Church of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon

The Church of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon is a parish Orthodox church in St. Petersburg, located at the intersection of Pestel Street and Solyanoy Lane. It is an 18th-century monument of Peter the Great Baroque architecture. It belongs to the Central Deanery of the St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Panteleimonovsky Bridge and Panteleimonovskaya Street (renamed Pestel Street in 1925) crossing the Fontanka River nearby are named after the church. In 1718, Peter I built a church in the name of St. Panteleimon for the workers of a special shipyard located at the source of the Fontanka River, opposite the Summer Garden, to commemorate his feast day on July 27 (old style), and the Russian victories over the Swedish fleet at Gangut in 1714 and at Grengam Island in 1720. On September 2, 1722, a mud pigeon church (architect Nikolai Gerbel) was inaugurated, replacing a small chapel. Between 1735 and 1739, a new stone temple was built, externally decorated with Tuscan pilasters, designed by architect Ivan Korobov. The new church had a bell tower and a wooden four-pitched roof. The interior decoration was created by artists; the icons and ceiling of the dome were painted by artist Andrei Kvashnin. The new church was consecrated on July 27 (August 7) 1739, by Bishop Ambrose of Vologda during the temple festival. Since the church was cold, a warm St. Catherine's Church was added inside in 1764 and moved to the refectory in 1783. From 1833 to 1834, Alexander Pushkin lived opposite the temple and often attended services here. In 1854, a priest was called to this church for the dying mother of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This event greatly influenced his religious views. Subsequently, the composer would visit Panteleimon Church whenever he came to St. Petersburg. Since 1867, a charitable association has maintained a women's almshouse and an orphanage. A marble church affiliated with the temple was built at the entrance to the Summer Garden, funded by the city treasury. The church was consecrated in the name of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky as a sign of the assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II on April 6, 1864. In 1912, the church was restored, and in 1914, at the initiative of the Russian Imperial Military Historical Society, a marble memorial plaque was reinforced on the facade of the Panteleimon Church, listing the regiments that fought at Gangut and Grengam. Among the church relics inside the temple is a gilded multi-candle chandelier donated by Evgenia Maximilianovna of Oldenburg, a unique artifact from the time of Peter the Great, purchased with funds from parishioners. Between 1944 and 1946, a monument to the defenders of the Hanko Peninsula during the Great Patriotic War (architects Valentin Kamensky and Anna Leyman) was built opposite the church. Hanko is the modern name for Gangut.