View source for Cathedral of St. George the Victorious of Derbent

{{Short description|Church in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia}}
{{Infobox church
| name                   = Cathedral of St. George the Victorious
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| native_name            =  {{unbulleted list|{{native name|RU|Собор Святого Георгия Победоносца}}}}
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| image                  = Собор Святого Георгия Победоносца (Дербент).jpg
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| coordinates            = {{coord|40|03|28|N|48|17|18|E|region:RU|display=inline,title}}
| location               = [[Derbent]], [[Dagestan]]
| country                = Russia
| denomination           = [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]
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| founded date           = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} - but see note below -->
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| consecrated date       = November 26, 1853
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| functional status      = Demolished
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| diocese                = [[Vladikavkaz]]
| architect              = [[Grigory Gagarin]]
| architectural type     = Cathedral
| style                  = [[Neo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian Empire|Russian-Byzantine]]
| years built            = 1949-1853
| groundbreaking         = May 8, 1849
| completed date         = 1853
| construction cost      = 44,507&nbsp;[[ruble|Rbls]].&nbsp;84&nbsp;[[kopeck|kop.]]
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| demolished date        = 1938
| capacity               = 500
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The '''Cathedral of St. George the Victorious''' ({{langx|ru|link=no|Собор Святого Георгия Победоносца}}) was the main [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in the city of [[Derbent]],<ref name = 'Kozubsky'>Kozubsky E. I. History of the city of Derbent. Temirkhan-Shura. 1906. pp. 211–214</ref><ref>[https://www.interfax-russia.ru/south-and-north-caucasus/news/zvonnicu-otkryli-v-srednevekovoy-kreposti-v-derbente Belfry opened in medieval fortress in Derbent]</ref><ref>[http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=76172 Belfry opened in Derbent]</ref> located on the site of the monument to [[Vladimir Lenin]] on Freedom Square (former Tserkovnaya Street, Yermolova).<ref name = 'history'>[https://zen.yandex.ru/media/albanvi/istoriia-stroitelstva-sobora-sv-georgiia-pobedonosca-v-g-derbent-617827a46281b37b8772153b The history of the construction of the Cathedral of St. George the Victorious in Derbent]</ref><ref>[https://pravoslavie.ru/97932.html For The First Time in A Hundred Years, A Passion Process Was Held in The Ancient City Of Russia]</ref><ref>[https://yandex.ru/maps/org/sobor_svyatogo_georgiya_pobedonostsa/112516213675/?ll=48.288440%2C42.057757&z=17 Cathedral of St. George the Victorious]</ref> [[Demolition|Demolished]] in 1938.<ref name = 'Kozubsky' />
== History ==
=== Prerequisites for construction ===
Until the end of the 40s of the 19th century, the only Russian Orthodox Church in the city of Derbent was the small church of [[Saint George|St. George]] at the line [[battalion]].<ref name = 'history' /> The church was located in an old and cramped building of a former mosque that was built in the 11th century.<ref name = 'history' /> It was used as a church from 1823 to 1853. It was returned to parishioners in 1994.<ref name = 'history' /> Now known as Tovba Mosque or Kilis Mosque.<ref name = 'church1'>[http://derbent.pro/24-arkhitektura/drevnie-kladbishcha-derbenta/143-khristianskij-khram-svyatogo-georgiya-1849-goda?limitstart=0 Christian Church "St. George" (1849). Page-I]</ref> Translated from [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] means Church-mosque. Served only the military population of the city. In 1823, General [[Aleksey Yermolov (general)|Aleksey P. Yermolov]]  ordered that this mosque be converted into a church "in the name of St. George the Victorious". A cross was erected over the dome of the building, and the entrance gate moved to the western side. For thirty years the former mosque served as a garrison church.<ref name = 'history' /> With the growth of the civil Orthodox population and on December 14, 1846<ref name = 'history' /> the city was given the status of the center of the [[Derbent Governorate]], the question arose of building a new, more spacious church. The initiator of the construction and the fundraiser was the Governor, [[Lieutenant general]], [[Knyaz|Prince]] [[Alexander Gagarin]].<ref name = 'history' /><ref name = 'church1' /><ref>[http://travelholyplaces.org/ru/routes/содержание Christian churches of Dagestan – from antiquity to the present day]</ref><ref>[https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/k-istorii-sozdaniya-tserkvey-na-territorii-dagestana-po-proektam-knyazya-g-g-gagarina/viewer History of built churches in Dagestan by Prince Alexander Gagarin]</ref>
=== Fundraising for construction ===
In 1848, a subscription was opened throughout Russia to raise funds for the construction of the temple.<ref name = 'history' /> Initially, there were only 3,000 [[rouble]]s of church money collected by the military. Donations from the population of the city, to which the [[Muslims|Muslim]] population of the province made a feasible contribution, amounted to another 10,000&nbsp;Rbls.<ref name = 'history' /> The governor of the [[Caucasus]], [[Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov|Prince Mikhail S. Vorontsov]], sent 1,000&nbsp;Rbls, the headquarters of a separate [[Russian Caucasus Forces (before 1865)|Caucasian corps]] – 500&nbsp;Rbls; the merchant's wife of the first guild A. A. Baranova, together with a fellow trader Zubov, donated 1,000&nbsp;Rbls; [[Kuban Oblast|Kuban]] resident S. A. Lazarev – 500&nbsp;Rbls, Derbent citizen Ya. A. Avetov – 500&nbsp;Rbls; Moscow merchant N. G. Nikonov – 250&nbsp;Rbls and two silver-plated chandeliers. Thus, another 11,000&nbsp;Rbls were collected.<ref name = 'history' /> But during the construction it turned out that the funds were not enough. To continue the construction, the governor of the Caucasus allowed the use of the income of Cuban dues articles for 1850 and 1851 in the amount of 9,479&nbsp;Rbls.&nbsp;48&nbsp;[[kopeck|kop.]] and to borrow 2,000&nbsp;Rbls from the city income. By the end of 1852, it became clear that there were no funds for the decoration and purchase of decorations and bells of the temple. The new military governor, Prince Moses Zakharovich Argutinsky-Dolgoruky, came out with a presentation to raise funds for completion.<ref name = 'history' /><ref name = 'church2'>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141024112307/http://derbent.pro/24-arkhitektura/drevnie-kladbishcha-derbenta/143-khristianskij-khram-svyatogo-georgiya-1849-goda?start=1 Christian Church "St. George" (1849). Page-II]</ref> As a result, another 29,446&nbsp;Rbls were collected. In total, 44,507&nbsp;Rbls.&nbsp;84 &nbsp;kop. were spent on the construction of the cathedral.
