St.Nicholas Church in Taganrog
Encyclopedia
The Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Church is a Russian Orthodox church in the city of Taganrog
.
, and was dedicated to Saint Nicholas
, who is considered as the patron saint
of all sailors.
In 1941 the church was completely burnt down and was rebuilt in the early 1990s.
canonized Blessed Pavel
. The saint starets
' relics were transferred from his kelya on Ulitsa Turgenevskaya in Taganrog
into the St.Nicholas church. Today many people come from all corners of Russia to the Saint Pavel of Taganrog's shrine
with his holy relics that are kept at the Saint Nicholas Church. Many people saw and remember a unique aureole in the sky over the Saint Nicholas Church in Taganrog on the day of Blessed Pavel's canonization
. The chapel at the old cemetery is never empty; the lamps in front of holy icons in his keliya never die down.
's sights located abroad", which even became a symbol of another city - Sevastopol
or to be more exact, the symbol of Chersonesos Taurica.
The fog bell was cast in 1778 from the trophy Turkish
cannons seized by the Russian Imperial Army during Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). The bell features depictions of patron saint
s of sailors: Saint Nicholas
and Saint Phocas
and the following phrase can still be read today in , which literary means "This bell was cast in the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Taganrog
from the trophy Turkish artillery...weight...pounds. Year 1778, month of August, on the date of ....".
The bell was cast before the foundation of Sevastopol
for the Saint Nicholas church in Taganrog
, which was the Russian Navy's military base at that time. Until 1803 the St.Nicholas church was subordinated to the Navy ministry. After Sevastopol became main Russian navy base in the South of Russia, the Emperor Alexander I
ordered the bell to be transported to Sevastopol to be fitted in the Church of St. Nicholas which was being constructed there, with other bells and church plates also given over to the city of Sevastopol
.
During the Crimean War
the fog bell was seized by the French and was placed in the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris. Many years later, a bell with a Russian inscription was found and finally thanks to diplomatic efforts undertaken by both sides, and especially by the French consul in Sevastopol Louis Ge. The bell was solemnly returned to monastery at Chersonesos on September 13, 1913 and was placed on a temporary wooden belfry near the St.Vladimir Cathedral
. The French President Raymond Poincaré
in his letter to consul Louis Ge wrote that he returned the bell to Russia "as a sign of alliance and friendship." In their turn, the Russian government awarded the French consul the Order of St. Vladimir
of the 4th degree.
The monastery was closed in 1925 by the new authorities, and two years later all its bells were sent away to be recast. Only one bell escaped this sad fate because the Department of the Security of Navigation of the Black and Azov Seas proposed to place it on the coast as a signal fog bell. In this quality the bell served until the 1960s.
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
.
History
The Saint Nicholas Church is the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Taganrog. It was built in 1778 at the request of rear-admiral Fedot Klokachev who commanded the Azov FlotillaAzov Flotilla
The Azov Flotilla or Azov Naval Flotilla was the name given to several Russian naval forces operated on the Sea of Azov as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, by both the Soviets and the White Russians during the Russian Civil War, and as part of the Soviet Navy during World War II.-Russo-Turkish...
, and was dedicated to Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, who is considered as the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of all sailors.
In 1941 the church was completely burnt down and was rebuilt in the early 1990s.
Canonization of Saint Pavel of Taganrog
On 20 June 1999 the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
canonized Blessed Pavel
Pavel of Taganrog
The Blessed starets Saint Pavel of Taganrog dramatically influenced the belief in God and spiritual outlook of inhabitants of Taganrog, Don Land, South of Russia and Ukraine...
. The saint starets
Starets
A starets is an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher. Elders or spiritual fathers are charismatic spiritual leaders whose wisdom stems from God as obtained from ascetic experience...
' relics were transferred from his kelya on Ulitsa Turgenevskaya in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
into the St.Nicholas church. Today many people come from all corners of Russia to the Saint Pavel of Taganrog's shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
with his holy relics that are kept at the Saint Nicholas Church. Many people saw and remember a unique aureole in the sky over the Saint Nicholas Church in Taganrog on the day of Blessed Pavel's canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
. The chapel at the old cemetery is never empty; the lamps in front of holy icons in his keliya never die down.
The bell of Chersonesos
The bell of Chersonesos or "the fog bell of Chersonesos" is considered by many as "one of TaganrogTaganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
's sights located abroad", which even became a symbol of another city - Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
or to be more exact, the symbol of Chersonesos Taurica.
The fog bell was cast in 1778 from the trophy Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
cannons seized by the Russian Imperial Army during Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). The bell features depictions of patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
s of sailors: Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
and Saint Phocas
Saint Phocas
Saint Phocas, sometimes called Phocas the Gardener or Phocas of Sinope, is venerated as a martyr by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
and the following phrase can still be read today in , which literary means "This bell was cast in the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
from the trophy Turkish artillery...weight...pounds. Year 1778, month of August, on the date of ....".
The bell was cast before the foundation of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
for the Saint Nicholas church in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
, which was the Russian Navy's military base at that time. Until 1803 the St.Nicholas church was subordinated to the Navy ministry. After Sevastopol became main Russian navy base in the South of Russia, the Emperor Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
ordered the bell to be transported to Sevastopol to be fitted in the Church of St. Nicholas which was being constructed there, with other bells and church plates also given over to the city of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
.
During the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
the fog bell was seized by the French and was placed in the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris. Many years later, a bell with a Russian inscription was found and finally thanks to diplomatic efforts undertaken by both sides, and especially by the French consul in Sevastopol Louis Ge. The bell was solemnly returned to monastery at Chersonesos on September 13, 1913 and was placed on a temporary wooden belfry near the St.Vladimir Cathedral
The Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese
The Saint Vladimir Cathedral is a Neo-Byzantine Russian Orthodox cathedral on the site of Chersonesos Taurica. It commemorates the presumed place of St...
. The French President Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Poincaré was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France on five separate occasions and as President of France from 1913 to 1920. Poincaré was a conservative leader primarily committed to political and social stability...
in his letter to consul Louis Ge wrote that he returned the bell to Russia "as a sign of alliance and friendship." In their turn, the Russian government awarded the French consul the Order of St. Vladimir
Order of St. Vladimir
The Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
of the 4th degree.
The monastery was closed in 1925 by the new authorities, and two years later all its bells were sent away to be recast. Only one bell escaped this sad fate because the Department of the Security of Navigation of the Black and Azov Seas proposed to place it on the coast as a signal fog bell. In this quality the bell served until the 1960s.