The Orthodox Christian St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Copenhagen is the only Orthodox church in Denmark built for this purpose, and is also the oldest functioning Orthodox Christian congregation in the country. The church building is a memorial to the presence of the Orthodox Church in Denmark and is also one of the capital’s most notable architectural and cultural landmarks.
St. Alexander Nevsky Church was built in the years 1881-1883, the same year that Danish Princess Dagmar became Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. The history of the church is therefore closely connected with Empress Maria (1847-1928), without whom the building wouldn’t have been built.
St. Alexander Nevsky Church
Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna
1741: The congregation is founded
However, the history of the congregation goes further back. The first Orthodox Christian congregation in Denmark, which we know for sure was Orthodox since the year 1054 AD, was the congregation in honor of the Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ, consecrated and opened on July 10, 1741. The congregation was opened in connection with Count Peter Grigoryevich Chernyshev’s appointment as envoy of the Russian Empire in Denmark. The congregation’s first rector was Archpriest Peter Blagoveshchensky.
One of the liturgical books that Father Peter brought with him from Russia was the feast day menaion printed in the year 1651, which is still kept in the collection of St. Alexander Nevsky Church.
A Dane named Adam Burchardt Sellius, born in Tønder in 1695, taught at the same period at the theological seminary in St. Petersburg, where he taught Latin. At the same time, he worked for many years on translating the old Russian chronicles and historical church documents into German. He is therefore called the first historian of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1744, Adam Sellius converted to Orthodox Christianity and in 1745 he received monastic tonsure with the name Nicodemus. Later, he was ordained as hieromonk. As far as is known, Father Nicodemus is thus the first Dane to become a priest in the Orthodox Church since the 11th century. His enormously important work for the preservation of church history is today kept in the monastery archives of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra Monastery in St. Petersburg and consists of many volumes.
1797: The congregation gets a new patron saint
On August 5, 1797, the Holy Synod decided to name the Orthodox congregation in Copenhagen in honor of the Holy Apostle Paul.
1797–1853: Search for new accommodation for the congregation
For many years, from 1797-1853, the congregation did not have a permanent location, and often held services in the ambassador’s apartment or at the priest’s home.
However, in 1852, the Russian imperial ambassador, Baron Ernst von Ungern-Sternberg (Ernst Wilhelm Rembert Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, 1794-1879), began to work diligently to provide the Orthodox Church with a building in Copenhagen where regular services could be held.
In 1853, the congregation rented a building at Reverensgade 2 (today called Laksegade), where the congregation remained until 1873. The congregation moved to new premises at Store Kongensgade 45, in the now demolished property, which at one time was called “the Russian mansion”.
1866–1867: Princess Dagmar’s conversion and marriage
In 1866, Danish Princess Dagmar (daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark) was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church with the name Maria, in honor of the Holy Apostolic Myrrh-Bearing Mary Magdalene. According to old Russian tradition, she assumed the patronymic “Feodorovna” (ed. daughter of Theodor), in honor of the icon of the Holy Theotokos called “Feodorovskaya”. In the same year, she was married to the heir of the throne of the Russian Empire, Grand Duke Alexander (the future Emperor Alexander III).
In the years before the wedding, the future Empress Maria was taught the Orthodox faith and wholeheartedly accepted it, as her later life testified to.
The then Grand Duke Alexander and Grand Duchess Maria visited Copenhagen in 1867, and already during this visit the couple began to talk about the construction of a proper Orthodox church building.
1880: Purchase of land for the construction
This desire only grew over time, and on April 2, 1880, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich ordered the purchase of a plot of land near Amalienborg Castle for the construction of an Orthodox church.
The industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen (1829-1901) sold the plot of land at Bredgade 53 to Grand Duke Alexander for 60,000 Rigsdaler, equivalent to 300,000 gold rubles.
1881: Architect David Grimm commissioned
In 1881, Emperor Alexander II was assassinated, making Alexander III and Empress Maria Russia’s new autocrats. In the same year, Emperor Alexander III commissioned architect and professor David Grimm to design the Alexander Nevsky Church in Copenhagen.
Architect David Grimm
July 4, 1881: The ceremonial foundation of the church building
Since the project was of such a different architectural nature than what had previously been built in inner Copenhagen, it required many months of meticulous review and corrections to the project.
When the public authorities received the news that the church would be visited by the Danish Royal Family, all problems were quickly resolved, and on July 4, 1881, the solemn ceremony took place, where the first foundation stone for the construction of the church was laid.
The course of the ceremony
In this connection, a church service was held on site, where Archpriest Nikolai Volobuyev blessed the ground with the censer while the choir sang the troparia to the patron saint of the future church – the Holy Orthodox Saint Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky.
After this, Father Nikolai prayed to the Lord to protect and assist all the construction workers in the construction of the church.
After the prayer, King Christian IX of Denmark, according to Russian tradition, solemnly laid a special container for embedding in the foundation of the future church. The container bore the following inscription in both Danish and Russian:
“In the first year of the reign of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, and in the eighteenth year of His Royal Majesty Christian IX, King of Denmark, this Orthodox church was founded in honor of the Holy Righteous Prince Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen. Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house, and the dwelling-place of Thy glory (Ps. 25:8). Blessed is the Lord unto the ages. Amen”.
