Kazan is a city in which the traditions of the East and the West are surprisingly intertwined. For several centuries after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, Orthodoxy and Islam peacefully coexisted on the territory of this city. Mosques stand on the same streets as Orthodox churches, and the residents of Kazan treat all religions with equal respect.
The main Orthodox churches of the capital of Tatarstan are located in the historical center of the city. First of all, this is the Annunciation Cathedral, built in the 16th century and for a long time the former cathedral of the Kazan diocese. Another unique architectural monument and a striking example of Russian Baroque is the colorful Peter and Paul Cathedral. At present, not only are the old churches with a long history being actively restored in the city, but new ones are also being built.
Operating churches and cathedrals of Kazan
List of the most famous and popular temples in the city.
Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin
In 1552, by order of Ivan the Terrible, a wooden church was built, and already 9 years later, the construction of a stone cathedral began under the leadership of famous architects Barma and Postnik. Over the centuries, the temple was rebuilt many times, survived 8 fires. In the 20th century, the cathedral was preserved thanks to the fact that it was handed over to the State Archives, but much was plundered. Some of the surviving icons and objects from the sacristy of the cathedral have become museum exhibits. Comprehensive restoration was carried out in 1995-2005.
Address: Kazan, Kremlin, bldg. 2
Nikolsky Cathedral
The architectural and temple complex of two churches, a chapel, a "falling" bell tower and several church and administrative buildings is one of the main attractions of Kazan. The first wooden church on the site of the current Nikolsky Cathedral was built back in 1565, in its place at the end of the 17th century the Nikolo-Nizskaya and Pokrovskaya churches were erected. Since 1930, the cathedral was closed, and in 1946 it was reopened with the status of a cathedral.
Address: Kazan, st. Bauman, 5
Site: nks-km.ru
Epiphany Cathedral
The stone church in the name of the Epiphany, together with other buildings of the architectural complex, was built at the end of the first half of the 18th century at the expense of Kazan merchants-patrons. In 1873, F. Chaliapin was baptized in the Epiphany Cathedral. In 1935, the cathedral was closed, and then began to be used as a warehouse, trade pavilions and a workshop were arranged in the bell tower. In 1996-1997, the temple was returned to the believers. On the bell tower, which is about 74 meters high, an observation deck was opened in 2016.
Address: Bauman, 78, building 1
Site: vk.com/sobor_bogoyavleniya
Peter and Paul Cathedral
A magnificent example of regional architecture, built in 1726 in the style of Peter the Great's Baroque, has become one of the symbols of Kazan. In the 18th-19th centuries, the temple burned many times, gradually collapsed and decayed, so at the end of the 19th century, a serious reconstruction was carried out, thanks to which it was possible to preserve the original appearance of the cathedral to this day. The temple operated until 1939, after it was closed it received the status of a protected architectural monument, later it housed a planetarium. In 1989, the temple was returned to the believers. The seven-tiered iconostasis has survived to this day.
Address: Musa Jalil, 21
Website: vk.com/petropavlovskysobor
Church of the Holy Great Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnitsa
The temple traces its history from the wooden church of St. Nicholas Zaraisky with the side-altar of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, built in 1566. Thirteen years later, it burned down, and the stone Pyatnitskaya church in its place was founded only in 1726. It also burned and rebuilt many times. In 1923-1937 the temple belonged to the "renovationists", then it was turned into a prison where death sentences were carried out. The bodies of the killed were buried right on the territory of the church. The temple and the bell tower demolished in the 50s were restored in the late 90s.
Address: Bolshaya Krasnaya, 1, bldg. 2
Website: www.hramparaskevi.ru
Church of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara
The Varvara Church was built at the end of the 18th century, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was dismantled and a new Russian-style temple was built in its place. It was visited by many famous writers - N. G. Chernyshevsky, A. N. Radishchev, V. Korolenko. The poet N. Zabolotsky was baptized here, and F. Chaliapin sang on the choir of the temple. In the 30s of the XX century, the church was closed and, at first, a club of tram fleet workers, then workshops and a department of the institute were arranged in it. The temple was returned to believers in 1994 and restored in 2000.
Address: Karl Marx, 67
Website: svyatayavarvara.rf
Temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
The Tikhvin Church was built in the second half of the 17th century and for a long time was just an ordinary parish church. Its rise began in 1844 after the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, which was in the church, was glorified as miraculous. Pilgrims were drawn to the temple. With the funds raised, the temple was twice overhauled and expanded. During the Soviet years, the temple was destroyed. Since the 1990s, it has been given to the Kryashen community.
Address: Mikhail Khudyakov, 4
Website: vk.com/tikhvinicon
Holy Cross Church
The temple in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-giving Cross of the Lord was erected in the domed floor of the Exaltation of the Cross building of the Kazan Mother of God Monastery. In 1929, it was decided to close the church and liquidate the property. For a long time, until 2005, the building housed a pedagogical institute. In the 90s, a gradual revival of the monastery began. In 2004, the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was handed over to the renovated monastery.
Address: Bolshaya Krasnaya, 5
Site: kazan-obitel.ru
Temple of Seraphim of Sarov
The construction of the temple began in 2000 at the expense of parishioners and sponsors. The opening and consecration of the temple took place in January 2006. Near the temple of St. Seraphim of Sarov, a church was erected in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" and several church and administrative buildings. All of them represent a single complex, built according to the project of the Kazan architect A. A. Sporius, who managed to combine tradition and multifunctionality.
