Church of St. George the Victorious, Torzhok

Church of St. George the Victorious in Torzhok, Russia is a wooden two-altar Orthodox cathedral which was built at the expense of wealthy townspeople in the early 19th century.

In 1692, the original wooden St. George Church was demolished and replaced with the stone church now seen in Torzhok. Its exterior was decorated in accordance with the classical style and included an attached apse, refectory and belfry. Two chapels, named in honor of of St. George the Victorious and St. Sergius of Radonezh, were also added to the complex.

The cathedral’s present-day layout was designed in 1805, at which time the addition of a second floor gave the building an air of solemnity. The lower floor of the church was used in summer, and the upper one in winter.

During this era, it was not uncommon for Torzhok merchants to make generous donations for the construction and renovation of local churches. Thus, at the expense of the Tsvylyov and Urusov families in 1850, the upper chambers of Church of St. George the Victorious were decorated with murals and equipped with a new iconostasis. The Tsvylevs also funded the reconsecration of the temple and a four-ton bell for the tower.

Regular services were held at Church of St. George the Victorious in Torzhok up through the early 20th century, but with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the new government which came into leadership as a result, all activities at the church were forced to come to an end. St. George's Church was closed in 1934 and thus far has yet to reopen.