The Resurrection Church (Tomsk) and the Tsar Bell

The Church of the Resurrection is magnificent and unusual. Tomsk, which in ancient times was in the territory now belonging to the Holy Assumption Monastery, one of the oldest and most unusual buildings in this city, and is now adorned with this beautiful temple. The location of the church on the Voskresensk mountain (according to legend, it also acquired the name from the church) allows you to see the city as in the palm of your hand. And the Resurrection Church itself (Tomsk), whose address any Orthodox Tomsk knows, is visible in all its stern beauty and harmony from afar, like the lord of the whole city space. And the name of the Oktyabrsky street before the revolution was different - Voskresensky import, by the name of the temple.

History of the Church

The history of the church begins with the construction of it in the late 18th century. The masters built it in a rare Baroque style with some elements of Gothic. Such an unusual project was proposed by the court architect of the school B. Rastrelli.

The Resurrection Church, Tomsk and the monastery are almost the same age: the church is only 18 years younger than the city. The stone structure that we see today was built a little east of the wooden church that preceded it, which arose even at the founders of the city of Tomsk and in 1622 consecrated in the name of "Resurrection of Christ". After the monastery was closed, the church became a parish.

A stone two-story church was built in 1789. Resurrection Church (Tomsk and neighboring cities sent different masters and materials) was erected mainly by two craftsmen - Yegor Domonevsky and Peter Baranov - for 18 years at the expense of the parishioners. The lower chapel was consecrated in the autumn of 1803 in honor of the feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The old wooden Sunday church was dismantled, transported to the bank of the Tom River and there it was burnt with all the utensils. The ashes, according to the old custom, were scattered over the river in the wind, so that no one's feet could trample on it. Four years later the temple "rose from the ashes" in a stone form. His upper throne was consecrated in the summer of 1807 in connection with the holiday of the renovation of the Jerusalem church of the Resurrection of the Lord.

The Tomsk Tsar Bell

A bit later, at the edge of the cliff near the temple was built a small bell tower with stone pillars. It contained a thousand-pound bell, cast in Yaroslavl in 1896 in memory of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II and Queen Alexandra. The initiative at its creation was shown by Tomsk merchant Vasiliev and lent 3000 rubles in silver. The bell with a diameter of more than four meters, decorated with high reliefs of the Evangelists, weighing more than 16 tons was the third largest among all Siberian bells after the Irkutsk and Tobolsk. From the townspeople he received the name "Tomsk Tsar Bell".

The Soviet period

In the early twentieth century, shared the fate of many religious buildings and the Resurrection Church. Tomsk in the spring of 1922 covered the wave of closure of temples and the description of property by the Bolsheviks. The Resurrection Church did not bypass this. From it, a large quantity of silver church utensils was stolen-crosses, lamps, candlesticks, censers and much more. In 1930, the Tsar Bell was thrown off the bell tower and, as if parishioners did not interfere with it, split it into pieces. Pieces were sent for melting along with the broken bells of other temples of Tomsk. The same year was the last for the bell tower - it was dismantled to the ground. When the Semiluzhenskaya church was closed in 1935, local authorities issued a permit to transfer to the Resurrection Church the miraculous Semiluzhenskaya icon of St Nicholas and other particularly revered icons.

In 1937, an attempt was made to destroy the church, but by the grace of God this was not possible for the Bolsheviks to do. Twice the rope, thrown on the main cross of the temple, was in an incomprehensible way bursting. Until now, the main cross of the temple stands slightly tilted, witnessing the miracle of that time. Angry Bolsheviks destroyed all the wooden buildings around the building. After the first floor, a garage for cars, a grain warehouse, and a few years later the building was occupied by materials from the archive of the Far East. The fact that since 1945 the building was occupied by the archive helped to save it from complete destruction, while other churches and churches were being destroyed.

Architecture

According to its architecture, from all the temples of the city is most in line with the spirit and the spirit of local architecture of the XVIII century Resurrection Church. Tomsk, a photo of which can be seen in many avenues and books, is always one of its vivid distinctive features showing a tourist and a photo of this beautiful church, which is considered one of the most interesting monuments of Baroque cultural heritage with pronounced symbols of the Siberian region. Designed according to the traditional three-part scheme, which includes the temple, the refectory and the bell tower, the church is complemented from the west by the porch and porch. A high two-story brick plastered building, like a lighthouse for Orthodox Christians, is visible from afar, invites everyone to worship with a loud bass of a massive bell. In the Paschal elegant, it attracts not only parishioners, but also a large number of pilgrims and tourists.

New Life of the Temple

In 1978, it was decided to restore the Resurrection Church. And the project concerned only the finishing of the building and the gilding of the crosses. The internal premises stored valuable archival documents, so the work there was not envisaged. By 1980, the restoration was completed, the area around the temple was refined.

A new era began in 1995, when the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord was transferred to the Tomsk Deanery of the Novosibirsk Diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church for unlimited unlimited use. Several dozens of tons of archival documents were packed and sent to Vladivostok. The Orthodox helped the whole world to restore the internal premises of the church, cleaned it, washed it, repaired it. In the spring of 1996, residents of the city heard a joyful ringing of seven bells that were cast in Voronezh for private funds and donated to the church. On each of the bells was written "from Lydia and Basil." There is no more information about the donors. The largest of the bells weighs 160 kilograms.

In 1996, the church was re-consecrated and open to believers. The parishioners of the church gladly accepted the news that the Resurrection Church (Tomsk) had been restored. The schedule of services again took its usual place at the gate at the entrance to the temple, and for the inhabitants of the suburbs and pilgrims it was registered on a specially created website of the church.

In 2013, the temple received 9 more bells from Kamensk-Uralsk. By weight, the most massive of them had a weight of 1,200 kg. Belfry, built many years ago, withstands their weight with a large margin.

Revival

The energetic and active rector of the church, Protopriest Peter, recalls the awful state of the Resurrection Church in the past. Tomsk, the phone of the church and the rector in which not only every indigenous citizen knows, but also his guests from the vicinity, visited and helped in restoring the sights of the organization and believers from virtually all of Russia.

The rector is building grandiose plans, which, he believes, are realistic. For example, to organize a font in order to baptize adults. In the next house, he plans to build a library and a refectory. The Sunday school and the youth church club have already been established at the church. The plans to open a school of bell ringers. Those wishing to enroll in it can come to the address of the temple: Tomsk, Oktyabrsky import, 10. Or call 8 (382) 65-29-54.

Another of the grandiose plans is the arrangement on the cape of the Voskresenskaya mountain park with the monument of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker who will stand on the mountain and bless Tomsk. Help in this archpriest Peter offers the Moscow Foundation of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It will be a good place to relax and socialize.