The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene - the first stone building in Pavlovsk

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is an Orthodox church in Pavlovsk, the first stone building in the city. The church was founded in May 1781 in the presence of Grand Duke Paul Petrovich and his family. The construction of the church was funded by Empress Maria Feodorovna.

The project was designed by Giacomo Quarenghi. All the stonework on the church was completed on September 12 (23), 1781, but the consecration of the church by Metropolitan Gavriil (Petrov) in the name of St. Mary Magdalene took place only on September 6 (17), 1784.

The church was considered a summer palace church but was subordinate to the diocesan authorities. In 1861, by order of Alexander II, it was transferred to the court department while retaining the previous sources of support for the clergy. On June 10, 1932, the church was closed by the Soviet authorities. Its premises (as well as the entire building) housed the Spartak shoe factory until the Great Patriotic War. During the occupation, workshops were set up in the building.

After the war, the Tochmal factory was located here, and since 1956, the Metalloigrushka factory. A ceiling was installed in the church premises, and machines were set up, the vibrations of which damaged the building.

In 1995, the church was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church and attached to the Nikolsky Cathedral. However, due to the building being in an emergency condition (rotten ceilings, missing floor, cracks in the vaults), services were not held.

The restoration of the church began in 1998. On April 11, 1999, the church was consecrated. The repair was completed by the end of 2000. Early 19th-century paintings were uncovered on the vaults, and a stained-glass window was installed in the altar window. In 2002, a new iconostasis was installed. The church is 21 meters long, 10.5 meters wide, and 19 meters high to the dome.

The two-tiered wooden iconostasis of semicircular shape housed icons painted by the Italian artist Kades.

At the right kliros was an icon of St. Nicholas in a silver riza, and at the left kliros was an icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow." The wall paintings were done by the Russian artist Danilov. Previously, behind the altar, there was a large twelve-candle chandelier carved from amber and ivory by Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Among the church’s attractions were:

·       Holy vessels with handles and bases carved from ivory by Empress Maria Feodorovna.

·       Icons of the Holy Apostle Paul and Mary Magdalene, presented by the Holy Synod to Paul Petrovich and Maria Feodorovna at their wedding on September 27 (October 8), 1776.

The church also housed military relics:

·       10 flags of French Republic ships captured in 1798 and 1799 during the Mediterranean campaign by the combined Russo-Turkish fleet under the command of F. F. Ushakov;

·       two banners of the 7th half-brigade of Batavian troops captured in Holland in 1799;

·       banner of the 4th battalion, 2nd half-brigade of the Turin National Guard, captured by the Russian army under the command of A. V. Suvorov in 1799.

·       6 standards that served the His Majesty’s Life-Guards Cuirassier Regiment at the beginning of the 19th century (moved in 1899 to the Julian Church in Tsarskoye Selo).

In the church are cenotaph monuments:

·       to Prince Alexander Kurakin. It is a pyramid with a medallion featuring a bas-relief of the deceased; at the lower part of the pedestal is a bronze coat of arms and above it the inscription: “To the friend of my spouse.” It is installed to the right of the entrance;

·       to the tutor of Paul I, Count Nikita Panin, in the form of a marble pyramid embedded in the wall with a bas-relief and the inscription: “Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin, born October 15, 1718, died March 31, 1783”; installed to the left of the entrance;

·       to the tutor of Alexander I — Nikolai Zagryazhsky. It is a small mausoleum made of white marble, decorated with a bas-relief depicting a weeping woman. It bears the inscription: “Here lies the body of His Imperial Majesty’s court chamberlain and knight of the Orders of St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Anna — Nikolai Alexandrovich Zagryazhsky, born April 2, 1746, died July 25, 1821. A perishable monument to imperishable memories of meekness and love, in the sorrow of separation, in hope of eternal union, laid by Countess Kochubey from a grateful heart, from a reverent soul.” The monument is located next to the previous one. The author of the monument is Martos. In the spring of 1955, the tombstone (without the lower pedestal) was moved to the exhibition “Artistic Decoration of the Pavlovsk Palace,” where it remains.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Церковь_Марии_Магдалины_(Павловск)