The Church of St. John the Baptist at Chesme Palace is located in the far south area of St. Petersburg. Considered by some to be St Petersburg's single most impressive church, it was built under Catherine the Great as the house church for the Chesme Palace, a resting post between St. Petersburg and the Summer Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

The church was designed by the German-Russian court architect Yury Felton. It was consecrated in 1780, on the tenth anniversary of Russia's naval victory over the Turkish fleet at Chesme Bay, which occurred on the birthday of John the Baptist, hence the church's name. At one point, the church was also in the possession of the knights of the Order of St. George when it was given the third name, "St. George’s Church."

In 1916 the body of Grigorii Rasputin rested in the Chesme Church before his burial at Tsarskoye Selo. 

A wedding-cake structure with striped crenellated walls and five gothic turrets in place of traditional onion domes, this truly unique church has survived almost fully intact to this day, despite the fact that it was turned, along with the Chesme Palace, into part of a forced labour camp by the Soviet government - the cross on the central turret was replaced with a hammer, tongs and anvil to symbolize the toil of the proletariat. In 1923, the church was closed and used as a storehouse. Just before the Second World War, the complex was given over to the Institute of Aviation Technology, which still occupies the nearby palace to this day.

During 1970–75, the church was fully restored under the supervision of the architects M.I. Tolstov and A.P. Kulikov. In 1977, the church became a museum of the Battle of Chesme, with artifacts from the Central Naval Museum. The building was eventually returned to the Orthodox Church in 1990. The interior, which originally had Italian icons, was destroyed in a fire in 1930. However, it was restored when the church was refurbished. Inside the church, there are many iconic paintings and one particular painting of interest is that of Christ’s arrival in Nazareth. When it was a naval museum, there was a vivid painting, in rich colours, depicting the sea battle and Russian victory over the Turks, in place of the “Christ the Saviour in the iconostasis-less altar apse”. Sadly, nothing remains of the original interiors.

Today, the church is extremely popular with local worshippers. Regular services are held, and numerous visitors come to pay their respects to the war dead. It is interesting to note that the church has been used as a burial site for war heroes almost since its consecration, and the area around the church became a graveyard for soldiers who died during the Siege of Leningrad (1941-43).

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 12 May, 2013

Developed and embellished over four centuries, Ostankino now consists of a magnificent 18th-century palace and theatre, a sprawling park with groves and ponds, and the 17th-century Church of the Holy Trinity. The estate was the property of Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetiev (1751-1809), a prominent figure belonging to one of Russia's wealthiest and influential noble families.

Built between 1677-1692, the ornamental church differs in appearance and spirit from the elegance of the palace at Ostankino. Its builder, Prince Mikhail Cherkassky incorporated the Moscow Baroque style in its exterior with a Western-influenced interior. The building's festive appearance includes ceramic tile inlays, white stone carvings, spade-shapped gables, and archvaults displayed against red brick walls. 

The carved iconostasis matches the opulent decorative statement of the rest of the church, although its icons demonstrate the decline of Russian iconography as it begins to borrow from the West.

The church was closed by the Soviets in 1933, however, a year later the church was turned over to the Ostankino Estate Museum which was originally created in 1918. From 1980, the church hosted concerts of sacred music.

In 1990, the church resumed regular religious services, and was consecrated by Patriarch Alexei II (1929-2008) on March 23rd, 1991. A restoration of the church followed, sadly however, the lower section of the Royal Doors was all that survived of the original iconostasis.

A view of the beautifully restored iconostasis of the church 

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 05 May, 2013

The Church of the Virgin of the Sign at Tsarskoye Selo was originally built between 1734-47 by the Russian architect Mikhail Zemtsov and his assistant Johann Blank. The church has been remodelled and enlarged several times through the centuries: by Vasily Neyelov (1772), Luigi Rusca (1817) amd Silvio Danini (1898).

The historic church got its name from the Virgin of the Sign  icon kept there that had supposedly been used by Peter the Great on his deathbed to bless his daughter, the future Empress Elizabeth.

It was here during a liturgy that the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna suffered a fatal heart attack in 1761. Future Russian sovereigns and their families held a special reverance for the church often coming to pray here.

On July 30th, 1917, a mass was held at the Alexander Palace for the Tsesarevich Alexis's birthday. The holy icon from the church was brought to the palace. Count Paul Benckendorff notes in his memoirs:  

"It was brought in procession and the clergy of this church were admitted to the Palace and to the Chapel. The Te Deum was sung and prayers were said asking God for a prosperous journey for their Majesties, their children and all those who accompanied them. The scene was moving. The ceremony was as poignant as could be: all were in tears. The soldiers themselves seemed touched, and approached the holy ikon to kiss it. They followed the procession as far as the balcony, and saw it disappear through the Park. It was as if the past were taking leave, never to come back. The memory of this ceremony will always remain in my mind, and I cannot think of it without profound emotion. In the course of the day we all went, as usual, to the kitchen-garden, and groups were taken."

