Church of St. Alexander Nevsky (Jerusalem)

The Church of the Holy Right Prince Alexander Nevsky in Jerusalem was conceived by the leadership of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society (IPPO) as a temple-monument to the founder of the IPPO - Emperor Alexander III ^[1] .

During searches in the Russian place in the old city of Jerusalem , carried out from 1861 to 1884, archaeological antiquities were found, first of all, the threshold of the Judgment Gate , through which Jesus Christ crossed, led to execution.

In 1884, the leadership of the IOPS decided to cover the shrine with a building, which at the beginning was called the "Russian House", and then renamed the Alexander Compound in memory of Emperor Alexander III ^[2] .

Construction work on the erection of the courtyard building lasted from 1887 to 1891 under the supervision of Dmitry Smyshlyaev (1886–1889) and N. G. Mikhailov (1889–1896), authorized representatives of the IOPS in Jerusalem.

The society decided to add a house church to the architectural complex of the courtyard under construction. Such a decision was kept secret from the authorities of the Ottoman Empire and the patriarch of Jerusalem Nicodemus due to the proximity of the Russian place to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the possible opposition in issuing permission to build a church ^[3] . Information about the construction of the church was hidden from the Turkish authorities until 1890. However, it became impossible to hide this information further, since the rectangular nature of the construction of the new Russian building unwittingly betrayed the intentions of its builders ^[4] .

As part of a planned visit to the Holy Land, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich personally wanted to ask the Sultan to allow the construction of the temple. IPPO was preparing for the arrival of the crown prince, having built a compound complex with an area of ​​1342 m² with an still uncomfortable church ^[5] . On September 5, 1891, the solemn consecration of the Alexander Metochion took place, but the church was not yet landscaped, the iconostasis ready for it was leaned against the eastern wall in anticipation of receiving the Sultan's permission, the firman . Nevertheless, at that time, up to 30 icons of Russian and Palestinian saints by the artist V.F. Paskhin were placed on the western side walls between the windows. Under them was installed a number of icons with figures in the human growth of the artist Nikolai Koshelev , which depicted the passionate history of Christ from prayer for the cup to the position in the Sepulcher . In 1891, out of 18 Koshelev icons, only five were ready ^[6] .

The issue of obtaining a Sultan firman is postponed for another 4 years. In 1894, Alexander III died. The chairman of the IOPS, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, decided to perpetuate the memory of Alexander III in Jerusalem with the construction of a church in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky in the Russian Place in Jerusalem. As a result of negotiations with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Gerasim and the Turkish authorities, the issue was settled by the efforts of the IOPS and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire until April 1896 ^[7] .

The ceremonial consecration of the church of Alexander Nevsky was performed on May 22, 1896 by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Gerasim in the service of the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Raphael, a large clergy. The organization of the celebrations was attended by N. G. Mikhailov, authorized IOPS in Jerusalem, with all employees of the company, Alexei Kruglov, Consul General of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, and consulate workers, and others. During the consecration in the Trinity Cathedral in Jerusalem and the Ascension Church on Mount Eleon , the Easter ringing was made. On April 19, 1896, the IPPO Secretary, Vasily Khitrovo , gave an order to the authorized IPPO in Jerusalem, N. G. Mikhailov: “Watch that, after the consecration of the weekly weekly Thursday in St. Alexander Nevsky’s church, a requiem for Bose, the late Sovereign, and everyone brought to the memorial boards in Russian the house. God grant that the work begun 15 years ago came to a successful end ” ^[8] .

Picturesque images of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky

On the longitudinal side walls of the church of St. Alexander Nevsky has 18 picturesque images (3 meters high and 2 meters wide) by the professor of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, a member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society N. A. Koshelev .

• Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (1890s)
• The Prayer for the Chalice (1891)
• Judas's kiss (1890)
• Jesus Christ to the court (1892)
• The abdication of the Apostle Peter (1892)
• The Accusation of Christ (1894)
• Jesus Christ lead to Pilate (1893)
• Pilate washing his hands (1895)
• Jesus Christ interrogated by Pontius Pilate (1895)
• Simon Carries the Cross of the Savior (1900)
• Do Not Cry, Daughters of Jerusalem (1899)
• Before the Crucifixion (Jesus Procession at Calvary) (1900)
• Crucifixion (Perforation of the Rib of Jesus by a Warrior) (1900s)
• Descent from the Cross (1897)
• Preparation for the burial of Jesus Christ (1894)
• The Virgin Mary at the Sepulcher (Position in the Sepulcher) (1894)
• Myrrh-bearing women at the Holy Sepulcher (Resurrection of Christ) (1896)
• Descent into Hell (1900)

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  Do not cry, daughters of Jerusalem!

