Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral (Geneva)
The Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross (Russian Крестовоздвиженский собор) is the cathedral of the Western European eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad . The cathedral is located in Geneva .
history
First church
The history of the Geneva municipality began with the originally on December 24, 1816 jul. / January 5, 1817 greg. Church of the Exaltation of the Cross consecrated in Bern. Originally this house church was located at the residence of the Russian ambassador. From 1821 the church was relocated to Reichenbach Castle. She was regularly visited by the Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna . The church in Bern existed until 1848 when it was closed for political reasons and the parish headquarters were moved to Frankfurt am Main.
A new church hall, also known as the Exaltation of the Cross, was consecrated in Geneva in November 1854 in a secular building, a tenement house on Rue des Eaux Vives . The lease for this house expired in 1863.
New Church
The priest of the Imperial Russian Mission in Switzerland, Archpriest Afanassi Petrow, had the idea of building a new church building for the Russian Orthodox Church in Geneva and was looking for funds for it.
In 1862 the canton of Geneva made the land available for the construction of a Russian church. The site was made available to the Russian Mission in Switzerland for the duration of the development with the Russian Church. In the 15th century, the monastery of St. Victor, whose prior was François Bonivard , was located here .
The foundation stone was laid in September 1863 in the presence of the Dukes Sergei and Georg von Lichtenberg and Prince Nikolaus von Oldenburg . The construction plan of the church came from Dawid Ivanovich Grimm , the Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna took an active part. The work was directed by Jean-Pierre Gilbo. The head of the Geneva house church, Archpriest Afanassi Petrov, was primarily responsible for the construction. The construction of the building and its equipment cost 280,000 francs. Among the patrons were Alexander II , Marija Alexandrovna , the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolajewitsch, Michail Nikolajewitsch with Olga Feodorovna, Elena Pavlovna and Maria Nikolajewna, Queen Olga Nikolajewna and Nikolai Maximilianowitsch, Duke of Lichtenberg and the Metropolitan of Kiev, Arseni.
The consecration of the Exaltation of the Cross took place on September 14th July. / September 26, 1866 greg. on the feast of the elevation of the true and life-giving cross of the Lord . It was carried out jointly by the Parisian archpriest Iosif Wassiljew, the Geneva archpriest Afanasi Petrow, the Nice archpriest Wassili Prileschajew and the Weimar priest Vladimir Ladinsky.
In the church, MA Wrubel and NI Zabela were married; Fyodor Michailowitsch Dostoyevsky's first daughter , Sophia (1868–1868), was baptized there and her funeral was also celebrated there.
At the end of the 19th century the floor was tiled and the domes re-gilded. In 1916, all three naves were significantly expanded and a bell tower with five bells , which were cast in Aarau , was erected above the main structure. The work cost 200,000 francs. The consecration of the renovated church took place on February 12th July. / February 25, 1917 greg. instead of.
In the 20th century, after the October Revolution , the Church came under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. In 1950 the church got the status of a cathedral of the Vicar Bishop of Geneva and in 1963 it became the cathedral of the Western European Diocese ( Eparchy ).
In 1966 and in the 1980s the cathedral was renovated.
On January 23, 2016, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia hosted Cyril I , the Metropolitan of Kiev and all of Ukraine Onufri , the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Hilarion , the Archbishop of Geneva and Western Europe Mikhail and the Bishop of Solnechnogorsk Sergi in the Cathedral celebrated a service. It was the first patriarchal service in the history of this cathedral.
Architecture and decoration
The cathedral stands on one of the highest places in Geneva. It was built in the pseudo-Russian style from white stone that is quarried in the Swiss mountains. The main square is decorated with beams of columns and kokoshniki on the walls and corners , finished with a jagged cornice. It is crowned by five gold-plated domes. The cathedral's floor plan is cruciform. To the east of the main square, where the altar is located, there is a three-part apse crowned with three turrets, each with a gilded dome.
On the walls of the north and south side there are gray marble crosses, each 1.4 meters high. On the west side there is a vestibule made up of covered arcades with six columns each, above which the bell tower, crowned by the gilded dome, rises. The holy princes Vladimir and Olga are depicted in a semicircle above the entrance doors ; St. Alexander Nevsky is depicted in the northern part, above the door leading under the church, and St. Sergius of Radonezh on the south side .
The interior of the cathedral is divided by six massive pillars made up of bundles of interconnected columns in three parts. The painting of the church comes from the artist Giuseppe Benzoni. The walls of the church are decorated in the Byzantine style with plant ornaments, geometric figures and the monogram of Christ "XP". The inner vaults are painted with sky blue paint and covered with gilded stars. In the main dome is the image of the Savior on a gold background, surrounded by seraphim; below, as a frieze , the faces of the evangelists. The pictures were painted by Giacomo Donati. Crosses are shown in circles in the glass windows of the upper and lower rows of windows.
The altar is divided into three parts: the actual altar, the deacon (roughly equivalent to the sacristy ) on the right, the place for the altar on the left. The walls of the altar are painted with small golden crosses in circles in dark green color. The crosses made from the stars on the clouds are depicted on the glass windows, under which it reads: "SIM", under this signature - the chalice in the radiance. In the altar there is an icon of the Praying Savior. Behind the altar is the staircase under the church.
The iconostasis was made of white Carrara marble, designed by the sculptor B. Genneberger. The icons in the iconostasis are painted by the artist L. Rubio and NA Koshelev. The royal gate and the north and south doors are made of cypress wood, on the south door there is an icon of St. Helena with a cross. To the right of this is the icon of the Virgin with Christ , a gift from the Athos hermitage of St. Andrew.
In the vestibule there is a marble slab to commemorate the dedication of the cathedral in 1866. In the right vestibule is the burial place of Geneva Bishop Leonti (1914–1956) and the Archbishop of Geneva and the Western European Diocese, Antoni (1910–1993 ).
Web links
- Delegates of the Russian Orthodox Church to the 4th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference Visit Elevation of the Holy Cross Cathedral
- Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral (Geneva)
Coordinates: 46 ° 11 '56 " N , 6 ° 9' 13.6" E ; CH1903: five hundred thousand eight hundred twenty-three / 117194