Smolensk cathedral

Smolensk Cathedral is one of the oldest temples preserved to this day in the Belgorod region. It was built on the site of a sign from the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, which occurred in 1703 on the wall of the southern city gate. In 1705, a wooden Smolensk church was built near the chapel. The Smolensk Cathedral was founded by His Eminence Peter, Archbishop of Belgorod, in 1727. The two-storey church had two thrones: the lower one - in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Blessed Virgin "Odigitria" (consecrated in 1743), the upper one - in the name of the Holy First Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul (consecrated in 1763).

In 1825, at the expense of the merchant Mikhail Konstantinovich Machurin, the upper temple was decorated with marble. And after some time in the temple was consecrated the third throne in the name of Archistratig Michael, the patron saint of the merchant benefactor. In the 1930s, a local history museum was located in the building of the cathedral. During the Great Patriotic War, the cathedral was badly damaged by artillery fire, and after the war, the building was in desolation for a long time, serving as warehouses for various organizations. In 1958 and 1974 attempts were made to blow up the "unrecoverable" building. But in the late 80s it was decided to start reconstruction. In the 80s, the building was restored as an organ hall. In 1992, the temple was returned to the faithful. On December 23, 1994, the lower church was consecrated, on June 11, 1996, the upper church was consecrated by His Grace John, Bishop (now Archbishop) of Belgorod and Staro-Oskol.

In the Smolensk Cathedral there is a specially revered Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God “Odigitria” (“Guide”). The cathedral is an architectural monument. This is a rare type of two-storey temple for the Belgorod region, built in the Baroque style.