- Address: Birger Jarlsgatan 98, 114 20 Stockholm, Sweden
- Website: http://www.ryskaortodoxakyrkan.se/2/index_se.html
- Phone: +46 8 15 63 16
- The date of the opening of the church: 1907.
- Working hours: daily from 10:00 to 18:00
In the northern part of Stockholm , in an inconspicuous house, there is an Orthodox church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The temple is in the jurisdiction of the Western European Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Looks Orthodox church in Stockholm is not too magnificent - it's a house temple, and it can only be distinguished by an Orthodox cross above the entrance. Nevertheless, after the restoration, carried out in 1999, the Transfiguration Church in Stockholm is recognized as an architectural monument and is protected by the state. At the church there is a Sunday school, in which the Law of God and the Russian language are studied.
How was the temple created?
The main milestones in the history of the Transfiguration Church are as follows:
- Creature. The first Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden appeared more than 400 years ago, after the Stolbov Peace was signed in 1617. In the Swedish capital constantly there were Russian merchants, many had a constant place in trading numbers, and the king has given out to them the permission to make church ceremonies "according to belief". Initially, they were held in the so-called "prayer barn", located in the Old City. In 1641 the temple "moved" to the Sedermalm area.
- Postwar years. During the Russo-Swedish war all contacts between the countries were interrupted. In 1661, after the signing of the peace treaty, Russian merchants again obtained the right to trade in Stockholm and the right to have their own church. In 1670 a stone church was erected, but as a result of the fire in 1694 it was completely destroyed.
- A new place for the church. In 1700 an official diplomatic mission was opened in Stockholm, after which a second Christian parish appeared - right in the house of the ambassador, Prince Hilkov. The church for merchants at that time was located in the territory of the Gostiny Dvor.
- Church in the Town Hall. During the next Russo-Swedish war, diplomatic relations were interrupted, and were restored only in 1721, which led to the next revival of the Russian church. In 1747, the Russian ambassador appealed to the king with a request to allocate another room for the temple because the old one was completely dilapidated, and the church acquired a new address - it was located in the wing of the Town Hall of Stockholm .
- A modern building. In 1768, a marching church left after the war was sent to Sweden. Some of the cult objects sent to Sweden then can be seen in the Transfiguration church and now. The temple changed the address a few more times. In the building in which she is now, the Transfiguration Church "moved" in 1906; in 1907 the church was consecrated on the feast of Easter.
- Reconstruction. In 1999, it was reconstructed, after which it was recognized as an architectural monument. Today its security is under the protection of the Government of Sweden.
Interior of the church
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord is a sample of a typical old Russian house church. The ceiling is painted with azure and gold, the walls are decorated with paintings and pilasters.
How to get to the church?
The temple can be reached by bus (to the stop of Surbrunnsgatan, 53) or by metro (to Tekniska Högskolan station or to Rådmansgatan station). The church is open daily, it can be visited from 10:00 to 18:00. The Church of the Transfiguration can also be reached on foot from St. George's Cathedral (they are only a block apart).