On September 5, 2024, the Requiem for the Temple exhibition opened in the chapel-museum of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ ("Savior on Blood") in St. Petersburg. It is dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the laying and the 100th anniversary of the loss of the church of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky in Warsaw (Poland), an outstanding monument of Russian architecture of the late XIX — early XX century.
The prayer service to St. Alexander Nevsky was performed by Archpriest Roman Kovalsky, the sacristan of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in the concelebration of the clergy of the Pinsk diocese (Belarusian Orthodox Church).
Yuri Mudrov, director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, noted that it was very difficult to assemble this small exhibition, because all the preserved fragments of the temple are stored mainly in Baranovichi (Belarus) and a little in Poland.
"Any exhibition introduces us to some kind of history," Bishop Veniamin of Kronstadt, Vicar of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, said in his welcoming speech. — And today we are touching on a story that speaks about the greatness of that period, because the temple is not only a symbol of faith, but also a symbol of greatness. The second side of the exhibition is a tragedy. To destroy such beauty is to have no heart. I often say that you did not create, and you have no right to destroy. The cathedral itself was associated with the name of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, and for the residents of St. Petersburg it is a special saint, the patron saint of our city. This exhibition coincides with the anniversary year — on September 12 we will celebrate the 300th anniversary of the transfer of the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir to St. Petersburg. And God grant that the symbol of Alexander Nevsky's glory will always be with us, and we, having such a saint, tried to work for our Motherland."
Archpriest Konstantin Balakai, Secretary of the Pinsk Diocesan Administration, conveyed greetings from Bishop George of Pinsk and Luninetsky.
"The Lord puts all sorrow on joy. And the Lord made up for the grief of the loss of the shrine in Warsaw by the fact that the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God was founded in Baranovichi and the joy of succession appeared in the fact that our church had the opportunity to preserve the remainder of the greatness that was created in Warsaw," said Protodeacon Andrei Gorbunov, keeper of relics, cleric of the Intercession Church in Baranovichi.
Yuri Mudrov presented the clergy of the Belarusian Orthodox Church with commemorative medals minted at the St. Petersburg Mint.
Among the significant exhibits of the exhibition are sketches of two angels brought from Omsk, created by Viktor Vasnetsov for the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. Of particular interest are the temple designs created by Leontius Benois, as well as his notebook and an album with a selection of newspaper articles. An important section of the exhibition is dedicated to the work of the muralist Vasily Belyaev, his numerous sketches and diary of the painting of small altars are presented. There is also a unique series of photographs from the collection of Vladimir Frolov, taken on the day of the consecration of the cathedral on May 20, 1912, the surviving fragments of the mosaics of the Warsaw Cathedral, now stored in the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baranovichi. Most of the exhibits are presented to the general public for the first time.
The initiator of the construction of the church of St. Alexander Nevsky was the Warsaw Governor-General, the hero of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Joseph Gurko. The initiative was supported by Emperor Alexander III. The very center of Warsaw, Saka (Saxon) Square, was chosen for the temple. The author of the project was Leontius Benois, the iconographic program was compiled by Nikolai Pokrovsky, the largest specialist in the field of church archaeology and the history of Christian art. Among the artists who painted the cathedral were Viktor Vasnetsov, Nikolai Kharlamov, Vasily Belyaev, Nikolai Koshelev, Nikolai Bruni. Mosaics based on sketches by outstanding craftsmen were made in the private workshop of Vladimir Frolov. The temple, the cost of which exceeded three million rubles, was built at the expense of the treasury and public donations. One of the largest donors was St. John of Kronstadt. The consecration took place on May 20, 1912, but in July 1915 the clergy were forced to leave the cathedral, since during the First World War the territory of the Kingdom of Poland was under German occupation. After Poland declared independence, the issue of the destruction of an Orthodox church, reminiscent of the times of Russian rule, was raised. For several years, from 1924 to 1926, the cathedral was barbarously destroyed by thousands of explosions.