St. Julian's Church, Eastern Orthodox church building in Pushkin, Russia
St. Julian's Church is an Orthodox church on Kadetsky Boulevard in the Sofia district of Pushkin, built in the 17th-century Russian church style and able to hold 900 worshippers. Its bell tower held twelve bells, and two separate entrances led to galleries shaped as tent-roofed chapels, one bearing an image of St. Nicholas and the other of Prince Alexander Nevsky.
The Cuirassiers Life Guards Regiment moved to Tsarskoye Selo in 1832 and used the north chapel of St. Sophia Cathedral as its church. The foundation stone of a separate church, designed by Vladimir Kuritsyn, was laid on 17 September 1895 in memory of the wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. Merchant Ilya Savinkov funded it with up to 275,000 rubles, and after Kuritsyn's exile, court architect Silvio Danini completed the work. The lower church was consecrated on 31 July 1899 and the whole church on 31 December 1899.
The regimental feast was moved in 1833 from St Nicholas's day to the feast of Julian of Tarsus on 21 June, and a church image of the saint was painted on a cypress board in a silver-gilt setting. The lower crypt chapel was dedicated to the Prophet Elijah in memory of the patron saint of the church's builder, merchant Ilya Savinkov. Since 2012 a moleben to St Julian is served every Sunday, with canons read and fallen soldiers commemorated.
The church is located in Pushkin and is best reached on foot, though accessibility may vary depending on the season. Visitors should note that religious services may affect access, and appropriate clothing is expected when entering.
The building originally served as a chapel for the Cuirassiers Life Guards Regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard before returning to religious worship. This military past shapes the architecture and interior layout that visitors see today.
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