After the annexation of new lands in the Northern Black Sea region and the founding of new ports of Nikolaev (1789) and Odessa (1794), it turned out that Kherson is relatively shallow and poorly adapted to receive large sea vessels. In the 1790s, the admiralty was gradually transferred to neighboring Nikolaev, and from 1803 Kherson took over the administrative functions of a territorially significant province. In 1806, a new merchant shipyard began to work, producing several dozen merchant ships a year, and Kherson slowly turned into a large trading city with sea and river ports at the same time.
Construction of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Kherson
From the end of the 18th century, Privoznaya Square in Kherson was the center of local trade, and in the early 1800s, it was decided to decorate it with a church in the name of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The construction of the temple, which was supposed to reach a height of 27 m, began in 1804 according to the project of the provincial architect Ivan Yaroslavsky, but due to lack of funds, it continued for more than a quarter of a century. Only at the beginning of 1836, Archimandrite of the Ekaterinoslav diocese Gabriel (Rozanov) consecrated the northern altar in the name of the holy martyrs of Chersonesos, and six months later, the southern altar in the name of Archangel Michael.
It was according to the testimony of the archbishop that the guardianship during the arrangement of the church, which was shown by the Kherson merchants Galukhin, Bogdanov, Sikachev and Nosov, led to the fact that among the local residents the definition of a merchant was attached to the church. The traditions of merchant charity were reflected in 1907, when the cruciform Holy Spirit Church at the expense of the Irlikov merchants, a refectory was added, as a result of which the goddess became much longer. Under the new building, a basement was equipped, where Sunday conversations and readings took place, and songs of the church choir were also held.
ICONOSTASIS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CATHEDRAL IN KHERSON
Holy Spirit Parish Church was considered the richest and most beautiful in the city, because the iconostasis, icon cases, icons, church utensils shone so brightly with gilding. In Soviet times, in the spring of 1922, church valuables were confiscated to help the hungry, and in 1926 the church was completely closed. In the post-war period (since 1947) Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit became a cathedral, has since slowly been decorated according to status. In particular, new iconostases were built for the side (southern and northern) altars, in the mid-1950s new icons of saints, martyrs and saints were painted and placed on the walls of the cathedral, a new three-tiered bell tower was built (1995), etc. Now Holy Spirit Cathedral is the main temple of the Kherson diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
HOW TO GET TO THE HOLY SPIRIT CATHEDRAL IN KHERSON
From Privokzalnaya street, 3-a (the central railway station in Kherson), you need to walk 90 meters in the direction of the stop (railway station). Next, take minibus No. 35 (the waiting time for a minibus at a stop can take you 8 minutes) and go in the direction of a stop on Gorkogo Street (approximate travel time 7 minutes). From the stop, walk 610 meters (7 minutes) in the direction of the Holy Spirit Cathedral (Dekabristov St., 36). You can also get to the cathedral by your own car. You can calculate the route
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Description
Holy Spirit Cathedral in Kherson
The center of urban trade in the 18th century was an imported market. In 1804, it was decided to build a temple on the lively Privoznaya Square. The cruciform church in the style of classicism, designed by the architect I.V. Yaroslavsky, stood out for its simplicity of architecture and slender proportions. Due to lack of money, the construction of the temple was completed only by 1836. A certain servant of God, Gr. I.R., donating 15 thousand rubles for the construction of the church.
A sad fate befell the temple in 1922, when all valuables were removed from it, and in 1926 it was closed for services. Only in 1941 did the restoration of the holy temple begin. Soon, in connection with the closure of the Catherine and Assumption Cathedrals, the parish church receives the status of a Cathedral.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Church of the Holy Spirit was expanded, and in this form it appears before us today. There is probably no such collection of holy icons in any church in the Kherson region, representing both artistic and museum value. From the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in 1912, the city of Kherson and the temple were presented with the icon of the Mother of God from the holy Mount Athos "It is worthy to eat." The icon of the "Grieving Mother of God" is especially revered in the cathedral. The following icons are of artistic value: the icon with the relics of "Seraphim of Sarov", the three-leaved icon of "Alexander Nevsky" in princely vestments (the Holy Great Martyr Barbara is depicted on the right side, and St. Nicholas on the left), the icon of "St. Miracle Worker", Kasperov's icon "The Mother of God with the Child", Pochaev's icon "The Mother of God", "The Mother of God with the Child" in salary, as well as the icon with museum value "Christ the Almighty".
