Descent of the Holy Spirit Church

Categories / Religion. Church/Places of Worship (see also Architecture and Urban Planning)
Categories / Architecture/Architectural Monuments/Religious Architecture (see also Religion.Church)
DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH, located at 3 Bolsheokhtinsky Avenue, was constructed in Bolshaya Okhta in 1838-44 in the late Empire style (the architect is unknown), replacing the ramshackle Church of Holy Trinity, built in 1729-31 (architect M. G. Zemtsov). The building was crowned with an impressive lantern dome drum with a cupola; the facade was decorated with a four-column Dorian portico; the separately standing four-tier bell tower dominated the architecture of the district. The iconostasis was done by Okhta engravers, icons were brought from the previous church. According to legend, the major attraction of the cathedral, the Icon of Saint Joseph the Betrothed (patron saint of all carpenters), was presented by Tsar Peter the Great. In 1911, a bronze bust of Peter the Great (sculptor I. Y. Ginzburg) was placed in front of the church. In 1825, the Descent of the Holy Spirit Church patronised a charitable home for poor clergy. In 1882, a charitable society, which maintained a primary school, was established. In 1930, the church was closed down, and in 1932 it was destroyed (currently an apartment house is located on the land).

Лит.: Антонов В. В., Кобак А. В. Святыни Санкт-Петербурга: Ист.-церков. энцикл. СПб., 1994. Т. 1. С. 226-229.

V. V. Antonov. Ginzburg Ilya Yakovlevich
Peter I, Emperor
Zemtsov Mikhail Grigorievich
Bolsheokhtinsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 3
Антонов В. В., Кобак А. В. Святыни Санкт-Петербурга: Ист.-церков. энцикл. СПб., 1994