In the Crimea, in the city of Simferopol , is the Temple of St. Luke or, as it is called by pilgrims, Holy Trinity Monastery, which houses the relics of St. Luke.
The history of the creation of the Temple of St. Luke in Crimea
In the distant 1796 on the site of the present monastery the Greek parish church was built. Subsequently, the wooden church was dismantled, and in its place was built a stone Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity. Later, at the church, a gymnasium for the Greeks, who had long been living here, was opened. Until the middle of the last century, the street on which the Temple of St. Luke is located was called Greek.
In the 30s of the last century the Soviet authorities tried in every possible way to abolish the Church of the Holy Trinity. The temple was saved at the cost of two lives of the clergy: Protopriest Nikolai Mezentsev and Bishop Porfiry of Crimea and Simferopol, whom the authorities sentenced to be shot. In 1997, these holy martyrs were ranked as saints.
In 1933, the Holy Trinity Monastery was closed, and then it was rebuilt for a children's boarding school. The whole Greek community of the Crimea rose to protect the Holy Trinity Monastery, and in 1934 the authorities returned the church to believers.
From 1946 to 1961, Archbishop of Crimea was Luke - in the world Voino-Yasenetsky. This personality is truly unique. He was an outstanding surgeon. His work in the hospital Luke combined with the service of God. Three times the archpastor Luka was condemned and sent into exile, but he continued to treat the sick in remote villages. Vladyka had an invaluable gift of surprisingly accurate medical diagnoses, as well as predicting the future.
During the Patriotic War, Luke was the chief physician in the Krasnoyarsk evacuation hospital. The spiritual shepherd was engaged in science. At different times, several books of Professor of Medicine of Luka on purulent surgery and other medical and theological topics were published.
The relics of St. Luke in 1996 were transferred to the Holy Trinity Church, and in 2001 they were placed in a silver cane, donated by the Greeks. In 2003, near the temple, the Holy Trinity Convent was organized - one of the most famous sights of Simferopol. In addition to the cathedral, there is a chapel and the Baptistery of Elijah the Prophet.
In one of the buildings of the Holy Trinity Monastery there is a museum of St. Luke. From all corners of the world, many pilgrims come here every day to worship the confessor St. Luke.
Architecture of the Temple of Luke in Simferopol (Crimea)
The project of the building of a modern cathedral of the Holy Trinity, created in the classical style, was made by the architect I.F. Kolodinym. The structure has a cross-shaped shape, in the middle of it stands an octagonal light drum. In the left wing of the building is a small bell tower.
The facade of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity is richly decorated with mosaics and decorative patterns. Beautiful pilasters, light arches and capitals adorn the exterior walls of the building. The blue domes of the bell tower and the temple itself are decorated with openwork crosses.
The interior of the cathedral is beautiful: the image of the Lord is under the dome of the temple, and the sails are decorated with images of four evangelists. The light inside the cathedral penetrates through the large arched windows.
Inside the temple is divided into two side-altars: the first is dedicated to the Equal-to-the-Apostles Saint Elena and Constantine, and the second - to the Cathedral of the Crimean Saints. The temple dedicated to the important Christian holiday - the day of the Holy Trinity - was consecrated. In the church of St. Luke today is kept the greatest Crimean shrine: the icon of the Mother of God "The Sorrowful", which was renewed miraculously.
In the Holy Trinity Monastery there is a bakery, a sewing workshop. There is a children's Sunday school, and the local bishopric like to listen to Crimeans and guests of the peninsula.
Many people, resting in the Crimea , are interested in the location of the Temple of St. Luke: his address in Simferopol - ul. Odessa, house 12.