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The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Okhansk

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In 1747, monks and laypeople built a new church on the site of the burned one. In 1820, the construction of the stone Assumption church began, featuring two chapels: in the cold building, a chapel in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated on November 22, 1830, and in the warm church, a chapel in honor of the Venerable Zosima and Savvatiy, consecrated on September 28, 1825. The church was built with funds from parishioners and was completed in 1829. In 1864, a fire destroyed a significant part of the city, seriously damaging the Assumption church: the bell tower, crosses, and large bell burned down. The fire threatened to destroy the iconostases and relics, but the gathered people managed to carry the church property to a safe place. In connection with this event, a fundraising campaign was announced throughout the Perm diocese for the restoration of the church in Okhansk.

The church was soon restored. By the blessing of Archbishop Neofit, Priest Nikolai Popov consecrated the cold chapel on May 24, 1864, and the warm one on September 20 of the same year. In 1884, the "Clerical Bulletin" reported: "The church is stone, with a bell tower, enclosed by a fence, and has two altars: in the cold church, in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God, in the warm, in honor of Zosima and Savvatiy." The parish had 368 households and 3,655 parishioners. In 1904, the church was renamed the Assumption Cathedral. In the 1930s, during the mass closure of churches, the cathedral in Okhansk was closed under the pretext of repairs.

The building was handed over to the Okhansk District Industrial Combine, and from 1938 to 1940, its reconstruction into a furniture factory began. The cathedral lost its bell tower and many architectural details. However, the work was not completed due to the onset of the Great Patriotic War. The Assumption Cathedral was recognized as a monument of architecture, but its preservation was negligent. In December 1946, a fire occurred in the building due to the carelessness of workers.

The regional architecture committee proposed to prohibit the use of the building as a factory and to use it for public needs, but industry prevailed. The building was completely rebuilt into a furniture factory. After the collapse of the regional industrial system in the 1990s, the industrial combine closed, leaving the building in a semi-ruined state. Now only its black frame is visible.

In July 2007, local historian A. Shirinikin called for the restoration of the cathedral. Two years later, the bell tower, altar, and refectory were covered from the rain. Workers cleaned the dome, plastered the interior of the church, and installed domes with crosses "under gold." Classes of an Orthodox school are held in the annex to the bell tower. The rector Valery Ovchinikov, appointed in 2008, conducts services. Work is underway to improve the church and repair the chapel in honor of Zosima and Savvatiy.

Geo point

Собор Успения Пресвятой Богородицы в Оханске

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