Address: Safiullina, 7
Site: vk.com/serafimov_narod
Church of the Holy Great Martyr Evdokia
The name of St. Evdokia of Idiopolskaya wears the side chapel of the temple. He himself was consecrated in honor of the Savior Not Made by Hands, however, since its construction in 1735, the temple has been called Evdokia. It is assumed that it was built with money donated by Evdokia Mikhlyaeva. The temple is an example of Russian baroque. In the 1930s, the temple was closed and turned into a prison. The return of the dilapidated church to believers took place in 1998, after which restoration work was carried out.
Address: Fedoseevskaya, 46
Temple of the Descent of the Holy Spirit
The two-altar temple was built in the Sukonnaya Sloboda of Kazan in 1731-35 at the expense of Evdokia Mikhlyaeva, whose husband owned a cloth manufactory. In the 19th century, the church was rebuilt several times. Before the revolution, the Holy Spirit Church had the largest parish in Kazan - up to 4 thousand people. In 1931, the temple was closed and converted into a club, later there was a puppet theater on the second floor, and apartments on the first floor. The reconstruction of the temple was carried out in 2012-2015, after which it was transferred to the Kazan diocese.
Address: Tufana Minnullina, 21
Website: duhovhram-kzn.ru
Youth Temple of Sergius of Radonezh
At the consecration of the temple in 2015, the Metropolitan of Kazan and Tatarstan Theophan called the temple a youth, because it was there that it was planned to open the second site in the city for the youth Orthodox club "Azbuka". The temple will enter its history since 1850, when a house church was arranged in the building of the almshouse, built at the expense of the merchant V.M. Lozhkin. At the end of the 19th century, the temple was transferred to a new attached building. In 1918 the temple was closed and the almshouse became a nursing home. The restoration began in 2014.
Address: Krasnokokshaiskaya, 101
Site: vk.com/sergieradonezh
Cathedral of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin
The five-domed brick church in the pseudo-Russian style was built in 1906-1909 through a complete reconstruction of the prayer house of the Old Believers - white-baked people. In the 20s of the XX century, the shrines of the temple and church utensils were confiscated, and the temple itself was closed. After the restoration in 1997 of the Kazan-Vyatka diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the restoration of the Intercession Church began, which continues to this day. It is assumed that after the restoration, the temple will be given the status of a cathedral.
Address: Staraya, 17
Temple of Alexander Nevsky
An incredibly beautiful and architecturally unusual temple was erected in the Azino microdistrict in 2015, although the foundation stone was laid back in 2007. The thickness of the temple walls is 1.85 meters, and the ceiling is made in the form of classical vaults without overlapping, as in ancient Russian churches. The construction of the temple was carried out with private donations. The temple can accommodate about 800 people. The parish society "Sobriety" was created at the church.
Address: Academician Sakharov, 16 B
Site: vk.com/nevsky_hram
Temple of Saints Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia
The temple was built in 2005-2007. at the expense of the General Director of Zarechye Bank NV Devyatykh. The consecration of the temple took place on September 29, 2007. It was conducted by Archbishop Anastasy of Kazan and Tatarstan. The two-headed hipped-roof temple with a bell tower became an adornment of the Kirovsky district. There is a Sunday school at the church, and a parish newspaper is published.
Address: Okolnaya, 1 B
Site: sofia-hram.ru
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
In the middle of the 16th century, two wooden churches were built on the territory of the Zilantov Monastery - the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints. The stone Church of All Saints was erected only at the end of the 17th century. During the 19th century, it was rebuilt many times, and in 1898 it was completely dismantled and erected according to a new project. It was in this form in 1998, after decades of desolation, that the All Saints Church was restored, only it was consecrated in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Address: Moscow, 3
Bishop's courtyard of Kirill Kazansky
The temple on the territory of the Novo-Savinovsky district of Kazan was founded in 2009 and consecrated in September 2012. The construction was financed by private philanthropists, the main funds were allocated by the Bank Zarechye and the Kazan Helicopter Plant. The courtyard includes a brick church in the name of the Holy Martyr. Cyril and a spacious administrative and church building, which houses a Sunday school, a library, an assembly hall. The temple was painted by artists from Sergiev Posad.
Address: Chistopolskaya, 30
Site: vk.com/mkirillru
Vladimirskaya church
Gate Church in the name of St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir was built in 1690 in the Moscow Baroque style. Later reconstructions greatly changed the appearance of the temple. In 1918 the Kizichesky monastery was closed and ruined. In the 1930s, many buildings were destroyed, and the remainder housed warehouses and garages. The restoration of the monastery began in 2001. Along with other buildings of the monastery, the Vladimir church was restored and returned to the Kazan diocese. The consecration took place in 2010.
Address: Dekabristov, 98
Church of St. Barsanuphius of Kazan
A small one-domed church was erected in 1901 on the territory of a hospital for the blind. The money for the construction was donated by L. Kaul in memory of her husband, the famous Kazan philanthropist I. I. Alafuzov, with funds that were inherited by her. The church was built according to the project of the Moscow architect K. Bykhovsky and is stylized as old Russian architecture. In 1918, the temple was closed, and all the icons and utensils were lost. The second life of the temple began in 2010.
Address: Tolstoy, 4/47
Website: temple-varsonofia.rf
Temple of Sergius of Radonezh
The parish of the new church was formed on the initiative of the Orthodox community of the Kirovsky region in 1999. A plot of land with a 19th century house was allocated for construction. In 2003, the house was converted into a temple. Around the same time, in 2003-2004, the project of a new church was developed and approved. The money for the construction was donated by the Director General of Bank Zarechye N. Devyatykh, thanks to whom over two dozen new churches appeared in Kazan. The temple was opened and consecrated in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh in 2009.
Address: Krasnokokshaiskaya, 101
Site: vk.com/sergieradonezh
