Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Walking along the picturesque Kirovograd embankment, the majestic heavenly belfries of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is located right in the center of the city, attract the eye. Built in neoclassical style, the cathedral has the deserved status of a monument of architecture. It still preserves the relics of saints and icons of the 17th century, and for many centuries it was not possible to erase the ancient murals on its walls.

Walking along the picturesque Kirovograd embankment, the majestic heavenly belfries of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is located right in the center of the city, attract the eye.

Built in neoclassical style, the cathedral has the deserved status of a monument of architecture. It still preserves the relics of saints and icons of the 17th century, and for many centuries it was not possible to erase the ancient murals on its walls.

In 1757, on the site of the present cathedral, in honor of the Vladimir Icon of Our Lady, the Greek-settlers built a wooden Greco-Vladimir Church. Ever since, the Cathedral has been popularly called "Greek".

In 1812, the church was transformed into a stone church, which to this day pleases the eyes of the inhabitants of Kirovograd and the guests of the city. It was erected on the site of the church in honor of the victory of the Allied army over the enemy army under the command of Napoleon.

In 1828, a three-tier bell tower was erected over the building of the spiritual temple. Later, the cathedral was almost doubled, and an archive from the Holy Trinity Church was also moved here.

In the eighties of the 19th century, the bishop Sevastyan, who at that time headed the Kirovograd-Nikolayev diocese, was not indifferent to the fate of the shrine. Under his leadership, the shrine was restored.

It is interesting that the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the only spiritual church in the city that did not cease its activity for a single day. Divine services were held in it even during the occupation of the territory by German fascists.

The history of the cathedral is associated with the names of Prince Yuri Dolgorukov, Count Grigory Potemkin, the military general of the Catherine's era Nikolai Repnin, as well as the Russian commander and General-Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov. I would like to speak about the latter in more detail. Mikhail Kutuzov had five beautiful daughters. Two of them, Xenia and Elena, were baptized exactly in the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. And soon the prince was born his only son, Nicholas. But, unfortunately, even in infancy, Nicholas became a victim of smallpox. His body still rests at the walls of the Cathedral.

It is worth saying a few words about another person buried in this sacred land. This writer, publicist and translator Semen Poroshin, who until 1766 was a constant "knight" under the cesarevitch Pavel Petrovich. He was a very wise and well-read person, who left after himself a real psychological portrait of the prince, which is easy to assemble on the pages of the writer's diary.

Here is such a beautiful architectural monument located in the heart of Kirovograd. A bright, spiritual place, past which it is impossible to pass.