Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Strolling along the picturesque Quay in the centre of Kirovohrad your attention will be attracted by majestic as been built on heaven belfries of Holy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral.
This cathedral is an architectural monument built in the style of Neoclassicism. Relics of saints and icons of the 17th century have been keeping there since many centuries and even time couldn’t erase ancient paintings on its walls.
St Volodymyr Greek Church was built of wood in 1757 in honour of St Volodymyr Icon of the Mother of God. Since then this Cathedral is popularly known as a Greek one.
In 1812 the church was transformed into a stone temple, and even today it’s pleasing to the eye of Kirovohrad residents and its visitors. The old church was replaced by this one in honour of the allied army’s victory over the enemy army commanded by Napoleon.
The Cathedral was towered with a three-storey belfry in 1828. Later the church was increased almost twice as much, and archives of Holy Trinity Church were carried there.
Bishop Sebastian, who had the gift of healing, was at the head of the Kirovohrad-Mykholaiv Eparchy in the 1880s and contributed to the development of the cathedral he liked so much, so this sanctuary was reconstructed.
An interesting fact is that Holy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral is the only spiritual temple in the city, which did not stop its activities for a single day. Worship services were held in it even when the territory was occupied by the German fascists.
The history of the cathedral is associated with the names of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, Count Grigory Potemkin, Imperial Russian General Prince Nicholas Repnin, as well as Field Marshal of the Russian Empire Mikhail Kutuzov.
This famous Field Marshal of the Russian Empire is worth our attention. Mikhail Kutuzov had five beautiful daughters and two of them – Xenia and Helen – were baptized in Holy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral. His only baby son Nicholas died of smallpox and now prince’s body lies at the Cathedral.
Talking about eminent people buried at this sacred place, one may think of a writer, essayist and translator Simon Poroshin, who until 1766 was a regular chevalier under Cesarevitch Pavel Petrovich. Simon was a very wise and well-read man, who made a psychological portrait of the Cesarevitch on the pages of his diary.
This beautiful architectural monument located in the heart of Kirovohrad simply shouldn’t be missed by you!
