The Ascension Cathedral ( ''Vosnesenskiy sobor'', ''Voznesensk kafedraly shirkeýi''), also known as Zenkov Cathedral, is a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

located in Panfilov Park in

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. Completed in 1907, the cathedral is made out o
wood but without nails
It stands 56 meters tall, and is claimed to be the second tallest wooden church in the world.

History

In the late 19th century the first bishops of the Turkistan

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

discussed the need for a Russian Orthodox Church in Almaty. On September 26, 1903, the bishop of Turkestan and

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Paisii (Vinogradov) consecrated the foundation of the church. Construction took place between 1904 and 1907. The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

was erected on September 14, 1906. The cathedral survived the 1911 earthquake with minimal damage, even though it was built without any nails, which some bishops attributed to divine intervention. Some speculate the decision to refrain from using nails was due to their contribution to the crucifixion of Jesus.Zhamkhanova, K. A., A. K. Botanov, and Manash Kabashevich Kozybaev. ''Pamiatniki istorii i kulʹtury Almaty: katalog dokumentov''. Almaty: Izd-vo Ȯner, 2003. . p. 39. The inner structure of the cathedral was made in art workshops in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. The

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

was painted by N. Khludov. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

the cathedral was used to house the Central State Museum of the

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental country, transcontinental Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Un ...

. From 1930 to 1940 it was used by notable public organizations. The first radio transmitters in Almaty were situated in the cathedral's belfry. Restoration work on the cathedral began in 1973 and lasted until 1976. In May 1995 control of the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1997, after additional restoration work, it was reopened for religious services. From July 2017, the cathedral underwent large-scale reconstruction, which ended on October 28, 2020. The cathedral is currently open to the public, and welcomes newcomers and guests.

"Cathedral" coinage

On June 2, 2007, the

National Bank of Kazakhstan The National Bank of Kazakhstan is the central bank of Kazakhstan. History The National Bank of Kazakhstan was established on the basis of the Kazakh Republican Bank of the State Bank of the USSR (since 1990, the State Bank of the Kazakh SSR; ...

put into circulation the coin "Cathedral Cathedral" (proof quality) of 500 tenge in 925 sterling silver with the mintage of 4000 pieces with the aim to promote the understanding of the culture of Kazakhstan, and to favor the idea of religion as a peaceful teaching about spiritual and moral self-improvement of person. The coin bears the coat of arms of Kazakhstan as well as inscriptions divided by dots on its circumference saying "500 ТЕҢГЕ", "ҚАЗАҚСТАН РЕСПУБЛИКАСЫ" in Kazakh and "РЕСПУБЛИКА КАЗАХСТАН" in Russian are depicted on the obverse. Reverse: in the center - image of Voznesensky Cathedral of Alma-Ata city, in the upper part - circumferential inscriptions "КАФЕДРАЛЫҚ ШІРКЕУ" and "КАФЕДРАЛЬНЫЙ СОБОР" and trademark of Kazakhstan Mint, on the left side - inscription "ALMATY 2007", on the bottom - inscription "Ag 925 31.1g". Coin of Kazakhstan Cathedr-r

References

External links

3D learning game about Ascension Cathedral
{{Almaty Cathedrals in Kazakhstan Buildings and structures in Almaty Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Kazakhstan Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Asia Churches completed in 1903 Russian Revival architecture UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards winners Wooden architecture of Russia