Why was the only floating temple in Russia built and what happened in it at the beginning of the 20th century

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are many unusual temples on Earth, including Orthodox ones, but few know that at the beginning of the last century there was the only steamship temple in the Russian Empire. He walked along the Caspian Sea and the Volga, and after the revolution, alas, he stopped acting. The floating church was built in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, who is considered to be the patron saint of sailors. It was a full-fledged temple in which priests served and liturgies and sacraments were held.

How the steamer temple appeared

Since at the beginning of the last century hundreds of ships and even floating offices were concentrated in the Caspian, which controlled the movement of goods, it became necessary to provide an opportunity for sailors, fishermen and employees to visit the temple right here, in the “floating city”. Indeed, many of these people were on ships and barges for several months, unable to travel to Astrakhan.

Then Bishop Georgy of Astrakhan and Enotaevsky proposed to build a temple on the water. This idea was also expressed by the respected rich Astrakhan petty bourgeois Yankov, a very pious man, who is respected in the city. A special commission, which was formed by the council of the Cyril and Methodius brotherhood of the Churkinskaya desert, decided to purchase a steamer in order to convert it into a floating temple.

Several dozen vessels were inspected, and in the end the most suitable was the tug-passenger steamer "Pirate", which at that time belonged to the Astrakhan petty bourgeois Minin. In 1910, the ship owner bought this steamer and began to transform it into a floating church. By this time, the "Pirate" had already "rewound" more than 50 years on the Volga (it was built in 1858 in England on a special order). By the way, at first it bore the name "Kriushi", and the ship became "Pirate" already under Minin.

The ship had an iron hull and a wooden deck. Its length was 44.5 meters, and its width was from 7 to 13 meters. The Pirate's rowing wheels were driven by a steam engine. The steamer was served by a crew of 18 sailors.

The floating temple with seven gilded heads could reach speeds of over 20 kilometers per hour.

It even had an infirmary and a hospital

In just a couple of months, the external and internal appearance of the steamer has changed dramatically. Most of the parts of the car had to be replaced, and the body had to be made longer (the temple room itself was in the bow). In addition, the former "Pirate" now has a chapel-belfry, which was combined with the wheelhouse … It housed six bells, including a large bell-bell, which weighed almost 254 kg. Electricity appeared on the ship.

Alteration of the steamer into the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, of course, was a very expensive business - it cost about 30 thousand rubles. However, it is worth noting that many believers, both individual citizens and entire organizations, donated money for the construction of the floating church. And the local medical department provided medicines and medical instruments for the church hospital, which was also envisaged by the project. The mini-hospital, by the way, was intended for the treatment of parishioners.

Except for the altar, the area of the temple with the choir was at least 40 square meters. meters. The iconostasis with ancient images made by Moscow icon painters was covered with beautiful ornaments. The walls of the temple were also decorated with decor. Ancient icons were located on them.

The temple was provided with all the necessary church items, including chic brocade vestments for the clergy. The priest, deacon and headman lived here, in equipped cabins. There were also guest cabins on the ship. There was even a refectory in the temple, where the needy were fed free of charge.

In general, the singers, the sexton, and the monastery cook worked here - in general, as in an ordinary large church.

The floating church was consecrated on April 11, 1910. This event attracted a large crowd of people who filled the entire marina. There were workers, sailors, merchants, representatives of the Orthodox Church, and just local residents. On the ship was the inscription "St. Nicholas the Wonderworker", a white flag with a cross depicted on it fluttered in the wind. The church-steamer was consecrated by the author-inspirer of this idea, Bishop George. He made a solemn speech, noting that such a floating temple is the first such experience known to him in history.

The maintenance of the temple on the water was expensive, but the main part of the money the church received in the form of donations from believers.

The temple walked along the Caspian and Volga, serving not only sailors and fishermen, but also residents of local villages. In addition, he contributed to the conversion to Christianity of the Kalmyks living in these parts - the hieromonk Irinarkh who served on the ship knew Kalmyk.

It is interesting that during the history of its existence as a temple, the ship repeatedly fell into a storm, but each time it left it unharmed.

What happened next

Alas, the floating temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker lasted only five years. Difficult times came, and by 1916 the church was closed. The press wrote that the ship was dilapidated and its maintenance was recognized as too expensive. The question arose about what to do with it. The local bishop Filaret decided to sell the floating temple for scrapping, but this caused unrest among the people and the clergy. Filaret was retired. Nevertheless, the ship was sold.

Gradually they began to forget about the temple. The February Revolution followed, and then the October events that changed the course of history.

According to the surviving documents, in 1918 the floating church was again converted into an ordinary steamer. Now it was already a rescue ship in the Baku port and it was called "Unexpected". However, the fate of the ship did not end there: soon it was re-equipped again - this time into a floating theater. At first it was called "Joseph Stalin", and then - "Moryana".

There is no exact data on the further fate of the former temple. According to one version, the ship existed until the 60s (at that time it housed a dormitory), and according to another, it was dismantled for scrap in the 1920s.

By the way, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, temples on ships also began to appear in Russia. For example, there is a church with three domes on the ship "Father Verenfried" (in the name of the icon of St. Prince Vladimir), created on the basis of a small landing ship. Also in 1998, the floating church “St. Innokenty of Moscow. And there is also a temple-ship "Albatross" (in honor of Andrew the First-Called) and a lighthouse-chapel built in 2013 near the confluence of the Irtysh and Ob rivers.

A floating temple is something else! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with a kind of rating, which presents 10 extravagant and creative Orthodox churchesbreaking patterns.