Astrakhan, Astrakhan Oblast Russia
[Russian Orthodox]
The wheeled steamer, the Floating Church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, was commissioned in 1910. It was the only ship of its kind in the Russian Empire. The ship served the fishing communities along the Volga delta and islands near the shore of the Caspian Sea. Emperor Nicholas II sent a telegram when the ship was consecrated, saying, "I sincerely rejoice in the good work of satisfying the spiritual needs of the fishing population and thank everyone for their efforts." The entire crew was priests and clergy except for the captain and mechanic. The Floating Church had a church choir and room for 500 parishioners. There was a small shop selling candles, lamps and saints' icons. There was also a pharmacy, a medical assistant, and a several patient ward. The Bolsheviks closed it down in 1917, removing the domes and making it into a floating theater, named "Joseph Stalin" and, later, as "Moryana." The ship housed a dormitory in the 1960s.