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Russian Orthodox Church in Leipzig. About the parish

Russian Orthodox Church in Leipzig. About the parish

In St. Alekseevsky Church-monument of Russian glory in Leipzig

Today, on the eve of Easter, I will tell you about an Orthodox church located in the city of Leipzig, which I visited last summer.

St. Alekseevsky two-story temple-monument of Russian Glory was built in honor of the dead Russian soldiers in 1813 in the battle with Napoleon near Leipzig.
The foundation stone of the temple was solemnly laid in December 1912, and its consecration took place on the centenary of the battle - October 18, 1913.
The temple was built in the style of stone hipped churches of the 17th century. The Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye was taken as a model.

The height of the church is 65 meters. The walls are white, decorated with spatulas at the corners, cut through with narrow high windows and completed with a reinforced concrete tent lined with Venetian glass mosaics.
On the apse there is a mosaic icon "The Lord Almighty", below - a commemorative bronze plaque with the history of the temple.

The temple is divided into two parts: the upper temple and the lower temple-tomb.
The entrance to the upper temple is framed by a perspective portal made of light sandstone. Above the portal is a belfry topped with a small cupola. Above the forged entrance doors is a mosaic image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which is framed by gilded figures of flying angels.

St. Alekseevsky Church is the only Orthodox church in the city and in the entire district. The temple has its own small museum, a parish hall, where parishioners gather every month for traditional tea parties after services. The parish library in Russian and German(over 700 volumes).

The tent is crowned with a gilded dome with a cross supported by chains.

The Orthodox faith and worship unite here Germans, Russians, Romanians, Bulgarians and Greeks. Many have been living in Germany for a long time, anxiously preserving and increasing in themselves the riches of their Orthodox faith.

Beautifully made lanterns, on top in the form of double-headed eagles of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire

In addition to its direct purpose - worship and the preservation of Russian spiritual culture, the temple and its parish are known for their charity. There is currently a Sunday school for children and two German classes for those who have recently arrived in Germany.

If you are in Leipzig and want to visit the temple, then it is located near the monument to the Battle of the Nations
at 04103 Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Str. 51a

Happy Easter!!!

St. Alexis Church-monument of Russian Glory
Orthodox Church
St.-Alexi-Gedächtniskirche zur Russischen Ehre

51°19′26″ N sh. 12°23′49″ E d. HGIOL
A country	Germany
City	Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 51 a
confession	orthodoxy
Diocese	Berlin and German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church
building type	Church
Architectural style	neo-Russian
Project author	V. A. Pokrovsky
Builder	Georg Weidenbach, Richard Chammer
First mention	1751
Construction	- 1913 years
aisles	Upper - St. Alexy of Moscow; lower - the holy great martyr Panteleimon
Status	functioning temple
State	excellent
Website	russische-kirche-l.de
Media files at Wikimedia Commons

The temple belongs to the Eastern Deanery of the Berlin and German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rector - Archpriest Alexy Tomyuk (since 1996).

Story

The first temples

The first mention of an Orthodox church in Leipzig dates back to 1744. Then the Greek house Trinity Church operated in the city, the rector of which was a Greek bishop. The abbot intended to arrange a separate temple, for which he turned to St. Petersburg. However, the Holy Synod refused to help him because of the small size of the Russian community in Leipzig.

The second house church was tripled in 1751 . It was intended for Russian students, among whom was the illegitimate son of Catherine II A. G. Bobrinsky. The temple was closed in 1775 .

Divine services continued in the Greek church, which enjoys Russian patronage, instead of which the local Greek consul in 1847 built a new house Trinity Church.

modern temple

The need to maintain the status of a memorial place for the place where the "Battle of the Nations" took place prompted Russia to build a memorial temple here.

Donations have been collected since 1907 both in Russia and in Germany. On April 21 (May 4), 1910, the Temple Construction Committee was formed, headed by Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The city authorities of Leipzig provided a plot of land of 2.5 hectares, on the edge of the field where the battle took place.

