Holy Resurrection Cathedral, Tokyo（Orthodox Church in Japan）

Orthodox Church is the church which inherits the original belief of Early Christianity such as a belief in the Nativity of Christ, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. . Their beliefs had traveled through Jerusalem, Greece and Russia. And a Russian priest, St. Nicholas Kasatkin brought them to Japan.

St. Nicholas came to Japan in 1861 and it was in the last days of the Tokugawa regime. He came to introduce the beliefs of Orthodox Church but he had to wait the Meiji Restoration. After the restoration, he worked hard to raise the fund to build a cathedral. To build the beautiful cathedral at the present place took seven years. A Russian architect, Dr. Michael Schurupov drew the blueprint. And an English architect, Dr. Josiah Conder who built Rokumeikan did the detail design. A feature of this cathedral is the center dome. This was planned based on Ayasofya in Istanbul. Dome without columns at the center was revolutionary architecture in 6th century when the Byzantine style dome architecture was established.

The dome was destroyed by fire at the time of the great Kanto earthquake in 1923. Only brick wall and stone base were remained. A bishop Sergius put effort to restore the dome. The present cathedral was planned and supervised by an architect Shinichro Okada, who was also a believer of Orthodox Church. Iconostasis (screen called icon painted with Jesus Christ and other religious themes) are placed at the center of the cathedral. Also, magnificent stained glass gives a dignified atmosphere.

Everyone can visit the cathedral on weekday between 1 pm to 4 pm. Also, if you wish to pray, you can join the Vigil and Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Please visit this place which is the symbol of Surugadai.