In the city center rises the majestic bell tower-temple "Big Zlatoust" of Yekaterinburg. Her difficult fate and unusual appearance distinguish her from many other churches.
The fate of the Maximilian bell tower ("Big Chrysostom")
The temple has repeatedly experienced the vicissitudes of fate from the time the bell tower was erected in the 19th century to the restoration of an exact copy of the ruined church at present. He shared the difficult fate of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, he also went through years of destruction, reproach and oblivion, transformation, restoration from ruins.
The bell tower was destroyed and rebuilt almost on its historical foundation. The construction and design of the building went with great difficulty and demanded the dedication of workers and managers. Several times, the central authorities did not approve documents sent from Yekaterinburg. As a result, the temple, which we now call the "Big Chrysostom, " according to the design, was supposed to be a bell tower at the entrance to the cathedral. But due to lack of funds, the project was never implemented, and the finished bell tower was consecrated as a church. Thus, a temple was built with a unique external appearance, characteristic of churches that were built in the 15-16 centuries in the Russian state. In them, the tier of the belfry is located above the premises of the temple.
The background of the temple
In Yekaterinburg, the history of the Big Chrysostom temple is closely intertwined with the history of the Descent of the Holy Spirit Church, which was laid in 1755 and was built with the money of the merchant Sokolnikov Philip. Construction took place on the outskirts, but later in the area a wide avenue was formed - Pokrovsky (now Malysheva Street), and this territory turned into the city center.
The church was built on one floor and had 3 aisles: the northern aisle - in the name of John Chrysostom, the south - in honor of the Protection of the Mother of God, the middle - in the name of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. It was the first temple in Yekaterinburg, built of stone.
But he existed until 1928 and was completely destroyed. In Soviet times, a square was created in its place.
Construction of the temple "Big Zlatoust"
In 1839, there was a big fire that destroyed the bell tower of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit ("Small Chrysostom"). There was a need to restore the old bell tower or build a new one.
Initially, they decided to reconstruct the Descent Church and erect a bell tower on it. So, the architect Mikhail Malakhov developed a project for the reconstruction of the building. But he was not approved by the city authorities. After some time, a new project was proposed. But there were residents of the city against him, they did not like him outwardly and was very expensive. As a result of all the upheavals, the city leaders had to make concessions to the townspeople and approve Malakhov's project. Construction permission was given in 1844, the project was approved by Emperor Nicholas Ι himself.
The citizens at the general meeting decided to erect a magnificent temple and increase all the sizes that were in the Malakhov project several times. In addition, they proposed their own project, in which there was no bell tower. Their project was supposed to build a separate building of the bell tower and consecrate it in honor of the martyr Maximilian.
They developed and submitted a project for both buildings, but these projects were rejected by the city authorities.
The architect Vasily Morgan developed a new project and was approved by the Emperor in 1847. According to the project, it was supposed to build a magnificent building for the church, with three chapels, before the entrance to the church was to be a bell tower in honor of the martyr Maximilian. According to the project, the old church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was supposed to be dismantled.
In September 1847, the first stone of the bell tower was laid, which was popularly called the "Big Chrysostom." The construction went on for 29 years and ended in 1876. In the same year she was consecrated and began to serve as a temple. Its height is about 70 meters. The building of the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit began to be called the "Small Chrysostom."
Russian-Byzantine style of the external appearance of the temple and interior decoration
The building of the bell tower is built in the Russian-Byzantine style. After construction, it was painted in the same colors as the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The building was decorated with 5 domes, the central one towered above the others, acting as a bell tower. The capacity of the new temple is about 2700 people. He was the highest in the city, its height was 77 meters.
There were 10 bells on the bell tower, the largest of them weighed about 16 tons. The ringing of this bell was heard in all areas of the city.
In winter, the services were carried out in the Small Chrysostom building, since the newly erected church was not heated. But in 1897 the merchant M.V. Rozhnov, at his own expense, is constructing a heating system in the new building of the church, and steel services are held here all year round.
The internal structure of the temple at that time was very luxurious. The iconostasis was four-tier, it had 25 icons. Two years later, another 10 icons were purchased with donations, which were placed in the icon cases of the side walls. The temple had perfect acoustics and was famous in the city for its choir.
"Big Zlatoust" during the years of Soviet rule
After the Revolution, services were prohibited, a religious society was formed at the church, which was attended by about a thousand people, but they were all registered with the police. Literally a year later, the number of parishioners fell sharply, and amounted to no more than 200 people.
In 1920, all the cellars of the temple were occupied by urban vegetable stores.
And in 1922 all church values (740 kg of silver) were seized.
In 1928, the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was closed and demolished. In the same year, the city authorities ordered the removal of all bathed from the temple "Big Zlatoust" (Maximilian bell tower).
In 1930, the temple "Big Chrysostom" was closed and demolished. The Defense House on Malysheva Street was built out of brick. A square was located on the church square (later Malyshev Square), a monument to Ivan Malyshev was erected on the site of the former altar.
Temple restoration
Already in the 21st century, the Russian Copper Company and the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company decided to restore the Bolshoi Zlatoust bell tower temple, having received permission and support from the city administration. In 2006, restoration work began.
The monument to Ivan Malyshev was moved to another place. In the same year, on the great Orthodox holiday Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, the first stone of the church was laid. It was restored according to the drawings and surviving pre-revolutionary photographs of the Maximilianian bell tower of the church ("Big Zlatoust").
In 2008, a huge bell was cast, whose height is 5 meters, its ringing is heard in a radius of 15 km. A total of 14 bells were installed at the bell tower, the main one weighing 16 tons and 13 additional bells weighing from 6 kg to 16 tons.
The construction took 6 years, and as a result, it was possible to restore an exact copy of the temple destroyed in Soviet times.
The temple "Big Zlatoust" was inaugurated in 2013 on February 9.
Where is the temple "Big Zlatoust" in Yekaterinburg
The temple is located near the metro station "Ploshchad 1905 goda".
The address of the temple "Big Zlatoust": Yekaterinburg, Leninsky district, March 8 street, 17a.
Opening hours: from 8:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m.
Schedule of services for the temple "Big Chrysostom" of Yekaterinburg: the morning Divine Liturgy is held daily at 9:00, the evening - at 17:00.
Tours
On an excursion to the temple "Big Chrysostom" of Yekaterinburg, you can get acquainted with its history, climb the bell tower, admire the largest bell of Yekaterinburg, take panoramic photos of the city.
