Penza | Nicholas II

Icon of Nicholas II consecrated in the Spassky Cathedra in Penza

PHOTO: Metropolitan Seraphim of Penza and Nizhnelomovsk, the icon
of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Nicholas II, Spassky Cathedral, Penza

On the evening of 29th November 2025, Metropolitan Seraphim of Penza and Nizhnelomovsk, performed the rite of consecration of the icon of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Nicholas II, at the Spassky Cathedral, located in the city of Penza.

At the base of this icon is a memorial plaque, with a very interesting provenance from the early 20th century, and it’s connection to Emperor Nicholas II’s visit to the city in 1904.

PHOTO: Metropolitan Seraphim of Penza and Nizhnelomovsk
performs the rite of consecration

After the consecration of the icon, Metropolitan Seraphim told the parishioners the story of how the memorial plaque ended up in its place:

“On 19th June 2022, a memorial plaque that was installed at the beginning of the twentieth century on one of the columns of the Spassky Cathedral in memory of Emperor Nicholas II’s visit to Penza in 1904, was donated to the Penza Diocese. During his visit, the Tsar reviewed the troops going to the Russo-Japanese War, and attended the Divine Liturgy in the Penza Spassky Cathedral.

PHOTOS icon of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Nicholas II (above),
and the memorial plaque (below)

This memorial plaque, installed by the Penza City Duma, became the first memorial plaque in the Penza region. The inscription on it reads: “His Imperial Majesty Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich and His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich deigned to visit the Penza Cathedral and prayed at this place in 1904, on June 28 at 11 o’clock in the afternoon.”

The text on the memorial plaque turned out to be prophetic: the Tsar prayed “in this place.” The cathedral, which the emperor visited, was destroyed by the Soviets in 1934, but the First church to be recreated in the city in 2011-16″.

PHOTO: Orthodox Believers venerate the icon
of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Nicholas II

For a long time it was believed that the memorial plaque was lost. The residents of Penza remembered that in February 1918 armed men (Bolsheviks) who came to the cathedral smashed the plaque with their rifle butts. But, as it it turned out, the plaque miraculously survived, only a corner broke off. The parishioners hid it from the Bolsheviks, burying it in the ground near the church.

About twenty years ago, information began to circulate, that the memorial plaque was intact. Local historians conducted a lengthy search, as a result of which the relic ended up in the hands of the famous Penza collector Igor Sergeevich Shishkin, who returned it to the Spassky Cathedral.

The transfer of the memorial plaque took place before the great consecration of the Spassky Cathedral, which was performed on 19th June 2022, by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during his primatial visit to the Penza Metropolia.”

PHOTO: ‘Nicholas II in Penza 1904’
by the contemporary Russian artist Denis Santalov.

In his painting, Santalov has captured the arrival of the Russian emperor who visited Penza on 28th June 1904. He is depicted in the Spassky Cathedral (blown up in 1934), where he is blessed by the Bishop of Penza and Saransk Hieromartyr Tikhon (Nikanorov). On that memorable day, the sovereign visited conducted a review of his troops, who were on their way to the Russo-Japanese War. From the collection of the Penza Regional Art Gallery

Memorial plaque in memory of Nicholas II’s 1904 visit to Penza returned

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: memorial plaque in memory of Emperor Nicholas II’s visit to Penza in 1904

On 19th June 2022, a memorial plaque installed at the beginning of the 20th century on one of the columns of the Cathedral of the Saviour [aka Spassky Cathedral] in memory of Emperor Nicholas II’s visit to Penza in 1904 was returned to the Penza Diocese. During his visit, the sovereign held a review of Russian troops who were being sent to the Russo-Japanese War, followed by a liturgy held in the Cathedral of the Saviour.

This memorial plaque, installed by the Penza City Duma, became the first memorial plaque in the Penza region. The inscription on it reads: “His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich and His Imperial Highness the Sovereign Heir Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich deigned to visit the Penza Cathedral and prayed at this place on June 28, 1904 at 11 ½ o’clock in the afternoon.”

The words on the commemorative plaque turned out to be prophetic. The cathedral, located on the Cathedral Square of the city was blown up by the Bolsheviks in 1934. In 2010, reconstruction of the cathedral began, and took 12 years to complete.

PHOTO: Igor Sergeevich Shishkin (right) holds the historic memorial plaque, during the handing over ceremony at the Cathedral of the Saviour, on 19th June 2022

On 19th June 2022, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia performed the rite of the Great Consecration of the Cathedral of the Saviour in Penza, concelebrated by the clergy of the Penza diocese, and read out a decree on conferring the status of a cathedral.

For decades it was believed that the memorial plaque had been lost or destroyed. This was based on the recollections of Penza residents, who recalled that in February 1918, armed Bolsheviks came to the cathedral and smashed the plaque with their rifle butt. But as it turned out, the plaque miraculously survived. The parishioners hid it by burying it in the ground not far from the cathedral.

About twenty years ago, rumours surfaced that the memorial plaque had survived and was mostly intact [only a corner was broken off]. Local historians carried out a search of the former grounds, as a result of which the plaque ended up in the hands of the famous Penza collector Igor Sergeevich Shishkin, who today returned the memorial plaque to its rightful place.

The handover ceremony of the memorial plaque took place before the great consecration of the Cathedral of the Saviour, which was performed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia during his primatial visit to the Penza Diocese.