Architect David Grimm
Architect Ferdinand Meldahl
Architect Albert C. Jensen
1881–1883: The architects behind the church
Architect David I. Grimm was assisted by architect and state councilor Ferdinand Meldahl in collaboration with architect and professor Albert Christian Jensen in connection with the construction of the Alexander Nevsky Church.
1883: The architectural style
David Grimm designed the church in his beloved “Russian-Byzantine” style, paying the greatest attention to the facade of the building. The facade is made of red and white bricks, and the ground floor is made of granite.
The church stands out in the streetscape with its distinctive architecture and golden domes, which are crowned with majestic crosses. The church is a basilica and reflects in its entirety the architectural direction that was called “Alexander III’s style” at the time.
After the church was completed, it was recognized as one of Copenhagen’s landmarks, for which architect D. Grimm was made a Knight of the order of Dannebrog and awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog.
Architectural drawings of the church
The church interior in 1883
The church interior in 1928
The golden domes of the church – front
1883: The design of the church room
High on the facade, under the domes, there is a niche with an icon of St. Alexander Nevsky. The icon is made on a slab of lava stone by Professor Teodor A. Bronnikov, who also painted the icons in the church iconostasis.
The bell tower has six bells whose sound can be heard from afar. When you go up the richly ornamented marble staircase to the left of the church, where you see verses from the Book of Psalms on the walls along the way, you reach the nave itself.
The room is lit by candles and by the large church chandelier in bronze, which was given to the congregation by Emperor Alexander and Empress Maria. The floor is covered with black and white mosaics. The walls and ceiling are richly ornamented with gilded ornaments on a dark background. In the center is the iconostasis, skillfully carved from North American walnut.
1883: Paintings and icons
Above the altar is Theodor Bronnikov’s painting of “Christ Calming the Storm” (Matt. 8:23-27).
To the right of the entrance is a painting depicting Christ walking on water (Matt. 14:22-36), painted by the famous marine painter, Professor Alexis P. Bogoljubov.
On each side of the altar room are two paintings by the famous Russian artist Ivan N. Kramskoy. The two paintings depict episodes from the life of St. Alexander Nevsky.
In the first painting, the young prince is seen praying with his court in Novgorod’s St. Sophia Cathedral, before the Battle of the Neva River. The second depicts the last moments of the saint’s earthly life and his monastic tonsure to the Great Schema in the Fyodorovsky Monastery in the city of Gorodets.
Christ Calms the Storm (Matt. 8:23-27), painted by the famous marine painter,
Professor Alexei P. Bogoljubov.
The young Prince Alexander Nevsky prays with his court in Novgorod’s St. Sophia Cathedral, artist: Ivan N. Kramskoy.
Archpriest John Janyshev, spiritual father of the imperial family.
1883 The Consecration
The construction took little over two years and the church was completed in August 1883. Most of the exterior building materials come from Denmark – the ground floor is made of granite from Bornholm and the rest of it is made of traditional red brick. The lighter elements and the towers that carry the golden domes are made of Bremen sandstone.
The golden domes, the majestic crosses, the carved iconostasis and other wooden elements in the church’s interior come from Russia.
On Sunday, September 9, 1883, the church was solemnly consecrated by Archpriest Johannes Janyshev – rector of the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg and spiritual father of the imperial family, Archpriest Nikolai Volobuyev – the parish Rector, and hieromonk Mitrofanes from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Monastery in St. Petersburg.
The consecration was attended by the Russian imperial family, the Danish royal family, the Greek royal family, representatives of the British royal family, and many other prominent figures.
1894–1911 After the consecration
The Alexander Nevsky Church becomes the center of Orthodox Christianity in Denmark, as the only Orthodox church in the country. Empress Maria was personally invested in the work of making Orthodoxy accessible in Danish, which is why the priests were instructed to learn the local language.
After the death of Father Nikolai Volobuev in 1894, Father Constantin Siletzky (1855-1911) became the rector of St. Alexander Nevsky parish. Father Constantin was a prolific translator, and in the seventeen years he served in Copenhagen before his death, he managed to translate the three liturgies, the seven sacraments, and the catechism of Saint Philaret of Moscow into Danish.
After the inauguration
Empress Maria Feodorovna arrives at the Alexander Nevsky Church on Sunday, October 25, 1925.
1920–1928 Empress Maria Feodorovna in Copenhagen
After the First World War and the Russian Revolution, the St. Alexander Nevsky Church became a focal point for the many Russian refugees and migrants. Dowager Empress Maria and her daughters, the Grand Duchesses Xenia and Olga, shared the same fate as many other Russian refugees who sought safety from the terror of Bolshevism in their homeland.
After the Empress returned to her old hometown of Copenhagen in 1920, she became a regular parishioner in the church that she and her beloved husband had built 37 years earlier.
Here she prayed fervently for her four sons, her beloved grandchildren, and the entire Russian people who suffered during the revolution and the subsequent civil war. She was buried from here on October 19, 1928.
