Description of the attraction
The Transfiguration Cathedral is one of the unique attractions of the city of Dnepropetrovsk and the main central church of the Dnepropetrovsk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Transfiguration Cathedral was the first construction that was laid by Empress Catherine II on the territory of the city of Yekaterinoslav. In her opinion, the future cathedral was to become the architectural dominant of the new city. The author of the first approved project of the cathedral in 1786 was the French architect and academician Claude Guerua, but this project was never implemented. And only half a century later, in 1835, the Transfiguration Cathedral was finally finally completed and consecrated.
After 1917, during the revolution, the temple was closed and even wanted to be destroyed, but thanks to the director of the Historical Museum of Yekaterinoslav - D. Yavornitsky, the shrine still remained preserved and later acted as the Museum of Atheism. Thus, Yavornitsky managed to preserve for some time all the inner uniqueness of the temple, although not a trace of the outer beauty remained.
Under the guise of the Museum of Atheism, the Transfiguration Cathedral both met and conducted the Great Patriotic War. And although in 1941 the German authorities still allowed the resumption of services in it, but after that a real post-war vandalism began, all the unique iconostases were burned, and the cathedral itself became the publishing house "Zorya".
Until 1988, services were not held in the Transfiguration Cathedral. Real changes began in the 90s. At the beginning of 1992, the temple was officially transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, after which all its historical primordiality was restored. Today, the Transfiguration Cathedral is one of the symbols of the city of Dnepropetrovsk.
