St. Andrew's Cathedral, Philadelphia facts for kids
St. Andrew's Cathedral is a special Russian Orthodox church in Philadelphia. It's the oldest Eastern Orthodox Christian church in the city, built way back in 1897. You can find it at 5th Street & Fairmount Avenue. The main priest there is called Archpriest Mark Shinn.
This church was built by sailors from the Russian Navy. They were in Philadelphia waiting for two big Russian warships to be finished at Cramp's Shipyard. These ships, named the Variag and Retvizan, were being built for a war called the Russo-Japanese War. The sailors wanted a place to worship in their own faith, and they also wanted to leave a church for other Russian Orthodox people living in Philadelphia. They gave all the land, materials, and their time to build it, and it was finished in 1897.
Right next to the church, there's a small museum. It has pictures, names, and uniforms of the sailors who helped build the church. You can also see photos of their two ships, which were both sunk by the Japanese during the war.
Special Items Inside
This cathedral has a special container called a reliquary. It holds small, important items, called relics, from 18 different saints. These saints include:
- Holy Hierarch Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow
- Blessed Basil, Fool-for-Christ and Wonderworker of Moscow
- Holy Hierarch Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
- Blessed Matrona of Moscow
- Holy Great-Martyresses Marina and Barbara
- Holy Righteous Alexis (Mechev) of Moscow
- Holy Right-Believing Great Prince Alexander Nevsky
- Holy Hierarch Nicholas, Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia
- Holy Great-Martyr & Healer Panteleimon
- Holy Hierarch Theophanes the Recluse
- Holy Hierarch Tikhon of Zadonsk
- Venerable Job of Pochaev
- Herman of Alaska
- Ambrose & Nectarius of Optina
- Maximus the Greek
- Nilus of Stolobny Island
The reliquary was brought to St. Andrew's Cathedral in 2017. Priests from another church, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, brought the relics from monasteries in Moscow and Odessa. Many people gathered at St. Andrew's Cathedral to see them on December 13, 2017, which is a special day for Saint Andrew. The main priest, Father Mark Shinn, led a special church service that day. Other priests from different churches, and even people from the Russian Embassy, were there too.
Images for kids
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St. Andrew's Cathedral in 2022
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Andrés (Filadelfia) para niños
