Among all the mining industrialists, the legendary Demidovs were the first in the Urals to obtain the much-needed cast iron. This happened at the Nizhny Tagil, then state-owned, factory on December 15, 1701.

In those days, the creation of a new factory was always accompanied by the construction of a house of worship. On December 6, 1702, the clerical deacon A. Vinius handed over to Nikita Demidov the "Memory," a collection of Peter's decrees, with the instruction: "And at the old factories, build a church of God, next to which schools for children and hospitals for the sick should be built."

Nikita Demidov fulfilled this command by building a wooden church on the factory grounds with three altars: the first in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, consecrated in 1710, the second in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and the third in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, consecrated in 1712.

A century later, under the new owners of the factory, the Yakovlevs, there arose a need for the construction of a stone church, as the old one could no longer accommodate all the worshippers. On June 20, 1824, Bishop Dionysius of Perm gave permission to build a stone parish church, and on August 10, a ceremony was held for the laying of the church, thirteen fathoms northwest of the Leaning Tower. In 1826, the wooden Transfiguration church burned down, which possibly expedited the construction of the stone church. On March 20, 1827, the southern chapel in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos was consecrated in the new church. On June 21, 1830, the northern chapel in the name of the apostles Peter and Paul was consecrated, and on June 23, the central chapel in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

In 1851, the construction of a stone narthex with a bell tower began. The Transfiguration Cathedral was expanded and improved. Two chapels were arranged in the narthex: the first in the name of the holy Archangel Michael, consecrated in 1864, and the second, in the name of St. Savva the Sanctified and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, consecrated a year later.

Along with the expansion of the church, its interior decoration took place: a new gilded Transfiguration iconostasis with twisted columns was installed, and the iconostases of the Dormition and Peter and Paul were adorned. All three iconostases were made in the Baroque style. By the early 1860s, the Nizhny Tagil church had become one of the most beautiful in Russia and had no equal in the Urals. Its appearance expressed the idea of Holy Orthodoxy and the unity of autocracy and nationality. The earthly kingdom, according to the holy fathers of the Church, is an icon of the Heavenly Kingdom, where everything is subordinated to the One and Indivisible God. Therefore, rebellion against the order established by God was considered imitation and service to the devil. One of the most terrible crimes of the 19th century was the assassination of Alexander II. In memory of him, the people of Nizhny Tagil decided to immortalize his memory, and in 1884, a chapel was built and consecrated next to the Transfiguration Cathedral.

In the 20th century, atrocities were repeated on an even larger scale. For straying from the faith, the Lord allowed those who drowned all of Orthodox Russia in blood to come to power. But that happened later; for now, the factory church met the 20th century in all its splendor and strength. By that time, the Transfiguration Cathedral had become the largest parish in Nizhny Tagil.

In May 1912, by the decree of the Synod, the Transfiguration church was granted the status of a cathedral. The feast day that year was celebrated with special solemnity. Unfortunately, such a grand celebration would not be seen in Nizhny Tagil for many decades. The First World War and the subsequent revolution, which gave rise to new persecutors of the Church of Christ, led Russia into the darkest period of its history, the Soviet dictatorship.

In August 1918, Vyacheslav Lukanin, a deacon of the Nizhny Tagil church, and Father Pyotr Ivanovich Iovlev, a priest of the Transfiguration Cathedral, were killed, now canonized among the New Martyrs.

In 1922, the new authorities confiscated the church decorations made of gold and silver from the Nizhny Tagil Cathedral, and in the 1930s, eight copper bells were removed. In 1932, the church was closed. Upon learning of the impending closure, parishioners managed to save the church utensils, vestments, icons, and everything that could be carried away and hidden. Thus, the Nizhny Tagil list of the Upper Tagil miraculous icon was saved, which is now located in the Ascension Church of Nizhny Tagil. The cathedral building was handed over to the Nizhny Tagil Mechanical Plant. The new owners demolished the bell tower, dismantled the dome, and much more.

A new century arrived. On April 24, 2000, the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, E.E. Rossel, signed a decree for the restoration of industrial architecture monuments in Nizhny Tagil. Thus began the revival of the desecrated shrine.

