Notebook

Fairy-Tale Church Reopens

In St. Petersburg, the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by terrorists in 1881, has been reopened for the first time in 60 years. The church, whose brightly colored onion domes stand out among St. Petersburg’s typically classical architecture, was allowed to fall into disrepair after the Bolshevik Revolution (among other things, it was used as a morgue and as a storehouse for theater props). By 1970, the church was so run down that the city administration was planning to destroy it. The church’s opening, timed to coincide with its 90th anniversary, was attended by over 400 people. Although religious services will be held there, the church will be run as a museum, with an entry charge. The main opening celebration, along with the first Orthodox service, is planned for November 7.

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