Address: Ukraine, Kharkov
Start of construction: 1888 year
Completion of construction: 1901 year
Architect: Lovtsov Mikhail Ivanovich
Coordinates: 49 ° 59'25.8 "N 36 ° 13'26.9" E
Content:
Short description
Until a certain moment, the largest Ukrainian city of Kharkov could be rarely found in tourist avenues intended for lovers of attractions and monuments of history and architecture.
A bird's eye view of the Annunciation Cathedral
The thing is that the first capital of Ukraine is the industrial and educational center of the country, in which the main attention since the time of its foundation was paid to the construction of factories, plants and the best educational institutions. Few people in Europe knew about its sights. This continued exactly until the moment when guests from European countries arrived in Kharkiv to watch matches within the 2012 European Football Championship.
It was after the football matches held at one of the best stadiums in Ukraine that many travel agencies of the Old World drew attention to Kharkiv and its sights. It turns out that among the multi-storey residential buildings, the largest enterprises, and striking educational institutions, there are real masterpieces of architecture. One of these masterpieces, called the Kharkov Holy Annunciation Cathedral, will be discussed in this article.
Near this cathedral, located not far from the city center, you can always meet guests of Kharkov with cameras. Photos of the Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkov are amazing and unique. “Why are they unique?” An uninformed tourist might ask. The point is that Kharkov Holy Annunciation Cathedral is considered the only Orthodox church in the world, built in the Byzantine style... By the way, both the Byzantine style and the own vision of Russian architects of Romanesque churches are closely intertwined in its architecture.
View of the eastern facade of the cathedral
Looking at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kharkov, one involuntarily creates a double impression of what he has seen: the massive temple "rushing into the sky" seems light and even "airy". At the same time, it is impossible to get rid of the feeling that this temple of the Lord is indestructible. He is not afraid of either natural disasters or mechanical damage. The view of the Annunciation Cathedral at night can enter into a mute shock from the discovered beauty of even a sophisticated traveler: the unique illumination of its kind makes the temple a truly fantastic sight. Especially, everything is saturated with an atmosphere of mysticism that night, when the bells ringing from its bell towers to the entire city center, and the priest goes out to his parishioners with the news: "Christ is Risen!"
The Cathedral of the Annunciation is not just a beautiful and amazing, "uncharacteristic" sight for the Orthodox Church: behind its walls are the imperishable relics of saints and real miracles take place, which are designed to prove to atheists the existence of higher powers and an immortal soul. In the Holy Annunciation Cathedral, you can touch and offer prayers to one of the most significant Orthodox shrines: Athanasius III of Constantinople sitting on the thronewho left our sinful world back in 1654. His relics are incorruptible, which is recognized as one of the miracles shown to mankind by God. By the way, these are the only incorruptible relics in the world that are in a sitting position.
Cathedral in the night illumination
Holy Annunciation Church in Kharkov - the history of construction
Alas, numerous documents that could shed light on the date of the emergence of the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos were irretrievably lost. There is evidence that the archive in which the chronicles were kept was barbarously destroyed during the occupation of Kharkov by fascist troops. The first mention of the Annunciation Cathedral is found in the "Kuryazhsky Records", which date back to 1720. A book from 1727 has also survived, which describes the sacrament of baptism. About how the church looked in the 16th century, one can draw a conclusion from the miraculously survived inventory, which was compiled by priests in 1775. Among historians and architects, there is still debate about when an Orthodox church was first erected on the "place of power". The overwhelming majority of experts claim that the Annunciation Church was built around the time when the city itself appeared on the world map. However, this version has no good reason. By the way, it is rather difficult to give an answer to the question: "When did the city of Kharkov itself appear, and from what word does its name come from?"
The very first Church of the Annunciation was surrounded by houses made mostly of clay. From this we can draw a certain conclusion: the overwhelming majority of the parishioners were poor people. In 1738, as a result of the strongest fire that engulfed the Zalopan part of the city, the church burned to the ground. In the shortest possible time, the church was completely restored and was a wooden church with three towers and a bell tower: the Orthodox church was separated from the city by tynom.
View of the cathedral from st. Red rows
In one of the inventories of the interior decoration of the church, he tells that, in the then still modest temple, there was an Orthodox shrine: the Kazan icon of the Mother of God, written in 1776 and framed with a magnificent riza cast from silver and covered with gilding.
In 1789, instead of a wooden church, a stone church was built, which was completed by September 1794, when it was consecrated. The stone church was built thanks to the donation of the commander Batezatul, who allocated pure gold for the gilding of the iconostasis and the majestic dome. Anastasia Petrovna Dupina, who in those distant times was the rightful owner of the main bazaar of the city, called "Blagoveshchensky", also made a huge contribution. Surprisingly, despite numerous fires and constant bombing by fascist aircraft, some buildings of the Annunciation Bazaar, built in the late 1770s, have remained intact. After the restoration carried out, a brisk trade is being conducted in them to this day.
