Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (Sochi)

Construction - Early 20th Century

This is the first Orthodox church in the Black Sea region . Built in memory of the end of the Caucasian War ( 1864 ). The beginning of the construction of the cathedral is associated with a direct indication of the Grand Duke of the Viceroy of the Caucasus, Mikhail Nikolaevich . The head of the Black Sea District, General D.V. Pilenko, played a noticeable role in the organization of construction. A temple was erected on the territory of the former Navaginsky fortification in Dakhovsky Posad. The state councilor agronomist A.V. Vereshchagin acted as the builder of the cathedral, having undertaken to build it with private funds. Initially, the work was financed by a large Black Sea landowner N. N. Mamontov. The plan and drawings of the temple were performed by Moscow architect A. S. Kaminsky . The laying of the church took place on May 26, 1874 . Four years later, the stone walls of the church and the refectory with an iron roof were completed. For various reasons, the construction of the church dragged on for many years, despite the help of the famous philanthropist S. I. Mamontov , Count F. F. Sumarokov-Elston . October 25, 1890 the construction of the temple was completed. September 24, 1891 the solemn consecration of the new cathedral took place. By the beginning of the 20th century, a spiritual center was formed around the temple. The parish possessions included: a parish school, a parish house with outbuildings, a chapel, a garden and park complex with a plant nursery. The whole complex was unofficially called the Church Quarter.

Closing - Returning to Believers

In 1929, the campaign began to close the cathedral. Already in 1931, the temple was closed, and then transferred to a warehouse where it was located before the start of World War II.

The temple was returned to believers in 1944 without compensation for church property. Throughout its history, the temple changed its appearance and internal appearance. In the post-war period, the building was rebuilt, having lost the features of the structure of A. S. Kaminsky.

In 1981, the cathedral building was placed under state protection as a monument of religious architecture.

In 1992-1994, the cathedral was restored according to the project of the Sochi architect F.I. Afuxenidi, who restored the temple to its original architectural appearance.

Our time

Nowadays, the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael is the main temple not only of the Central District, but also of Sochi.

The temple building is made in the form of a four-pointed cross with an elongated facade branch. The cross branches of the building are covered with arches, and the center with a dome. The length of the building is 25.6 meters, width - 17.1 meters, height, including the cross on the bell tower - 34 meters. In 1993 - 1994 the cathedral was restored.

A temple complex was built near the cathedral, including a Sunday school named after the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius and a baptismal church in the name of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (laid on December 19, 1995 ).

• Cathedral of the Archangel Michael
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• Nectarius (Korobov) - served as the rector of the church from 1978 to 1994.

• 1. Sochi: pages of the past and present. Sochi, 2007.
• 2. Booklet about the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.
• 3. A. V. Gusev. The road to the Temple (monuments of Christian religious architecture in Sochi). Sochi, 2007.

• Architecture of Sochi: Cathedral of the Archangel Michael // arch-sochi.ru, 10/13/2009