Spasskaya church - uVisitRussia

Spasskaya church

Among the surviving churches of Irkutsk, the most important place is occupied by the most ancient Cathedral of Christ the Savior, also known as the Spassky temple. Due to its amazing features and rare shrines, the temple is recognized as the main church landmark of Irkutsk and is known not only in the territory of the region, but throughout Siberia. Be sure to visit this amazing place and take a look at its unique paintings and old icons.

History
The history of the Church of the Savior of the Holy Face in Irkutsk is closely connected with the history of the founding of the city itself. The first building of the church was built during the existence of the Irkutsk jail, which later became the basis for the formation of the famous Siberian city. The foundation of the first stone building of the temple occurred in 1706, and the author of the project of the church complex was the Moscow architect Moses Ivanovich Dolgikh. Surprisingly, the temple by some miracle survived during the strongest earthquake and the ensuing fire, which destroyed most of the buildings of the prison. Also, the building was not damaged during the total destruction of church buildings in the 1930s due to the inclusion of this building in the list of historical monuments. After years of desolation in 2006, the Spassky Church of Irkutsk was transferred to the city's diocese, and divine services were restored there.
Features
The amazing feature of the church is that on its outer walls there are beautiful murals that have survived to this day. Nowhere else in Siberia are there churches with a similar decoration of the external facade, which makes this temple truly unique. It is also surprising that the church is the only surviving structure of the Irkutsk Kremlin. This fact makes this building one of the oldest church buildings in all of Siberia.
To the main shrines of the temple one should classify the icon "Nicola Warrior", the image of the Holy Righteous Theodore of Tomsk and the icon of the Yaroslavl Mother of God. All three icons are closely connected with the history of the church itself and the city of Irkutsk, thanks to which they are highly esteemed among the parishioners of the temple. Also here are the relics of Theodore of Tomsk, to which thousands of Orthodox believers come every year.