St. Andrew’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg

The Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (St. Andrew’s Cathedral) is an Orthodox church on  Vasilyevsky IslandSt. PetersburgVasileostrovskaya metro station, located at the intersection of Bolshoy Prospekt and the 6th line. An architectural monument of the 18th century. The name of the nearby Andreevsky market comes from the Andreevsky Cathedral. It was the capitular church of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

The stone temple (modern building) was founded on July 18 (29), 1764. According to different information, the project was developed by the architect A.F. Vist, and perhaps the architect A.A. Ivanov took part in the construction process.

According to other sources, the project was developed by the architect A. A. Ivanov, and the construction was carried out under his supervision.

The temple was built in a mixed style, close to the Renaissance style. The main dome of St. Andrew’s Cathedral is framed by four cupolas, the refectory connects the main volume with a two-tier hipped bell tower (1784-1786). The walls are finished with pilasters and cut through by high semi-circular windows. The temple has not only a very beautiful appearance, but, according to art critics, its best decoration is a carved gilded three-tiered iconostasis in the style of Rastrelli, 17 m high (8 sazhens). In one of the periods of the history of the cathedral, even its roof was painted green (green is the color of the order mantle).

Of the sights of the church at the beginning of the 20th century, the altar vestments in the main altar were distinguished, made in 1861 from pure silver by Fyodor Verkhovtsev, weighing 115 kg (7 pounds), worth 26,000 rubles, the Gospel in a silver frame, weighing 14 .5 kg (35 pounds), and the altarpiece of the Lord of hosts (the author is not established), as well as the icon of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (XVII century) located in the main altar above the southern doors with images of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna and Patriarch Nikon.

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