In 1943 the church was closed by the Soviets. It was 48 years later, in 1991 that the building was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Extensive repairs and restoration work were carried out which included strenghtening the foundation, a new roof, a gilded spire and weather vane on the steeple, the historical reproduction of furnishings and decor.

The porcelain iconstasis was restored for the 300th anniversary in 2009, and many new icons have been added, including the highly revered icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs. 

Photo: The interior of the Church of the Virgin of the Sign taken during my visit to Tsarskoye Selo in June 2012. 

During my visits to Tsarskoye Selo I am always drawn to this charming church, which is situated on Dvortsovaya Ulitsa. If you are walking from the Catherine Palace towards the Alexander Palace or vice versa, you can't miss it!  It is also just around the corner from Anna Vyroubova's former house.

In 2003 a carillion was installed and every hour throughout the day the sounds of "God Save the Tsar" can be heard. Worshippers, passersbys and tourists all stop to enjoy this beautiful tune.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 28 April, 2013

One of the most spectacular churches in the Moscow region is that of Our Lady of Kazan at Kolomenskoye. Construction of the church began during the reign of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich (1596-1645), and completed by his son Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich (1629-1676) in the 1660s. The Church of Our Lady of Kazan is crowned with five striking blue onion-shaped domes with golden stars.  

Up until the late 18th-century, the church was connected with a vast four-storey wooden palace built by Tsar Alexis in 1667. The palace was dismantled in the 1760s by order of the Empress Catherine II. A reconstruction of the wooden palace began in 2007 and was completed in 2010. Today it is heralded by some as the "Eighth wonder of the world" and has become one of Moscow top attractions. 

The Romanov's decision to dedicate this church to the Kazan Virgin was influenced by the role the icon played during the tumlutuous Time of Troubles. During the siege of the Kremlin in 1612, Russians carried the icon with them, as did the liberation troops, who ousted the Poles from Moscow and restored the monarchy.

The beautiful 17th-century icon of Our Lady of Kazan, mounted into the carved icon screen to the left of the royal gates, was recovered seventeen years after Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) captured the Kazan fortress from the Tatars in 1552.

The Icon of of Our Lady of Kazan miraculously appeared in Kolomenskoye on the 2nd of March 1917, on the day of the abdication of the throne of the Emperor Nicholas II, and she is now housed in a side chapel of the church. For more information on the Icon of of Our Lady of Kazan, please refer to the following article posted on March 25th, 2011: The Icon of the Mother of God.

Services at the church ceased between 1941-1942, but have resumed and are now held year round.

© Royal Russia. 21 April, 2013

Situated just south of the Moscow Kremlin is the Holy Protection Cathedral at the Saints Martha and Mary Convent. Built between 1908 and 1912 by the Russian architect Aleksei Viktorovich Shchusev (1873-1949), is considered one of Russia's most remarkable examples of Art Nouveau style.

It is interesting to note that Shchusev also built the Lenin Mausoleum which houses the mummified remains of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.

The frescoes and icons of the church are the work of painter Mikhail Nesterov

The frescoes and icons of the church are the work of painter Mikhail Nesterov, a protogé of the railway tycoon Savva Mamontov. Nesterov's works are noted for their lyrical colours, beautiful design and the accessible saintliness of the personage he depicts on his icons and frescoes.

The sisterhood of Saints Martha and Mary was founded in 1905 by the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the sister of the last Russian empress, Alexandra Feodorovna. When her husband Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was killed by a terrorist bomb, the widowed Grand Duchess organized the semi-monastic order called the Sisters of Charity and devoted the rest of her life to aiding the sick and the wounded. On July 1918 she was murdered at Alapaevsk, along with other members of the Russian Imperial family.

In 1922 the Bolsheviks removed valuable gold and silver objects such as ikon oklads, rizas, gospel covers, crosses and other ecclesiastical and liturgical objects.

In 1926, the smaller Church of SS Martha & Mary was closed, though the remaining nuns were able to remove over 200 icons and the “royal doors” from the cathedral by moving them to the Holy Protection Cathedral. Shortly after this, the order was officially disbanded, and eighteen of the remaining nuns were exiled to Turkestan in Central Asia.

