Matvienko: reconstructed Kazan Cathedral will be one of the symbols of Russia's spiritual revival

21 July 2021


The restored Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral of the Bogoroditskiy Monastery, which for centuries has been a place of pilgrimage for believers from all over the world, will become one of the symbols of Russia's spiritual revival, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko said on Wednesday during the ceremonial opening and sanctification of the cathedral in Kazan.


"There is no doubt that the reborn Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral will become, as it has been for centuries, a place of pilgrimage for believers from all over the Orthodox world, will become one of the symbols of the spiritual revival of Russia, the revival of our Fatherland," she said. The Speaker of the Council of the Federation added that the Cathedral is again becoming a significant architectural landmark of Kazan and one of the recognizable symbols of the city.


Matvienko said she considered it deeply symbolic that the sanctification of the Cathedral on the day of its finding coincided with the days of one of the most important Muslim holidays - Kurban Bayram. "And today, taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate all Muslims of Tatarstan and Russia from the bottom of my heart on this ancient and so important holiday. The peaceful neighborhood of majestic minarets of mosques and golden domes of orthodox cathedrals gives Kazan and other cities of Tatarstan a special atmosphere, a special aura, I would say a special beauty, creates an image of a place where one wants to live, raise children, where one always wants to return," she said.


The senator stressed that the most important values are the same for all - love for neighbor, care about your family, honest work, the desire for justice. "I am sure that the sanctification of this wonderful cathedral in the heart of Kazan will be another step to preserve unity, trust, mutual understanding between peoples. This is something our country is justly proud of, which fortunately has never known religious wars or strife in its history," Matvienko concluded.


About the Cathedral


In November 2015, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov signed a decree to revive the  Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral at the site of the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kazan was found. In July 2016, on the day the icon appeared in Kazan, at the conclusion of the liturgy in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin, Patriarch Kirill performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the historic cathedral in the Bogoroditskiy Monastery. Between 2016 and 2021, the temple was recreated almost in its original form.


The icon of Our Lady of Kazan was found in 1579 after a fire in Kazan. That same year by order of tsar Ivan IV (1530-1584) a maiden Bogoroditskiy monastery was founded and the first wooden church in the name of the Nativity of the Mother of God was built. In 1595 at the site of the church, a stone cathedral was built in the name of the Apparition of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan. In 1798, Emperor Paul I (1754-1801) ordered the construction of a new church and was personally present at the laying of the first stone, the cathedral was consecrated in 1808.


In 1917, the Bogoroditsky Monastery was abolished, the buildings were used to host various institutions, including a film studio, a refugee shelter and grain storage. The central church was blown up in 1932.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Federation Council

Based on materials from TASS