# Resurrection Cathedral, Shuya

Resurrection Cathedral, Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ is the cathedral church of the Shuya diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Resurrection Cathedral of the early 19th century is famous for its 106-meter bell tower - the first belfry standing separate from its church in Europe. In 1891, the seventh largest bell in Russia (weighing 1,270 pounds) was raised to the third tier of the bell tower. The bell had been cast in Moscow at the expense of the manufacturer M. A. Pavlov.
On March 15, 1922, on the square in front of the Resurrection Cathedral, clashes occurred between Orthodox believers, who opposed the removal of church valuables from the temple, and government forces. Four believers were killed and several dozen believers and Red Army soldiers were wounded or beaten. These events are known as the Shuya Affair and mark the beginning of increased repression by Soviet authorities against the Russian Orthodox Church.
Since 1991, the Resurrection Cathedral has been the courtyard of the St. Nicholas-Shartom Monastery - the Shuya Orthodox monastery, known since 1425.

## Background

The well-known compiler of scribe books, Athanasius Vekov, in the inventory of the city of Shuya, written 1629, says that the wooden and very poor Church of the Resurrection was at the time a parish.
Shuya Gerasim Ikonnikov painted the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God for the church in 1655. The Church of the Resurrection was made a cathedral in 1667 due to the miracles that had been performed by the newly painted icon, which has since been called the Shuya-Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. Soon after becoming a cathedral, through citizen's efforts, the five-domed stone Resurrection Cathedral Church was erected to replace the previously wooden church. In the inventory of the city of Shuya, compiled in 1709 by governor Yakov Sytin, it is said about the Shuya Cathedral: “Yes, in Shuya on the settlement there is the cathedral and Apostolic Church of the Most Holy Lady of Shui, and the Church of the Great Wonderworker Nicholas, made of stone.”
Both churches were destroyed during a fire on May 12, 1770. The cathedral was then rebuilt, and 22 years later it broke down due to dilapidation.

## History

The construction of the modern church continued in 1792–1798 at the expense of parishioners. On September 19, 1799, Bishop Victor of Vladimir and Suzdal consecrated the cathedral. The miraculous image that survived the fires was transferred to the temple. Soon after the consecration, the cathedral was decorated with paintings and the iconostasis with carvings and gilding, costing 12,000 rubles. The cathedral was crowned with five domes covered with gilded brass. The crosses on the heads were eight-pointed and made from the same metal.
In 1810, the Italian architect Jacob Maricelli began construction of the bell tower of the Resurrection Cathedral. In 1819, the bell tower, built to the fourth tier, collapsed. Construction was completed in 1833 by a peasant from the Vladimir district, Mikhail Savateev, under the leadership of the provincial architect Evgraf Petrov. The height of the bell tower from the base to the tip of the cross was 49 fathoms 2 arshins, and the spire was10 fathoms 1 arshin. The spire was upholstered with white iron, and the apple and cross on it were gilded.
In 1912 to 1913, the temple was expanded: a new refectory was built and a three-domed church was erected above the western entrance.
At the end of the 19th century, the clergy consisted of an archpriest, two priests, a deacon, and three psalm-readers. There was a parochial school at the cathedral, opened in 1889.

## Soviet years and current state

There is a monument to the clergy and laity killed while resisting the seizure of church liturgical valuables in the square in front of the bell tower of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ created by sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov. During the of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922, Lenin, under the pretext of fighting mass famine in the Volga region, as well as others, announced the seizure of valuables and relics from cathedrals and churches. A county commission was created to seize valuables from the Resurrection Cathedral. On March 15, 1922, a crowd of agitated believers resisted the seizure of valuables. Special forces units and Red Army soldiers opened machine-gun and rifle fire on the crowd. As a result of the conflict, four believers were killed and ten injured. On May 10, 1922, after a trial organized by the Bolsheviks, Archpriest Pavel Svetozarov, Priest John Rozhdestvensky, and layman Pyotr Yazykov were shot. These events became known as the Shuya affair.
On October 2, 1937, the cathedral was closed by a resolution of the Ivanovo Regional Executive Committee.
In the summer of 1989, the Resurrection Cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. For several years, the cathedral was considered the courtyard of the St. Nicholas-Shartom Monastery for the Ivanovo-Voznesensk diocese. Daily services are held and paintings and iconostasis have been restored . In 2012, the Shuya diocese was formed.
The rector (as of January 1, 2018) is Abbot David (Semenikhin).