Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord is a historic

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

at 228 North 12th Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The cathedral was designated a

New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

by the

Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1969, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1980.

History and description

The cathedral was built from 1916 to 1921 and was designed by Louis Allmendiger. The plan is based on a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

and is designed in the Russian version of the Byzantine style, but with a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

flavor. The building features characteristic copper Onion domes atop four octagonal belfries and a large central copper-covered dome. Each dome is topped by a large, gilded

Russian Orthodox cross The Russian Orthodox Cross (or just the Orthodox Cross by some Russian Orthodox traditions) is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the ...

. ''See also:'' Staff (November 19, 1969
"Russian Orthodix Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Designation Report"

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

The building's facade is constructed from yellow bricks with a small amount of trim made from stone. The windows and doors are primarily round-arched, with stairs leading to the front entrance.

In popular culture

Exterior shots of the cathedral were used in the ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...

'' episode " The Conversion" where it represented a fictionalized version of a Latvian Orthodox church.

References

External links

Official website
Churches in Brooklyn Cathedrals in New York City Russian Orthodox cathedrals in the United States New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn Russian Orthodox church buildings in the United States Churches completed in 1921 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Church buildings with domes Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn Byzantine Revival architecture in New York City Russian-American culture in New York City Eastern Orthodox churches in New York City 20th-century churches in the United States {{Brooklyn-church-stub