Church of All Saints (Samara)

The Church of All Saints is an Orthodox memorial church in the Zheleznodorozhny district of Samara, at 219 Tukhachevskogo Street. It stands by the city cemetery between Tukhachevskogo and Lunnaya streets, next to the tram loop, and serves both as a cemetery church and as the parish church of the district. Among Samara's new churches it stands out for its large Byzantine-style dome.

History

The new church commemorates the All Saints church of the old city cemetery, built in 1865 and enlarged in 1883 with an extension on the east side. Many well-known people of Samara were buried in the All Saints cemetery, among them the mother of the writer Alexei Tolstoy. In 1931 the church on Sportivnaya Street was blown up.

The idea of a new cemetery church of All Saints, in memory of the lost one, arose in early 2000. In May that year Archbishop Sergius of Samara and Syzran blessed the collection of donations, and the future rector, Father Yevgeny Zhuvagin, led the project. The first services were held in a temporary church set up in railway carriages; in 2001 it burned down together with the icons collected for it, and according to the parish, experts concluded it was arson.

The foundation was laid in 2003, and the main structure was finished by 2007. On 14 October 2007, the Feast of the Intercession, the nine-tonne main dome, the three-tonne bell tower dome and the gilded crosses were raised. A large crowd of believers came to watch, although the installers asked people to keep their distance. Archbishop Sergius consecrated the church, its bells and crosses. The lower church in the basement opened in 2008 and the upper church later; exterior finishing and interior painting are still under way.

Architecture

The church was designed by the Samara architect Yuri Kharitonov, the city's chief architect in 2003–2006 and the author of other church buildings in Samara, including the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom. It follows the Byzantine tradition and combines two types: a basilica and a cross-in-square church. The basilica has three naves, a tall central one and two lower side aisles.

A curious detail: from the bell tower a glazed passage leads into the drum of the main dome, where a round open gallery looks down over the whole interior.

Good to know

The building holds two churches: the lower one in the basement and the main upper one. It runs a Sunday school for children and a church shop. The patronal feast is All Saints' Day, the first Sunday after Pentecost.

It is easy to reach by city transport: trams and buses from the railway station and the city centre stop at the tram loop by the cemetery on Tukhachevskogo Street.