In the temple are the relics of the holy fathers and great miracle workers: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. John Chrysostom, St. Vladimir the Martyr of Kiev, St. Demetrius Metropolitan of Kiev and many others. And also in the cathedral are 96 relics of saints from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Now the Cathedral is the center of the Orthodox life of Kherson, it is through it that all the miraculous icons that visit the city pass. Recently, the icon of the Mother of God "Look at humility" visited the cathedral.
The construction of the Three Altars of the Holy Spirit Church lasted from 1804 to 1835. The duration of the construction work is explained by the lack of funds.
In January 1836, the Northern chapel was consecrated in the name of the Hieromartyrs of Chersonesos and the southern chapel in the name of the Archangel Michael, a little later - on August 16, 1836, the main Holy Dokhov Presto was also consecrated by Archbishop Gabriel (Rozanov).
The main support during the construction of the temple was provided by local merchants Galukhin, Bogdanov, Sikachev and Nosov, after whom the Kherson people called the church "merchant". The second name - "Privoznaya" - it received because of its location near the city market - importation.
Initially, the temple was made in the form of a square cross with a colonnade on all sides and a low dome.
In 1907, a refectory was added to the church, under which, in specially equipped rooms, Sunday readings were held. It is believed that this part of the temple was built by the Irlikov merchants.
After the revolution, in March 1922, all church valuables were taken out of the church, from May 1926 to September 27, 1937 the church was under the control of the renovationists. Then the interior of the temple was destroyed.
In 1937-1944, the temple premises were used as a storehouse for flour.
Divine services resumed only at the end of 1941 under the refectory, where the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was equipped.
In August 1944, the Holy Spirit Church was returned to the community of believers. In the period 1944-1953, the northern and southern limits of the church were completely restored. Unfortunately, the original painting of the temple has not been preserved.
Under the Reverend Nikon (Petin), in 1947, the Holy Spirit Church became a cathedral.
In 1955-1956, the church acquired icons of Saints, Martyrs and Saints by Odessa artists.
In 1995, a bell tower was added to the cathedral. All the bells of the former bell tower were destroyed and small bells in the amount of 8 pieces were installed in their place.
The area occupied by the cathedral is 1441 m², inside the temple - 762.51 sq.m. The height of the walls of the upper temple is 9.7 m. The height of the dome is 19.7 m. The dome is octagonal. The distance between opposite faces is 10.9 m.
shrines
- Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God
- relics of St. Barsanuphius of Kherson
- relics of Saint Eutropia of Kherson
- relics of Blessed Domnica Aleshkovskaya
- revered icon of the Prmts. Paraskeva of Rome
- venerated icon of the righteous John the Russian
The stone temple was built on the initiative of Kherson merchants in 1798 and was consecrated in the same year. In 1828, he received the status of a cathedral, because in connection with the transfer of the Admiralty to Nikolaev, the Catherine's Cathedral was enlisted in the military department.
In 1833, the wooden bell tower was rebuilt to a stone one. The first restoration works of the cathedral building were carried out in the middle of the 19th century.
The cathedral had a large library. In 1853, the chair of vicar bishops of the Kherson diocese was created at the cathedral.
After the Civil War of 1918-1920, Bolshevik power was established in Kherson, and a Commission for the separation of church and state was created. In 1922, an agreement was concluded with the religious community of the Holy Assumption Cathedral by the communities on the transfer of property to them for lease.
According to the description of 1922, there were seven bells on the bell tower of the Holy Assumption Cathedral, the total weight of which was 5741 kg, the largest weighed 3892 kg, and the smallest 16 kg. In 1929 all the bells of the cathedral were dismantled. The anti-church policy of the authorities continued and in 1931 the premises of the cathedral were turned into a sports hall.
In August 1941, during the Nazi occupation, the cathedral resumed its activities. After the liberation of Kherson in the summer of 1944, the community of the Holy Dormition Cathedral was registered as active. However, already on November 26, 1945, the cathedral building was transferred for use as the "Palace of Physical Education".
During the period of independent Ukraine, the restoration of the activities of the Holy Assumption Cathedral began. In September 1993, the building was returned to the community, the charter of which was registered on November 15, 1991.
St. Catherine's Cathedral was built on the site of the former wooden St. Michael's Church, and consecrated on May 17, 1786.
The foundation stone was laid in August 1781
When the Russian Empress Catherine II visited Kherson, she gave the temple a second name - Spassky, in connection with which the inscription was made on the pediment of the main facade: "Catherine II dedicates to the Savior of the human race."
During the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91, a memorial was created on the territory near the cathedral with the graves of the fallen participants in the war. In the cathedral itself, in a crypt under the floor, near the iconostasis, the founder of Kherson, Novorossiysk Governor-General Prince Potemkin-Tavricheskiy was buried.
