Temple & church · Mirabad District

Holy Assumption Cathedral

A former hospital church of the 1870s that has been the cathedral of the Russian Orthodox eparchy of Tashkent and Uzbekistan since 1945, near the central railway station.

Russian Empire1877–187825 min1 min read

Photo: Alpasli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

Work began in 1877 to replace the old St Panteleimon church of 1871 at the military hospital cemetery. Townspeople paid for it — Governor-General Konstantin von Kaufmann gave 3,000 roubles and the merchant Dmitry Zakho the largest sum — and the church was consecrated to St Panteleimon on 31 January 1879.

Closed in 1933, it served as a military medical store until 1945. In December 1945 it was returned to believers, rededicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God and made the cathedral of the eparchy; under Bishop Yermogen it was rebuilt and substantially enlarged in 1958–1960.

Zakho went on to serve as churchwarden for 15 years. In 1922, like most Orthodox parishes in Central Asia, the church passed to the 'Renovationist' synod.

Today

The cathedral stands on Avliyo Ota Street, formerly Hospital Street, near the military hospital and the central railway station, and holds regular services as the cathedral of the Tashkent and Uzbekistan eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church.