SAINT-SAUVEUR-SUR-LE-SANG-VERSÉ CATHEDRAL

Visible from the Nevsky perspective, reflected on the Griboedov Canal, the typical Moscow silhouette of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, also known as the Church of the Saviour on the Verse, appears unusual, to say the least, in the baroque and classical decor of St. Petersburg: this exuberant flowering of multicoloured bulbs, springing from the polychrome walls covered with golden mosaics and motifs reminiscent of the East, would almost swear in the classical order of the surrounding streets. Its model can be found on Moscow's Red Square, and the famous church of Basil the Blessed is easily recognizable in this rather kitsch replica, which reflects the strong return of national traditions in the architecture of Petersburg, but also European, at the end of the nineteenth century. The Church of the Resurrection of Christ, a monument of witness, also expresses, with undeniable ostentation, the temptation to turn in on itself and win over Russia, which at the time was wary, like the plague of everything that could come from the West, particularly its subversive liberalism: was it not erected on the very site of the attack that claimed the life of Tsar Alexander II, who was very liberal, on 13 March 1881? In 1883, by ordering the construction of the church at the end of the Griboedov Canal, his son, Tsar Alexander III, was working for redemption, for the salvation of his soul and that of Russia lost by the reforms undertaken. The strange name "on the spilled blood" keeps the memory of the bloody attack committed by the revolutionary group The Will of the People.

The mosaics. This major building of the neo-Russian style is also a museum of mosaics which covers 7,000 m² of its walls. Here again, the decor is a reference to the history of Orthodoxy: the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Constantinople and its Russian copy, the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Kiev, whose immense mosaics have long been the greatest treasures of Christianity.

Warning: the cathedral began major renovation work at the end of 2017, which will be carried out in stages until 2025. The cathedral will remain open to visitors during the work, but scaffolding inside and outside the cathedral may obstruct some parts of the building. It is difficult at this stage to have a very precise vision of the different phases of the work. Nevertheless, we would advise you not to be deterred from visiting the cathedral by the renovations in progress.