Could there be anything more extraordinary than a Greek monastery in the Russian hinterland dedicated to Alexander Nevsky? Maybe, of course, but still, the event is extraordinary.
When a Russian merchant of Greek origin, Ivan Varvatsi, moved to Taganrog, he was inspired by the idea of building a Greek church. Ionas Varvakis became a Russian recently, spoke Russian with a strong accent. He wanted to hear his native Greek language during worship. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Greeks made up a third of the city’s population, so the idea of Ivan Varvatsi was enthusiastically supported. Especially since he took all the expenses. In 1809, the merchant purchased a plot of land, invited an architect from Athens. He did not hit his face in the dirt and built a beautiful cathedral in the Byzantine style. The main throne was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and the lateral
Chapels — Alexander Nevsky and John Chrysostom. Ivan Varvatsi liked the cathedral so much that he decided not to stop there and found a monastery at the temple. The coming of the Iberian monastery on Athos was subordinated, and the Jerusalem church sent archimandrites to conduct services in Greek.
In this Greek monastery for 3 weeks was the body of suddenly deceased Alexander I before he was sent to St. Petersburg. The widow, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, ordered to put a plate with a black cross there. She also donated silver utensils to the temple. In 1831, Alexander I was erected a monument in front of the cathedral. During the revolution it was destroyed and then restored.
Unfortunately, the monastery was also destroyed, stretched brick by brick and it has not yet been restored. Only old postcards and photos remind of a Greek temple in the Russian
earth.
Charitable Foundation Holy Land
Russian Temples and Monasteries
