Church of the Holy Trinity (Trinity Church)

The Church of the Holy Trinity (Trinity Church) is an Orthodox church in Krasnoye Selo, an architectural monument of the "Anna Baroque" style. It was the main church of the summer military capital of the Russian Empire. The reigning members of the Romanov House prayed here: from Empress Catherine I to Emperor Nicholas II.

The Trinity Church in Krasnoye Selo is one of the oldest churches in Saint Petersburg. According to the information that has come down to us, the very first church in Krasnoye Selo was the Church of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr, built by order of Empress Catherine I between 1725 and 1727. Unfortunately, a more precise founding date of this church and any information about its interior decoration have not been found. It is only known that the church was wooden and located on the site where the buildings of the military hospital were later constructed. This church did not last long — it was completely destroyed by fire in 1732.

In 1732, instead of the dilapidated and severely fire-damaged church from Catherine I’s time, a new one was erected by order of Empress Anna Ioannovna. Anna Ioannovna herself made the first donation for the construction — 350 silver rubles. On June 22, 1733, permission was obtained from the Synod to build a stone church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity with a chapel of St. Catherine (in memory of the old Catherine church).

In 1733, construction of the new stone church began. Among the donors for the church’s construction was Empress Anna Ioannovna. The foundation laying took place on August 16 (27). The project’s author was Ivan Blank.

On July 20 (31), 1735, the main altar was consecrated by Archpriest Iosif Chodnevsky. The right chapel of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr was consecrated in 1737; the left chapel of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, added in 1738, was consecrated in 1761. The chapel of the righteous Simeon and Anna was consecrated in 1822 in the middle part of the church on the right side by Archpriest Stakhiy Kolosov.

From 1851 to 1854, by order of Emperor Nicholas I and according to the design of architect Alexander Rezanov, with the participation of Augustin Kamucci, the church was rebuilt and expanded. In 1854, the church grounds were enclosed by a fence, in the southwest part of which a stone chapel was built according to the design of architect Alexander Rezanov.

The stone church was built in the "Anna Baroque" style and has a bell tower with a spire about 32 meters high. On the right side of the church entrance was a commemorative plaque about the church’s foundation.

The walls and vaults of the church were decorated with painted ornaments. Inside the church was a tall five-tiered iconostasis painted white with gilded decorations (destroyed when the church was closed in the late 1930s). Currently, a copy is being gradually created. Only the central chapel is active.

The bell tower had ten bells. The large bell weighed 2.68 tons and was cast in 1764. The modern large bell was cast in 2002.

Among the previously held sacred relics were:

A silver gilded altar cross with an inset cypress reliquary cross containing 72 particles of holy relics and shrines. It was donated in 1853 by a peasant woman from Krasnoye Selo, Maria Nikitichna Alexeyeva.

The icon of the Presentation of the Lord (St. Righteous Simeon holding the Infant Christ) in a kiot, located in the Simeon chapel. It was adorned with a silver riza decorated with diamonds and precious stones. The icon was discovered on May 11 (22), 1800, near the road from Pavlovskaya Sloboda of Krasnoye Selo to Saint Petersburg. Currently, the icon is kept in the Alexander Nevsky Church in Krasnoye Selo.

Before the church was transferred to the diocesan administration in 1812, it was under the jurisdiction of the Pavlovsk city administration. Until the 1830s, there was a cemetery next to the church.

In January–February 1928, the parish supported the Josephite movement. In 1937, the entire clergy was executed, services were stopped, and only resumed in February 1942.

The church was officially closed by decree of the Leningrad Regional Executive Committee in 1938. The building was converted into a prison, which was housed there until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The stone chapel in the enclosure was demolished.

In February 1942, shortly after German troops entered Krasnoye Selo, the Trinity Church was reopened, and services were held there until the end of 1943. The church was damaged in early 1944 during the Soviet counteroffensive.

In 1960, the building was adapted for use as a House of Culture: the dome and the upper tier of the bell tower were demolished.

In December 1994, an Orthodox community was formed, which, with the permission of the House of Culture administration, began to partially use the building. The minor consecration of the church took place on January 25, 1995.

The full transfer of the church to the parish occurred in 1998, after which restoration work began: from 1996 to 1998, the bell tower was completely restored, later the altar apses, and in 2002–2003, the dome.

In 1995, the Trinity Church was included among the objects of historical and cultural heritage as an architectural monument of federal significance.

Sources:

https://sobory.ru/article/?object=01569

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Троицкая_церковь_(Красное_Село)