Alexandrov Cathedral of the Nativity is one of the most prominent
Christian churches in the town. It stands on a site of one of the
oldest churches in Russia. First church dedicated to Saint Nicholas
the Wonder (or Miracle) - worker was constructed in Alexandrov in
990 shortly after Russia adopted Christianity as its official
religion making it one of the oldest churches in the country. The
area was named after the patron saint and was popularly known as the
Nikolsky churchyard. Later a new wooden church was build next to a
church of Saint Nicholas. It was dedicated to the Nativity
(Rozhdestvo in Russian) and the area became known as Rozhdestvensky
Pogost (Churchyard) that became the name of Rozhdestvensky village
that surrounded it. Over time Alexandrov grew in size and joined
with a small village.
In 990, the first temple of the Alexander Land was founded - the
wooden church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This place was then
called Nikolsky churchyard and is located next to the modern Cathedral
of the Nativity of Christ in Aleksandrov.
With the spread of
Christianity in the second half of the 11th century, a wooden church of
the Nativity of Christ was founded to the east of the Nikolsky
churchyard.
In 1627-1630, when the Russian land lay in ruin, the
tsarist scribes made an inventory in which they showed two churches in
Posada: in the name of the Nativity of Christ and in the name of St.
Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In 1687, brothers of the royal family,
John Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich, visited the temples of the
Nativity of Christ and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In 1696, under the
care of Tsar Peter I, instead of these two wooden churches, one stone
church was built, also in honor of the Nativity of Christ, with a chapel
of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
The history of the Cathedral of
the Nativity of Christ is closely connected with the fate of the
daughter of Peter I, the future Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Until 1741,
during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, she lived for a long time in the
Alexander Sloboda, sent away from the royal court. The Palace of the
Tsesarevna stood 100 meters south of the Church of the Nativity.
In 1829, the merchant Fyodor Baranov built a stone bell tower at the
Church of the Nativity of Christ instead of a wooden one, and in 1847
his son Ivan expanded the temple at his own expense. In it, a chapel was
rebuilt and consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In 1831, the chapel was rebuilt in the name of the Archangel
Michael. After the reconstructions of 1820-1830, the cathedral was
designed in the Empire style.
Under the Baranov merchants, the
cathedral was rebuilt into a spacious church that accommodated almost
the entire Orthodox population of the city and nearby villages.
In the 20th century
In 1920, under the Soviet regime, the temple was
closed and desecrated: until 1990, an opera house, a club, a bakery, a
house of artistic creativity, and a cultural center of VNIISIMS were
located here at different times.
In 1991, the revival of the
Nativity Cathedral began. In 1992, on the feast of the Nativity of
Christ, the first divine service was held in the chapel of the Archangel
Michael, and a year later, the throne in the name of the Archangel
Michael was consecrated by Archbishop Evlogy (Smirnov) of Vladimir and
Suzdal.
In the 21st century
By the beginning of 2002, the
restoration of the drum with an onion head and a cross was completed.
Over the past years, also, the territory was surrounded by a fence, a
prosphora building was built, a Sunday school, a library, and a
baptismal room was finished.
A monument to Alexander Nevsky was
erected next to the cathedral.
The bell tower has been restored,
work is currently underway to finish it, a dome has been erected.
Updated iconostasis. The painting of the central part of the cathedral
was completed.