Preparatory work began in 1911 . The solemn laying of the temple took place on December 15 (28), 1912. The service was attended by the Russian Minister of War, Adjutant General V. A. Sukhomlinov, the city authorities.

The author of the project of the temple is the academician of architecture V. A. Pokrovsky. Initially, the architect created a project that was considered too expensive, so it was redesigned. The construction was supervised by V. A. Pokrovsky himself (his assistants: artists-architects N. B. Baklanov and V. F. Solomovich; students of the Higher Women's Polytechnic Courses: L. N. Kutyreva, A. V. Kuzmenko-Gvozdevich, L. V. Ovchinnikova and NL Goman, students: Yu.D. Tutorsky and A.P. Tikhanov, student of the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts P.P. Pallado) with the assistance of Saxon architects Georg Weidenbach and Richard Chammer. The stability calculation was made by the military. eng. G.G. Krivoshein; calculation of the reinforced concrete frame of the tent - Otto Encke.

During the bombing of Leipzig during the Second World War, local residents took refuge in the lower rooms of the temple.

The height of the church is 55 meters.

The walls are white, plastered; decorated at the corners with spatulas, cut through with narrow high windows and completed with a reinforced concrete tent lined with Venetian glass mosaics. The tent is crowned with a gilded dome with a cross supported by chains.

On the apse there is a mosaic icon "The Lord Almighty" (based on the cardboards of the artist N.P. Pashkov; typed in the private mosaic workshop of V.A. Frolov), below is a commemorative bronze plaque with the history of the temple.

A two-flight staircase leads to the upper temple. The entrance to it is framed by a perspective portal made of light sandstone. Above the portal is a belfry topped with a small cupola. Above the forged entrance doors is a mosaic image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which is framed by gilded figures of flying angels.

Eight bells were cast at Olovyanishnikov's factory in Yaroslavl from guns that took part in the battles of 1813.

The church is surrounded by a bypass gallery with 8 high faceted lanterns, symbolizing funeral candles.

Upper Church of St. Alexia

Inside, the height of the upper temple is 39 meters, designed for 200 people. The interior of the church is not painted and is designed in light colors.

The seven-tiered iconostasis made of dark oak (I.P. Khlebnikov’s Partnership (director V.I. Pedashenko)) was donated to the temple by the Don Cossacks and has a height of 18 meters. The icons were painted in the style of the 17th century by peasant icon painters N.S. Emelyanov and his assistants - A.I. Antonov and D.V. Golikov. The wooden parts of the iconostasis, choir and other furniture were made by the Art and Carpentry Workshop of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo in Sergiev Posad (headed by artist V.I. Sokolov; his assistant is a carpentry instructor, a peasant I.P. Zaitsev).

Among the icons attract attention:

Icon of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious in a large carved icon case, presented as a gift by the Orenburg Cossacks.
Altarpiece “Prayer for the Chalice”, artist D.F. Bogoslovsky (copy of the famous painting by F. A. Bruni).
Artist V.K. Zahl painted portraits of emperors for the museum.

The banners in front of the iconostasis are made in the form of military Cossack banners.

The mosaic floor is composed of pieces of white and black marble.

The bronze five-tier chandelier of the temple weighs 800 kilograms. Mother-of-pearl bowls of lamps are welded from smalt in the workshop of V.A. Frolova. The chandelier was presented to the church as a gift by deputies of the State Duma and Moscow merchants.

On the walls there are 8 bronze plaques with a list of regiments and units that participated in the battle.

lower temple

The lower temple, on the site originally reserved for the museum, was consecrated in 1927 in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon. It contains old Russian banners.

Nearby is a crypt where Lieutenant General I. E. Shevich, Major General N. D. Kudashev, Lieutenant Colonel A. Yurgenev, and also (in niches) unknown soldiers are buried. A small kiot with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ was arranged over the graves, and on the sides were banners and portraits of the heroes of the battle, Emperor Alexander I and Prince M. I. Kutuzov-Smolensky.

