Holy Assumption Cathedral Church: An Orthodox Cathedral in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Uzbekistan
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- Russian
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page7 sections
History
Holy Assumption Cathedral Church is an Orthodox cathedral in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the cathedral church of the Tashkent and Uzbekistan Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is also known as the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God, referring to the Christian feast of the Dormition, or Assumption, which commemorates the death and heavenly reception of the Virgin Mary. The building is also called the Hospital Church because it stood near a military hospital.
Foundation and consecration
The cathedral replaced an earlier Panteleimon Church built beside the hospital cemetery in 1871. Construction of the new church began in 1877, and the building was completed in 1878. It was consecrated on 31 January 1879 in honor of Saint Panteleimon, a great martyr and healer venerated in Eastern Christianity.
Donations from Tashkent residents financed the construction. Turkestan Governor-General Konstantin von Kaufman gave 3,000 rubles, while the largest contribution came from Dmitry Zakho, a first-guild Tashkent merchant. Zakho later served as the churchwarden for 15 years.
Soviet closure and return to worship
In 1922, the parish was transferred to the Renovationist Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Renovationist movement was a reformist church administration supported by Soviet authorities after the Russian Revolution and separated from the canonical leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. Worship ended at the church in 1933, after which the building served as a sanitary depot for the Central Asian Military District until 1945.
In December 1945, the church was returned to worshippers and reconsecrated in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. It then became the cathedral of the Tashkent Diocese. Between 1958 and 1960, under Bishop Ermogen Golubev, the earlier building was rebuilt and substantially enlarged. The cathedral was reconstructed again in 1978 under the direction of Soviet and Russian architect V. I. Piskarev.
Expansion and diocesan role
During the early 1990s, under Metropolitan Vladimir Ikim, the cathedral grounds were enlarged. A separate chapel for the Orthodox rite of blessing water was established, and construction began on a spiritual and administrative center. Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus conducted a service or prayer at the cathedral during his visit to Tashkent on 10 November 1996.
Construction of the southern side chapel began in 2007. It was intended for the commemoration of Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. The cathedral domes were renewed in 2008, while construction also began on a new water-blessing chapel. A new bell tower was consecrated in 2009 and is reportedly the tallest in Uzbekistan. In 2014, the construction of an additional Church of Saint Luke was decided upon for funeral services.
The cathedral remains the seat of the ruling bishop of the diocese. Its current rector is Metropolitan Vikenty Morar of Tashkent and Uzbekistan. From 1951 to 1953, its sacristan was Mikhey Kharkharov, a church official responsible for the sanctuary and liturgical objects; he later became Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov.
Remains
The cathedral is a brick Orthodox church on Avliyota Street, formerly known as Hospital Street, near Tashkent’s central railway station and the former military hospital. Its present form reflects repeated enlargement and rebuilding, especially the major expansion carried out between 1958 and 1960. The cathedral stands within enlarged grounds that also contain separate religious and administrative buildings created or planned during later phases.
Cathedral and grounds
The surviving cathedral is a substantially enlarged brick church whose physical fabric incorporates the rebuilding of the mid-20th century and the reconstruction of 1978. Its domes were renewed in 2008. The grounds were expanded in the early 1990s, when a spiritual and administrative center was begun and a separate water-blessing chapel was established for the Orthodox rite of blessing water. A further water-blessing chapel began construction in 2008.
Side chapel and bell tower
The cathedral complex includes a southern side chapel, a subsidiary worship space attached to or incorporated into a larger church, dedicated to Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. Construction began in 2007. The complex also includes a new bell tower consecrated in 2009, which is reportedly the tallest bell tower in Uzbekistan. The planned Church of Saint Luke, intended for funeral services, represents another addition to the cathedral grounds.
