The first mention of the church named after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Mariinsk dates back to 1720. In 1824, St. Nicholas stone church was built at the expense of parishioners and third-party donors, which was a rarity in Siberia. At the same time, it was consecrated with the blessing of Archbishop Amvrosy of Tobolsk and Siberia (Rozhdestvensky-Veshchezerov). Back then, the St. Nicholas Church belonged to the Tobolsk and Siberian dioceses, and in 1834, the Tomsk and Yenisey dioceses separated from it. Officially, the temple is called the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Town of Mariinsk.
The church received the status of a cathedral only in 1860. The white-stone church with domes had eight bells, and their ringing could be heard not only in the town but also far beyond its borders. A branch of the candle factory and a church library was also located on the territory of the temple.
The cathedral was the first stone building in Mariinsk, and for such small towns it was quite large. Over time, it continued to expand. Thus, in 1874, extensions appeared at two side altars, and two more holy tables were erected in the church: the right-hand altar in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord and the left-hand altar in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In the main altar named after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, there was a three-tiered iconostasis, and in the right and left-tiered altars — two-tiered iconostasis.
Local residents, sellers, merchants donated money for the maintenance of the cathedral. For example, the merchant Yakov Vasilyev allocated funds for the church fence. His house with stone double-headed eagles still stands on Sovetskaya Street (in the past — Gondatievskaya street).
The cathedral was the decoration of the town. Grand Duke Nikolay Romanov, the future emperor, was present at the church service in 1891. But in 1937, the cathedral was closed by the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The local authorities wanted to destroy the cathedral, and in 1940, with the help of local residents, it was dismantled.
In memory of the destroyed St. Nicholas Cathedral, a small wooden church was built on a new site in the early 1980s with the efforts of believers. In 2000, it was decided to build brick walls around it, and soon a dome with a cross was oficially installed on the new building. The first divine service in the newly built church was held on October 14, 2002, on the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God.
The church received the status of a cathedral only in 1860. The white-stone church with domes had eight bells, and their ringing could be heard not only in the town but also far beyond its borders. A branch of the candle factory and a church library was also located on the territory of the temple.
The cathedral was the first stone building in Mariinsk, and for such small towns it was quite large. Over time, it continued to expand. Thus, in 1874, extensions appeared at two side altars, and two more holy tables were erected in the church: the right-hand altar in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord and the left-hand altar in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In the main altar named after St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, there was a three-tiered iconostasis, and in the right and left-tiered altars — two-tiered iconostasis.
Local residents, sellers, merchants donated money for the maintenance of the cathedral. For example, the merchant Yakov Vasilyev allocated funds for the church fence. His house with stone double-headed eagles still stands on Sovetskaya Street (in the past — Gondatievskaya street).
The cathedral was the decoration of the town. Grand Duke Nikolay Romanov, the future emperor, was present at the church service in 1891. But in 1937, the cathedral was closed by the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The local authorities wanted to destroy the cathedral, and in 1940, with the help of local residents, it was dismantled.
In memory of the destroyed St. Nicholas Cathedral, a small wooden church was built on a new site in the early 1980s with the efforts of believers. In 2000, it was decided to build brick walls around it, and soon a dome with a cross was oficially installed on the new building. The first divine service in the newly built church was held on October 14, 2002, on the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God.