=== Construction ===
On May 8, 1849, at noon, in the presence of Prince Mikhail S. Vorontsov and his wife, the foundation was laid.<ref name = 'church1' /> The project of the church was developed by Prince [[Grigory Gagarin]] in the [[Neo-Byzantine architecture in the Russian Empire|Russian-Byzantine]] style.<ref name = 'history' /> The construction was supervised by field engineer captain V. I. Gerschelman.<ref name = 'history' /> The church was built from local hewn stone and was designed for 500 people.<ref name = 'church2' /> While digging the foundation, the builders stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient temple. Presumably, in the 4th century, an [[Church of Caucasian Albania|Albanian Orthodox Church]] was located on that place. Many clay pipes and the remains of a pool were found, as well as almost surviving vaults of the temple made of burnt bricks with the remains of columns and floors paved with slabs.
According to the project, the church was supposed to have a cast-iron floor, which was later replaced with a walnut end floor. Church utensils were delivered from all over the empire: crosses, chandeliers, candlesticks from Moscow, bells from [[Astrakhan]],<ref name = 'church2' /> and an iconostasis from [[Tbilisi]]. The painting of the temple and the writing of some of the icons were made by Prince G. G. Gagarin. In particular, he painted icons: the [[Last Supper]], the holy [[archangel]]s [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] and [[Gabriel]], the [[Pentecost|Descent of the Holy Spirit]] on the apostles, St. George and [[Alexander Nevsky|St. Alexander Nevsky]].<ref name = 'church2' />  A clock made by Master Stern in Odessa was installed on the bell tower.<ref name = 'church2' /> In 1875, a fence was erected around the church and a square was laid out.
=== Activity ===
On November 26, 1853, the temple was consecrated in the name of St. George the Victorious.<ref name = 'history' /><ref name = 'church2' /> Service in the church began on December 15, 1853.<ref name = 'history' /> Initially, the church remained in the military department, as it was built for the military department instead of the old one. In 1853 the old church was returned to the Muslims. Services in the church were conducted alternately by the [[archpriest]] of the line regiment and the [[Secular clergy|diocesan priest]]. In 1859 a [[deacon]] and a clerk were appointed to the staff of the church. In 1862, a new diocesan priest was appointed [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Exarch of Georgia]]. In 1879, the church was transferred to the eparchial subordination of the [[Diocese of Baku and Azerbaijan|Baku Deanery]] of the Georgian Exarchate. In 1894, the [[Vladikavkaz]] [[diocese]] was formed, which included the [[Dagestan]] region. In 1902 the church was given the status of a cathedral.<ref name = 'history' /> The parables of the cathedral consisted of: an archpriest, a priest, a [[deacon]] and two [[Psalms|psalmists]]. The content of the parable was made from the funds of the state treasury.<ref name = 'history' />
On November 14, 2020, in Derbent, in one of the premises of the Museum of Carpet and Decorative and Applied Art, a wooden slab was discovered, presumably being a fragment of an icon case for the icon of St. Alexander Nevsky from the Cathedral of St. George the Victorious, demolished in 1938. The following inscription was preserved on a wooden plate:<ref name = 'history' /><ref>[https://tass.ru/kultura/10004501 In Derbent, a part of an icon case from an Orthodox church demolished in 1938 was discovered]</ref>
{{blockquote|This image was built in memory of the miraculous preservation of the precious life of the sovereign emperor on April 4, 1866, by the diligence of the Derbent society.}}
An inscription similar to the text on the icon case was found in the book of Evgeny Ivanovich Kozubsky (1851–1911) "History of the city of Derbent" (1906).<ref name = 'history' /><ref>History of the city of Derbent. Compiled by E.I. Kozubsky. Temir-Khan-Shura. "Russian Typography" V.M. Sorokin. 1906. pp. 208; 211–214; 273.</ref>
=== Destruction of the temple ===
The cathedral was destroyed in 1938. Now in its place is a monument to [[Vladimir Lenin]].
== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Saint George Orthodox church in Derbent}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141024112307/http://derbent.pro/24-arkhitektura/drevnie-kladbishcha-derbenta/143-khristianskij-khram-svyatogo-georgiya-1849-goda?start=1 Christian Church "St. George" (1849)]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral of St. George the Victorious of Derbent}}
[[Category:1853 establishments]]
[[Category:1853 establishments in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1853]]
[[Category:History of Derbent]]
[[Category:Christianity in Dagestan]]
[[Category:Former churches in Russia]]
[[Category:Demolished churches in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1938]]
[[Category:Churches in Dagestan]]