Cathedral of St. Alexis of Moscow

In addition to the fact that Samarkand is the world-famous cultural capital of Uzbekistan, where architectural monuments of the Islamic religion of medieval Central Asia abound, there are also buildings of the early XX century that belong to the Christian religion. 

So, in 1909, in Samarkand, after the capture of Turkestan by Russian troops, in order to raise the spiritual education of the troops, it was decided to build a temple. All temples erected on the territory of Turkestan were built according to a standard project, the main requirements of which were the thoroughness of construction, its high capacity and relatively low cost of construction. After the approval of the project, in the same year, 1909, the first stone of the cathedral was solemnly laid and consecrated. 

The cathedral, the architect of which was Fyodor Verzhbitsky, and the engineer Fyodor Smirnov, was built in 1911 and consecrated in 1912 in honor of St. Alexy. 

Saint Alexy, who lived in the XIV century, bore the title of Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, was a bishop, statesman and diplomat. After his death, he was elevated to the rank of saints. 

However, in 1920 the newly built cathedral was closed, its dome and bell tower were dismantled. Then, a few years later, the cathedral was transferred to the jurisdiction of a military unit, from where it was transferred to the state museum reserve, and only then was transferred to the faithful. 

On November 13, 1996, after major reconstruction, the cathedral was again consecrated by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

Russian Orthodox Church's Cathedral of St. Alexy, the Orthodox cathedral of the Tashkent and Uzbekistan Diocese of the Central Asian Metropolitan District of the Russian Orthodox Church in Samarkand, is built of light red brick in a simplified Russian style without excessive decoration. The entrance to it is decorated with an unusual green arch. The cathedral is decorated with high arched windows and carved friezes. Inside it is represented by one large hall and a deep altar. The walls of the hall are decorated with ornaments and icons. There is a three-tiered iconostasis at the altar. The cathedral is crowned by a high dome, and an octagonal bell tower is located above the entrance.

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia presented the cathedral with the altar Gospel. The cathedral also houses the vestments of St. Seraphim of Sarov and a particle of the holy relics of St. Nikita, Bishop of Novgorod.

The cathedral is a monument of the XX century, which stands out vividly against the background of the colorful architectural monuments of Samarkand.