In 1928, both churches were finally closed, looted, pillaged, and desecrated. The frescos by Nesterov were covered and the church was turned into a movie theater. From 1945, the Church was used by the Grabar Institute as an icon and painting restoration studio.

In 1992 the celebration of divine services was resumed in the Church of Martha and Mary, and in 1994 the sisterhood was re-established.

In 1999 the Educational Center of the SS Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy was founded, with the blessings of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia (1929-2008), for the purpose of training Orthodox girls as certified nurses.

The Holy Protection Cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 2006. It has undergone restoration and now holds regular services. 

The gates of the Martha and Mary Convent 

The Martha and Mary Convent is situated at Ulitsa Bolshaya Ordynka, 34 and is open to worshippers and visitors. In 1990, a monument to the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was erected in the courtyard and can be seen to this day.

© Royal Russia. 14 April, 2013

The Trinity Izmailovsky Cathedral sometimes called the Troitsky Cathedral, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is a late example of the Empire style, built between 1828 and 1835 to a design by Vasily Stasov.

According to the Russian tradition, each regiment of the imperial guards had its own cathedral. The Trinity Cathedral was the regimental church of the Izmailovsky regiment of Imperial guards, one of the oldest guards regiments in the Russian Army. Named after the village of Izmailovo, near Moscow, the Izmailovsky regiment moved to Saint Petersburg when the city was established as the Russian capital under Empress Anna Ioannovna (1693-1740).

During the reign of Emperor Nicholas I construction of a new church (replacing a wooden church built in 1754-56 damaged during a flood in 1824) began in May 1828, and the cathedral was consecrated in May 1835. The cathedral rises to a height of more than 80 meters, and dominates the skyline of the surrounding area. Memorial plaques to regimental officers killed in battle were mounted on the cathedral's wall. After the cathedral's opening, flags, keys from forts and other trophies that the regiment won in campaigns in 1854–1855 and 1877–1878 were also housed in the cathedral.

The Trinity Cathedral was renowned for its collection of icons. The main section of the cathedral housed the Nativity icon, while the southern section housed the Jesus Christ icon. Empress Elizabeth presented the church with the Beginning of Life Trinity icon in 1742. Other holy objects housed in the cathedral included a large ark made in the form of a cross in 1753 from silver, a large silver cross presented to the cathedral by Nicholas I in 1835, and two large Gospels in valuable bindings.

In 1922, most of the cathedral's valuables were looted, and the thievery continued for several more years until the cathedral was finally closed in 1938. There were rumors of plans to demolish the cathedral and use the remaining material for a district workers' theatre. However, the cathedral was transferred to the Soviet Ministry of Telecommunications, for which it became a warehouse. Only in 1990 did the cathedral return to the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church, when restoration began. By that time, the interior was largely bare, compared to the splendor and majesty of its pre-Revolutionary past.

On August 25, 2006, while under reconstruction, a fire started in which the central dome collapsed and one of four smaller cupolas surrounding it was also destroyed, there were no reports of injuries.

Firefighters battled to save the other three cupolas as emergency workers employees removed icons and other religious articles. A helicopter dumped water on the historic structure. About four hours after the blaze broke out; one of the three remaining cupolas had been damaged but that the fire was contained.

The blaze apparently started on scaffolding on the outside of the church, which was undergoing restoration. The most valuable icons and other items had been saved, and that structural damage beneath the roof area was minor.

St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko pledged to restore the cathedral within the shortest time possible, pledging to allocate 30 million rubles ($1.12 million) this year on preparations to rebuild and restore the cathedral to its pre-Revolutionary splendor. Restoration was completed, and the cathedral reopened, in 2010. The cathedral can accommodate up to 3,000 people and has been declared a World Heritage Site.

© Royal Russia. 07 April, 2013

A picture postcard view of the golden Baroque spires, domes and bell tower of St. Nicholas' Cathedral

The golden Baroque spires and domes of St. Nicholas' Cathedral (known locally as the Sailors' Cathedral) rises in the western part of central St. Petersburg. It is home to a number of revered 18th-century icons and a fine carved wooden iconostasis. Its beautiful bell tower overlooks Kryukov Canal.

Construction of the new stone church began in 1753, and the main altar in the current cathedral was consecrated in 1760 in the presence of Empress Elizabeth. St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral consists of two separate churches. The lower Saint Nicholas Church is located on the first floor, while the upper Epiphany Church is on the second floor. The altar of the upper church was consecrated in the presence of Catherine the Great. The church officially became a naval cathedral in July 1762 by order of Catherine II. Today, it is one of the best - and last remaining - examples of Baroque architecture.

