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Cathedral of St. Isaac holds first worship service since Russian Revolution – June 17, 1990

This week marks the anniversary of when the Cathedral of St. Isaac, a prominent church in St. Petersburg, Russia, held its first worship service since the formation of the Soviet Union.

Named after a fourth-century Byzantine monk whose feast day was May 30, the cathedral had been consecrated in 1858 and, for a time, served as the dominant church of the major city.

However, when the Russian Revolution took place, the Communist government that came to power closed down the church and converted the building into a museum and a memorial.

“Divine services were revived at the cathedral only on June 17 1990, when His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia conducted the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom,” explained the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library. "Today divine services at the St. Isaacs Cathedral take place on a regular basis on festive occasions and Sundays.”