The first bell tower of the cathedral was wooden and corresponded to the style of early classicism, like the cathedral itself. By 1800, according to the project of I. E. Starov, a monumental stone bell tower was built, which was damaged during an earthquake two years later and had to be dismantled. Next to it, in 1806, a temporary wooden bell tower was erected, which served until the completion of the construction of a new stone bell tower, and still exists today.
In the 1930s, the temple was closed and the interior was destroyed.
Currently, the Catherine Cathedral is under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kherson diocese of the Moscow Patriarchate.
At the beginning of the XIX century. in the center of the imported square in Kherson, it was decided to build the Church of the Holy Spirit.
In 1810, the provincial architect Ivan Vasilyevich Yaroslavsky drew up a project. The architect reflected the features of strict classicism, avoiding baroque reminiscences.
The cathedral after the restoration of the facade, 2012
Made in simple geometric forms, the temple was distinguished by clear proportions, cleanliness of the plan, volumes, planes and details, while combining them. The project dates back to 1810, but the construction of the church, which was supposed to be 27 meters high, continued until 1836 due to a constant lack of funds. During the construction process, the cylindrical drum of the temple was replaced by an octagonal one - simple in execution.
In 1910, the Church of the Holy Spirit was expanded by adding a refectory. The temple did not have its own bell tower, so the bell tower of the Transfiguration Church, located nearby, was used.
In 1962, when the Catherine and Assumption Cathedrals were already closed, the Church of the Holy Spirit received the status of a cathedral. Currently it is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit
st. Preobrazhenskaya, 36.
The Zabalka area arose at the end of the 18th century as one of the suburbs of Kherson, which stretched along a deep ravine (beam), and began to be actively built up only at the beginning of the 19th century. For the needs of believers on the banks of the Koshevaya River, a small wooden church was built in a military hospital, which was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In 1819, the church was removed from the military department and turned into an ordinary parish. Over time, the wooden church fell into disrepair, since 1840 the question arose of building a large stone church. A benefactor, a collegiate assessor Iakov Andreyevich Doroshenko, a descendant of the hetman family Doroshenko, helped with funds for the construction of the temple, who provided the required amount.
May 9, 1842 in the center of the new market square was erected and consecrated a new stone church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This saint was especially revered by the liberators of the Black Sea region. There is a legend that the holy image of Nicholas the Wonderworker was donated to the old hospital church by Prince G. A. Potemkin, this was the reason for the consecration of the temple of the same name.
During the Crimean War, the Sevastopol defenders who died in Kherson hospitals were buried in the Nicholas Church.
By 1904, the church was expanded with two side extensions, one of which was consecrated in honor of the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, and the other in the name of Seraphim of Sarov the miracle worker. The construction was headed by the rector of the church, Father Fyodor Kalinchuk, and consecrated by His Grace Dmitry, Bishop of Novomirgorodsky.
By 1917, a parochial school operated at the church, with an average of 30 boys and girls studying there.
In 1922, all valuables were seized from the church, in 1929 the bells were removed "for the industrialization of the country." Local residents did their best to restore the church: they collected donations, restored the iconostasis.
From 1932 to 1942, the temple did not work; there was a granary and repair shops on its territory. In 1941, the artist Babenko painted the image of the Resurrection and the Shroud of the Mother of God, the Crucifixion of the Lord.
In 2007, St. Nicholas Church regained the status of a maritime temple. Now it is a functioning cathedral, where services are held.
st. Bridge, 31
After the founding of the city of Kherson, the government, in its desire to accelerate the settlement of the steppe region, decided to attract settlers of foreign origin here. The first wooden church of Hagia Sophia of the Wisdom of God was built by Greek priests with the permission of General Hannibal.
In September-December 1778, an adobe church with a wooden frame was built, and already in 1780 it was partially converted into a stone one, with two altars: the lower one was in honor of the Nativity of the Mother of God, the upper one was St. Constantine and Elena.
In the four niches of the upper part of the drum of the bell tower there are sculptures of the apostles, carved from wood, they give the temple a peculiar look.
All worship services were held in Greek and did not stop even during the Second World War.
The Greek Church is considered one of the oldest buildings in Kherson. Grigory Potemkin, Ivan Gannibal, Alexander Suvorov, Fyodor Ushakov admired its architecture and interior decoration.
Officially, the temple is called the Holy Nativity of the Theotokos (Greek-Sofievskiy) temple, but the inhabitants of the city have been calling it simply Greek for the third century.
The church is located in the center of the city of Kherson, for local residents it is known as Cemetery, because it stands on the territory of the Kherson necropolis - the Petrovsky cemetery, the oldest burials of which date back to the 80s of the 18th century (the grave of Hieromonk Vasily of 1781 is considered the oldest).
