Ss. Boris and Gleb Cathedral, Daugavpils
Encyclopedia
.jpg)
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
church in Daugavpils
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. It can hold 5,000 people, being the biggest Orthodox church in Latvia.
The cathedral is situated in Jaunbūve (Novoye Stroyenie) neighbourhood on the Church hill (Baznīckalns, Церковная горка), along with the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, the Martin Luther Lutheran Cathedral and the House of Prayer of Daugavpils First Old Believers’ Community.
History
A previous church on the site was built in 1866 by the order of the Governor-General of the Northwestern KraiNorthwestern Krai
Northwestern Krai was a subdivision of Imperial Russia in the territories of the present day Belarus and Lithuania. Together with the Southwestern Krai it formed the Western Krai...
Konstantin von Kaufman for the needs of the local garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
and was consecrated in honour of the emperor Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
and his mother Helena. Usually referred to as the Iron church (Железная церковь, Dzelzs baznīca) because of its external cladding, it was dismantled and rebuilt at Tsargrad (now Jersika
Jersika
The principality of Jersika was an early medieval principality in eastern modern Latvia. The capital of Jersika was located on a hill fort southeast of Riga.- History :...
), where it still remains, following the decision to build a new garrison cathedral at the original site.
The contemporary church was built in 1904–1905, the construction work being financed by the military. It was consecrated on in honour of the Holy Righteous Princes and Passion-bearers Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb , Christian names Roman and David, respectively, were the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus' after the Christianization of the country....
and Saint Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow
Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow
Saint Alexius was Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia , and presided over the Moscow government during Dmitrii Donskoi's minority....
.
Architecture
The church was built in the Neo-Russian style. It is a tree-aisled masonry church, which on the plan forms an oblong rectangular with a polygonal apseApse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and resembles a ship. The cathedral has ten towers with gilded cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
s. The interiors include mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s and ceiling pieces.
It has been suggested that the icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s on the oak iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
in the cathedral are copies of works by Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov , 1848 — Moscow, July 23, 1926) was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He was described as co-founder of folklorist/romantic modernism in the Russian painting and a key figure of the revivalist movement in Russian art.- Childhood ...
in St. Vladimir's Cathedral, Kiev.