Sophia Cathedral

At the end of Cuirassirskaya Street, which is a continuance of the Zacharyevskaya, rises Sophia Cathedral. It was founded on the 30th of July 1782 in the presence of the Empress Catherine II and it was consecrated on the 20th of May 1788. It was built by the architect Cameron.

On the day when the foundation stone was laid, the Empress and all the court heard Divine Liturgy in the wooden Tsarevo-Konstantinovskaya church, whence "headed by the clergy with banners", and the Most Reverend Gabriel, Archbishop of Novgorod and of St. Petersburg, Her Majesty was graciously pleased to proceed to the place appointed for the foundation of the Cathedral. At the conclusion of the ceremony Her Majesty and the suite, as well as the clergy, dined at the Hermitage. On the day of the ceremony, mourning - which was being worn for the Queen of Sweden - was suspended. Catherine made this Cathedral the chapter church of the recently established order of St. Vladimir. This was the occasion for serious and unpleasant misunderstandings on the day of the consecration of the Cathedral, which were aroused by a remark of the Empress.

 

Coat of Arms of Sophia

"We have forgotten to invite the knights of this order to the ceremony; Prince Potemkin Tavritchesky would not have forgotten it". Bezborodko was ordered to lay matters straight by inviting all the knights of the order on the 2nd of June of the same year, to a Solemn Te Deum in the new Cathedral. Samboursky, who in 1786 had accompanied the Tsarevich and his wife on their travels in western Europe and gave lessons of religion to the young grand dukes, was appointed Archpriest of the Cathedral. On both these occasions, the consecration and the Te Deum, a grand dinner was given in the Great Hall of the Catherine Palace. The oldest of the knights present was General Procureur Prince Viazemsky, who had the order of the 1st degree; the youngest of the party was the collegial counselor, Andrew Andreyevich Beer.

The interior of the Cathedral is remarkable for its simplicity. The walls are painted in a light color, and only near the windows is a small gilded ornamentation. The eight columns and as many pilasters of polished granite monoliths make the adornment of the center. The ikonostasis of all three chapels were constructed at the same time as the Cathedral and are white with some gilding. A silver chandelier of the time of Catherine hangs down from the ceiling over the pavement of the central chapel; near the choir stand two massive silver candlesticks of the same epoch. Here too, before the altar near some old regimental standards in a glass case, are kept the silver gilt plate affixed to the foundation stone in 1782, a mallet and shovel with the Empress's monogram, and an inscription in English: "Charles Cameron, Architect". These objects were found not long ago when a heating apparatus was being installed in the basement. At the same time a wooden cross was found under the arches of the basement, marking the place, where the altar was to be erected. This cross is now in the altar of one of the side chapels. The walls of the Cathedral are adorned with pictures in gilded frames, representing scenes of the lives of Christ and of the Virgin. In the central part of the temple are the "Annunciation" and "Baptism" by Voinov (1792-93). "The Purification" by Sklivos (1796). "The Nativity" by P. Droiyin (1791). On the left side are, "The Descent of the Holy Ghost on the apostles" by Sklivos (1796); "The presentation in the Temple", by Sokolov (1788); and above them "The Assumption of the Virgin" by Droiyin (1792). On the right side are; "The Transfiguration" by Eustace Menshoy (1792); "The Apparition of Christ to the Apostle Thomas" by Ugrumov (1795); and over them "The Nativity of the Virgin" by Droiyin (1792). At the entrance to the Cathedral is "The Resurrection" by Ugrumov (1795); "The Ascension: by Belsky (1791) and over them "The Entrance into Jerusalem" by Belsky. Behind the high altar is an ikon of the Holy Trinity, the work of Belsky (1793).

To the pilasters on the west side of the church are fastened standards and banners, which were taken during the capture of Kokand by the General Tcherniaev on the 22nd of September 1864.

In the vestry are kept the cross and church vessels, presented by His Majesty the Emperor in 1903, the exact copy of those, which were ordered by the Empress Catherine II for the Consecration of the Cathedral.

In 1903 a separate belfry with a small chapel on the ground story, in honor of the Holy Seraphims, was constructed in the garden by the architect Leontius Benois.