In 1792, a small chapel was built at the city cemetery, within the walls of which the dead Khersonians, warriors who gave their lives in defense of the city, eminent and little-known, rich and poor, were buried.
Subsequently, the city became provincial, the authorities decided to build a large stone church at the cemetery.
In 1803, on the week of All Saints, its throne was consecrated, this year is considered the year of birth of the temple.
The church was built from 1804 to 1808 and expanded in the 70s of the XIX century.
In 1922, all gold, gilded and silver items were confiscated from the church community. All this weighed 2 pounds 2 pounds 80 spools (33.94 kg). These figures do not take into account the historical and cultural value of the relics of the temple and objects of worship, which are sacred for believers. The city authorities took advantage of this, allowed them to be bought from the state, and the parishioners, dropping a penny from their meager incomes and savings, bought the relics.
At the end of December 1929, the temple became silent. All bells were removed and melted down "for the needs of industrialization."
Petrovsky cemetery, on the territory of which the church is located, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Kherson. Well-known people of the city, officials, participants in the Russian-Turkish wars, soldiers of both the White and Red Army, Petliurists, participants in the uprising of Ataman Grigoriev in 1919, soldiers of the First and Second World Wars were buried here.
With the independence of Ukraine, the church was able to “breathe freely” and regain its voice. Bells are ringing in it again, restoration work has been carried out.
Inside the temple, an authentic carved wooden iconostasis and images that were made by Yaroslavl icon painters in the 18th century have been preserved. The miraculous image copied from Kasperovskaya Mother of God has been preserved in the temple.
The temple was built in 1889 in neoclassical style. On February 2, 1889, the solemn consecration of the temple took place.
In 1893, a parochial school was founded at the temple, where children from low-income families were taught the basics of knowledge.
After the October Revolution, during the first occupation of Kherson by the Bolsheviks, the parish school was closed. In 1922, the temple was plundered by the Bolsheviks. In 1930, the temple was closed by the Soviet authorities "at the request of the workers." In 1938, the upper part of the temple was destroyed - a bathhouse and a bell tower. The Bolsheviks arranged the lower part of the temple for a warehouse.
After the German occupiers were ousted by units of the Red Army, the temple continued its work. However, already in 1962, the temple was scheduled for re-closure, and only thanks to the stability of society and the insistence of parishioners in various instances, thanks to the personal posture of Archpriest Alexei Alekseenko and parish warden Alexei Filippovich Zamaraev, the temple survived.
On May 31, 1898 Bishop Memnon (Vishnevsky) of Novomirgorod Ave. consecrated the foundation stone of the gymnasium church in the name of the Holy Martyr Empress Alexandra. The temple was built according to the project of the provincial engineer Kazimir Kvinto in an eclectic style. The temple received the popular name Gymnasium Church of St. Alexandra. It was built with private donations.
In 1921, a parish of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was founded in the temple of the already former 2nd Women's Gymnasium. However, in the late 1920s, information about the church disappears.
The premises were transferred to the Kherson Pedagogical Institute. In recent years, under the Soviet Socialist Republic, there were workshops of the general technical faculty.
Finally, on April 20, 1992, already in independent Ukraine, a solemn ceremony was held to transfer the premises to the community of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Since 1997, the community has been registered as a parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate.
The construction of the Roman Catholic Church in Kherson dates back to the middle of the 18th century. According to the certificate of the state archive of the Kherson region, "the church was built by the Jesuits Elizum Schatz in honor of the Savior in 1792 the church was called daub". At the beginning of the XIX century, in the year that way in 1820, a stone building was built.
After 1917, the temple was closed for worship for some time.
On April 28, 1918, according to the old style, the first church service in Ukrainian was held in Kherson.
In May 1922, the liquidation commission on the issue of separation of church and state at the Kherson Bureau of Justice granted the petition of the parishioners for the temporary use of the temple building with all religious property and inventory.
In 1923, the Kherson Council of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies transferred the church to the religious community for perpetual and gratuitous use and possession.
In 1931 the church was closed. For many years there were workshops for the repair of film equipment. In 1958, in the rebuilt building, the Bolsheviks organized the city children's cinema. P. Morozova.
In March 1994, the premises of the church were returned to the Roman Catholic community.
The three-altar Holy Spirit Church of the city of Kherson was founded in 1804. The construction of the front of the church took place in one summer, thanks to a large donation of 15 thousand rubles, but then, due to lack of funds, the construction was suspended and only in 1835 the construction of the church was completed.
