Shemakha Azerbaijan
[Russian Orthodox]
The church was built from 1851 - 1858 and consecrated in 1958. The iconostas had been given by Emperor Nicholas for the Mtskheta Cathedral, but didn't work out there. The onion-shaped dome had an iron, gilded cross. An 1859 earthquake damaged the cathedral. A stone bell tower with five bells was built in 1892. The 1902 earthquake so severely damaged the cathedral that it could not be restored. In 1906 it was described: "The damaged cathedral now presents a sad picture: its dome collapsed first in the direction from east to west, and then completely collapsed into the interior of the church; the eastern wall in the middle gave a huge crack up to its upper part; the western wall cracked in many places in a zigzag pattern. The earthquake also caused great damage to the interior decoration of the church. At that time, the majestic iconostasis and church utensils suffered especially. The best icons on canvas, remarkable in their painting, were sent for safekeeping to the Baku Alexander Nevsky Cathedral by order of the Exarch of Georgia, Archbishop Eusebius. The chandelier, candlesticks, reliquary and other church utensils were crumpled. The books of the church library and many other things were partly destroyed, partly plundered. “This is how the story of the first Shemakha temple ended sadly. Much money, work, effort and time were spent on its construction, but an elemental underground force was able to destroy it in a few seconds.”