Foros Church of the Resurrection of Christ

Foros Church is one of the most famous churches in the Crimea, as it is located in a very picturesque place, on the edge of a rocky cliff. Foros Church was built in 1892 and consecrated in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. A very beautiful view of the church opens from the Baydar pass.  

Foros Church is built on the edge of the Red Rock. The height of this rock reaches 412 meters. Near the church there is a road that leads from Yalta to the Baydar Valley and further to Bakhchisaray and Sevastopol. Two mountains rise above the Foros Church: Chelebi (657 m) and Chhu-Bair (705 m), the Baydar Pass passes between them. 

Foros Church of the Resurrection of Christ was built on the initiative of merchant Alexander Kuznetsov, who owned the largest tea company in Russia. He owned huge tea plantations abroad, and sold tea in Russia. Foreign trade in those years was a royal monopoly, so he decided to enlist the support of the royal court. 

The temple is dedicated to the tragic events of October 17, 1888. The train which the tsar and his family were returning from the Crimea to St. Petersburg derailed near the village of Borki near Kharkov. Many of the tsar`s retinue died, but no one from the royal family was injured. In honor of the salvation of the tsar and his family in this wreck, Kuznetsov decided to build a Church of the Resurrection of Christ on his estate in Foros. 

The construction of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ cost him 50 thousand gold rubles. In 1892, the church was consecrated in the presence of the royal family. Kuznetsov attracted famous architects and decorators to the construction of the church. The Church of the Resurrection of Christ was built in the Byzantine style of Inkerman stone. The mosaic on the floor was made by masters from Venice, the interior was painted by artists Makovsky, Sverchkov and Korzukhin. The stained glass windows were made of Carrara marble.  

During the WWII, the church was damaged and used for several decades for various purposes: a warehouse, a border post, a restaurant. In 1987, it began to be restored, and in 1990, divine services began again in the Foros church.