On May 19, 2001, Archbishop Vikentiy of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye consecrated the foundation of the altar of the Transfiguration Cathedral. The cross and the cornerstone, laid in 1824 and discovered during the clearing of the cellars, were found intact. As a sign of the church's second birth, a new slab was laid.

The revival of the cathedral was an unusual construction project entrusted to the "Sredneuralstroy" management. The completion of the construction fell to the JSC "Atomstroycomplex".

All this became possible thanks to the activities of the charitable foundation "Demidov Heritage," which was entrusted with the functions of the customer for all works. Among the founders were well-known Ural industrial companies, but, as the executive director of the foundation, Elena Korotkovskikh, says, the main part of the financial costs was borne by the Siberian-Ural Aluminum Company, SUAL-holding.

On June 28, 2002, the parish of the Transfiguration Cathedral was registered. In July 2003, eight bells were consecrated and installed. The largest of them weighs 2 tons 490 kilograms. The bells were cast by the partnership "Pyatkov and Co" in Kamensk-Uralsky. The clappers for the bells were forged by hand. The bell tower of the Transfiguration Cathedral has three tiers. At its top, there is a dome-shaped covering with a spire, on which a cross is installed. Legend has it that during the construction of the bell tower, the priest overseeing the construction set the condition that the bell tower be taller than the Demidov tower, for God is higher. However, upon completion of the construction, the bell tower turned out to be lower. It was decided to install a spire with a cross, and only then did the bell tower become taller than the Demidov tower. Now, with the installation of the spire, our architectural Orthodox complex is one of the tallest in the Urals. The height with the spire and cross is 64 meters. The bell tower reflects the motifs of the decorative embellishment of the Leaning Tower, and the bell tower did not overshadow the tower but enriched the silhouette of the city, visible from almost all sides.

On August 16, 2003, the restored Transfiguration Cathedral was consecrated. The service was led by the ruling bishop of the Yekaterinburg diocese, Archbishop Vikentiy. This year, the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the feast day of the cathedral, became especially solemn for the Orthodox people of Nizhny Tagil. For more than seventy years, "the abomination of desolation" reigned here, and now, in the resurrected from the ruins church, liturgical life began anew, which greatly transformed the life of Nizhny Tagil itself. Literally from the first days, a church choir began to form in the cathedral, which now consists of 15 singers. At the end of 2004, the choir recorded its own disc. That same year, a Sunday school began operating at the church, where more than fifty children study the foundations of Orthodox teaching.

The Transfiguration Cathedral has become a true spiritual center for the people of Nizhny Tagil. A sobriety society has been formed at the church. The desire to help others prompted parishioners to create the "Mercy" society, which provides assistance to the sick, disabled, needy, and all those who, due to their weakness, cannot provide for their own lives.

In former times, the Transfiguration Cathedral amazed with its splendor. Now, thanks to the efforts of beautifiers, five faience iconostases made by the Sysert Porcelain Factory have been installed in the cathedral. The Nizhny Tagil Cathedral became the third church in the Urals for which the Sysert masters produced their products; the first was the Exaltation Cathedral in Verkhoturye, and the second, the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg.

On the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, August 19, 2003, the Nizhny Tagil Cathedral regained its ancient temple icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Just before the arrival of Bishop Vikentiy, the miraculously preserved image was handed over to the rector. For all the parishioners, this joyful event became a sign from above, as the acquisition of relics is a manifestation of God's mercy. Another church relic, the icon of the holy evangelist John the Theologian from the royal gates of the former Nizhny Tagil Cathedral, was gifted to the parish by the chief architect of the district, Alexander Vitalievich Nechhaev.

Revived from the ashes, the Transfiguration Cathedral has beautifully integrated into the architectural ensemble of Nizhny Tagil. The architectural and urban planning merits of the cathedral have been highly appreciated by specialists, and it has been granted the status of a federal heritage site. The restored shrine, which has become an adornment of the historical complex of the Nizhny Tagil factory, has once again gathered believers under its arches. Here, church prayers have resumed, and the Divine Sacraments are being performed, which, transforming the human soul, unite it with God Himself.