Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral

The Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral Ortodoxa Nuestra Señora de Kazán) (Russian: Православный Собор Богоматери Казанской Transliteration: Pravoslavnyĭ Sobor Bogomateri Kazanskoĭ), is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located in historic old town of Havana, Cuba. The cathedral is located on the Avenida del Puerto.

History

Built in the style of a composition of types of circular towers, the Cathedral is crowned by an imposing central golden cupola, surrounded another four smaller copper-colored ones, all the shape of an onion bulb and integrated into a Byzantine structure. The first agreement for the project dates back to 2002. Starting then, preparations began for the work, whose construction was initiated on February 13, 2006, with the participation of a multidisciplinary team of designers, investors, architects; civil, electrical, hydraulic and mechanical engineers; and workers from the Office of the City of Havana Historian and other entities in the country, as was agreed with the Russian ecclesial authorities.

The Cathedral was built based on traditional materials such as concrete and bricks. It comprises three works: church, diocese and bell tower. The pieces of the six cupolas (five in the church and another in the bell tower) were brought to the Cuban capital from Russia and were installed by local specialists. The temple’s first floor is set aside for administrative areas, the father’s rooms, public bathroom, kitchen, meeting room, computer room and technical area. Meanwhile, the top floor houses the church as such, with capacity for approximately 500 persons, which is accessed through two granite stairways. The principal entrance is through San Pedro Street and the back part of the temple, the back of the altar, through Avenida del Puerto. The Cathedral takes up an area of 1,200 meters facing the bay of Havana. It has been described as a monument to Cuban-Russian friendship, a cultural bridge joining the two countries.

Consecrated on October 19, 2008, hundreds of Orthodox believers, including employees of the Russian embassy and missions, watched the ceremony of consecration of the first-ever Russian Orthodox temple in Cuba and the entire Caribbean region. Cuban leader Raul Castro attended the ceremony ministered by Metropolitan Kirill.