In 1654, a plague epidemic was raging in Vologda. To deal with it, the residents decided to hold a nationwide repentance, the symbol of which was the votive Vsegradsky Cathedral (in Russian means ‘by all town’), built on the Old Square (presently — the Revolution Square). A small wooden church, 6.5 by 5 meters, was erected in the name of the All-Merciful Savior in one day. Its main shrine was the icon of the same name, painted on the fifth day after the church was constructed.
Presently, the icon is kept in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Vologda. In it, Christ is represented full-length with the Gospel in his hand with the following words visible: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). In the later copies of the Vologda icon, masters depicted saints, who are revered in the northern regions, leaning to the Savior.
In the icon from the Tomsk Museum, Christ is depicted full-length with the Holy Scripture in his left hand. The icon is a copy of the St. Petersburg version of this icon. It was one of the most revered images kept in the Savior Church on Sennaya Square, along with a copy of the Theotokos of Tikhvin and a local icon of the Dormition.
The Assumption Church on Sennaya Square was richly decorated and considered one of the best churches in St. Petersburg. Its construction was completed in 1762, the year when Empress Catherine II ascended to the throne. The church was also called Spaso-Sennovskaya and gave its name to a large district of the city — the Spassky district.
In the 19th century, the Spaso-Sennovskaya Church became a powerful socio-cultural center of St. Petersburg. It ran a parish school, an orphanage and an almshouse for elderly women, and set up a Charitable Society to help poor parishioners. After the establishment of Soviet power, all valuable artefacts were removed from the church, and in 1961, during the Khrushchev anti-religious campaign, it was destroyed. A metro vestibule for the station ‘Square of Piece’ was built in its place, later renamed ‘Sennaya Square’.
The famous icon of the All-Merciful Savior from St. Petersburg has been lost. The Tomsk icon is one of the rare copies of the revered shrine.
Presently, the icon is kept in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Vologda. In it, Christ is represented full-length with the Gospel in his hand with the following words visible: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). In the later copies of the Vologda icon, masters depicted saints, who are revered in the northern regions, leaning to the Savior.
In the icon from the Tomsk Museum, Christ is depicted full-length with the Holy Scripture in his left hand. The icon is a copy of the St. Petersburg version of this icon. It was one of the most revered images kept in the Savior Church on Sennaya Square, along with a copy of the Theotokos of Tikhvin and a local icon of the Dormition.
The Assumption Church on Sennaya Square was richly decorated and considered one of the best churches in St. Petersburg. Its construction was completed in 1762, the year when Empress Catherine II ascended to the throne. The church was also called Spaso-Sennovskaya and gave its name to a large district of the city — the Spassky district.
In the 19th century, the Spaso-Sennovskaya Church became a powerful socio-cultural center of St. Petersburg. It ran a parish school, an orphanage and an almshouse for elderly women, and set up a Charitable Society to help poor parishioners. After the establishment of Soviet power, all valuable artefacts were removed from the church, and in 1961, during the Khrushchev anti-religious campaign, it was destroyed. A metro vestibule for the station ‘Square of Piece’ was built in its place, later renamed ‘Sennaya Square’.
The famous icon of the All-Merciful Savior from St. Petersburg has been lost. The Tomsk icon is one of the rare copies of the revered shrine.
