The Intercession Cathedral () or Pokrovskyi Cathedral () is the oldest cathedral in
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine. ,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, built in 1689. In addition to the cathedral, the monastery complex includes the seminary, Kharkiv episcopal residence, and the Church of the Mother of God Ozerianska.
History
The first wooden church was built in the first half of the XVII century and consecrated in the honour of
Intercession of the Theotokos
The Intercession of the Theotokos, or the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, is a Christian feast of the Mother of God celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches on October 14 (Julian calend ...
. In 1659 local
Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
decided to construct a stone temple. It was finished by 1689 and consecrated by the bishop . The stone church was designed in a traditional Russian way — three-domed basilica placed on a warm ‘winter’ temple. The upper part was connected to the bell tower with a narthex gallery.
In 1726 the bishop and the field marshal
Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn established the . The monastery complex included a collegium, the first higher education establishment in Kharkiv.
The Intercession Church was restored in 1729 and equipped with new church ware. In 1732 the bell tower received a 1.6 tonn new bell. In 1799—1846 the church had a status of a cathedral. It was closed in the 1920s and decayed for more than 30 years. In 1992 it was returned under management of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Gallery
File:Universitetskaya Gorka 1840s.jpg, Engraving from the 1840s
File:Pokrovsky Monastery in Kharkov.jpg, Postcard from the 1910s
File:Pokrovsky Monastery in Kharkiv by Lypko S. 9.jpg, The monastery in 2016
References
Sources
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Cathedrals in Kharkiv
Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in Ukraine
Churches completed in 1689
Ukrainian Baroque church buildings