Alexander Nevsky Lavra :: ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF SAINT PETERSBURG

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Alexander Nevsky Lavra

ALEXANDER NEVSKY LAVRA, located at 1 Alexander Nevsky Square. The monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St. Alexander Nevsky. It was founded in 1710 by Tsar Peter the Great at the confluence of the Chernaya River (today the Monastyrka River) and the Neva River in memory of the victory of Prince Alexander Nevsky over Swedes in Neva battle of 1240. In 1797, the monastery received the status of Lavra. In 1712-13, the wooden Holy Annunciation Church and the monks’ cells were built. In 1715, construction of the entire building from brick started, supervised by architect D. Trezzini. By 1725, the eastern (Dukhovskoy) wing was completed and the garden was set out. In 1725-51, the North Wing was built (Feodorovsky; architects T. Schwertfeger, P. A. Trezzini), in 1756-58 - the West Wing was added (known as the Metropolitan Wing), in 1756-65 - the South Wing was completed (Seminary Wing). The Host Wing was completed in 1760-73 (all the wings were designed by architect M. D. Rastorguev). I. E. Starov completed the ensemble, building the Holy Trinity Cathedral, holy gates with Our Lady’s Church of Joy for All Who Sorrow (1783-85) and decorated the new square at the end of Nevsky Prospect. Lazarevskoe Cemetery (arranged in the beginning of the 18th century), Tikhvinskoe Cemetery (arranged in 1823) and Nikolskoe Cemetery (arranged in 1861) with their churches are situated on the territory of Alexander Nevsky Lavra (see Necropolis of the 18th century and Necropolis of Artists). In the necropolis of the Lavra many outstanding secular and church figures are buried. At the beginning of the 20th century there were 16 churches in Alexander Nevsky Lavra, it was a residence of the ruling Archpriest who was its superior. The Lavra was a centre of spiritual education. In 1720, a printing house was opened here. In 1726, a Slavonic-Greek-Latin Seminary was established, which became a foundation of the Theological Academy. In 1909, a Storehouse of Ancient and Unique Items was created. There was a rich library and an archive. On the eve of 1917, the Lavra finances reached three million roubles, with interest paying the expenses of Alexander Nevsky Orphanage and Isidorovskoe Eparchy School, with 130-150 students. Priests from the School were appointed to serve as naval priests. Subsidiary institutions belonging to the Lavra included Kinovia on the right bank of the Neva and Serafimo-Antonievsky hermitage on the river of Oredezh. In 1918, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra was closed, its archive, library and assets were nationalized. In 1923, monks were exiled, and in 1931-36, all the churches were closed. The premises of the Lavra housed different institutions, hostels and industrial facilities. In 1957, worship was recommenced in the Holy Trinity Cathedral. In 1994, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra was revived as a monastery and the residence of the Metropolitan. By 2000, all the buildings had been given back to the monastery. In 2002, on the square in front of the Lavra an equestrian monument to Alexander Nevsky was erected (sculptor V. G. Kozenyuk). The main religious holiday of the Lavra is 12 September, the day of transferral of the holy relics of St. Alexander Nevsky in 1724.

References: Кудрявцев А. И., Шкода Г. Н. Александро-Невская лавра. Архит. ансамбль и памятники некрополей. Л., 1986; Антонов В. В., Кобак А. В. Святыни Санкт-Петербурга: Ист.-церков. энцикл. СПб., 1994. Т. 1. С.31-48; Рункевич С. Г. Свято-Троицкая Александро-Невская лавра (1713-1913): В 2 кн. СПб., 2001.

V. V. Antonov.