St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Howell
Encyclopedia
The Saint Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 is located in Howell Township, New Jersey
Howell Township, New Jersey
Howell is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 51,075.Howell Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1801, from portions of Shrewsbury Township...

 and is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR).

Brief history

The Saint Alexander Nevsky Church was established in 1936 by Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 Vitaly (Maximenko) on a tract of land donated by Yulia Martinovna Plavskaya. The initial chapel, dedicated to the memory of the great prince St. Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263), was blessed in May, 1936. The church building was subsequently expanded three times.

In 1987, ground was cleared for the construction of the new church and on September 12, 1989, on the Feast Day of St. Alexander Nevsky, the cornerstone was laid and the relics of St. Herman of Alaska placed in the foundation. The imposing edifice, completed in 1997, is the work of Nikolaus Karsanov, architect and Protopresbyter Valery Lukianov, engineer. Funds were raised through donations.

The Great blessing of the cathedral took place on October 18, 1997 with seven bishops, headed by Metropolitan Vitaly Ustinov
Metropolitan Vitaly Ustinov
Metropolitan Vitaly was the first Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia from 1985 until his retirement in 2001.-Biography:Rostislav Petrovich Ustinov was born to naval officer Peter Ustinov and Lydia Andreevna , daughter of the General of Police in the Caucasus...

, and 36 priests and deacons officiating, some 800 faithful attended the festivity. The old church was rededicated to Our Lady of Tikhvin
Tikhvin
Tikhvin is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin is also an industrial and cultural center of the district, as well as its transportation...

.

Parish life

At present the parish serves the spiritual needs of 300 members. The parochial school instructs over 90 boys and girls in religion, Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

and history. The school meets every Saturday.

The choir is directed by Andrew Burbelo. The sisterhood attends to the needs of the church and a church council acts in the administration of the community.

About the cathedral

The cathedral is decorated by frescoes in the Byzantine style. The iconography project was fulfilled by Father Andrew Erastov and his students from 1995 until 2001.

External links

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