Third Port of Call: St. Petersburg, Russia (Part 7)

We left St. Isaac's Church and headed to the Church of the Spilled Blood (also called Church of the Resurrection). About a week before we left on vacation, Ellie told me this church was not named for Jesus's spilled blood as he was crucified (a natural assumption), but instead is on the spot where Czar Alexander II was murdered in 1881  by a terrorist. The terrorist threw a bomb at the czar's carriage, but misjudged the timing. The czar stopped the carriage, and a second terrorist threw another bomb. The czar died an hour and a half later at the Winter Palace. The guard died six hours later after being questioned.

It took 24 years to build, and an additional 27 years to repair the damage done by the Soviets. Part of the building process involved trying to figure out how to define the Russian style. This was around Russia's 900 year anniversary (1888).

This is the first church in Russia built on a concrete foundation. If you lined up all of the mosaic tiles, there would be about four square miles of mosaics. They used the same mosaic technique in this church as they did in St. Isaac's, but instead of recreating paintings they created new works of art. The tiles were placed on sketches on wooden blocks by color. They were connected by putting concrete on the tiles and placing hooks inside each tile to attach it to the wall. 

The floor is inlaid different layers of thin marble. There used to be carpet on the floor, but that damaged the floor. The Church of the Spilled Blood is closed every Wednesday so the floors can be waxed. Fortunately we were there on a  Tuesday.


Again, metal framing was used for the dome. During the war a shell got stuck inside the dome, but was not noticed until the 1961 restoration. By then both the metal framing and the bomb had rust. It was gingerly taken apart. A brave soldier hugged the shell as he took it down and no explosion happened.

While building was taking place in the late 19th century, the builders made extra parts, some of which were used during the restoration. The School of Fine Arts study the techniques so they can create more materials.

The church was slated to be destroyed on June 22, 1941, at the start of World War II. Instead it was used to store vegetables. Weird twist of fate.

This church must be used for worship more often because the doors leading to the icon were closed. The icon is made of marble and silver and is gold plated. It is a jewelry encrusted icon on the resurrection. The two people depicted next to the doors are Adam and Eve, used to represent Easter Saturday. In the Presbyterian church we talk about Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but there is that day in-between that gets ignored. In this church is an image of Jesus's soul in Hell to bring forgiveness to the first sinners (Adam and Eve).

At this point we had a bombshell moment. Nadya, our tour guide, should have prepared us for this huge blow in our world. The remains of Anastasia, the daughter of Czar Nicholas long thought to have survived the family's mass murder, were found this year. She has been the subject of much speculation, including a current Broadway show (which we saw last January). We were unprepared emotionally for the announcement. 

The czar's family was canonized for being extremely religious. This is an image of them with the religious halos around their heads.

 In a corner of the church are black and white photographs of some of the icons illegally sold by the Bolsheviks. Before sold, they photographed the images. The hunt is on to find them. There is a rumor there is an icon of Alexander in a Russian Orthodox Church in New York. I think our tour guide told us this as a hint so one of us who lives closer than she does (which would be all but the Australian couple in our group) could check it out and let her know if that is true.

 Under this canopy you can see the original stone of embankment. It lines up with the gold canopy in the next picture. Or at least I think it does. This trip was turning into a blur even at the time.

Outside we saw a group of artists doing what Ashley would have much rather been doing than being on a tour inside the building, she would rather have been outside sketching the Church of the Spilled Blood.

From here we traveled by van to The Hermitage -- currently an enormous art museum.