On the walls and pillars of the lower gallery there are 20 stone plaques with the names of the regiments that took part in the battle, the names of the dead officers and the number of soldiers killed. At the main entrance to the lower temple, two marble plaques are placed, which in Russian and German remind of the number of the fallen.

Archival

RGIA, ff. 796, 797, 1278.

Literature

"Russian antiquity". Monthly historical publication. 1913 Volume 156. Pg. 5, 6a-6c.
"Russian pilgrim". 1913 No. 43. Pp. 679-693. "Russian celebrations in Leipzig".
Temple-monument on the battlefield near Leipzig. Voronov P. N. S. Petersburg. 1913
"Architectural World". Issue 3. 1914. Page. 128-132.
Antonov V. V., Kobak A. V. Russian churches and monasteries in Europe. - St. Petersburg: "Faces of Russia", 2005. - S. 88-91. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-87417-208-4.
Russian memorial church in Leipzig: collection of scientific papers / comp., responsible. Ed.: M. E. Dmitrieva. St. Petersburg: Kolo, 2015. 240 p. : ill. ISBN 978-5-4462-0054-2

Today, on the eve of Easter, I will tell you about an Orthodox church located in the city of Leipzig, which I visited last summer.

St. Alekseevsky two-story temple-monument of Russian Glory was built in honor of the dead Russian soldiers in 1813 in the battle with Napoleon near Leipzig. The foundation stone of the temple was solemnly laid in December 1912, and its consecration took place on the centenary of the battle - October 18, 1913. The temple was built in the style of stone hipped churches of the 17th century. The Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye was taken as a model.

// diman7777.livejournal.com

The height of the church is 65 meters. The walls are white, decorated with spatulas at the corners, cut through with narrow high windows and completed with a reinforced concrete tent lined with Venetian glass mosaics. On the apse there is a mosaic icon "The Lord Almighty", below - a commemorative bronze plaque with the history of the temple.

// diman7777.livejournal.com

The temple is divided into two parts: the upper temple and the lower temple-tomb. The entrance to the upper temple is framed by a perspective portal made of light sandstone. Above the portal is a belfry topped with a small cupola. Above the forged entrance doors is a mosaic image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which is framed by gilded figures of flying angels.

// diman7777.livejournal.com

The tent is crowned with a gilded dome with a cross supported by chains.

// diman7777.livejournal.com

Beautifully made lanterns, on top in the form of double-headed eagles of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire

// diman7777.livejournal.com

St. Alexis Church-monument of Russian Glory (Temple-monument of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow), German. St.-Alexi-Gedächtniskirche zur Russischen Ehre (Gedächtniskirche des heiligen Metropoliten Alexi von Moskau) - Orthodox church in Leipzig, built in memory of the "Battle of the Nations".

The temple belongs to the Eastern deanery of the Berlin and German diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rector - Archpriest Alexy Tomyuk (since 1996).

Story

The first temples

The second house church was tripled in 1751. It was intended for Russian students, among whom was the illegitimate son of Catherine II, A. G. Bobrinsky. The temple was closed in 1775.

Divine services continued in the Greek church, which enjoys Russian patronage, instead of which the local Greek consul in 1847 built a new house Trinity Church.

modern temple

The need to maintain the status of a memorial place for the place where the "Battle of the Nations" took place prompted Russia to build a memorial temple here.

Preparatory work began in 1911. The solemn laying of the temple took place on December 15 (28), 1912. The service was attended by the Russian Minister of War, Adjutant General V. A. Sukhomlinov, the city authorities.

The author of the project of the temple is V. A. Pokrovsky. Initially, the architect created a project that was deemed too expensive, so it was redesigned. The construction was supervised by V. A. Pokrovsky himself with the assistance of Georg Weidenbach and Richard Chammer.

The church was consecrated on October 4 (17), 1913 by Protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy Georgy Shavelsky. The celebrations were attended by military delegations from the Allied countries, the King of Saxony and the German Kaiser. Russia was represented by Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. The Protopresbyter was served by numerous clergy, among whom was Archdeacon Konstantin Rozov, the Synodal Choir sang.