Due to the large number of parishioners, the Church of the Annunciation in Kharkov will receive the official status of a cathedral only in 1914... In the 19th century, the population of Kharkov is growing rapidly, industry is developing, educational institutions are opening one after another in the city. As a result, a decision was made to rebuild the Cathedral of the Annunciation. In the winter of 1888, a huge plot of land was acquired from the Kharkov City Duma, and the architect Mikhail Lovtsov was developing a unique project of an Orthodox church in the Byzantine style.
View of the cathedral from Rozhdestvenskaya street
It took only twenty years to build a massive structure, which can bring into indescribable delight any Orthodox Christian and guests of the city from European countries. There were no technical difficulties during construction. It took such a long time for builders and architects to create a unique Orthodox church in the world, which, in the opinion of many authoritative experts, "is a worthy competitor" to St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Money for the construction of a new Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kharkov, in the literal sense of the word, flowed like a river. The main donations were made by the richest people in Kharkov and Moscow. More than 1,000 specialists from the cities of Ukraine and Russia took part in the work.According to rough estimates, the church was built of more than 7 million bricks, and its cost was estimated at half a million rubles (royal, which means gold).
When the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kharkov was commissioned, it aroused a feeling of indescribable delight even among the most authoritative architects. The height to the cross of the main dome was almost 60 meters, the length of the church was more than 70 meters, and the height of the bell tower together with the Orthodox cross was 80 meters. The Annunciation Church in Kharkov is designed for 4 thousand people.
View of the north facade of the cathedral
The Bolsheviks did not dare to touch her after the Great October Revolution, although there is evidence that they stored fuel and lubricants in the lower church. Until 1940, the Soviet authorities, despite the atheism spread among the people, allowed parishioners to enter the church and even organize concerts of sacred music there. In 1930, the Annunciation Cathedral was closed, and made it a kind of museum. The iconostasis, made of precious Narr marble, was not touched. The most ancient icons, which were previously located in the wooden church, have also been preserved. The painting, which is somewhat reminiscent of the motives of the painting of the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, has not suffered either.
In 1943, after the next liberation of Kharkov, the Annunciation Cathedral was opened to parishioners and continues to function to this day. For what reason, the Bolsheviks decided to open a church and to this day remains a mystery. Probably, the fascist invaders were driven out of the strategically important city, not without the help of higher forces.
Holy Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkov - our days
In 1946, the miraculous incorruptible relics of the only saint in the world sitting on the throne, Athanasius of Constantinople, were transferred to the Cathedral of the Annunciation.... In 1654, during one of his travels, he died right on the throne and was buried in a sitting position. In 1662, Saint Athanasius appeared in a dream to the Metropolitan. Almost immediately, his relics were removed from the ground, which turned out to be incorrupt. It is rather difficult to determine the date at which time St. Athanasius of Constantinople was numbered among the saints.
Cathedral bell tower
The priests have repeatedly described the miracles that showed his incorruptible relics. Alas, the throne of St. Athanasius was plundered in 1922. The thing is that the throne was made of pure silver by craftsmen and adorned with precious stones. Thanks to the efforts of the restorers, the chair on which the relics of Athanasius of Tsaregradsky rest has been practically restored.
By the way, miracles continue to this day: the robe of St. Athanasius and his slippers are completely worn out within two to three weeks. Thousands of Orthodox Christians and monks make pilgrimages to his throne every year. Not so long ago, nuns from the Pochaev Monastery arrived at the relics of St. Athanasius, who exhibited a miraculous icon of the Pochaev Mother of God during their stay in the Annunciation Cathedral.
The interior decoration of the Holy Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkov is striking in its magnificence. After restoration work, during which the murals, decorative elements and the altar were renewed, the temple became a real “faceted diamond” of the entire Orthodox world. In addition to the incorruptible relics of Athanasius of Tsaregradsky, sitting on a throne in the main building of the church, the relics of Alexander Petrovsky, who died in 1940, and Meletius Leontovich, who reposed in 1840, are kept in the Kharkov Cathedral. In addition, quite recently, Metropolitan Nikodim of Kharkov was buried in the Kharkov Annunciation Cathedral, who became famous for his good deeds not only in his homeland, but also abroad.
Cathedral dome
Kharkiv Holy Annunciation Cathedral - tourist guide
Coming to Kharkov to see the magnificent Orthodox cathedral built in the Byzantine style, you should know that this is not a museum, but a functioning temple, which is visited by thousands of parishioners every day. In order to capture all the splendor of the architecture of the Kharkov Annunciation Cathedral, it is best to climb the University Hill, which offers a truly magnificent view of the temple. From the University Hill, night photos of the Annunciation Cathedral are also excellent. Filming in the upper and lower churches is conducted only with the permission and blessing of the prior. Every Orthodox Christian can approach the incorruptible relics of St. Athanasius, venerate the cross on his right shoulder. Not far from the throne is a small box for collecting donations for the robes of St. Athanasius. Almost every visitor to the Annunciation Cathedral leaves an amount acceptable to him in this box. As mentioned above, clothes and shoes on the relics of St. Athanasius have to be changed every two to three weeks.
