Reconstruction of the Church of the Savior on the Sennaya square begins in St. Petersburg

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<table id="art59470" style="margin:20px;" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13px;padding:30px 30px 20px 30px;border:1px solid #cccccc;background:#ffffff;"><a href="http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/59470.htm" style="color:black;text-decoration:none;border:none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.pravoslavie.ru/sas/image/101030/103009.t.jpg" border=0 align="left" style="margin:0px 10px 10px 0px;border:1px solid black;float:left;"><em style="display:block;color:#792e00;padding-bottom:2px;"></em><strong style="display:block;font-size:17px;text-transform:uppercase;text-decoration:underline;">Reconstruction of the Church of the Savior on the Sennaya square begins in St. Petersburg</strong><em style="display:block;padding:2px 0px 0px 0px;line-height:103%;font-size:15px;text-transform:none;"></em><span style="display:block;padding:5px 0px 10px 0px;">After 20 years of attempts to reconstruct the Church of Assumption of Mother of God on the Sennaya square (Spas Na Sennoy), which was blown up in 1961, the affair has finally begun to move forward. </a></span></td></tr></table>

St. Petersburg, February 12, 2013

Photomontage by Alina Glazova

After 20 years of attempts to reconstruct the Church of Assumption of Mother of God on the Sennaya square (Spas Na Sennoy), which was blown up in 1961, the affair has finally begun to move forward. According to the Rossiyskaya gazeta newspaper, yesterday the first meeting of the Board of trusties concerning reconstruction of this Church took place in the St. Petersburg Committee of protection of historic and cultural monuments.

The Church will be built on extra-budgetary sources. According to the Rector of the Spas Na Sennoy parish Church, Priest Michael Maliushin, in a month archaeological excavations will begin on the Sennaya square, which are aimed at uncovering the entire foundation of the bombed Church. On December 25, 2012 at the meeting of city government the project of surveying of the Sennaya square area, in which the piece of land for reconstruction of the Church had already been indicated, was approved. Now the process of agreement on the carrying away of pipelines and networks from under the future building area has started.

As Father Maliushin hopes, the foundation pit will be ready by autumn. By the end of 2013 the project of the church must pass the historical-cultural examination, for which funds will be assigned by the St. Petersburg Committee of protection of historic and cultural monuments. And, in reality, it will be the permission for building.

Co-chairmen of the Board of trusties are the rector of the St. Petersburg theological academy Bishop Amvrosy of Gatchina and the head of the St. Petersburg Committee of protection of historic and cultural monuments Alexander Makarov. The director of the Hermitage museum Michael Piotrovsky, the artistic director of the Moscow art academic theatre of Gorky Tatiana Doronina, the head of the Alexandrinskiy theatre Valery Fokin, the rector of Academy of arts of Repin Semion Mikhaylovsky and deputies of the city parliament have been invited to participate in the work of the Board of trusties.

Background Information:

The Church of Assumption of Mother of God was founded on the Sennaya square in 1753. The five-domed Church was built with funds from the merchant Savva Iakovlev on the site of wooden Church. The Church was blown up in 1961 to make way for the construction of the metro station "Ploshad' mira" (now "Sennaya ploshad'").