Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral
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The Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral (
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: ''Catedral Ortodoxa Nuestra Señora de Kazán'') (
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Православный Собор Богоматери Казанской
Transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...
: ''Pravoslavnyj Sobor Bogomateri Kazanskoj''), is a
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
cathedral located in historic old town of
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, under the jurisdiction of the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
. The temple was built on the shores of
Havana Harbour Havana Harbor is the port of Havana, the capital of Cuba, and it is the main port in Cuba (not including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a territory on lease by the United States). Other port cities in Cuba include Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Manzanillo, ...
in
Old Havana Old Havana ( es, link=no, La Habana Vieja) is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of ...
, on the corner of San Pedro Ave. and Santa Clara.


History

The first service of the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
in Cuba began in 2001. At first they were held in the Russian trade delegation, then at the embassy, and later in the Catholic church.


Construction of the Temple

The first agreement for the project dates back to 2002. Starting then, preparations began for the work, whose construction was initiated on November 14, 2004, at the initiative of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who, according to his memoirs, "offered to build the Cathedral of Russian Orthodox Church in the capital of Cuba as a monument to Russian-Cuban friendship". The first stone of the temple was laid in November 2004 by Metropolitan Kirill of
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
and
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
, (since 2009 the
Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
of Moscow and all Rus', and Primate of the
Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
) following an agreement by the Cuban authorities with the Russian Orthodox Church. The project was developed by architect Alexey Vorontsov and approved by the official historian of Havana,
Eusebio Leal Eusebio Leal Spengler (11 September 194231 July 2020) was a Cuban historian. He served as the municipal historian of Havana, as well as the director of the restoration project of Old Havana. Under his oversight, the historic centre of the capit ...
, who travelled to Moscow to discuss the matter and met with Patriarch
Alexy II of Moscow Patriarch Alexy II (or Alexius II, russian: link=no, Патриарх Алексий II; secular name Aleksei Mikhailovich Ridiger russian: link=no, Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ри́дигер; 23 February 1929 – 5 December ...
. Foreman construction was the Cuban engineer Pedro Rodriguez Sanchez. The construction was carried on means of the Cuban authorities, with the participation of a multidisciplinary team of designers, investors, architects; civil, electrical, hydraulic and mechanical engineers; and workers from the Office of the City of Havana Historian and other entities in the country, as was agreed with the
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n ecclesial authorities.


Architecture

From Moscow, had been delivered some elements of decoration of the temple (the dome, the floor covering) and the church plate. Built in the style of a composition of types of circular towers, the cathedral is crowned by an imposing central golden cupola, surrounded another four smaller copper-colored ones, all the shape of an onion bulb and integrated into a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
structure. The cathedral was built based on traditional materials such as concrete and bricks. It comprises three works: church, diocese and bell tower. The pieces of the six cupolas (five in the church and another in the bell tower) were brought to the Cuban capital from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
and were installed by local specialists. The temple's first floor is set aside for administrative areas, the father's rooms, public bathroom, kitchen, meeting room, computer room and technical area. Meanwhile, the top floor houses the church as such, with capacity for approximately 500 persons, which is accessed through two granite stairways. The principal entrance is through San Pedro Street and the back part of the temple, the back of the altar, through Avenida del Puerto. The Cathedral takes up an area of 1,200 meters facing the bay of Havana.


Consecration of the Cathedral

The church was consecrated October 19, 2008 in a ceremony ministered by Metropolitan Kirill GundyaevВ Гаване освящен русский православный храм
МП, 21 октября 2008 in the presence of Heads of State of Cuba
Raul Castro Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may r ...
and hundreds of Orthodox believers, including employees of the Russian embassy in Havana and missions.


References


External links


www.orthodoxcuba.com
{{Havana landmarks Churches in Havana Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia 21st-century churches in the Caribbean Russian Orthodox cathedrals in North America Russian Orthodox church buildings in Cuba Cathedrals in Cuba 2004 establishments in Cuba Churches completed in 2008 21st-century architecture in Cuba