The west gate of the cathedral opens onto the Hussarskaya Street, which borders an immense maneuver field for the cavalry. By following this street to the right of the prison, one comes to Kazan Cemetery. It was arranged by the desire of the Empress Catherine II in 1784. The church in it was consecrated in 1796 in the name of the Blessed Virgin of Kazan. The architect was Quarenghi. The interior of the church is very simple. The central part is square and has a dome: four semicircular projections give the church a cruciform appearance. In the central part are niches with white stucco columns. In a niche in the right choir is a small marble plate in a bronze frame, pointing the place, where the Count Alexander Dmitrievich Lanskoy, the general-adjutant, and chief of the corps of Horse Guards and of the Smolensk Dragons, lies buried. In front of the plate is a marble monument to his sister Varvara Dmitrievna Matznev. Near the north gate are the graves of the, prince Elim Petrovich Mestchersky and of his wife. In the right south west niche, behind a column, is an ancient monument to Vladimir Yakovlevich Lanskoy.

The old ikonostasis was unfortunately not long ago replaced by an ugly brightly gilded wooden one in a bad Russian style.

Under the church is a curious tomb in the form of a rotunda with,27 funereal niches in its walls. Here rest the bodies of Count and Countess Lambert, of General-Adjutant Plautin, and of Leontiev, the first chief of the Tsarskoe Selo Palace Administration. At first this cemetery was named in memory of Lanskoy, since evidently the church was built over the grave of Catherine's favorite. Among the number of monuments in the cemetery one should notice an obelisk, which stands over the remains of Count Alexis Borisovich Perovsky and monuments in the classic style to Skalon, to Vasmund and to Count Orlov-Davidov; over the grave of Prince Bariatinsky is a marble angel, a real work of art. Here too in a Gothic chapel lie the remains of Major General Ionov, Chief of the Tsarskoe Selo Palace Administration.

Since 1901 the cemetery has been in the charge of curators, who have put it in order and collected a considerable capital, the interest of which is used for keeping up the cemetery, for giving material help. to the priest and attendants, and for supporting 14 old women. After seeing the cemetery, one should return by the same road as far as the prison and then turn along Sapernaya Street, which forms the town boundary; in about 10 minutes' walk one reaches the broadway of Pavlovsk, where stand the barracks of the 1st Regiment of His Majesty's Life Guard rifles. A few paces to the right the road turns round a large stone house, consisting of lodgings for the officers of the regiment; this building bears the name of the Malinovsky House. During the reign of Elizabeth a small stone palace stood here; in it lived a peasant woman, Tatiana Ivanov, who for some reason or other, enjoyed the Empress' special favor. Both the Empresses would call here during their drives in the neighborhood, and partake of Tatiana's hospitality, which consisted principally of dairy produce. The name of this peasant woman has passed to the small village Tatianovka, which lies on the right hand side of the road opposite the Malinovsky House.

At the end of Elizabeth's reign, this house was given to Samboursky, chief Priest of Sophia Cathedral. In 1797 it was bought from him by the Treasury and at one time was occupied by a practical school of agriculture. After that the house changed hands many times. In the middle of the 19th century it was an Ocular Hospital, and finally it was acquired by the Ministry of War, and turned into officers' quarters.

A little farther along the broadway of Pavlovsk, in the park on the left hand side, a Sanatorium was opened in 1907 for children, needing rest and fresh air after serious illnesses. It is under the patronage of the Grand Duke Serge Michaelovich, and is kept up by private subscriptions. It owes its origin to the Doctors Anders and Dombrovsky, who already in 1899 had begun to collect money for the realization of their plan. After three years on the money collected and thanks chiefly to the bountiful gift of A. A. Amburger, the stone building of the sanatorium containing 30 free and 12 paid beds, was erected. During the war the flow of subscriptions somewhat diminished, and it was found impossible to open the sanatorium through lack of means. Then the management put the house and garden at the disposal of Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna for a military hospital where wounded officers and soldiers, returning from the war might stay till they were quite well. At the end of 1906 the building was given back to the management of the hospital, and at the same time Her Majesty was graciously pleased to make them a present of a stone house, which had been built for the attendants. The sanatorium takes in chiefly children, suffering from tuberculosis of the bones, and such as have undergone serious operations. Those, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, are not accepted.

The patients are subjected chiefly to hygienic treatment and 4 special diet, while care is taken, that they should as, much, as possible remain in the open air. A wide garden and large galleries surround the building. The sanatorium has a model operation hall and an x-ray cabinet. Before the end of the first year, out of 59 children admitted, 28 were discharged either completely cured or considerably better.

Five minutes' walk from the children's sanatorium along the broadway of Pavlovsk brings one to a bridge on a high embankment, behind which is the Pavlovsk station Nr. 2 of the Moscow-Vindav-Rybinsk railway. Before reaching the bridge, one can turn to the left through an avenue of the separate park and return to Tsarskoe Selo near the Tsarevich's stables. Beyond the bridge and railway Pavlovsk Park commences.