For many centuries Belgorod has been and remains one of the main spiritual centers of Russia. The diocese with the center in Belgorod was founded back in 1667 by order of the father of Peter I, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and for a long time was one of the most extensive in the entire territory of Russia. It is not surprising that so many churches and cathedrals were erected in Belgorod, although some of them have not survived to this day.
Nowadays, all the main temples have been restored in the city. First of all, this is the Transfiguration Cathedral with the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod and St. Nicholas-Joasaph Cathedral with a unique carved iconostasis, as well as a number of others. Since the beginning of the new millennium, many new churches have been built in Belgorod - wooden and stone, detached or located near social facilities, such as the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Tsaritsa" at the Oncology Center or the Temple of the Archangel Gabriel at BelSU.
Operating churches and cathedrals in Belgorod
List of the most famous and popular temples in the city.
Transfiguration Cathedral
The history of the cathedral begins with the wooden Transfiguration Church, the first mention of which dates back to 1626. A two-storey stone church was erected on this site in 1813 at the expense of parishioners, and it received the cathedral status in 1923. In the 30s of the XX century, the temple was closed, but in 1942, during the occupation of Belgorod by the Nazis, services were resumed. In the 90s, the cathedral was returned to the believers. The main shrine of the cathedral is the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod.
Address: Belgorod, st. Preobrazhenskaya, 63 V
Site: belfavor.ru
Smolensky Cathedral
The cathedral was built in 1727 in the Moscow Baroque style on the site of a wooden chapel. Its architectural appearance resembles the temples of the eastern regions of Ukraine. During the Great Patriotic War, the temple was riddled with shells, the inhabitants of the city took refuge in it. The building survived, although nothing remained of the interior decoration of the temple. Later, they wanted to blow up the cathedral twice, but these attempts were unsuccessful. Since 1991, the cathedral was returned to the Church, divine services were resumed in it and restoration work began.
Address: Belgorod, Civil Avenue, 50
Website: smssobor.rf
Temple of the Great Martyr George the Victorious
Temple in the name of the great martyr. George, built from 1997 to 2001, became the first temple in the Belgorod region, felled from logs. The project was carried out in accordance with the canons of Russian wooden architecture, the church was built by carpenters from Transcarpathia. The eastern part of the temple is crowned with a multitude of gilded domes, and a tent-roofed bell tower is located on the western part. The interior is decorated with numerous carved elements. The temple complex also includes two chapels located nearby.
Address: Koroleva, 1 B
St. Nicholas Ioasaph Cathedral
In 1799, a small brick chapel was built at the New City Cemetery, later, in the middle of the 19th century, it was expanded thanks to the efforts of the headman and parishioners. To this day, the old iconostasis of the 13th century is located in the Nikolo-Joasaphsky Cathedral, transferred here in 1962 from the closed Transfiguration Cathedral. Since then, the cathedral has received the status of a cathedral. The shrines of the cathedral are the tomb and vestments of St. Joasaph, the Sand Icon of the Mother of God.
Address: Popova, 56
Website: www.nikolo-ioasaf.ru
Temple of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
The construction of a new stone church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Pochaevskaya" was completed in 2012. There are traces of the neo-Byzantine style in the decor of the temple. The diameter of the main dome is 7.2 meters, the capacity of the temple is 450 people. The consecration took place on August 5, 2012, on the day of commemoration of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. It is symbolic that it was on this day in 1943 that Soviet troops liberated Belgorod from the Nazis. The church contains a copy of the Pochaevskaya icon of the Mother of God, created in the Pochaev Lavra, as well as a number of other shrines.
Address: Belgorod, Yunosti boulevard, 3 B
Site: pochaev.cerkov.ru
Church of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow
A small one-domed temple in the Byzantine style, covered with blue figured tiles, is located on the territory of the regional hospital in the city of Belgorod. The construction of the temple in honor of the blessed Matrona of Moscow was completed in 2004, and since then there are always a lot of people here. The entrance to the temple is a small arch with a mini-bell tower above it. In the temple there is an ark with a particle of the relics of St. Matrona and her image, which streamed myrrh in 2016. Beautiful illumination is provided at night.
Address: Nekrasov, 8, bldg. one
Assumption-Nicholas Cathedral
On June 15, 1701, for the construction of the Assumption-Nicholas Cathedral, Emperor Peter I donated 100 rubles. This fact was immortalized in a memorial plaque on the wall of the cathedral, and Peter I's note with the order to donate money was carefully kept in the altar for more than two centuries. The cathedral was built in 1709. Since 1993, a courtyard of the Belgorod women's Martha-Mariinsky monastery has been opened at the church. In 1998, the temple was returned to the Orthodox Church, and restoration work began. The consecration took place in 2005.
Address: Pushkin, 19 A
Temple of Archangel Gabriel
St. Gabriel's Church is a home church at Belgorod State University, built in 2001 on the territory of the new university campus. Included in the Association of House Churches at the universities of the Russian Federation. The architectural appearance of the temple in a unique way combines the traditions of ancient architecture and a modern architectural "find" - the gate to the temple, reminiscent of the wings of an angel, on which the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes are written. Architect - N. A. Molchanova.
Address: Belgorod, Universitetskaya square, 1
Website: arh-gavriil.bsu.edu.ru/arh-gavriil
Holy Cross Church
Built in 1863 with donations from Countess A. V. Lastovskaya and the merchants Mukhanovs. A particularly revered shrine of the temple is the Miraculous Cross, sent by an Athos monk to his landlord brother. However, the landowner rejected the gift and ordered to throw it into the swamp. A few decades later, the Cross was found in a quagmire, and the blind man who found it after the location of the Cross revealed to him in a dream was healed of his illness. Pilgrimage to the Cross continues to this day.
