Transfiguration Cathedral (Raisins)

The oldest building of Izyum was built in 1684 in the Ukrainian Baroque style at the expense of the foreman of the Izyum regiment ^[1] . The decor resembles the Intercession Cathedral of Kharkov . It is possible that both churches were built by one artel ^[3] .

The five-domed cathedral, which has the shape of a cross in plan, was consecrated in 1684 ^[1] , in 1751 it was renovated after renovation. After the Battle of Poltava, Peter I presented the altar gospel to the church ^[1] . Before the revolution, trophies received by the regiment in military campaigns hung on the walls of the temple ^[1] . From September 12 to September 25, 1825, Alexander I prayed in the cathedral, who stayed in Izum on the road to the south of Russia ^[1] .

From 1846 to 1866, the temple was expanded on donation collections by the extension of the vestibule and the bell tower on the western side ^[1] . In 1902-03 the building was rebuilt according to the project of engineer M. I. Lovtsov ^[3] : pear-shaped chapters were replaced by onion-shaped ones, kokoshniks were held at the top of the arches.

In 1866, there were four thrones in the church: In honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord , in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Dmitry Solunsky , in honor of the Holy Prophet Elijah , in honor of the Holy Protopriest Anna ^{[1] [2]} .

In the 1930s, the church was closed to services ^[1] . By the beginning of the war, the cathedral was looted and used as a warehouse ^[1] . In the fall of 1941, during the retreat , the Soviet army blew up the bell tower and the narthex ^{[1] [2]} .

In 1953–55, it was rebuilt from a larger piece of brick in the form that the cathedral, according to restorers, had before the renewal of the beginning of the 20th century ^[3] . The iron coating of the roof in 1983 was replaced by a copper one.

The five-tower (“five-tower”) cathedral was built in the style of the Cossack baroque ^{[1] [2]} ; in volumetric-spatial structure is close to the Starocherkassky Cathedral . The pentahedra of the lateral branches are attached to the central volume. The arches, having a sectional view of a trapezoid, resemble “flat faces of wooden chopped arches” ^[3] . At the corners of the facades flat blades and columns with interception in the middle were made. Facades - an arcature belt , a profiled base, cornices - decorated with a toothed curb .

“In the interior, a highly open space is perceived as one due to the high and wide three-center supporting arches that combine the branches of the cathedral with the central volume” ^[3] .