The northern aisle in the name of the Hieromartyrs of Chersonesus and the southern aisle in the name of the Archangel Michael were consecrated in January 1836, and the main Holy Spirit Throne was consecrated on August 16, 1836 by Archbishop Gabriel (Rozanov).
According to the testimony of the same Archbishop, Kherson merchants showed special zeal in building the church: Galukhin, Bogdanov, Sikachev and Nosov, which is also confirmed by the oral tradition of local residents who called the Holy Spirit Church “merchant”.
The church was built near the city market - importation, and from that it became known as the "imported church". This name has survived to this day.
Initially, the temple looked like a square cross with a massive colonnade on all four sides and a low dome.
About 80 meters to the west of the temple, a beautiful five-tiered bell tower was built, consecrated on August 6, 1806 and serving as a parish church under the name of Preobrazhenskaya, since it had a patronal feast on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Having existed for 135 years, it burned down in 1941, on the very day of the Transfiguration of the Lord - August 19. Its remains were dismantled to the ground in the post-war years. At present, where the throne of this church was, there is a chapel with an inextinguishable lamp inside.
In 1907, a refectory part was added to the cross-shaped Holy Spirit Church, as a result of which the church was significantly lengthened. Under the refectory part, a basement was equipped where Sunday talks and readings were held, as well as church choir rehearsals. The locals-old-timers call the merchants Irlikovs the builders of the refectory.
The Holy Spirit Church was considered the richest and most beautiful in the city. The iconostasis, icon cases, icons, church utensils shone with gilding.
In godless times, the Holy Spirit Church suffered a great misfortune: in March 1922, church valuables were seized from it, and on May 1, 1926, the church was transferred by the city authorities to the renovationists, who kept it until September 27, 1937. Then everything was taken away from the temple and destroyed.
From 1937 to 1944, services were not held in the temple, and it was used as a storehouse for flour.
At the end of 1941, under the refectory part of the Holy Spirit Church, a temple was built in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, instead of the burned Transfiguration Church, and church services began to be performed in it.
In August 1944, the Holy Spirit Church, which was in a very deplorable state, was returned to believers, who began its restoration. A new iconostasis of the main chapel was built, the temple was put in proper order, and regular worship began. In subsequent years, 1944-1953, the northern and southern aisles were restored and consecrated. The old painting that was on the walls of the Holy Spirit Church has not been preserved.
Until 1945, the Assumption Cathedral, built in 1798, was the cathedral of the city of Kherson. In 1945, the department was transferred to the Catherine's Cathedral, built in 1791. And only under the Reverend Nikon (Petin), since 1947, the Holy Spirit Church, which had previously been the parish church of the city, became the cathedral.
From 1953 to 1960 The rector of the Holy Spirit Church was Archpriest Boris Georgievich Stark, who at the same time was the secretary of the Diocesan Administration. Serving in Kherson, he showed a bright talent not only as a wise pastor, setting a personal example of a steady desire to serve the Lord, but also as a church administrator. By his tireless labors, the Holy Spirit Cathedral was more well-decorated. In particular, new iconostases were built for the northern and southern aisles. In 1955-1956, icons of Saints, Martyrs and Saints were painted by Odessa artists and placed on the walls of the cathedral.
Until 1995, there was no bell tower in the cathedral. All large and small bells of the former bell tower were destroyed, and instead of them, small bells in the amount of 8 pieces were used, which were placed on the porch.
The area occupied by the cathedral is 1441 square meters. m, inside the temple - 762.51 sq. m. The height of the walls of the upper temple is 9.7 m. The height of the dome is 19.7 m. The dome is octagonal. The distance between opposite faces is 10.9 m.
Until 1991, the Kherson region was part of the Odessa diocese, the ruling Bishop of which visited the Holy Spirit Cathedral once a year, on its temple feast.
By decision of the Holy Synod of the UOC of February 11, 1991, as a result of the division of the Odessa diocese, the Kherson diocese was formed. Its first Ruling Bishop was Metropolitan Leonty (Gudimov), who is buried at the altar wall of the cathedral opposite the chapel of the Hieromartyrs of Chersonesus.
Through the efforts of the next administrator of the Kherson diocese, Bishop (since 2000 - Metropolitan) Illarion (Shukalo) (reigned 1992-1997), the Transfiguration lower chapel of the Holy Spirit Cathedral was consecrated, and a new one was built Bell tower.
At the same time, restoration work began in the cathedral, which continued under the subsequent Kherson bishops - Bishop Job (Smakouz) (1997 - 1999), Archbishop Jonathan (Yeletsky) (1999 - 2006) and Archbishop John (Siopko) (since 2006 - until now).