The walls of the cathedral are decorated with scenes from the history of the Russian Navy. In 1907, two marble plaques were hung on the south wall of the upper church in honor of sailors who died in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-5. At the same time, in the square next to the cathedral a memorial was erected to all the sailors of the battleship Alexander III who lost their lives in 1905.

St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral is home to a number of revered 18th-century icons and a fine carved wooden iconostasis

The cathedral houses 10 spectacular icons in gold frame that were a gift from Catherine the Great. The icons portray saints who are celebrated at Russian Navy celebrations. One of the most revered places in the cathedral is the image of Nicholas the Miracle-Worker, given to the church by Greek sailors, which was taken from Russia by the French in 1812, and returned to Nicholas I by the Prussians in 1835.

St. Nicholas Cathedral is one of a very few cathedrals in the city that was not closed in Soviet times. In 1941, it became the official residence of Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Alexey (Simanskiy), who served in the cathedral from 1941 to 1944 during the 900-day siege of the city.

© Royal Russia. 31 March, 2013

One of the most beautiful cathedrals in the St. Petersburg area has to the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral at Peterhof. Every time I visit Peterhof I make a point of stopping here before heading back to St. Petersburg. 

The cathedral is located at 4/ 32 Sankt-Peterburgsky Avenue, near the entrance to the famous Peterhof Palace-Museum.

The Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral is considered by many to be "an architectural monument of the Old-Russian style." The construction project was ordered by Emperor Alexander III in 1893 and commissioned by the Ministry of the Imperial Court.

The construction, which lasted from 1894 to 1905 on the hill by Tsaritsyn Pond was overseen by architects N. V. Sultanov and builder V. A. Kosyakov who designed the building in the shape of 16-17th centuries Russian architecture.

The pyramidal building, which is 70 metres tall, is encircled with a covered gallery and crowned with five hip domes, holding 800 people. The walls are faced with dark red and light yellow bricks and embellished with sandstone columns and glazed tiles, and the apse features decorative arches.

Before the Revolution, the facades had been adorned with icons of saints and patrons of the members of the Imperial family. The hip-roofed belfry and a chapel are located near the entrance.

The interior frescoes were ordered by Sultanov and done by Moscow craftspeople N. M. Safonov, V. I. Kolupaev and Palekh icon painters; the icons on bronze plaques were made by V. P. Guryanov.

The main altar boasts a five-tier iconostasis made of glazed tiles; the other iconostases are from white marble.

In 1938, SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral was closed down. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, it was damaged and used as a storehouse. In the 1970s-80s, the Cathedral was restored (architect E. P. Sevastyanov), and in 1989 - returned to the eparchy; in 1994 the main altar was consecrated anew.

© Royal Russia. 24 March,  2013

Situated near the edge of Gutuevsky Island, near Ekateringof Park, this small, late 19th century church is still undergoing large-scale restoration after the ravages it suffered in the Soviet period. The parish church for St. Petersburg's main sea port, which was moved from Kronshtadt to Gutuevsky Island in the mid 19th century, the Church of the Epiphany of Our Lord was designed by Vasiliy Kosyakov, Director of the Petersburg Institute of Engineering and Construction, and funded mostly by Ivan Boronin, a wealthy textiles manufacturer who wished to establish a family mausoleum at the church.

The church was built to glorify the miraculous escape of Emperor Alexander III and his family following the Borki rail disaster on October 17th, 1888. Construction began in 1889, and is copied from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour at Borki.

The red-brick church had an intricately decorated facade, featuring tiled mosaics, gilded reliefs, and "kokoshniki" - medieval Russian decorations in the shape of a traditional headdress like a tiara. With its large arched windows, single gold dome and slender belltower, the church, standing right on the banks of the Ekateringofka River, recalls a ship in full sail.

The church's interior was also richly decorated, with a marble alter and ivory iconostasis, as well as bright frescoes covering all the walls. Sadly, all theses precious decorations were plundered or destroyed after the Revolution.

The church was closed in May 1935. It was used variously as a warehouse, a soap factory, a garage, and a morgue. A concrete wall was erected around the church. Due to its proximity along the waterfront, the church was heavily shelled along with nearby port buildings during the Second World War.

In 1991, the ruined building was returned to the Orthodox Church. The first service was held on January 19th, 1992, and restoration work began later that year. On May 4th, 1995 a cross was erected on the central dome of the church. The massive restoration program is finally nearing completion and the Church of the Epihany of Our Lord in St. Petersburg will once again bask in all its bygone splendour.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 17 March, 2013