After a whole decade of difficult work to restore the unique murals of the 16th century, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Sviyazhsk was reopened for visitors. As the Kultura TV channel reminds, two years ago the temple was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sviyazhsk occupies a special place in the history of Russia: it was from here that Holy Orthodoxy spread throughout the Volga region. The historical center of the first Russian city on the Volga is the Holy Dormition Cathedral and the monastery. Before the consecration, the correspondent of the Russian Kultura TV channel Stanislav Nazarov was lucky enough to visit the altar of the cathedral and other places where laymen usually do not get to - and to appreciate how the frescoes look after the restoration work carried out by the best specialists of the country. Next to images of subjects from the Old Testament and images of saints, there is also a portrait of Tsar John IV - the painting in the cathedral was carried out when he was a little over thirty. And, as you know, it was from Sviyazhsk that Ivan the Terrible began his campaign against Kazan and the further annexation of the eastern and southeastern territories. It took the Russians only one month to erect the fortress walls of the Russian outpost on the Volga in 1552! In the godless time, the territory of the monastery housed first a camp for prisoners, then a hospital for the insane - and those who were recognized by them from the point of view of atheistic ideology. Whatever it was, the monastery in Sviyazhsk has survived, and its restoration began in the post-Soviet period. Much remains to be done - however, the main pearl of the entire complex, the Assumption Monastery, is reopened to visitors. Of course, the full annual circle of services will be performed here, as it should be - and the time for excursions is determined during the time not occupied by church services. “We have entered into a special agreement with the monastery, which says that certain intervals of visits to this cathedral by excursion groups and pilgrim groups will be maintained,” says Artyom Silkin, director of the Sviyazhsk Island Museum-Reserve. On the island, where the unique spiritual and historical complex is located, in addition to the Assumption Cathedral, there are a dozen other historical temples. Only three hundred inhabitants live permanently on the island-city, but the number of pilgrims and tourists exceeds the mark of five hundred thousand people annually.
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