsky was installed.

The crowning achievement of the stone-cutters’ work was the monument to Prince Vladimir, made of marble and installed in the lower church. The craftsmen spared no effort and used the remains to cover the ruins of the ancient temple located in the lower church.

Works in the cathedral

The central temple was entrusted to the care of the architect N. Chagin. The paintings were carried out by a team of artists, including A. Korzukhin, Prokofiev, Makin and others. The interior was decorated with works by artists of the 19th century - F.N. Rissa, T.A. Neff, Levitan and others. The icons of the cathedral were painted by E. Sorokin, N. Maykov and others.

The stone finishing was done by the Italian masters brothers Bascarini and J. Sceppi. They laid out the mosaic floor in the cathedral, assembled the iconostasis and arranged a marble balustrade along the solea and did many other stone works. No effort or expense was spared for the decoration; they used Carrara marble, laying it using a special mosaic technology of multi-colored pieces. According to eyewitnesses, the beauty was extraordinary.

The consecration of the upper church took place in 1891, but the final completion of all interior decoration was completed only three years later - in 1894. The right limit of the cathedral was consecrated in honor of Alexander Nevsky in 1892, the left - in honor of St. Andrew the First-Called. A large number of pilgrims flocked to the new Vladimir Cathedral in Tauride Chersonese. The relics arrived at the moment of laying the cornerstone at the base of the altar; later, particles of 115 saints were transferred to the temple.

By the time all the work was completed, the Vladimir Cathedral was an impressive structure. It soared to a height of 36 meters, its external volume was 20.5 cubic meters. meters, the area occupied about 1.7 square meters, the diameter of the main dome was 1.5 meters, the height of the cross was almost 3 meters. Up to 1 thousand parishioners could fit in the cathedral for joint prayer.

After the revolution

The fight against religion after 1917 destroyed many ancient temples and monasteries. The fate of the Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesus was also not simple. In 1923, the monastery ceased activity, and the premises were transferred to the hands of the city administration. The authorities decided to establish a branch of the Chersonesos Museum in the cathedral. Having adapted the temple for new purposes, it housed part of the exhibition dedicated to church architecture from antiquity to the Middle Ages, and in the lower part they created a storage room for museum funds.

The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War placed Chersonesos and Sevastopol at the center of hostilities. Already on June 22, German troops bombed strategic targets. The museum exhibition was hastily taken to the Caucasus. In 1942, during street fighting, which took place with the support of enemy artillery, the dome of the Vladimir Cathedral was severely damaged. Museum workers did not have time to evacuate part of the exhibition; the occupation began. The Germans planned to take out the remains of the exposition and even packed them in boxes for transportation, but the plans were not implemented.

During the retreat, the invaders committed an act of vandalism - they mined and blew up the cathedral. The dome collapsed, completely destroying all the ceilings, priceless frescoes were badly damaged, and construction seams came apart. The degree of destruction was very high, and the issue of restoring the cultural site took a long time to resolve. Its fate was decided only in 1961: the commission came to the conclusion that the temple was not subject to restoration, and it must be finally dismantled. MAI professor K.N. Afanasyev spoke in defense - he proposed mothballing the object and creating a museum in it. Debates and sluggish work continued until the 80s.

Time of Troubles

By the beginning of perestroika, discussions intensified, but an important date was approaching - the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus', and it was decided to begin active restoration of the shrine. The project was carried out by the Ukrainian institute “Ukrproektrestavratsiya”, the team leader was E. I. Osadchiy. According to the idea and plan, the cathedral was subject to complete restoration with the possibility of holding church services in it.

Nothing had changed by the date of the holiday, but the project was approved. Construction and restoration work was entrusted to one of the first commercial construction structures - the Khersones cooperative, but the plan failed - the collapse of the USSR began. The temple went to Ukraine, and by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, timed to coincide with the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, among other things, it was decided to allocate funds for the restoration of the St. Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesos.

Exaltation

Services in the temple were resumed in 1992, the first donation from private individuals came from the family of the second President of Ukraine L. Kuchma in 1988, and he took personal supervision of all the work. The active phase began in the second half of 2000. During the restoration work, modern technologies were used, which largely helped eliminate the main problem of the temple - the unstable roof vault. This time the arches were cast from reinforced concrete. The roof was covered with copper tiles, repeating Byzantine design traditions.

After the restoration, the solemn erection of the cross took place over the dome of the main temple. The ceremony and consecration of the cross was conducted by Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine, His Beatitude Vladimir. The first persons of the two states took part in the celebrations - L. D. Kuchma and V. V. Putin. The consecration ceremony of the restored St. Vladimir Cathedral took place in 2004.

Bell

For the first time after a 77-year break, the Easter service was held in the cathedral in May 2005. The event was marked by the sound of a large coastal bell. He also has his own story. It was cast from captured heavy weapons from the Russian-Turkish War in 1776 and installed in the monastery.

During the Crimean War, the French who captured the monastery, in addition to all the loot, took the bell to Paris. Many years later he was found in the belfry of Notre Dame Cathedral. In 1913, as a sign of good relations between peoples, the bell was returned to Russia, where it was installed in the belfry of the Vladimir Cathedral in Tauride Chersonese.

While the monastery was in operation, it served not only the parishioners of the church, but also served as a sound beacon for ships at sea. Hearing its ringing, the sailors realized that they were near a dangerous coast full of sharp stones. In 1925, when the monastery was closed, all the bells were removed, and one of them was installed on special supports near the shore, where it still sounded in inclement weather. Later it turned out that this is the same bell cast in the 18th century.

His body retained traces of two wars; in the 60s, the tongue was removed, and the bell lost its powerful saving voice. It was possible to hear its sound only with the help of pebbles, which is what the local children did. On the side of the bell you can still discern an ancient inscription made in ancient Russian script.

A plaque on one of the supporting pylons briefly tells its history from its creation to its return from Paris. On the Easter holiday, not only the monastery and the cathedral were revived, but also the bell, which announced the beginning of a new life.