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  Perforation of the rib of Jesus by the warrior

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  Descent from the Cross

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  Descent into Hell

Picturesque icons by artist V.F. Paskhin

14 picturesque icons at the end of the western wall

• Saint Basil the Great
• St. Basil the Blessed
• Rev. Mary of Egypt
• Rev. Theodore the Great
• Saint Alexander Nevsky
• Saint Michael Metropolitan of Kiev
• Holy Princess Olga
• Saint Michael of Murom
• St. Mary Magdalene
• St. Demetrius of Prilutsky
• Holy Martyr Sofia
• Holy Martyr Leonid
• Holy Righteous Elizabeth
• Rev. Sergius of Radonezh

There are 17 images along the north and south walls of the temple

• Saint Righteous John the Baptist
• Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called
• Holy Vlkm. George the Victorious
• Rev. Hariton Confessor
• Rev. John of Damascus
• Rev. Porfiry of Gazi
• Rev. Barsanuphius the Great
• Rev. Cyril Alevsky
• Rev. John Hosevit
• Rev. Theoctist the Companion
• Rev. Gerasim of Jordan
• Rev. Hilarion the Great
• Rev. Theodosius the Great
• Rev. Savva the Sanctified
• Rev. Euthymius the Great
• Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great
• Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Elena

Description of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky

The temple has a carved, two-row, wooden iconostasis. The height of the temple is 10 meters, length 22 meters. In the lower row of the iconostasis, on either side of the Royal Gates, the icons of the Savior (on the right), the Mother of God (on the left), the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands (on the right) and the saints Philip Metropolitan of Moscow and John, metropolitan of Kiev. At the top of the Royal Doors is the image of the Annunciation, at the bottom are paired icons of the four evangelists and apostles Luke, Mark, Matthew and John. The icon of the holy archangels Michael and Gabriel, side by side with the images of James the brother of the Lord in the flesh and archdeacon Stephen - the first Christian martyr.

The second row of images of the iconostasis is a New Testament series with great bastard holidays. The image of the Last Supper unites the composition. On the northern and southern walls of the church, there is an icon of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperors Constantine and Helena. At the top of the iconostasis, the Crucifixion with the Savior and the Mother of God and St. Apostle John the Theologian ^[2] .

In total, the church had 82 images and 205 items of church utensils. On the left side of the temple is the Shroud of the Savior, executed on a canvas with gold embroidery - a donation from St. Petersburg. In the very center of the temple, opposite the iconostasis, there is a part of the columns of the ancient basilica of the Resurrection of the Lord of the 4th century, which today is used as a throne ^[9] .

• Russia in the Holy Land . Documents and materials. Tom. 1. Archive of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Moscow "International Relations". 2000. ISBN 5-7133-1063-9 (v.1)
• Jerusalem Herald IPPO , Issue 2. 2012. Edition of the Jerusalem branch of IOPS . 248 p. ISBN 978-965-7392-45-4
• Orthodox Palestinian collection. IPPO publication. St. Petersburg. 1884, T. III, issue 3, p. 60
• IPPO messages. V.3., February 1892 St. Petersburg. IPPO publication. pg. 16-17
• The Church of the Resurrection of the Lord in Jerusalem and the shrines surrounding it. Archpriest V. Ya. Mikhailovsky . IPPO publication. Russian Alexander Compound near the Church of the Resurrection The path to the Alexander Compound . St. Petersburg. 1901
• Jerusalem. Alexander Compound. Church of St. good things. Prince Alexander Nevsky. ("Judgment Gate"). T.E. Tyzhnenko . Secretary of the Jerusalem branch of IOPS. Jerusalem Herald IPPO , Issue 2. 2012. Edition of the Jerusalem branch of IOPS . Page 45-88. ISBN 978-965-7392-45-4
• N. N. Lisova . The IOPS in Jerusalem. To the 130th anniversary of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society . IPPO publication. Moscow. 2012 159 p. ISBN 978-5-91674-191-9
• PPO Report for 1883-1884. IPPO publication. St. Petersburg. 1884.
• The Seventh Report of the IOPS for 1888-1890 ". St. Petersburg 1891.
• Scientists and literary works of IOPS . SPb. IPPO publication. 1891-1892.

• The official website of the IOPS .
• Official site of the Jerusalem branch of IOPS
• Page of the Jerusalem branch of IOPS on the portal of the Russia-in-Colors Scientific and Educational Society in Jerusalem
• Page of the Jerusalem branch of the IOPS on the portal “Orthodox fan in the Holy Land”
• Jerusalem. Alexander Compound. Tatyana Tyzhnenko