Holy Spirit Cathedral (before and after renovation)
His Beatitude Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, visited the Holy Spirit Cathedral three times on a primatial visit: September 5, 1995 - on the day of the canonization of Hieromartyr Procopius, Archbishop of Kherson, August 9, 2008 - on the day of the canonization of St. Cathedral, and July 15, 2009 - on the day of the canonization of Blessed Domnika Aleshkovskaya, whose relics are in the church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina in the city of Tsyurupinsk (before the renaming - the city of Alyoshka), located on the site of the destroyed Assumption Convent in which the saint labored.
The main shrines of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the city of Kherson are the miraculous copy of the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, revered in the South of Ukraine, before which twice a month the Kherson clergy solemnly serve an akathist; The Image of the Savior not made by hands over the Royal Doors, which is lowered annually on August 29 and on the Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy for the worship of believers; Theodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, before which a prayer service is served every Saturday; The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, which sailed to Kherson along the Dnieper; the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra of Lycia, updated in the late 1990s; icons of the holy righteous John of Russia and the venerable martyr Paraskeva of Rome with particles of their relics, before which every Friday water-blessing prayers are served with special petitions; two reliquaries with the relics of the Saints of the Kiev Caves and many other saints of God; relics of St. Barsanuphius of Kherson, confessor, St. Eutropia of Kherson and Blessed Domnica of Aleshkovsky.
The Miraculous List of the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God
The Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands over the Royal Doors and the Fedorov Icon of the Mother of God
Icons of the Holy Righteous John of Russia and the Monk Martyr Paraskeva of Rome
Shrines with the relics of Saints Barsanuphius and Eutropia of Kherson
Arks with the relics of Blessed Domnika Aleshkovsky, the Monks of the Kiev Caves and Saints
In the church fence of the Holy Spirit Cathedral there are the graves of Archpriests Leonid Bogdanov and John Karlev.
There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit Cathedral, with its shrines, is one of the most beloved and famous temples among the believers of the city of Kherson and the Kherson diocese.
Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God
Celebration:
Wednesday of Bright Week, July 12, October 14 (N.S.)
Here is how the church historian Archpriest Sergei Petrovsky describes the circumstances of the acquisition of this image: “During the reign of the blessed memory of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, Slavic-Serbian settlements were scattered across the current districts of the Kherson province, Elisavetgrad and Alexandria. People from Transylvania, Serbia and other Slavic lands lived here, who arrived in Novorossia at the call of the Russian government to protect the southern borders of the empire from the raid of the Tatar and Turkish hordes. The state authorities gave them the opportunity to build small fortresses, established here for the Orthodox population a special, so-called Slavic diocese, and gave this border strip the name of Slavic-Serbia, Novo-Serbia.
Following the conquests of Russia, which followed in the 18th century under the reign of Empress Catherine II, the Serbian regiments were disbanded. Peaceful cities and towns were built around the former fortresses; and the people who lived in them took up agriculture, trade and cattle breeding. During the reign of Tsar Alexander the Blessed, there were many Russian-Serbian families in the Kherson region, who kept good morals, old customs and strong attachment to the Orthodox faith. And our miraculous Kasperovsky image of the Mother of God belonged to the Serbian family. Her ancestor, some kind of noble Serb, who settled in the Kherson province in the middle of the 18th century, brought the generic image of the Most Holy Theotokos from Transylvania. The shrine, like a blessing, passed from generation to generation and in 1809 was received by the Kherson landowner, the wife of staff captain Nikolai Kasperov, Juliania Ionovna. Who, when and where exactly wrote this image, no one knew and did not remember. And so, not far from the city of Kherson, in the small village of Kasperovo (now called Kizomys, Belozersky district, Kherson region) in a family of an humble and worldly position far from exalted, it was pleasing to the Mother of God to shine with signs and wonders.
The miraculous renewal of the image took place without witnesses, in the dead of night; in February 1840. For the Kasperov family, it is not known under what circumstances, mournful times have come, and the landowner Juliana often turned with fervent prayer to the Zealous Intercessor in front of her family image. Once during a prayer, at the third hour after midnight, Kasperova was surprised to find that the image suddenly “became so bright and alive” that after that the excited woman could not fall asleep until the very morning and spent the night in prayers to the Mother of God.
The Kasperovs, at a mutual consultation, decided not to disclose the miracle, but the good will of God judged it to be otherwise! The image was miraculously renewed, and since then numerous and obvious healings have begun to occur at the icon.
