Transfiguration Cathedral, Ivanovo

Transfiguration Cathedral in Ivanovo, Russia was built at the end of the 19th century by renowned architect Alexander Kaminsky, who also designed the first building of Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery in the city of Dzerzhinskiy. Construction of Transfiguration Cathedral was financed by the famous philanthropist and manufacturer Methodius Garelin. The merchant and his wife are now buried in the cathedral yard, where their graves can still be visited today.

The cathedral was built in the Russian church architectural style which was popular in the 17th century. Its key feature is the imitation of ancient Russian architecture, including an overemphasis on fine details and embellishments on all of the outer walls.

Transfiguration Cathedral was closed in 1940 and its interior completely destroyed under Soviet rule, yet by 1944 services in the church had already resumed. Its interior was eventually restored and the main iconostasis replaced. For many years after that, it served as the only active church in Ivanovo Region.

Today the complex includes a five-domed church, stone gates, a bell tower and outbuildings. Each structure is painted in white, while the bright blue roofs and domes and the pallid blue detailing on the entrance gate and fence give the complex a cheery and uniform appearance.

Transfiguration Cathedral in Ivanovo has several special shrines, most notably the relics of St. Basil, fragments of the venerated Leontius, Macarius and Blessed Simon and the Inexhaustible Chalice Icon of the Mother of God.

Address: 44 Kolotilova Street, Ivanovo, Russia