The Orthodox church, an architectural monument in the Neo-Gothic style, appeared on the Tsarskoye Selo highway by order of Catherine II. Built near Moskovsky Prospect, among the gray buildings of the Stalin era and low-rise Khrushchyovkas, on a small square stands this white and pink marvel — an elegant and light church in the pseudo-Gothic style, with pointed towers reaching to the sky and tall lancet windows. Opposite, behind a row of young lindens, the outlines of a once magnificent medieval castle can be seen. This unique architectural ensemble was created by the famous architect Felten. And the history of its creation goes back centuries.
In 1774, by order of Catherine II, construction began at the 7th verst of the Tsarskoye Selo road of a travel palace for short stops of the imperial court during moves from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo. The small two-story building, having the shape of an equilateral triangle in plan, was located “on an elevated meadow, surrounded by an earthen rampart overgrown with grass.” The palace was meant to create the illusion of a hereditary knight’s castle. From the palace walls, its guests, foreign ambassadors, were greeted by numerous images of Catherine II’s ancestors and related reigning houses. The area around was called “Kikerikeksen” (in Finnish “Frog Swamp”), so when the palace was completed in 1777, it was named Kikerikeksen Palace.
According to legend, it was at this very place that Empress Catherine the Great received news of the Chesma victory over the Turkish fleet. On June 24, 1770, the day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the battle near the island of Chios began, resulting in the Turkish fleet retreating to Chesma Bay. On the night of June 25 to 26, Russian sailors managed to set fire to several enemy ships in the bay, after which the entire Turkish fleet caught fire. More than sixty Turkish ships and over ten thousand sailors and officers perished. Russian losses amounted to 10 people.
This was the first naval victory achieved by the fleet of the Russian Empire since the time of Peter the Great. By the highest rescript, a silver medal was established, depicting the attack of Russian ships on the Turkish squadron and the burning of Turkish vessels. A laconic inscription reported the fate of the Turkish fleet: “WAS.” In honor of the victory, several monuments were created in the vicinity of St. Petersburg: the Chesma Obelisk in Gatchina, the Chesma Hall in the Grand Peterhof Palace, the Rostral Chesma Column in the center of the Large Pond in the Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo. But Catherine the Great attached special importance to the construction of a memorial church.
At the solemn laying of the foundation in 1777, the entire court and Swedish King Gustav III were present, and at the consecration in 1780, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Joseph II was invited. The church has a four-leaf clover shape in plan and looks more like a medieval castle than a traditional church.
The construction of the church was completed by the tenth anniversary of the Russian fleet’s victory in the Chesma battle. The solemn consecration on June 24 (July 5), 1780, was performed by Metropolitan Gavriil (Petrov). At the celebration, together with Catherine II under the name “Count Falkenstein,” was the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Joseph II. In memory of the victory, Catherine II “ordered the church and palace to be named Chesma.”
Soon after the consecration, the church was transferred to the chapter of the Order of Saint George the Victorious. Because of this, for some time the Chesma Church was called “Georgievskaya.”
Catherine II often visited the church, where a royal place was reserved for her. The church was attached to the court department. In 1802, the church was transferred to the administration of the Hof-Intendant’s office. Together with the Chesma Palace, it once formed a distinctive ensemble facing the former Tsarskoye Selo highway. It was the chapter church of the Order of Saint George.
Currently, the church is a federal architectural monument. Near the church is the Chesma military cemetery.
Because the Chesma Church was cold and unheated, on December 11 (23), 1811, the winter church of the Nativity of Christ was consecrated in the Chesma Palace.
With the transfer of the palace to the Nikolaev Military Almshouse, the church was transferred to the military department.
The church was closed on June 1, 1919; in 1924, the bells were removed from the bell tower and sent for melting. Instead of the cross on the dome, sculptural images of an anvil, tongs, and a hammer were installed. After the camp was closed in 1924, from 1925 to 1930 the Chesma Church housed the archive of Glavnauka, and from 1930 — carpentry workshops of the Road Institute.
In 1930, a fire occurred in the church, destroying the interiors, including the iconostasis. In 1941, the church building was transferred to the Aviation Instrument Engineering Institute warehouse.
The building was severely damaged during the Great Patriotic War. In 1947, the church building was conserved; later, a decision was made to restore it as an architectural monument. In the 1960s, major restoration work began on the Chesma Church under architect Kulikov’s project. The domes were repaired, brickwork strengthened, lost elements restored; interiors were restored. The bells were cast at the “Monumentsculpture” factory. In December 1977, the “Chesma Victory” museum — a branch of the Naval Museum — was opened here.
On January 4, 1991, a community was registered, and on November 7, services began in the church. On July 1, 1994, the church building was transferred to the St. Petersburg Diocese for indefinite use.
Restoration work on the church began in 1996, and in November 1998, the iconostasis, renewed according to drawings found in the Russian State Military Historical Archive, was consecrated by Metropolitan Vladimir (Kotlyarov) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.
The church has a compact “centralized” plan, representing a “four-leaf clover.” The basis of the interior space is a square covered by a dome. To the square on four sides adjoin semicircular rooms. Lancet arches rest on four piers and unite these rooms with the central one into a single whole. On the church — narrow vertical ribs on a reddish wall background, tall lancet windows.
The church facade is decorated with intricate white stone ornamentation, a bas-relief on the pediment, lancet arches, a battlement parapet, and pointed towers (pinnacles).
Five drums end with small domes topped with miniature spires. Each spire carries an orb with an elegant openwork cross. In one of the drums, a large bell weighing about 100 kg was placed; the other seven small bells are mounted in another dome.
The sculptures “Faith” and “Hope,” symmetrically placed above the entrance, break the Orthodox canons of depicting women: both are shown with loose hair without head coverings. Moreover, in the right hand of “Faith” is a typical Latin cross, the form of which was considered imperfect among Russian Orthodox believers, associated with Catholicism, and this cross was contemptuously called “kryzh” (from Polish krzyz — cross).
The interior decoration of the church is distinguished by austerity and simplicity. The iconostasis is a restored copy of the iconostasis created according to Felten’s drawing.
Before the church’s closure, the greatest interest was represented by icons of old Italian work:
At the entrance to the church, a marble plaque is installed with the inscription:
“This church was built in the name of the holy prophet, forerunner, and baptizer of the Lord John in memory of the victory over the Turkish fleet won at Chesma in 1770 on the day of his nativity. Laid in the 15th year of the reign of Catherine II in the presence of the Swedish king Gustav III under the name of Count of Hogland and consecrated on June 24, 1780, in the presence of His Majesty the Roman Emperor Joseph II under the name of Count Falkenstein.”
Sources:
https://saint-petersburg.ru/m/thebest/rubin/372284/
https://vk.com/@vrachnauchebe-legendy-chesmenskoi-cerkvi-i-ee-neizvestnye-kopii
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Чесменская_церковь
