Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral

In the oldest city of the Old Russian state of Zhitomir, on the Victory Street, 19 there is a unique Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It belongs to the number of architectural monuments of the 19th century and is under the protection of the state.

Let's learn its history a little. In 1771 the Basilian Church was destroyed. It was in its place that the construction of the famous Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral began. The temple did not stand long and collapsed after several years. They say that the material used in the construction of the temple turned out to be of poor quality. Others argue that it was impossible to build an Orthodox church on the site of a Greek-Catholic temple that used to be here. The second time the cathedral was built in 1851, inviting architects Karl Rohau, Ernest Zhiber, Varlam Shalamov for this. The cathedral was at that time the main temple of Volyn.

Today he stands in all his glory and surprises everyone who comes to look at him. The height of the cult is 53 meters. Impressive Russian-Byzantine style of the cathedral with the characteristic features of ancient Russian architecture 11-12 centuries. The temple has a cross, five domes, three naves. And at the temple there is a four-tiered bell tower on which the main bell weighing 500 poods is installed. Local residents say that the bells ringing are heard 20 kilometers from the cathedral.

Go inside the temple! The view is attracted by three thrones: the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. The luxurious interior is rich and incredibly beautiful, because for the interior of the cathedral used granites and labradorites of Zhytomyr and Volyn.

In the temple you will also see icons painted by the iconographer Mikhail Vasilyev. It is known that for a long time there was an ancient image of St. Basil the Great, who was brought from Byzantium by Prince Vladimir after he was baptized in Greece. But in 1936 the ancient image disappeared without a trace ...