Smolny Cathedral will be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church

The Smolny Voskresensky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which is now part of the State Museum-Museum "Isaac's Cathedral" ("Museum of the Four Cathedrals"), will be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.

This was announced at a press conference today, April 14, the director of the Museum Museum Nikolai Burov, Interfax reports.

“The decision is made: the Smolny Cathedral passes the diocese. We are now interested in moving to a new place as quickly as possible, ”said Burov.

The cathedral regularly hosts the performances of the chamber choir of the Smolny Cathedral and organ concerts. According to Burov, the ensemble has already been offered a different site that is completely arranged by the choir-the 600-seater hall on Dumskaya Street. The process of preparing the hall can take about three years, the museum will ask for 150 million rubles from the city budget for design and repair work.

“Whether the chamber choir will have to move out of the Smolny Cathedral now - this is how the diocese will say. I hope that the mind is not enough not to drive the choir outside, ”Burov suggested.

The construction of the Smolny Cathedral on the banks of the Neva in St. Petersburg began in 1746 according to the project of Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli. The cathedral was completed by architect Vasily Stasov only in 1835 and became the main temple of the Smolny Institute of noble girls.

In 1922, all church property was seized from the cathedral, it was turned into a warehouse, and in 1931 it was closed. In 1990, the concert hall began to work in Smolny Cathedral, since 2010 it has been opened again for worship.