ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN: THE ASCENSION CATHEDRAL (AKA ZENKOV CATHEDRAL)

Kazakhstan and Russia share 4,254 miles of border, so it is no wonder that there has been a strong Russian presence in Kazakhstan for centuries, long before what is called the "Soviet period" began in about 1920.

Although Kazakhstan was and is predominantly Muslim, Christianity spread throughout the country with the Russians who immigrated during the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1907, a Russian Orthodox Church was built in Almaty, not the first such church in Kazakhstan, but perhaps the most unique and most beautiful.

Unfortunately for us, it was being renovated when we were there:

To understand its construction, it is important to know that because Almaty is located at the edge of the magnificent Tian Shan mountain range, it is prone to earthquakes. After a magnitude 7.3 earthquake brought down many of the buildings in Almaty in 1887, most of the new construction was wood instead of brick, including the new Russian Orthodox Ascension Cathedral, also known as the Zenkov Cathedral (Zenkov was the engineer), which was begun in 1904 and finished in 1907. It is built entirely of Tian Shan spruce and held together not with nails but with iron bolts (I'm not sure what the difference is). Wooden beams were fastened together with rolling brackets, giving it a unique kind of flexibility that miraculously saved it from almost any damage in the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit Almaty in 1911 and again destroyed most of the city.

With its 184-foot-tall spire, the Ascension Cathedral claims to be the second tallest all-wooden building in the world.

The fencing around the renovation areas shows pictures of the cathedral in the early 20th century and in the present day:

It looks a lot like the cathedrals of St. Petersburg, Russia:

Photo from here

Photo from here

After the Russian Revolution, the state no longer allowed religious services to be held here, and when it was closed, it was heavily vandalized. The bells were pulled out of the tower, part of the library was destroyed, and all of the building was plundered. Its next use was to house the Central State Museum of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, and later other public organizations moved in. Finally recognizing the cathedral's historical and cultural value, the Soviets did some renovation in the 1970s, but it wasn't until May 1995 that control of the building was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. After some restoration work, the cathedral was finally reopened in 1997. Today the Ascension Cathedral is at the center of a thriving Orthodox community in Almaty.

The cathedral interior, made in art workshops in Moscow and Kiev, is wonderful--crowded, colorful, and complex. I love the iconography of the Orthodox Church. The main icon is always Mary holding Jesus. Mary is important in the Orthodox faith because she points us toward Christ. She's the one who said at the marriage feast, "Whatsoever he says unto you, do it."

The lustrous, intricate iconostasis dominates the interior. It was painted by a notable Russian artist named Nikolay Gavrilovich Khludov (1850-1935) who studied art in St. Petersburg and Odessa and moved to Almaty in 1877, where he started teaching painting and is credited as the Father of Art in Kazakhstan:

Christ is always on the right of the center screen:

Mary is always to the left of the center screen:

Other key figures are depicted on the screen--apostles, prophets and patriarchs, etc.:

Another section on the right:

And a third section on the left:

The iconostasis represents the unity of the heavenly and earthly church and reminds us we are welcome in the presences of all of these people, including Christ and Mary.

This looks like it could be the Return of the Prodigal Son, one of my favorite parables. That looks like the Good Shepherd on the left (watching the sheep return to the fold), the father embracing his prodigal son in the center, and the prodigal on the right. The figure to the left of the father could be the jealous brother, but who is the Egyptian fellow on the right?

Orthodox church art has such a distinct style. The faces and poses are usually very stoic, almost frozen. Even the crucified Christ in the photo below shows little emotion or sense of movement. In addition, Orthodox crosses always have three horizontal crossbeams with the footrest tilted--one side pointing upwards to the penitent thief on Jesus' right, and one pointing down to the unrepentant thief on Jesus' left.

I love this final picture of another crucifix in the Cathedral,  brilliant, colorful sun superimposed on the dark form of Christ:

We had a great lecture about Russian Orthodoxy by Michael in connection with this church. After discussing the history of the faith he made some really interesting observations:

- Eastern Orthodoxy focuses on charity. It is more important to be good than right; the Western faith focuses on law, justice, and punishment--Christ is our mediator/lawyer.

- In the Eastern faith, there is a "medical" focus. Sin isn't a crime as it is in the Western faith; it is a sickness. We need to be healed. Christ, as our doctor, will restore His image in our countenance. 

- In the East, Easter is the big holiday; in the West, it is Christmas.

- The Eastern faith focuses on the resurrection; the Western faith focuses on the Passion and death of Christ. (Mormons focus on Gethsemane.)

- In Eastern Orthodoxy, icons are portals to the next world. They don't worship the figures, but use them to connect to a place.

- In the Western faith, the eucharist represents penitence or a renewal of covenants; in the East, it is celebratory, representing a dinner with Christ himself.