An artist by the Griboyedov Canal, St. Petersburg.
The building with the green onion domes is the Church of Ss. Isidor and Nicholas. This neo-Byzantine church was one of the last churches to be built in St. Petersburg before the Revolution.
It was built for the Brotherhood of St. Isidor, a group of Orthodox professionals and tradesman from Estonia, and designed by a member of the Brotherhood. It was built on land presented to them personally by Emperor Nicholas II. Building began in 1903 and took four years to complete. The main hall of the church, on the second floor, was consecrated in 1907 in honour of St. Isidor. Services there were conducted in Estonian. The smaller first-floor hall, where services were conducted in Russian, was consecrated a year later in honour of St. Nicholas.
The church became the centre of Estonian Orthodox life in the city, but was closed in 1935, and many of its valuable decorations were passed to the St. Nicholas Cathedral nearby. The building itself came to be used as an Art Factory, the production site for vast banners and posters depicting the Soviet Union's leaders, for use at demonstrations and holidays.
Returned to the Orthodox Church in the mid-1990s, the church is still undergoing restoration. The smaller first-floor has already been reopened, and regular services are held there while the upper floor is completed.
An artist by the Griboyedov Canal, St. Petersburg.
The building with the green onion domes is the Church of Ss. Isidor and Nicholas. This neo-Byzantine church was one of the last churches to be built in St. Petersburg before the Revolution.
It was built for the Brotherhood of St. Isidor, a group of Orthodox professionals and tradesman from Estonia, and designed by a member of the Brotherhood. It was built on land presented to them personally by Emperor Nicholas II. Building began in 1903 and took four years to complete. The main hall of the church, on the second floor, was consecrated in 1907 in honour of St. Isidor. Services there were conducted in Estonian. The smaller first-floor hall, where services were conducted in Russian, was consecrated a year later in honour of St. Nicholas.
The church became the centre of Estonian Orthodox life in the city, but was closed in 1935, and many of its valuable decorations were passed to the St. Nicholas Cathedral nearby. The building itself came to be used as an Art Factory, the production site for vast banners and posters depicting the Soviet Union's leaders, for use at demonstrations and holidays.
Returned to the Orthodox Church in the mid-1990s, the church is still undergoing restoration. The smaller first-floor has already been reopened, and regular services are held there while the upper floor is completed.