Address: Veselskaya, 154
Site: belkrest.ru
St. Michael's Church
A stone church with a bell tower in Pushkarnaya Sloboda was built in 1844 at the expense of parishioners and merchant M.K. Machurin. In Soviet times, the Mikhailovsky Church was not closed, thanks to which it was possible to preserve the unique four-tiered iconostasis of the 19th century. It is made of wood and decorated with carvings and gilding. Among the icons, the icon of the Mother of God "Seven-shot" is especially revered, as well as the icons of the Archangel Michael of the XIX century and St. Joasaph of the early XX century transferred from Athos.
Address: Donetskaya, 84
Site: arhangel-mihail.ru
Temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh
In 2010, a new church was consecrated in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh. It was built near secondary school No. 34, which stands on the site of the former temple that existed in Krasnaya Sloboda from 1846 to 1937. It was a stone church with five domes and three thrones; it had two church schools, which were supported by the parish funds. The main shrine of the current revived church is a particle of the relics of St. Sergius.
Address: 8 March, 170
Site: bel-radonezh.cerkov.ru
Temple of the Korsun Icon of the Mother of God
The temple in honor of the Korsunskaya Icon of the Mother of God was transformed in 1997 from a municipal building located on the territory of the city cemetery. The author of the project is the architect V. Ya. Busygin. Every year on October 22, a procession takes place from the church to the chapel built over the spring in the Monastery Forest. The forest is called so because there used to be a monastery here, where the revered image of the Mother of God of Korsun was located. In the 1930s, all the monastery buildings were demolished.
Address: Portovaya, 94
Temple in the name of Righteous John of Kronstadt
Another wooden temple in Belgorod, built today. Located in the northern part of the city in a quiet residential area. The tent-roofed church with an open porch in the style of wooden architecture of the Russian North was built for the 180th anniversary of the birth of St. John of Kronstadt. The consecration of the temple took place in June 2009. A beautiful carved altar is installed inside. A particularly valuable icon of the temple - donated by the governor of the Belgorod region. the image of the saint, consecrated in the Ioannovsky Monastery of St. Petersburg.
Address: Belgorod, Bogdan Khmelnitsky Avenue, 167 A
Website: stioann.orthodoxy.ru
Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Tsaritsa"
A small and cozy wooden church decorated with carved domes was built near the regional oncological dispensary in 2010. The architectural appearance combines features of different styles. The church contains a list of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "The Tsaritsa", which is kept in the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos. It is believed to help heal cancer.
Address: Kuibysheva, 1 B
Temple of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Temple
A beautiful wooden church with blue roof slopes was built in 2007 near the Children's Regional Hospital by the architect L. I. Kolesnikova. Nearby is the Bishop's Grove park. The temple at the children's hospital was consecrated in honor of the Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, it is no coincidence, because the Virgin Mary was brought to the temple by her parents at the age of three. Little patients and their parents, walking around the hospital town, can ask the Lord for speedy healing.
Address: Bishopric, 6, bldg. 2
Temple of St. Seraphim of Sarov
In 2013, in the area of the Old Town, a wooden church was built in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Until the 40s of the XX century, in its place was the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, erected in 1783. The new temple is designed for 120 people. The solemn consecration of the Seraphim Church took place on August 1, 2013, on the day of the uncovering of the relics of St. A large monument to the saint, as well as an Armenian khachkar dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, is erected near the temple.
Address: Korochanskaya, 320
Chapel of St. Joasaph of Belgorod
In May 2009, during the performance of archaeological work, the remains of the walls of the tomb of St. Joasaph were discovered, which was located in the south-western aisle of the Holy Trinity Cathedral demolished by the Bolsheviks. After such a find, it was decided to erect a chapel on this site, which was done in 2011 for the 100th anniversary of the canonization of the saint. The chapel was built in the classical style and is an exact copy of the chapel of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The tomb (cave) is located nearby and is covered with a glass dome crowned with the figure of an angel.
Address: Belgorod, Svyato-Troitsky Boulevard, 24
Temple "Joy of All Who Sorrow"
The temple in the Sosnovka microdistrict near the building of the correctional colony No. 5 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Belgorod Region was built, first of all, for the spiritual care of the convicts. The ceremony of laying the first stone took place back in 2008, and the temple itself was consecrated recently - in February 2019. The weight of the gilded dome of the temple is 6 tons. The entrance to the temple is made in the form of an arch, over which there is a small belfry.
Address: Sosnovka, 1
Site: vsradost.ru
Holy Trinity Church
In 1992, next to the place where in the 16th century there was an ancient settlement (the first settlement on the territory of Belgorod), a new church was laid. Despite the fact that the project of the church is simple - a small church with one cupola and a gable roof, its construction took many years. The dome of the temple was installed only in 2003. The temple is currently active.
Address: Studencheskaya, 2 B
Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin
It was built in 2006 for the Pomor community of Belgorod Old Believers after long preliminary activities that began in 2001 with the formation of a community of Old Believers-Pomors. The Old Believers themselves built the temple. It took only a year to build. The Tarasovs, the Old Believers brothers, who dedicated the church to the memory of their grandfather, who suffered for the Orthodox faith, acted as trustees. This Old Believer temple is the only Old Orthodox Pomor temple in the Central Black Earth region.
Address: Kurskaya, 18