On October 16, 1913, the remains of Russian soldiers and officers who died in the “Battle of the Nations” were transferred to the crypt of the temple with military honors. The church was assigned to the Dresden Church.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the memorial temple was closed, the entrance was walled up. The church was robbed twice, the gilding was removed from the domes. The building was taken over by a local resident who rented out the church.

In connection with the crack that appeared in the temple, an urgent repair was made, for worship in the lower part, the Panteleymonovsky chapel was arranged and consecrated. On February 6, 1928, the consecration of the upper temple took place.

In 1927-1930, the temple was under the jurisdiction of the Administrator of the Russian Parishes in Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church. With the transfer of Metropolitan Evlogy (Georgievsky) to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the parish followed him and was under the jurisdiction of the Western European Exarchate of Russian parishes.

On May 5, 1939, the parish with all its property was transferred to the Berlin and German diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

During the bombing of Leipzig during the Second World War, local residents took refuge in the lower rooms of the temple.

In the summer of 1945, the church, being on the Soviet occupation territory, again moved to the Western European Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Soviet command, after visiting the temple by G.K. Zhukov, in the same year released funds for urgent repairs, which was led by the Serb K.D. Illich.

In 1963, restoration was carried out with a new gilding of the domes.

Given the historical status of the temple, Soviet military personnel based in the GDR were allowed to visit it.

In 1988-1989, the external restoration of the temple was carried out.

architecture, decoration

The temple was built in the style of stone hipped churches of the 17th century. V. A. Pokrovsky took the Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye as a model.

The height of the church is 65 meters.

On the apse there is a mosaic icon "The Lord Almighty", below - a commemorative bronze plaque with the history of the temple.

A two-flight staircase leads to the temple. The entrance to the upper temple is framed by a perspective portal made of light sandstone. Above the portal is a belfry topped with a small cupola. Above the forged entrance doors is a mosaic image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which is framed by gilded figures of flying angels.

Seven bells were cast from guns that took part in the battles of 1813.

The church is surrounded by a bypass gallery with 8 high faceted lanterns, symbolizing funeral candles.

upper temple

Inside, the height of the upper temple is 35 meters, designed for 200 people. The interior of the church is not painted and is designed in light colors.

The seven-tier iconostasis made of dark oak was donated to the temple by the Don Cossacks and has a height of 18 meters. The icons were painted in the style of the 17th century by L. M. Emelyanov.

Among the icons attract attention:

Icon of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious in a large carved icon case, presented as a gift by the Orenburg Cossacks.
Altarpiece "Prayer for the Chalice", a copy of the famous painting by F. A. Bruni.

The banners in front of the iconostasis are made in the form of military Cossack banners.

The floor is made of white and black marble mosaic.

The bronze chandelier of the temple weighs 800 kilograms. Its five rows of lamps were made of smalt. The chandelier was presented to the church as a gift by deputies of the State Duma and Moscow merchants.

On the walls there are 8 bronze steles with a list of regiments and units that participated in the battle.

Lower temple-tomb

The lower temple was consecrated in 1927 in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon. It contains old Russian banners.

Nearby is a crypt where Lieutenant General I.E. Shevich, Major General N.D. Kudashev, Lieutenant Colonel A. Yurgenev, and also (in niches) unknown soldiers are buried. A small kiot with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ was arranged over the graves, and on the sides were banners and portraits of the heroes of the battle, Emperor Alexander I and Prince M.I. Kutuzov-Smolensky.

On the walls and pillars of the lower gallery there are 20 stone boards with the names of the fallen officers and the number of the killed soldiers. At the main entrance to the chapel-crypt, two marble plaques are placed, which in Russian and German remind of the number of the fallen.

Other premises

On the lower floor there is also a small museum, a parish hall and a parish library with books of various contents, in Russian and German (more than 700 volumes).

Territory

On the eastern side of the temple is the grave of two unknown grenadiers of the Chernigov regiment, transferred in 1988 from the battlefield.

