Mother of God Church, Vladivostok
The Mother of God Church[1] (Russian: Церковь Пресвятой Богородицы) It is a Latin Catholic church, built in a Gothic style, located in Vladivostok in the Far East of Russia.[2]
| Mother of God Church | |
|---|---|
| Церковь Пресвятой Богородицы | |
 | |
| |
| Location | Vladivostok |
| Country |  Russia |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Gothic style |
| Completed | 11 January 1890 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Irkutsk |
It is the seat of the deanery of Vladivostok, which depends on the Diocese of Irkutsk. It is located at 22 Volodarsky Street. It was formerly a cathedral church.
History
Catholics, mostly Poles, were present in Vladivostok since the mid-nineteenth century. The first Catholic parish in the Siberian Far East appeared during the reign of Alexander II in the city of Nikolaevsk Amur, newly founded in 1866. The city was then the seat of the Czarist Governor General of the Russian Far East.
As the imperial (later Soviet) fleet moved to Vladivostok, the new port and fortress under construction attracted a number of people who came from all corners of the Empire, including Polish Catholics, Lithuanians etc. They were artisans, merchants, simple workers or soldiers.
The municipal assembly (Duma) donated the land in 1885 until 1886. The parish itself was erected on January 11, 1890, a few months before the start of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok from May 1891.
From 1923 to 2002, Vladivostok was the cathedral episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vladivostok, which was merged into the Diocese of Saint Joseph at Irkutsk and remains a deanery.
References
- Catholic Encyclopedia (Католическая энциклопедия), Moscow, Moscow editions Franciscan Conventuals, 2002, Volume I, pp. 1030-1031, ISBN 5-89208-037-4.