Odigitrievsky Cathedral: historical essay, description, schedule of services

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The Odigitrievsky Cathedral, which is located in the city of Ulan-Ude, is an amazing monument of Russian baroque, which recently turned 246 years old. To date, it has retained its original appearance, despite the fact that it is located in a rather dangerous seismic zone.

Construction

In 1700, a little further from the place where today the Odigitrievsky Cathedral is located, a small one-story Mother of God-Vladimirskaya Church was built (these were usually near cemeteries) and a bell tower separate from the building. It has not survived to this day, and 2 memorial crosses remind of its existence.

Construction work on the construction of the Odigitrievsky Cathedral, which was supposed to be the first stone building in Buryatia, began in 1741 and lasted about 44 years. This business was financed by local and visiting merchants. In 1770, when the building was completed, the bishops of Nerchinsk, Safroniy and Irkutsk consecrated the lower chapel of the church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord. Later, in 1785, the upper one was also consecrated by Bishop Michael. The temple got its name in honor of the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria,who is the patroness of travelers and honest merchants, and it was not chosen by chance.

The fact is that St. Odigitrievsky Cathedral (Ulan-Ude) was favorably located, namely on the routes between the European part of the Russian Empire and the road to China. Thus, in the 18th century, the largest fair of Transbaikalia was formed there, therefore, merchants generously allocated money for construction, repairs and other needs, seeking to receive God's favor for their commercial enterprises. There were so many who wished that since the middle of the 19th century, the names of donors to the temple began to be recorded in the Clearing List.

Further history

Starting from 1818, the Odigitrievsky Cathedral began to gradually collapse, as significant cracks began to form due to frequent earthquakes. Later, in 1862 and 1885, strong shocks again occurred, worsening the situation, so the temple was constantly in need of repairs, which were more or less regularly carried out with the money of philanthropists.

In the second half of the 19th century, charitable organizations were opened at the cathedral. The oldest book in the temple library was a collection of prayers from 1700, which was printed in Moscow. At the same time, the church had a bell weighing just over 105 pounds. The temple had many skillfully carved and gilded iconostases. By the end of the 19th century, parochial school classes began to take place in the cathedral.

History of the cathedral at the beginning of the last century

BAt the beginning of the 20th century, the cathedral owned 4,364 square sazhens in Verkhneudinsk and more than 50 acres in the suburbs. At that time there were 1833 men and 1816 women in the parish. When the First World War began, the parishioners of the Odigitrievsky Cathedral took care of the wounded.

With the advent of Soviet power, the life of believers has changed dramatically. In 1929, the Odigitrievsky Cathedral (Ulan-Ude) ceased to exist in the form in which it was before. The building was confiscated and converted into storage space, and the bells and crosses were removed. And in 1930, the last rector of the temple, Gabriel Makushev, who was the bishop of the Baikal, was shot by the communists.

7 years later, St. Odigitrievsky Cathedral (Ulan-Ude) was turned into an anti-religious museum. The purpose of the exposition was to ridicule and discredit Orthodoxy on the wave of propaganda of atheism.

In the postwar years

After the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the building was transferred to the Local Lore Museum of Buryatia, and in 1960 it was given the status of an object of historical heritage. This situation continued until the beginning of the 90s, when it was decided to transfer St. Odigitrievsky Cathedral to believers. This long-awaited event took place in 1992, when the temple again became the property of the RCP.

In 2001, the premises were overhauled, and new bells were raised to the bell tower, among which the 100-pood Tsesarevich deserves special mention. The masters of icon painting also did a great job under the guidance ofMaxima Krasikova.

Description

In general, the overall composition of the church is made in the architectural style of the Baroque. The components are lined up from west to east. The complex consists of:

• temple;
• refectory;
• bell towers.

All parts are merged into one continuous component, thus, a dense monolith is obtained. In the center of the building there is a pillarless quadrangle, which is covered with a vault, a high dome and a light lantern of two tiers. On the western side there is a bell tower, which is made in the form of an octagon on a quadrangle. Each of the details has a semicircular shape, organically combined with the next. Above a pair of square tiers is an octagon, and each of its faces has arched cutouts. This gives the bell tower a more beautiful and pronounced appearance, and at the very top there is an onion-shaped dome with a cross.

In the execution of the facades, the strong influence of Baroque techniques is very clearly visible, but at the same time it is clear that the temple also has features of the classical Russian architectural style, which was the case with the wooden church built in its place in 1700.

Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria

Talking about the main cathedral of Ulan-Ude, one cannot fail to say a few words about the shrine that gave it its name. It is believed that the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria was painted by St. Luke. She came to Russia presumably in 1046, when the Byzantine emperor blessed his daughter Anna to become the wife of Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavovich. Since then the iconbegan to bear the character of a tribal shrine of the upper classes and symbolize the closeness between Russia and Byzantium. Later, the holy image traveled from city to city more than once. In the end, he was transported from Chernigov to Smolensk and installed there in a newly erected church. After the city was occupied by the Nazis, the icon was never found.

Address

St. Odigitrievsky Cathedral is located at the address: Ulan-Ude, Lenin Street, 2. Due to the location of the temple in the city center, it has excellent transport accessibility. True, you will not be able to get to the cathedral itself, since Lenin Street is pedestrian.

Odigitrievsky Cathedral Ulan-Ude: schedule of services

The temple receives its parishioners daily. The Divine Liturgy begins at 8 am and the evening service starts at 4 pm. On Sundays and Twelfth Holidays, the service is held at 07:00 and 09:30.

The sacrament of Baptism is held in the candle shop from 10 am to 10:30 am. Announcements are held Wednesday through Friday at 6 pm. The icon shop serves every day from 07:00 to 20:00. You can also clarify the data of interest by phone: +7-301-222-08-31.

Now you know why the main temple of Ulan-Ude is interesting, and you will definitely want to visit it if you find yourself in the capital of Buryatia.