Feodosia is one of the most notable cities of the Southern coast of Crimea. The age of the city has passed the milestone of 2600 years. The venerable age has led to the fact that on its territory accumulated a significant amount of historical and cultural values. They are clearly divided into antique, Byzantine, Genoese, Ottoman and the period of the Russian Empire. During the Revolution, the Civil War and World War II, the sights were not added, but diminished. The emergence of hope for the preservation and worthy maintenance of unique monuments of Feodosia coincided with the time of Ukraine’s independence.
A significant cultural stratum in Caffa — so called Feodosia by the inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula, was formed in the so-called Genoese period. It was here that the «headquarters» of colonizers from the distant Genoese Republic was located, who in the XV century were very active in the development of the South Coast. Attracted by the smell of Italian gold and successful trade operations, Armenian merchants began to come to Kaffa for permanent residence. As a legacy from the richest Armenian diaspora, the city inherited a pleiad of luxurious temples — Surb-Sarkiz, St. George and Church of Archangel, named so in honor of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The latter church is recognized as an architectural monument and could well qualify for a place on the UNESCO list.
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Only the date of erection of this temple is undisputed. It is the year 1408. This is the golden age of Caffa, when the city overtook the glorious Constantinople by the beauty of buildings, the number of inhabitants and collected wealth. Behind the official version, which appeared during the Soviet Union, the style of the temple structure is consonant with the Romanesque. Thus a parallel was drawn with the Genoese colonization and architectural compositions adopted in the homeland of Christopher Columbus. This version was supported by the information that in the XV century in this part of the city — on Armenian Street, mainly lived trade and military representatives of the Genoese Republic.
But, in parallel with this there is another, unofficial version of the origin of the Archangel temple. It is believed that this religious building is built on the motives of the famous Armenian temple of the city of Ptgni. On the territory of the land that sheltered Noah’s Ark, the prototype of the Archangel Church was built in the XIII century. It has the same significance for its country as Sophia Kievskaya for Ukraine or Reims Cathedral for France.
Leaving the field of discussion to historians and architects, let’s take a look at the church dedicated to Archangels Michael and Gabriel. It is rectangular. The temple is massive, like a real fortress. It is erected from a rubble stone of a pleasant ochre color. The corners of the temple are highlighted with hewn stone. The roof is broken, double pitched. The small octagonal dome is as small as the cap of a Catholic cardinal compared to the mitre of an Orthodox bishop.
The only external adornment of the Archangel’s Church is a graceful hexagonal bell tower, literally «attached», like a swallow’s nest, on the north-west corner of the structure. Fragments of frescoes have been preserved on the walls of the church, and the remains of polished stone slabs on the floor. In 1867, the Archangel Church was restored on the money of Konstantin Aivazovsky, the brother of the artist Aivazovsky.
In the history of religion this temple is known for the fact that its priests took part in the Feraro-Florence Ecumenical Council. As a result of a congress of the highest officials of the Catholic and Eastern churches, the Florence Union was drawn up. The signatories recognized the supremacy of the pope and Catholic dogmas, but retained the right to conduct rites in the Orthodox manner.
Unfortunately, today this attraction of Feodosia is in a very neglected state. But fortunately, it has not yet been privatized and turned into a hotel or restaurant. Choosing holiday in Crimea, you have the opportunity to see a wonderful sacred structure, which is forgotten by people, but has resisted time and corrosion for the past 147 years.