On June 21, Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashinsky visited the city of Kalyazin and consecrated the cross of worship installed in Nikolsky Square in the Central Square of the city. The cross was erected in memory of the lost St. Nicholas Cathedral, Makariev Kalyazinsky Trinity Monastery, victims of the Volga Construction, internally displaced persons, as well as all those whose ashes were left without crosses and graves under the waters of the reservoir. Among them are generations of monks and clergymen of the Kalyazinsky monastery.
Before the consecration, Metropolitan Ambrose addressed the audience. Vladyka recalled that St. Nicholas Cathedral, like the Makariev Monastery, was destroyed and flooded during the construction of the Uglich hydroelectric power station. Only the famous Kalyazinsky bell tower, which has become one of the symbols of the Tver region, has survived from the cathedral to the present day.
The archpastor particularly noted the feat of the founder and first director of the Kalyazinsky Museum, Ivan Fedorovich Nikolsky. Thanks to his efforts, the relics of St. Macarius of Kalyazin, frescoes of the Trinity Cathedral, monastery utensils, vestments and other shrines were preserved. The burial place of I. F. Nikolsky is still unknown, but his memory remains as a man who saved the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Kalyazinsky land.
Metropolitan Ambrose emphasized that the cross of worship was erected not only in memory of the destroyed cathedral, but also in memory of the people who created Kalyazin, Tver land and Russia. He noted the importance of restoring historical memory, restoring good names and preserving spiritual landmarks for current and future generations.
Konstantin Gennadievich Ilyin, the head of the Kalyazinsky Municipal District, addressed the participants of the event. He recalled that the cross for a Christian is a sign of victory over evil, protection and sanctification of the earth. The head of the district spoke about the restoration of temples on the Kalyazinsky land: if in Soviet times only two temples operated, today a deanery has been formed in the district, and about twenty temples have already been restored or are in the process of construction.
K. G. Ilyin also said that work continues in Kalyazin to return historical names to streets and squares. In 2021, the year of the 500th anniversary of the repose of St. Makarii Kalyazinsky, Lenin Street was given the name Bolshaya Tverskaya, Karl Marx Street — Moskovskaya, and Nogin Square — the historical name Bogoyavlenskaya Square. New initiatives related to returning the city to its historical and spiritual memory are also being considered.
The Cross of Worship was installed in November 2025 on the initiative of the head of the Kalyazinsky municipal District, K. G. Ilyin, and with the blessing of Metropolitan Ambrose of Tver and Kashinsky. Funds for its installation were raised by an initiative group under the head of the district. The cross was made at the expense of donors in the city of Kurchatov, Kursk region, in the workshop of a student of the famous Russian sculptor Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov.
Nikolsky Square got its name in honor of St. Nicholas Cathedral, which was destroyed during the flooding of part of Kalyazin in the 20th century. It is from this cathedral that the famous bell tower has been preserved today, towering over the water and reminding of the tragic history of the city.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Kalyazin suffered heavy losses during the construction of the Uglich hydroelectric power station. Several dozen settlements and a significant part of the old city were flooded. Streets with old merchant houses went under water, and the main blow fell on Orthodox shrines: St. Nicholas Cathedral was destroyed, Makariev Kalyazinsky Monastery with its temples and buildings was dismantled. Bricks from the destroyed temples and monastery walls were used in the construction of new houses.
The cross of Worship with the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker became a sign of repentance, memory and hope. It reminds of the lost shrines of Kalyazin, of the internally displaced persons, of the victims of the Volga Construction and of all the Christian ancestors whose graves were hidden under water.
After the consecration, Metropolitan Ambrose, the clergy and residents of the city laid flowers and venerated the cross. The participants of the service took a general photo at the new shrine.
In the future, it is planned to install a monument to Ivan Fedorovich Nikolsky in Nikolsky Square, as well as busts and commemorative signs dedicated to historical figures associated with Kalyazin. It is also planned to place information stands about the history of the city as one of the Orthodox centers of the Tver land.
After the event, Metropolitan Ambrose visited the Monastery Island.