In the vicinity of the village of Kasperovka at that time, there was the village of Kizim. In the 40s of the 19th century, a small estate noblewoman Vera Burleeva lived here, the woman was ill for a long time, with a dead left hand. After vain attempts to heal, she hears in the spring of 1840 in a sleepy vision the voice of the Mother of God, sending her to Kasperovka to pray to the holy image. Burleeva, at her insistent desire, was brought to the house of Juliana Ionovna, where she prayed earnestly and received complete healing.
From this incident, - said Ms. Kasperova, - a rumor began to spread among the people, many began to come to my house, many came, prayed in the figurative room and received healing.
In the summer of 1843, three outstanding healings fall. After praying before the image of the Mother of God, a 13-year-old peasant boy from the city of Kherson, Ivan Shumyakov, who suffered from epileptic seizures, lost control of his arms, legs, tongue, and often lost consciousness, received perfect health. The Ochakov townswoman Maria Smeshnaya went home from Kasperovka quite healthy. Finally, after praying before the image of the Blessed Virgin and anointing with oil from the lampada, the mind of the Novo-Ivanovo peasant Paraskovya Semipudova, who had been possessed by madness for a long time, returned to her senses.
Rumors about healings from the icon forced the Novoivanovskiy priest Fr. Zelinkevich to offer the owner of Kasperovka to transfer the icon to the church. In the last days of January 1844, seven months after the priest's first proposal, Kasperova personally transferred the image to the parish church of St. Nicholas.
In 1846, the Kherson spiritual board instructed the dean of the city of Kherson to investigate the facts of healings and miracles that allegedly occurred from the icon from the village of Kasperovka. On the one hand, it was skeptical, because at that time there was no shortage of charlatans who, out of selfish goals, announced the appearance of imaginary "shrines", and on the other hand, hoping that through this image God's Providence really appeared in relation to the young South Russian lands. After the end of the work, the commission comes to the conclusion about the real miraculous power emanating from the face of the Virgin.
By this time, the whole Black Sea region already knows about the miraculous face, people come from Kherson, Ochakov, Odessa, Nikolaev and other places. Many miracles and healings came from the miraculous image in the past and at the present time. Many of them are described, many remained secret. Sincere sincere prayer did not go unheeded by the Zealous Intercessor.
Here is a noteworthy case that occurred in the spring of 1922 in the village of Gnilyakovo (now Dachnoye) in the Odessa region. A severe cholera epidemic hit the village. There were cases when up to 30 people died during the day. The village priest, exhausted, performed funeral services from morning until late at night. Then, on the recommendation of the priest, a group of local residents went to Odessa to the ruling bishop, with a request to bring the image of the Mother of God to the village of Kasperovsky. On July 13, on the day of the feast of the Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, accompanied by the city clergy, the icon was taken to the center of the village right on the square, a public prayer service was performed in front of it, then the icon was brought to the local Holy Intercession Church. Not a single person died after the prayer service. In memory of this event, in gratitude to God and the Mother of God for deliverance from a serious epidemic, local residents have established the day of the Holy Archangel Gabriel to be considered a special day of God's mercy.
In the 50s of the last century, with the blessing of the Holy Synod and the permission of His Imperial Majesty, religious processions were made with the icon to the main cities of the Kherson diocese - Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa.
On January 12, 1852, according to the Highest permission, His Imperial Majesty, Sovereign Emperor Nicholas I, a religious procession was established in Kherson.
In order to get closer to understanding how solemn this event was for the life of the city, we will give a brief description of it taken from the records of the remarkable dates of Kherson. “In 1852, on May 8, on the day of the feast of the Holy Ascension, the procession was performed for the first time, in the most solemn atmosphere. According to the Highest approved ceremonial, the entire garrison, educational institutions and all authorities participated in it. From the guns that were at that time on the ramparts, a continuous salute was fired. Bishop Innokenty arrived on purpose from Odessa to participate in the procession. Since that time, the image of the Mother of God is solemnly brought to Kherson every year on Ascension Day and remains here until June 29.
In 1854, during the Crimean War, the citizens of the city of Odessa sent a deputation to Bishop Innokenty with a letter of the following content: “Under the present circumstances, when our city is in a position from enemies, we make a humble request to Your Eminence to apply for permission to bring the Kasperovskaya icon of the Mother of God to the cathedral our temple for the entire time of the blockade of our city. We wholeheartedly believe in the miraculous help of the Mother of God and hope that the presence of Her Face in our city will be an invincible bulwark against enemy attacks and the most reliable guarantee of our salvation.
The request of the residents of Odessa was granted, and on August 6, 1854, the icon was brought in a procession from the village of Kasperovka to the Cathedral of the city of Odessa, where it remained until May 20, 1856.
