Текст " The Stone Pages of History"

THE STONE PAGES OF HISTORY

THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR

The First Patriotic War of 1812 had ended. As early as two days after receiving the great news on December 25^th, 1812, tsar Alexander I signed an edict” On the building of a church in the name of Christ Our Savior in gratitude to the agency of Providence for saving Russia from the enemy”.

The cathedral’s foundations were laid on the crest of the Vorobyovy Hills, the highest point of Moscow at that time. It was supposed to be seen from all directions, as if it were floating between the earth and the heavens.

Famous architects Alexander Lavrentevich Wittberg and Constantine Andreevich Ton took part in the construction of the cathedral. It became the spiritual center of Russia.

The cathedral was intended to last for centuries, but the Bolsheviks condemned it to destruction. They decided to build the Palace of Soviets instead of the Cathedral.

The destruction of the cathedral began in December 1931 and went on till the spring of 1933.But the Palace of Soviets was not built. Later in 1958-1960 the public “Moskva”swimming pool appeared in this place for the following 34 years.

At the end of the 1980s a public movement was started with the intention of restoring the cathedral. In 1994 the Moscow administration adopted a resolution to rebuild the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.The construction of the cathedral started at the beginning of 1995.Within a year there rose a majestic church. Four more years were spent on its external and internal decoration.

The cathedral now stands over Moscow with its five gleaming domes.

. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the largest church in Russia, able to hold 10,000 people.

THE STONE PAGES OF HISTORY

( Bogolubskiy Cathedral in Michurinsk)

There are many cathedrals and churches in our native Tambov region. But one of them is the most remarkable.

People who come to visit Michurinsk, a small town in our region, usually come to Bogolubskiy Cathedral. This beautiful church was built in the 19^th century as a smaller copy of a well-known Christ-Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

IN OUR SETTLEMENT PERVOMAISKIY

Citizens of our Pervomaiskiy district are great believers .They often attend church services and make donations to the development of the old and to the construction of the new churches.