Kronstadt Square. Church of John of Kronstadt

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

Kronstadt Square is located in St. Petersburg, in the Kirovsky district. It is located at the intersection of three avenues - Leninsky, Dachny and Stachek. Among the attractions of Kronstadtskaya Square in St. Petersburg is only a modern Orthodox church named after a famous St. Petersburg priest.

History

Kronstadt Square in St. Petersburg appeared relatively recently - in the seventies of the last century. In 1999, it received its current name. It was then that a temple was erected on Kronstadt Square. In St. Petersburg today it is one of the most famous modern sights. We are talking about a church in the neo-Russian style, from which the square borrowed its name. This is the only architectural monument on Kronstadt Square.

Besides the temple, there are two more buildings. Shell gas station is located at 4 Kronstadtskaya Square. House number 5 occupies a car dealership. To the southwest of Kronshtadskaya Square is Vorontsovsky Square.

Building a temple

The idea of building an Orthodox church on a small, featureless square in the Kirovsky district arose in the early nineties. The architects prepared a design for the temple, which resembled St. Andrew's Cathedral, which was destroyed during the Soviet years. However, this project was not liked by the mayors. In the early nineties, little was built in the country due to lack of funding.

A few years later, the architects developed a new project - the project of a small church. It has been approved. But the first stone was laid only in 1998.

John of Kronstadt

In honor of the man, whose name at the beginning of the last century was known to every inhabitant of the capital and its environs, the temple on Kronstadt Square in St. Petersburg was named. The construction of the church was completed in 2004. Why was the temple named after John of Kronstadt? Who was this person?

John of Kronstadt was the rector of St. Andrew's Cathedral, located in Kronstadt. During the years of study at the seminary, the future priest dreamed of going to the most remote regions of Russia and preaching. But later he discovered that the inhabitants of the capital know no more about God than the savages of Patagonia. And I decided to stay in Kronstadt.

His sermons found a warm response from the parishioners. The fame of the priest spread not only in St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia. It was, of course, not only in sermons. The rector of St. Andrew's Cathedral was engaged in charity work, helped the poor and destitute a lot.

Several hours a day, John of Kronstadt went to confession. He led an extremely asceticlifestyle, slept four hours a day. The growth of fame led to the fact that merchants and manufacturers began to send large sums to the priest. He donated this money to the construction of schools, a hospital. In addition, he helped every needy who turned to him. The generosity of the priest led to the fact that he moved around the city only accompanied by beggars who constantly begged for alms.

The priest died in 1908 from a serious illness. He was buried in the tomb of the Ioannovsky Monastery on Karpovka.

Thus, the church and Kronstadt Square are named after this priest, but not after a port city popular with tourists.

Worship in the church began in 2003. Mikhail Podolei became the first rector. An Orthodox library was opened at the church a few years ago.

Kronstadt Square itself is unremarkable except for the temple, photos of which are presented in this article. However, there is another attraction nearby, which is worth a few words.

Vorontsovsky Square

This park is a favorite place for residents of houses located on Dachny Prospekt. Vorontsovsky Square and Kronstadtskaya Square are within walking distance from Prospekt Veteranov metro station.

The park covers an area of 15 hectares. It is noteworthy that it has existed for a long time. But only in 2013 it received a name - before it was nameless. The northern part of the park is included in the list of cultural heritage sites of the regionalvalues.

Today part of the territory is built up with residential buildings. Once upon a time, noble estates were located here, including the house of Vorontsov, after whom the square is named. Nothing remains of the 19th century buildings. However, this park is one of the most picturesque places in the Kirovsky district, primarily due to the ponds, which are over two hundred years old.