On September 26, 1855, an enemy fleet of 120 pennants appeared on the Odessa roadstead. Every day in these difficult days, Christians, together with St. Innocent, offered up prayers before the miraculous image for the salvation of the city. One can only imagine the state of the townspeople, who have been under the muzzle of the squadron's deadly guns for a whole week, nevertheless, everyone was perplexed, what prevents the enemy from attacking the practically defenseless city.
On the eve of October 1, almost the entire population of Odessa gathered in front of the Cathedral Square, prayer services were served, in front of the Kasperovsky miraculous image, with the blessing of the lord, they began to read the penitential canon - everyone asked the Queen of Heaven to spare the city. On the day of the Protection of the Mother of God, a thick, almost impenetrable fog descended on the sea. Enemy ships in this fog lost their course and could not determine the correct direction of the intended strike. Another day - and the fleet suddenly left.
Some considered this deliverance an accident, others - ignorance by the enemy of our available forces and fear of the fire of coastal batteries. But the believing inhabitants of Odessa in those days, from young to old, thanked the Most Holy Theotokos. Indeed, Her omophorion was stretched out these days over the city and saved it from inevitable death. This day became especially memorable for the inhabitants of Odessa, on the same day, on the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, one of the days of honoring the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God was also established.
This icon served as a great support and strengthening of the spiritual strength and faith of our people during the times of disasters that fell upon our Fatherland during periods of trials, when foreign enemy hordes approached our borders. She was evidence of the presence of the Protection of the Queen of Heaven for the Odessans, and for the Khersons and for the defenders of Sevastopol, for all who demanded Her maternal help.
In prayer before the miraculous image, everyone found encouragement, consolation, and hope for a safe outcome of wars. They were blessed by the Monk Innokenty, Archbishop of Kherson and Tauride, the troops passing through Odessa to Sevastopol. They overshadowed the batteries arranged on our seashore and blessed the detachments assigned to them to protect the port and city. This image was worn in hospitals and infirmaries. They made a vow before him and they were admonished by the sisters of mercy, who took upon themselves the difficult task of serving in the army.
Thanks to the grace-filled help that appeared on the maritime borders of our state through prayers at this image, the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God is considered the patroness of the fleet, not only of the sea, but also of the air.
One fact is curious, from the history of the Crimean War, also associated with our miraculous image. When Saint Innocent during the siege of Sevastopol arrived with the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the city, for spiritual support of the troops, he sent to warn the commander in chief A.S. ".
To which the arrogant nobleman gave such an answer, “So tell the archbishop that he bothered the Queen of Heaven in vain - we can do without Her!” Soon Sevastopol fell.
In peacetime, the tradition of religious processions in the Kherson province was strictly observed until the advent of the godless power. As the descriptions of that time testify to this, the miraculous icon is annually brought in a procession from the village. Kasperovka in Odessa, and remains there from October 1 until the fourth day of Easter. From the Feast of the Ascension stays until June 29 in the city of Kherson; from July 1 to August 1 - in Nikolaev. In all these cities, before the miraculous icon, on Fridays, an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos is read. The last religious procession took place in 1918. With the advent of Soviet power, the tradition of religious processions was interrupted and resumed only in the 90s.
The official location of the icon was the village of Kasperovka, but he spent most of the year in Odessa and at this time this image is in the Holy Assumption Cathedral of the city and is its main shrine.
The Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God is a shrine that the Orthodox residents of Odessa, Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Chisinau and Tiraspol, Crimea, and many other regions of our fatherland revere with reverence. Far from one temple was built and consecrated in honor of our miraculous image, and not only in the Kherson province, but also far beyond its borders. With the acquisition of the miraculous image, many pious Christians considered it necessary to glorify the Mother of God, thereby responding with their zeal to the mercy shown by God. Some in prayers and religious processions, some, arranging chapels and temples in honor of the holy image.
The main shrine of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of Kherson is the list of the miraculous Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, in front of which the cathedral of the city clergy reads an akathist to the Intercession of the Mother of God.
Every year on the patronal feast of the Holy Spirit Cathedral of Kherson, the Day of the Holy Spirit, the miraculous Kasperovsky image of the Mother of God is brought from the Holy Dormition Cathedral of Odessa, which, headed by the Ruling Bishop, solemnly meets the clergy of the Kherson diocese and numerous believers from various churches of the diocese, and stays for several days in Kherson. During the farewell to the icon, a religious procession takes place through the streets of the city from the Holy Spirit Cathedral to the Church of All Saints.
As in past times, the Queen of Heaven, through Her miraculous image, continues to help everyone who comes to Her with faith for help and comfort.
