The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa is the Orthodox Cathedral in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, dedicated to the

Transfiguration of Jesus The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event described in the New Testament where Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is Transfiguration (religion), transfigured and becomes radiant in Glory (religion), glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) r ...

and belongs to the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), commonly referred to by the exonym Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), is an Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in pla ...

. It was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack on Odesa on July 23, 2023.

History

The first and foremost church in the city of

, the cathedral was founded in 1794 by Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni. Construction lagged several years behind schedule and the newly appointed governor of New Russia, Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, employed the Italian architect Francesco Frappoli to complete the edifice. The cathedral was designated the main church of New Russia in 1808. It was continuously expanded throughout the 19th century. The

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church (building), church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many ...

was built between 1825 and 1837, and the refectory connecting it to the main church several years later. The interior was lined with polychrome

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and the icon screen also was made of marble. Several churches in the region, including the Nativity Cathedral in Chişinău, were built in conscious imitation of the Odesa church. The cathedral was the burial place of the bishops of

Tauride The recorded history of the Crimean Peninsula, historically known as ''Tauris'', ''Taurica'' (), and the ''Tauric Chersonese'' (, "Tauric Peninsula"), begins around the 5th century BCE when several Greek colonies were established along its coast ...

, including Saint Innocent of Kherson, and Prince

Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic Wars and most famous for his participation in the Caucasian War from 1844 to 1853. Early life Vorontsov was born on ...

, the famous governor of New Russia. The original structure was demolished by the Soviets in 1936. It was rebuilt starting from 1999. The new cathedral was consecrated in 2003. The remains of Prince Vorontsov and his wife were reburied in the cathedral. There is a statue of him on the cathedral square. On 11 November 2023 the monumental status of this sculpture was scrapped in order to comply with 2023 derussification-laws. The cathedral

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

s are controlled by an electronic device capable of playing 99 melodies. On July 23, 2023, the cathedral was severely damaged by a Russian missile attack.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

strongly condemned repeated attacks by Russia on World Heritage sites in Ukraine, including the Transfiguration Cathedral.

Gallery

File:Будівля Спасо-Преображенського собору 2.jpg, The belltower and the main entrance File:Будівля Спасо-Преображенського собору в Одесі.jpg, The total view File:Vue de Odessa La Cathedrale.JPG, The Cathedral Square in the early 20th century File:Odessa Kirche Verklärung Christi-2.jpg, The icon screen in a side chapel File:Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa after Russian missile attack, 2023-07-23 (22).jpg, Interior of the cathedral after the missile attack

References

External links

Official website

Transfiguration Cathedral (Odesa)
{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures in Odesa Buildings and structures in Odesa Demolished churches in Ukraine Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in Ukraine Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) church buildings 19th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Churches completed in 1808 Buildings and structures demolished in 1936 Church buildings with domes Rebuilt churches 21st-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Churches completed in 2003 Tourist attractions in Odesa 19th-century churches in Ukraine 21st-century churches in Ukraine Neoclassical church buildings in Ukraine

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links