1928 Funeral of Empress Maria Feodorovna
The associated funeral service was held by Metropolitan Eulogij (Georgievskij) in the presence of the Danish royal family and representatives of the other European royal houses.
To the right of the church room is a large display cabinet with icons and other relics that belonged to the late Empress. This cabinet quickly became known as “Empress Dagmar’s cabinet”.
Empress Marias funeral, St. Alexander Nevsky Church, 1928
Funeral procession during Empress Marias funeral in 1928.
The picture shows the Empress’s spiritual father, Archpriest Leonid Kolchev
Metropolitan Eulogius awaiting Empress Maria’s coffin at Østerport Station, 1928.
Funeral procession in Roskilde with the coffin of Empress Maria Feodorovna, 1928.
Empress Maria’s sarcophagus in Roskilde Cathedral before the reburial in 2006.
1988 The 1000th Anniversary of the Christianization of Rus
In 1988, the entire Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the millennium of the baptism of Russia in 988 AD. In this connection, especially solemn services were held by the then Bishop Mark (Arndt) in the St. Alexander Nevsky Church, with subsequent exhibitions. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and His Royal Highness Prince Henrik participated in these ceremonies.
HM The Queen has expressed her warm feelings towards Empress Maria Feodorovna on several occasions, and has thus also participated in the panikhida (prayer service for the deceased) for the deceased Empress in Roskilde Cathedral.
The parish priest at the time, Archpriest Nikolaj Artemoff, was responsible for showing the royal couple around the church and presenting the exhibition in connection with the anniversary.
Episcopal service in 1988 by Bishop Mark (Arndt) of Berlin and Germany.
HM The Queen is seen on the far left.
Episcopal service in 1988 by Bishop Mark (Arndt) of Berlin and Germany. HM The Queen is seen on the right.
Exhibition in connection with the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Russia.
Icon of the Holy Theotokos, called the “Copenhagen-Jerusalem” Icon of the Mother of God
1995 Church Shrines
One of the church’s shrines is the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, called the “Copenhagen-Jerusalem” weeping icon of the Mother of God. Weeping because on March 10, 1995, streams of fragrant myrrh flowed from the eyes of the Mother of God.
The icon itself came to Copenhagen from the monks of the Holy Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, as a gift to comfort Empress Maria on April 22, 1928.
A copy of this very icon was donated as a gift to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, where Empress Maria was reburied next to her husband in September 2006, as she had wished.
The copy of the icon stands today at the tomb of Empress Maria inside the cathedral, and the original icon serves to this day as a source of comfort and joy for Orthodox Christians in Copenhagen and all of Denmark.
The Cross of Christ and other relics
In addition, the Alexander Nevsky Church possesses one of the greatest relics of the Christian world: a piece of the True Cross of Christ. The relic is incorporated into an icon depicting the Exaltation of the Cross – the event in which the pious Empress Helena of Constantinople, together with Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem, found the Cross of the Lord in Jerusalem on September 27, 326 AD.
The relic and icon were a gift from Emperor Alexander I of Russia to the Shuvalov family, for their heroic deeds in the fight against Napoleon. Countess Tekla Shuvalova blessed her son Count Pavel Andreevich Shuvalov with this icon, and he blessed his wife, Countess Maria Alexandrovna Shuvalova, before leaving for the front in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877.
After the Russian Revolution, the family lost everything, and the family brought the icon to Denmark, where they donated it to the church in Copenhagen.
In the summer of 2024, the current parish rector, Father Mihail Sukhanov, brought a number of holy relics to Denmark, which are today in a reliquary to the right of the relic of the Cross of Christ.
The relics are from St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, St. Clement of Rome, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Sergius of Radonezh, St. Theodore Ushakov, St. Martyr Lydia of Illyria, St. Daniel of Moscow – St. Alexander Nevsky’s son, the holy hieromartyrs Nikolai Popov and Vladimir Chetverin, the holy Optina fathers Anatoly the Elder, Anatoly the Younger, Joseph, Nektary and Isaac.
These holy relics were donated by Archpriest Vladimir Parkhomenko, Archpriest Vasily Evpatov and Priest Maxim Plyakhin, for the benefit and joy of Christians and for the mission of the Orthodox Church in Denmark.
May the light of the Gospel shine upon this land and people through their intercessions.
Icon, with a piece of the True Cross of Christ.
The relic is incorporated into an icon depicting the Exaltation of the Cross
Count Pavel Andreevich Shuvalov
The church with priest and parishioners in 2025.
The church and parish today
Today, St. Alexander Nevsky Church is part of the German Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), and is a gathering place for most Orthodox Christians in the capital, with people coming from far and wide to attend the services.
Danes, Russians, Serbs, Ukrainians, Greeks, Romanians and many others come here, seeking living communion with God and the salvation of their souls.
The congregation has until recently been the only Orthodox Christian congregation in all of Denmark, and has thus served as a starting point for the establishment of most functioning Orthodox congregations in the country today. This is, for example, the Serbian Patriarchate’s congregation in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Saint George in Copenhagen, the Bulgarian Patriarchate’s congregation of the Protection of the Mother of God in Østerbro, and the Romanian and Macedonian congregations in the country.