Church of the Resurrection, Arzamas

Voskresensky Cathedral in Arzamas is an Orthodox church in Arzamas. It belongs to the Nizhny Novgorod diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. It occupies a dominant position on Sobornaya Square.

The Resurrection Cathedral, the main decoration of the city, stands on a high hill, dominating the ensemble of Cathedral Square. In the panoramas from distant points the white cube and the five-domed cathedral dominate over the buildings, subordinating all churches of the city.

Built entirely with people's money, the Resurrection Cathedral was erected in gratitude to God for the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 as a monument to the heroism of Russian soldiers.

The construction of the temple began in 1814, designed by the architect, a native of Arzamas, Mikhail Korinfsky - a master of late classicism, a student of the architect Andrei Voronikhin. The construction lasted 28 years. The building took 5.5 million bricks, 1000 cubic meters of rubble for the foundation and 164 tons of iron.

The building has the form of a Greek cross placed on a square. The length and width of the temple are equal and are 30 fathoms each, and the height to the middle cross is 22 fathoms. The cathedral has five domes of spherical form, high pediments decorated with paintings, four porticoes resting on 48 columns. On the pediments of the cathedral are great frescos on Biblical themes: "Resurrection of Christ", "Appearance of the Holy Trinity to Abraham", "Council of All Saints", "Protection of the Holy Virgin Mary".

Finishing work and painting lasted 21 years. The cathedral was painted by students of Arzamas school of painting Alexander Stupin - Osip Semenovich Serebryakov and his son Alexander. The carved iconostases were made by brothers Vasily and Klim Lomakins. All five iconostases are framed by huge wooden columns with capitals, decorated with carved pilasters. The doors of the main altar are decorated with icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, who are depicted seated on royal thrones, in white robes, with crowns on their heads - the work of the painting professor Nikolai Alexeev, who later painted St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

"In its general appearance and beautiful proportions, the Arzamas Resurrection Cathedral has no equal among the classical churches of Moscow and can only be compared to Stasov's cathedrals in St. Petersburg," wrote the architect-restorer Nikolai Pomerantsev in 1926.

In Soviet times the cathedral was going to be blown up, but because of the indignation of the inhabitants it was decided to simply close the temple. The question of reopening the cathedral was raised in 1944 by Patriarch Sergius, a native of Arzamas, and in his last conversation before his death, on May 4, 1944, with the chairman of the Council on the Russian Orthodox Church, Georgi Karpov, he asked him "whether the Council thinks it possible to speed up" the process. In 1947, services began to be held in the church again.

On July 29, 1991, at the transfer of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov from Moscow to Diveevo, Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the rector, Archimandrite Hierotheus, as Bishop of Balakhna.

In September 2009, Patriarch Kirill visited the cathedral.

On August 13, 2017, as part of the celebration of Patriarch Sergius' 150th birthday, Patriarch Kyrill celebrated a liturgy at the Resurrection Cathedral in Arzamas.