Built by the Russian Empire, destroyed by the Russian Federation: five dates from the life of the Odessa Cathedral, which was hit by a rocket

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“At exactly one in the morning, I arrived here, on the territory of the cathedral. And I saw how from the South side, near the first door, where the icon bench is, a fire was burning in the knocked-out door. When I entered the cathedral, I saw a terrible picture: a completely destroyed room.” Archdeacon Andriy Palchuk’s memory of that night for a week was etched in his memory. The priest was one of the first to see the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa after it was hit by a Russian rocket. “After the air alarm ended, we tried to put something out. But the fire extinguishers did not cope, the fire was too big. Then the emergency services arrived and poured water on everything here – from above and below,” recalls Andriy. Already in the morning, the workers of the cathedral managed to see all the destruction. This is a rocket-pierced ceiling, burnt walls and a destroyed altar. The Russian rocket turned the “cathedral”, a place for meetings, rallies and mass events, a place that is symbolic for Odessans, into a tragic and mournful place. UP.Life tells about five significant dates in the history of the largest Orthodox church in Odessa. 1794 – the date of laying the first stone of the Cathedral That part of modern Odessa, where the Russian colonizers decided to build the cathedral, was actually located in the steppe, outside the ancient fortress of Khadzhibey. 1794 is considered the official start date of construction. In the last decade of the 18th century, the imperial administration issued a series of orders for the construction of the city’s main temple. But due to the death of Russian emperors and the change of governors, the construction of the cathedral lasted until 1808. “Usual works were carried out when a city is being built. The places where the temples will stand were determined. An ensemble of squares is always formed around the temple,” says Odesa local historian Oleksandr Babich. First of all, the main part of the church was built – with an altar and a hall for prayers. Only in 1837 was the bell tower built – the 72-meter spire of which was then the tallest building in Odessa. The main part of the temple was connected to the building only at the end of the 19th century. Photo provided by the author of the material. After its opening, the church played the role of the main Orthodox church of Odessa. The townspeople often baptized children in it, various mass events took place around the cathedral – fairs, celebrations of major religious holidays. Historian Oleksandr Babich says: “If we say that this is the main temple of the city, then all solemn events took place there. Nicholas II came there with his family several times, all the writers who visited Odessa were there.” October 18, 1905 – the great Odessa Jewish pogrom “On Cathedral Square, where the Liebman House is now (opposite the cathedral – ed.), the city guardhouse was located. That is why the entire park that occupies our Cathedral Square, where our chess players sit, where the monument to Vorontsov stands, where children play – this was the so-called parade ground. That is, all the soldiers gathered there, trained and lined up. “, Oleksandr Babich shares facts from the life of the city in the 19th century. Photo provided by the author of the material In the last years of the existence of the Russian Empire, the square near the Odessa Cathedral played the role of a city forum. Those who wanted to express support or protest against the imperial power gathered there. In 1905, at the time of the first revolution in the empire, workers’ demonstrations began near the Cathedral, demanding greater rights and respect. One of these demonstrations turned into the largest Jewish pogrom in the city’s history. The imperial conservatives, who blamed the Jews for all the troubles, killed more than three hundred residents of the city, burned down entire quarters where Odessa Jews lived. May 1936 – the destruction of the church by the Bolsheviks. The 1930s were the blackest years for Ukrainian religion. Fighting with faith and priests, the Bolsheviks converted ancient churches into administrative buildings, and destroyed the most important ones. According to Odessa urban legend, the order to blow up the Transfiguration Cathedral was personally given by the then People’s Commissar of Defense of the Soviet Union, Kliment Voroshilov. Apparently, while resting in one of the downtown hotels, he woke up from the bell in the church. Which became the sentence for the cathedral. However, there is no historical confirmation of the legend. Photo provided by the author of the material Oleksandr Babich tells about the circumstances of the demolition of the ancient cathedral: “The first explosion was approximately where the rocket landed. Almost near the altar, from the side, if you look at the Greek Square, they blew it up. But it was built well, only a piece of the corner was blown up and almost all the windows were blown out. Then they stopped this work, laid a charge at the base of the bell tower, blew up the bell tower and only then dismantled it with sledgehammers (with boron – ed.) without the use of explosives” January 6, 2003 – the first service in the restored cathedral “Not everyone understood why this square (around the cathedral – ed.) was a cathedral square at all. Fans gathered there, who liked to chat. And you could have thought that this square was called a cathedral square because they gather there,” recalls architect Volodymyr Meshcheryakov, one of the authors of the restoration project of the Transfiguration Cathedral. Starting from the first years of Ukrainian independence, Volodymyr and the students of the Odessa University of Architecture developed project documentation for the reconstruction of the cathedral. At the end of the 1990s, the state approved the construction of the temple. At that time, the St. Michael’s Gold Tower and the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra were being rebuilt in Kyiv. The Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate spent more than 32 million hryvnias from the funds and donations of believers on the reconstruction of the Odessa Cathedral. Drawing of the cathedral building. Photo provided by the author of the material “We looked at the archives in Odesa, we looked at the documentation in the Kyiv archives. In Odesa, there is a historical and local history museum, there is a very good archive on the cathedral. And there is the most important thing, the base point is an A2 format millimeter scale, which was made by the engineer Fedir Matsukov together with students of the construction institute in 1936,” Volodymyr Meshcheryakov shares his memories. Since 2010, the Transfiguration Cathedral has been in the possession of the Odesa Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. On July 22, 2023, the church was hit by a Russian rocket. “The altar is damaged. The right part, the central one as well. But the right altar is the most damaged and the one that was destroyed, the wall is being dismantled there and the debris will be cleared further,” – assistant abbot Myroslav calculates the destruction in the cathedral. Photo provided by the author of the material. According to him, the paintings on the walls of the temple suffered the most damage. The Russian rocket also penetrated the basement of the cathedral, passing another six meters underground. But the most important shrines – century-old icons – managed to be saved, says the abbot: “The most revered and main shrines of our church all survived by a miracle. The Kasper icon of the Mother of God was at the epicenter of the impact, four meters from the arrival of the rocket. And we dug it up, cleaned it of marble fragments. And it is intact.” Photo provided by the author of the article The first thing to do now, sums up Abbot Myroslav, is to close the roof so that the autumn rains do not damage the building. And optimistically adds: “The temple will be restored.” The Italian government promised to help with the restoration of the temple – the temple was built by the Italian architects brothers Francesco and Giovanni Frapolli. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate also announced the collection of donations for the reconstruction of the church. Photo provided by the author of the material Before its destruction, the Cathedral had the status of an architectural monument of local importance and was located in the buffer part of the zone protected by UNESCO. “Like any religious building, it has its own mysticism. What we call faith. That is, if this thing is not material, and it is inside us, we somehow nourish it, declare it. If it is not there, we can calmly talk about it, as about stones and some pictures that were hung inside. It all depends on how much a person believes and what he invests in it,” says historian Oleksandr Babich. Photo provided by the author Read also: UNESCO will send a mission to Odesa: Destruction of cultural objects is a war crime

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