church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
of the Kuopio Orthodox Parish in
Väinölänniemi
Väinölänniemi is a district in the city of Kuopio, Finland. It is more commonly known for the Väinölänniemi Peninsula (nicknamed Vänäri), located in this district and surrounded by Kallavesi, with its beaches, sports fields and park area ...
,
Kuopio
Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...
,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, and also the seat of the Orthodox Diocese of
Karelia
Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...
. The church was completed in 1903 and is dedicated to the memory of
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
. The church, built between 1902 and 1903, was designed by the master builder Aleksander Isakson from
Vyborg
Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...
. The facade is plastered and painted to look like
red brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
, but there is also genuine brick under the plaster. In appearance, it resembles red-brick simultaneous garrison churches.Pentti Pulkkinen: ''Kirkkoarkkitehtuuri 1850-luvulta nykypäiviin'', p. 502. EteläSuomen kustannus Oy Lieto, 1979. ISBN 951-9064-29-X. (in Finnish) The
iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...
was made at the
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
and was donated by
Nikolay Bobrikov
Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov (; – ) was a Russian general and politician. He was the Governor-General of Finland and the from until his death, during the early reign of Emperor Nicholas II, and was responsible for the Russification attemp ...
, the
Governor-General of Finland
The governor-general of Finland was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadically Finland under Swedish rule, under Swedish rule in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuously in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finl ...
.Pyhän Nikolaoksen katedraali - Kuopion Tori (in Finnish) There are eight bells in the cathedral.
The church was consecrated by the second Orthodox Archbishop of Finland, Archbishop in 1904.Pyhän Nikolaoksen katedraali - Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko (in Finnish) The church was renovated in 2003-2004 and reopened by Archbishop
Leo Makkonen
Archbishop Leo (b. 4 June 1948, Pielavesi, Finland) is a former prelate of the Orthodox Church of Finland as Archbishop of Helsinki and All Finland.
Background and career
He was born in Pielavesi in eastern Finland on 4 June 1948. After comple ...
in 2004. During the renovation, the gilding of the iconostasis was renewed and the interiors of the cathedral were completely renovated.
See also
*
Kuopio Cathedral
Kuopio Cathedral (, ) is a stone Neoclassical-style Evangelical Lutheran church in Kuopio, Finland, and the seat of the Diocese of Kuopio. The cathedral was built between 1806 and 1815.St. Nicholas Church, Kotka