Description of the attraction
The Old Believers' church - the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - is located close to the central part of the city, on Ulyanov-Lenin Street.
Old Believers made attempts to open their church in Kazan since 1884. But the existing restrictions and administrative obstacles did not allow this to be done. In 1905, Emperor Nicholas II issued a manifesto on tolerance in the field of faith. This allowed the Old Believers to build their own church. In 1906, a collection of donations for the construction of the temple began.
Construction began in 1907. And already in 1909, the construction was completed, the temple was consecrated in the name of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.
This is a fairly large church in the style of Russian romanticism with five chapters. The view of the temple was a bit unusual due to the fact that the existing chapel building was used as the basis. The construction was supervised by two Old Believer priests - P. D. Zaletov and A. I. Kalyagin.
In gratitude, the Kazan Old Believers compiled a loyal address to Emperor Nicholas II. The original of this document is now stored in the National Archives of Tatarstan.
During the revolutionary times, the large Old Believer community of Kazan was persecuted and suffered from the struggle against religion. The building of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, fortunately, is well preserved. Now it is the Intercession Cathedral of the Kazan-Vyatka diocese of the Russian Orthodox Old Believers Church. Repair and restoration work is underway in the temple. Upon completion of the work, the temple will receive believers.
