Christianity came to the territory of Central Asia by the development of the Silk Road. Together with trade caravans on one of the most famous ancient routes followed refugees, travelers and missionaries to proselytize in the foreign lands. However, the first Catholic archdiocese and diocese along the Silk Road appeared much later - in the centuries XII-Xlll., When between the Vatican and China establish diplomatic ties. Active dissemination of Catholicism in the Central Asian region began in the II half of XIX and early XX centuries. and was connected with the Russian expansion in the East. So according to the statistics in 1917 in Turkestan lived 11 thousand Catholics, seven thousand of whom lived in Tashkent. These were Poles, Lithuanians, Germans, French, Latvians among military imperial army which serve government sent away from home: the Far East Turkestan and the Caucasus. Also in Turkestan were many exiles, prisoners and refugees of Western Europeans. From 1883 to 1885. the first official Catholic priest in Turkestan was Ferdinand Senchikovsky. His effort and diligence in Tashkent was built a Catholic chapel where Mass conducted. From 1902 to 1917. curator of the Turkestan region was about. Justin Bonaventure Pranaitis. During this period, churches were built in Ashgabat, Kyzyl-Arvat (Turkmenistan), Fergana, Samarkand, a temporary chapel church in Tashkent. In 1912, near the Catholic chapel began construction of a large Catholic church in Tashkent. In the construction of the temple soldiers participated Catholics, many of whom were skilled. Construction proceeded slowly, and in 1917 started a revolution, after which the church was trying to finish the Tashkent successor Pranaitis - Boleslav Rutenis. But he did and failed due to the change of the political situation in the country, the Bolsheviks and the pressure of lack of funds. Soon, unable to stand, Rutenis resigned as abbot. After the voluntary withdrawal from the post Rutenis, Mass for the remaining Catholics secretly spent on. Joseph Sovinsky. In 1937 he was arrested for anti-Soviet propaganda and closed down. From 1925 the church housed various organizations: electric cable factory dormitories and Republican obstetric school management and warehouse for Medical Technics. The building was rebuilt many times, and was finally abandoned. Of course, by that time have not survived nor sculpture, nor the value of the temple. In 1976, thanks to the decision of the authorities, the building was renovated and given to the Ministry of Culture Uz CCR, and in 1981 - announced the architectural and historical monument in Uzbekistan. Official activities of Catholic organizations in Uzbekistan resumed only in 1987. First, in the Fergana reopened Catholic parish, and in 3 years - Catholic church opened in Tashkent, which became rector of the Polish Franciscan appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1997, the Ordinary Missio sui Juris in Uzbekistan - about. Krzysztof Kukulka. Since 1992, with the independence of Uzbekistan, Tashkent Catholic parish church was returned. And in January 1993 he began his restoration, which was led by architect and designer Sergey Adamov Alexander Ponomarev, and organizational issues took over Kukulka. Then, during construction, the construction of the old Catholic chapel, which was located in the house of the Polish society at the construction site was included in the plan of the new church. Construction of a Catholic church under the invocation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was completed in 2000, after 88 years since its first stone bookmarks. Temple was immediately recognized as one of the most beautiful and unusual for East architectural structures of modern Tashkent. On the ground floor of the temple premises are crypt-chapel (the one built with about. Pranaitis in the early XX century.), John Paul II Hall and Hall St. Anthony. On the second floor is the main ceremonial hall where Sunday Mass held. Pride of place in the room takes altar with tabernacle decorated two-meter sculpture of Christ. Between the rows of huge columns placed massive wooden benches for parishioners. Opposite the altar under the arches of the church has a 26-chord organ - a gift of the parish of St. Bonn. Paul. The hall is decorated with scenes from the Bible, stained-glass windows, Catholic symbolism. Right of the altar is a confessional, where Catholics make the sacrament of penance. In the early 90s the last century, along with the construction of the temple in Tashkent, opened Catholic parishes and in other major cities of Uzbekistan: Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench. The growth of the Catholic flock in Uzbekistan and Tashkent Catholic ministers efforts have not gone unnoticed in the Vatican, and in 2005 Pope John Paul II raised the status of Missio sui Juris in the Republic of Uzbekistan to the rank of Apostolic Administration and appointed Fr. Jerzy Maculewicz first bishop in Uzbekistan. Currently, the abbot of the temple is about Tashkent. Lucian Szymanski. Uzbekistan are constantly Catholic priests and brothers Franciscan monks and missionaries of the Order of Divine Love (Sisters of Mother Teresa).
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 19:30:36 +0000
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