Peter's First Cathedral

[nick cobb]

Friday, May 15, 1998

TOP STORY

Resurrecting Peter's First Cathedral

By John Varoli
STAFF WRITER
Photo by Alexander Belenky

Since the Soviet Union relaxed religious
persecution in the late 1980s, followers of all of
Russia's confessions have been active in
reconstructing and rebuilding their houses of
worship.

Most notable of these has been the reconstruction
of the mammoth Cathedral of Christ the Savior now
dominating Moscow's skyline, whose price tag
came in at $300 million.

Years of financial doldrums, however, have
stopped St. Petersburg from embarking on just
about any construction projects throughout the
1990s.

But the growing city economy is now giving impetus for some projects to
proceed - such as rebuilding one of St. Petersburg's foremost churches,
the
Trinity Cathedral.

Formerly located on the Petrograd Side district, just across the street
from Peter
and Paul Fortress, the Trinity Cathedral was one of about 200 St.
Petersburg
churches torn down by Communist officials after 1917.

The post-revolution destruction of churches was truly devastating. Out
of
several dozen churches that use to stand on the Petrograd Side (know as
the
Petersburg Side before 1914), for example, just three remain today, with
only two
of them open to worship.

While Moscow's Christ the Savior was destroyed to make room for the
Palace
of Soviets, the ill-fated structure which would have been the largest
building in
the world, the plot of land once occupied by Trinity Cathedral is now
partly
covered by a five-story Stalinist-era office building, with the rest a
park.

Though no clear record exists why, the cathedral's destruction was most
likely
due to its location across from the Communist Party's district
headquarters,
then in the Kshesinskaya Mansion - formerly owned by Russia's first
great
ballerina, Mathilda Kshesinskaya

The sight of the cathedral and the frequent bell tolling could only have
been
abhorrent to the militant atheists, surmises Dmitri Butirin, a local
architect who,
armed with his design of the cathedral's original structure, has been
the leading
force pushing for the cathedral's resurrection over the past seven
years.

"The idea [to rebuild the cathedral] was originally my submission in a
competition to build a memorial to the victims of the [communist]
repression,"
Butirin said. "I thought that the best way to honor their memory would
be to
rebuild the Trinity Cathedral."

Troitsky Ploshchad currently has a small stone memorial, adorned with a
metal
crown of thorns and the words of poetess Anna Akhmatova, as homage to
the
victims of the Terror.

For some, however, plans to rebuild the Trinity Cathedral have raised
the
specter of comparisons to Moscow's Christ the Savior and the fear of a
hulking
architectural monster rising from the shores of Russia's cultural
capital.

But while Trinity was a sobor (cathedral), placing it in an elite group
of
traditionally large churches like the awe-inspiring and cavernous St.
Isaac's
Cathedral, it was actually one of the city's smallest and made only of
wood.

The reason for Trinity's preeminence lies in its history. Many
historians claim 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, but it
was only
completed in 1711.

According to Father Gennadi Zveryev, a Russian Orthodox priest also
pushing
to rebuild the Trinity Cathedral, "It is important to reconstruct St.
Petersburg's
first church because it was in the Trinity Cathedral that the city was
baptized
and that Peter [the Great]'s 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,
such as vice-governor Vladimir Petrovich Yakovlev (no relation to
Governor
Vladimir Yakovlev), who is in charge of cultural affairs.

Vice-governor Yakovlev told the St. Petersburg Times 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 added that the appearance of Troitsky Ploshchad (known as Ploshchad
Revolutsii during the Soviet era) has changed so drastically since the
Trinity
Cathedral was torn down that it does not make sense upsetting the
square's
current urban landscape with construction of a church that no longer
fits in.

The vice-governor's opinion is also enshrined in law. Troitsky Ploshchad
bears
legal status as a "local landscape monument," and construction there is
forbidden.

Father Gennadi, however, feels the cathedral has powerful architectural
and
moral arguments on its side. "We had a meeting with the city and I found
it
offensive to hear that the Troitsky Ploshchad is already formed," he
said. "A
city's development is not static but formed in the course of centuries."

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

While the question of "whether" to build is creating quite a headache,
the issue
of "what" to build is proving even more contentious among supporters of
the
Trinity Cathedral.

This debate breaks down along lines of those espousing a strict
adherence to
the cathedral's original design versus those who favor a more liberal
and
modern version.

And among traditionalists, there is yet another divide over which
"original"
church to build. After Peter the Great's reign, the Trinity Cathedral,
which as a
wooden structure was prone to burn down, had to be rebuilt four times,
each
time with a different architectural style.

Butirin proposes building a small, wooden church, one made in the image
of
what is believed to be the very first church built on that site by Peter
the Great.
The Orthodox Church, however, is leaning towards building a brick
church, and
one larger than the original.

Father Gennadi said the church wants to build a church that will stand
the test
of time and not be as prone to fire as many of the past Trinity
churches.

Butirin is dead set against such plans, however, since they have no
foundation
in the Trinity Cathedral's history. Butirin's design got a recent boost
from the
city's Committee for the Protection of Monuments when it ruled against
building a big brick church. "If anything will be built on the site, it
will be a small
wooden church," said Nikita Yavyein, the committee's chairman.

The committee is now excavating part of Troitsky Ploshchad to learn more

about the history of the various churches which stood there.

Yavyein, however, added that the final decision whether to build lies
with the
Orthodox Church, but that it would need the approval of Governor
Vladimir
Yakovlev. Yavyein added that all costs would also be the responsibility
of the
Church and its supporters.

Despite the opposition, the Orthodox Church remains undeterred.

"Without agreement from the city we cannot build, but we plan to rally
society's
support for our project so that the city will agree."

The Orthodox Church is also going ahead with a competition for the
church's
design on May 15. There are currently seven contenders.

"So far we have seen some very interesting designs using modern ideas
and
materials for a historical church," said Zveryev. "There is no need to
strictly
follow the church's historical look. But we do need to obey canonical
requirements and be professional so as not to spoil the city panorama."

copyright The St. Petersburg Times