The need to preserve the memory of the place where the “Battle of the Nations” took place near Leipzig prompted Russia to build a memorial temple here. Donations have been collected since 1907, both in Russia and in Germany. On April 21, 1910, the Temple Construction Committee was formed, headed by Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The city authorities of Leipzig provided a plot of land of 2.5 hectares, on the edge of the field where the battle took place. Preparatory work began in 1911. The ceremonial laying of the temple took place on December 15, 1912. The service was attended by the Russian Minister of War, Adjutant General V.A. Sukhomlinov, as well as the city authorities. The author of the project of the temple was the Russian academician V.A. Pokrovsky, who led the construction together with the German architects Georg Weidenbach and Richard Tschammer. On October 4, 1913, the church was consecrated by Protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy Georgy Shavelsky in the presence of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and the Russian diplomatic corps in Germany. The next day, the celebrations were attended by military delegations from the Allied countries, including the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Russian empire represented by the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, as well as numerous delegations from the Russian regiments. The guests of honor were awarded commemorative silver medals with the image of the memorial temple. On October 16, 1913, the remains of Russian soldiers and officers who died in the “Battle of the Nations” were transferred to the crypt of the temple with military honors. The temple was built in the style of stone hipped Russian churches of the 17th century. For the sample V.A. Pokrovsky took the Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye. The height of the temple is 65 m. The walls are white, plastered; decorated at the corners with spatulas, cut through with narrow high windows and completed with a reinforced concrete tent lined with Venetian glass mosaics. The tent is crowned with a gilded dome with a cross supported by chains. On the apse there is a mosaic icon "The Lord Almighty", below - a commemorative bronze plaque with the history of the temple. A two-flight staircase leads to the temple. The entrance to the upper temple is framed by a perspective portal made of light sandstone. Above the portal is a belfry topped with a small cupola. Above the forged entrance doors is a mosaic image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which is framed by gilded figures of flying angels. Seven bells were cast from guns that took part in the battles of 1813. The temple is surrounded by a bypass gallery with 8 high faceted lanterns, symbolizing funeral candles. The upper church was consecrated in the name of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, designed for 200 people. The interior is not painted and is designed in light colors. The seven-tier iconostasis made of dark oak was donated to the temple by the Don Cossacks and has a height of 18 meters. The icons were painted in the style of the 17th century. artists L.M. Emelyanov. On the walls there are 8 bronze steles with a list of regiments and units that participated in the battle. The lower temple was consecrated in 1927 in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon. It contains old Russian battle flags. Nearby is a crypt where Lieutenant General I.E. Shevich, Major General N.D. Kudashev, Lieutenant Colonel A. Yurgenev, as well as (in niches) unknown soldiers. A small kiot with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ was arranged over the graves, and on the sides were banners and portraits of the heroes of the battle, Emperor Alexander I and Prince M.I. Kutuzov-Smolensky. On the walls and pillars of the lower gallery there are 20 stone boards with the names of the fallen officers and the number of the killed soldiers. At the main entrance to the crypt-chapel, two marble plaques are placed, which in Russian and German remind of the number of fallen soldiers. The lower floor also houses a small museum, a parish hall and a library. After the outbreak of the First World War, the memorial temple was closed, the entrance was walled up. The temple was robbed twice, the gilding was removed from the domes. The building was taken over by a local resident who rented out the temple. In connection with the crack that appeared in the temple, an urgent repair was made, for worship in the lower part, the Panteleymonovsky chapel was arranged and consecrated. In 1927-1930. the temple was under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Evlogy (Georgievsky), the manager of the Russian parishes in Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church, after his transfer to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the parish followed him and was under the jurisdiction of the Western European Exarchate of Russian parishes. In 1939, the parish with all its property was transferred to the Berlin and German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. During the bombing of Leipzig during the Second World War, local residents took refuge in the lower rooms of the temple. In the summer of 1945, the temple, which was located on the Soviet occupation territory, again passed into the Western European Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Soviet command, after visiting the temple of G.K. Zhukov, in the same year released funds for the urgent repair of the monument. In 1963, restoration was carried out with a new gilding of the domes. The temple-monument operates to this day.