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Reconstruction of Trinity Cathedral

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May 15, 1998, 3:00:00 AM5/15/98

Russia: St. Petersburg Debates Reconstruction Of Trinity Cathedral

By John Varoli

St Petersburg, 14 May 1998 (RFE/RL) -- Since the Soviet Union relaxed
persecution of religion in
the late 1980s, followers of all Russia's confessions have been active
reconstructing and rebuilding
their houses of worship.

Perhaps, most notable among these has been the reconstruction of the
mammoth $300 million
Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Savior, now dominating Moscow's
skyline.

Years in the financial doldrums, however, have prevented St. Petersburg
from embarking on any
construction project in the 1990s, let alone church-buildings. But, as
the city economy grows, money
is now available to rebuild one of St Petersburg's previous leading
churches -- the Trinity Cathedral,
which was destroyed in 1933 and replaced by a park square.

"The idea (to rebuild the cathedral) was originally my submission in a
competition in 1991 to build a
memorial to the victims of the (Communist) repression," Dmitri Butirin,
a local architect, told
RFE/RL. "I thought that the best way to honor their memory would be to
rebuild the Trinity
Cathedral."

On the park square, where activists want to build the cathedral, now
lies a small stone memorial,
adorned with a metal crown of thorns, in homage to the victims of
communism.

Before the Revolution of 1917, Trinity Cathedral was considered St
Petersburg's second most
prominent church, just after the awe-inspiring and cavernous St. Isaac's
Cathedral. Despite, the title
of "cathedral," however, Trinity Cathedral was one of the city's
smallest, and the only one made of
wood.

The reason for Trinity's pre-eminence lies in its history. Many
historians say it was St. Petersburg's
first church and Peter the Great's favorite. He decreed its construction
in 1703, the year the city was
officially founded, and it was completed in 1711.

In the words of Father Gennadi Zveryev, a Russian Orthodox priest active
on the Orthodox
Church's commission to rebuild the Trinity Cathedral, "it is important
to reconstruct St Petersburg's
first church, because it was in the Trinity Church that the city was
'baptized' and that Peter's (the
Great) idea of building our city was given blessing from heaven."

But, instead of uniting the city's spiritual and earthly authorities,
the issue is proving divisive and looks
set to remain unresolved for some time. Rebuilding the church has found
many opponents in the city
administration.

Deputy City Governor Vladimir Yakovlev, (who is not related to City
Governor Vladimir
Yakovlev), who is responsible for cultural issues in the city, told
RFE/RL that construction is not
necessary, because it would be better to build a new church in areas of
the city without any
churches. The center already has enough churches, he says.

"If we were just talking about the construction of a new church, I too
would be against it," admits
Father Gennadi. "But the Trinity Cathedral was an important and unique
monument in the history of
our city and country."

To make the issue even more complex and divisive, even advocates of
reconstruction are arguing
among themselves.

Architect Butirin proposes building a small, wooden church -- a copy of
the very first church built on
that site by Peter the Great.

Oddly enough, the Orthodox Church hierarchy is going against the grain
of tradition, and wants to
build a brick church, and one larger than the original. Since the
original Trinity Cathedral burned
down or was destroyed five times between 1711 and 1933, the Orthodox
Church suggests the next
be built of material more sturdy than wood.

14-05-98

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