Many tourists who arrived in Sevastopol, sent to Herakleian peninsula wander among the ruins of the ancient city of Chersonese. From the main entrance walkway on both sides of which grow dark sad Tui, leads to the two buildings. Here are the ancient and medieval sections of the museum. And before they were monastic refectory and brother-rectory building Chersonesos monastery.
small stone church was consecrated in honor of Princess Olha, 23 February 1853. Church celebrates the Grand Duchess Olga, as a particularly labored in preaching Christianity. Even in adulthood, she was baptized, maybe it happened at Constantinople in 957, and her godfather was the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the princess began to erect the Christian churches in Russia, Russian people are preparing for the adoption of Orthodoxy, which has occurred with her grandson - the Grand Duke of Vladimir . For these services the church called the princess Saints. Died Saints Princess Olga in 969. When Saint Vladimir were uncovered her imperishable power and moved to Desyatinny temple, but in the beginning of XVIII century, they were buried in an unknown place.
next to the church in the newly created Chersonesos monastery built two small houses for the monks, but a peaceful life Kin interrupted by the beginning of the Crimean War, during which the church completely destroyed. After the war ended in a short time were built cells for the monks and the wooden church in honor of the Seven Bishops of Cherson martyrs. However, construction works were carried out badly from strong winds and storms of the temple began to collapse. So after only three years after construction, it had to be pulled down to ground and erect a new stone. It is a sacred relic: the relics of Prince Vladimir, kept a small shrine with the inscription: "Hand of God strengthened, Thou hast forsaken idol charm, glorious and holy baptism to shine forth the light of Christ's knowledge of the Russian land illuminated Thou." The relics were handed over to Emperor Alexander II of the small church of the Winter Palace.
In connection with the approaching anniversary of the 900 th anniversary of Christianity in Russia has developed a program to commemorate this event, in which Chersonesos monastery has an important role. It received the highest resolution for the construction of the cathedral church in honor of St. Vladimir.
place for the construction of the cathedral invited Count Uvarov, he made a dig and found at the former site of the main square of the Basilica of the ancient city, which in his view, was thus of the Nativity of the Holy Mother, where in 988, Vladimir was baptized .
walls of the cathedral being built around the remnants of an ancient temple, which covered the marble. In place of fonts installed a slab of dark gray marble with a white cross. Ahead of the font stood a lectern for the laying of the holy relics with the inscription: "Part of the relics of Blessed St. Grand Prince Vladimir, which was rolled in Kherson monastery in the month of July, according to the commandment of Bose pochivshago Emperor Alexander II". Baptismal font and lectern shielded openwork lattice of white marble.
upper church had three of the throne: the chief was consecrated in the name of St. Vladimir, the southern throne was consecrated in honor of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, northern honor of the Holy Apostle Andrew.
Construction of the temple completed in 1877. The majestic two-story cathedral in the Byzantine style was visible everywhere, as standing in the open. The lower part of the temple tiled slabs of light-gray limestone Gaspra. Central - decorated with four-pointed crosses and pillars of Carrara marble, relied on by the window arches. The dome, topped with large gilded cross, covered with zinc roof tiles. On both sides of the temple made a granite staircase leading to the second floor. On the southern and northern walls of the lower house represented the baptism of Prince Vladimir and the Baptism of Kiev in the Dnieper. The floor is paved with a mosaic of white, red, yellow, black dice, such as were used in the mosaic patterns of ancient Chersonese.
Cathedral of St. Vladimir had five seats, which are consecrated in several stages. The iconostasis of the main temple made of marble, on its right side was gilded carved wooden Kyoto. In the Vladimir cathedral were also 115 relics of saints.
By cathedral pave the high road, on the sides of which have planted trees and placed the ancient columns, found during excavations. The monastery was surrounded by a high wall. Upon entering the chapel was built, and the square in front of the monastery - a two-storey building of the hotel for pilgrims. This building survived until our days in front of the sanctuary.
After the establishment of Soviet power in the life of the monastery continued to smolder, even though the winds of change trying to extinguish this flame. A once large numbers of monks there were only eight people, the rest scattered throughout the vast country to seek better lives. In 1921 some of the buildings of the monastery sent a military unit, in the rectory building and staged a home for invalidov.V in 1922 from the monastic churches were confiscated church utensils and things made of gold and silver, precious stones. In 1924, the church of the monastery were closed. In 1925, the question of closing the monastery church was finally decided, and church property passed to the museum. The last service in the monastery was celebrated in St Volodymyr's Cathedral in 1926 in the feast day. Henceforth, the Cathedral of St. Vladimir became a historical and architectural monument, Pravda, in September 1925 the robbers made their way inside the cathedral, they took part of the roof and smashed the glass. Through the hole in the roof entered the water and severely damaged a wall painting of the church. During the Great Patriotic War in the cathedral hit by a bomb, the explosion which destroyed the dome. In the spring of 1944 on the orders of the German Oberst Kolb's Cathedral mined from the explosion collapsed floor supporting the deck, the walls went crack. Died, left completely unprotected, the remnants of interior decoration.
Cathedral was destroyed a long time, even for the 1000 anniversary of Christianity in Russia there were no money for its restoration. The ruins of the cathedral towering over the ruins of the ancient city and themselves seemed as ancient, it was hard to believe that at the beginning of the century it was a grand and very beautiful temple.
In 1992, Vladimir Cathedral again gave the Church, the congregation led to the order of altars and the northern vestibule of the lower church and began to hold worship services. And in 1997 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a decision on the restoration of the temple.
May 5, 2002 in the Cathedral held its first Easter service, which was attended by Ukrainian President Leonid D. Kuchma. On the same day again rang the bell on the beach. This bell has its own very interesting story. He was cast in 1776 from captured cannon, captured from the enemy during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, and is set in a monastery. During the Crimean War, the French evacuated bell in Paris, years later he was discovered at the belfry of Notre Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris). For many years, rang out over the French capital, his voice, while in 1913 the French, as a token of friendship with Russia, did not return the bell to their homeland in the Chersonese, where he was raised to the belfry of the Vladimir cathedral. Chersonese bell not only to recruit the monks, he served as a beacon of sound: in the fog of his voice to warn the ships at sea, close to the rocky shore. When in 1925 the monastery was closed and removed all the bells, one set on the shore for ringing in inclement weather. He was the one who returned from France. He learned of the images on the sides: on one side of St. Nicholas, on the other - unknown saint, standing on the moon, and the text which had already been preserved not in full: "This bell was poured ... ... Saint Nicholas from Turkey in Taganrog Artillery ... pood weight (weight of the bell 315 pood) 1776 month of August .... Bell survived the civil war and the second the heroic defense of Sevastopol, the marks of bullets and shrapnel in his copper sides show those terrible years. Yet Chersonesus Bell has survived and still stands on a steep bank. But in the 60-ies of XX century, he was deprived of language, and the bell fell silent.
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