The Catherine Cathedral (also known as the Catherine Mining Cathedral or Cathedral of Saint Great Martyr Catherine; in Russian Екатерининский собор) was a former Orthodox church in Yekaterinburg, initially built as an adobe church during the founding of the fortress and plant in 1723. After a fire in 1747 destroyed the building, a stone church was founded in 1758 and consecrated in 1768. The church's primary relic was a portion of the relics of Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye, brought to Yekaterinburg in the late 1820s.
The cathedral, managed by the Ural Mining Administration, was located in the city center on the elevated left bank of the Iset River, east of the Epiphany Cathedral built in 1747, at the intersection of Lenin Avenue and Pushkin Street. The nearby square was named after it. The Epiphany and Catherine cathedrals were the dominant heights in the city center, shaping the focal points of Lenin Avenue and the dam.
In February 1930, the cathedral was closed, and in early April, it was demolished by the decision of the Sverdlovsk City Executive Committee. Bricks salvaged from the ruins were used as building materials for public buildings in the city.
On August 18, 1991, a memorial cross was erected at the site of the cathedral's altar, and in 1998, to mark Yekaterinburg's 275th anniversary, the Chapel of Saint Catherine was built nearby. In 2019, discussions about reviving and rebuilding the Cathedral of Saint Catherine sparked significant public reaction, leading to a series of protests and rallies against construction in the park on Oktyabrskaya Square.
Construction history
Adobe church
On October 1, 1723, in the under-construction plant-fortress, priest Ivan Efimov from the Tobolsk regiment consecrated the foundation of the first adobe church. During construction, residents of the plant settlement were assigned to the parish of the Transfiguration Church at the nearby Uktus Plant. Major works were completed by late summer 1724, and on August 30, the first commander of the Yekaterinburg Plant, F. E. Neklyudov, reported to W. I. de Hennin about the church's construction, noting that the crowning cross was still being made at the Uktus Plant. With the blessing of Catherine I, the future plant was named Yekaterinburg, so the first church was decided to be consecrated in the name of Saint Great Martyr Catherine, the patron saint of the empress, after whom the emerging Yekaterinburg was named.Екатерининский собор // Приходы и церкви Екатеринбургской епархии : Исторический очерк [St. Catherine Cathedral // Parishes and churches of Yekaterinburg diocese : Historical sketch] (in Russian). Екатеринбург: Братство св. праведного Симеона Верхотурского Чудотворца, типография Ф. К. Хомутова. 1902. P. 6.
The new church was built using fachwerk technique, popularized in Yekaterinburg by European craftsmen working on the plant and settlement. The structure featured a log frame with spaces between logs filled with bricks and clay. It had 24 mica windows, a wooden floor, and was heated by three brick stoves. The elevated part was an octagon, the roof was covered with white tin, and it was topped with a dome and a small bell tower with a spire. The bell tower had nine copper bells weighing from one to forty poods.
After construction, the Catherine Church remained unconsecrated for a year due to a lack of funds for maintaining the clergy. On January 2, 1726, de Hennin reluctantly appealed to the Cabinet of Her Imperial Majesty to task the Tobolsk metropolitan with consecrating the church and organizing the parish. Simultaneously, without awaiting the empress's response, he made a similar request directly to Metropolitan of Tobolsk and Siberia Antony, who on February 22 sent Archimandrite Gennady from the Znamensky Monastery to Yekaterinburg to consecrate the new church. The consecration ceremony took place on February 27, 1726, with an 11-cannon salute. In July of that year, vestments, church utensils, and books donated by the empress arrived in Yekaterinburg. Yekaterinburg Plant craftsmen created copper chandeliers for 36 candles, five tin candlesticks, and 11 copper lamps for the interior. At de Hennin's request, carver Fyodor Okhlypin, formerly with the Stroganovs, arrived in Yekaterinburg on state salary to work on the altar, and icon painter Stepan Leontiev from the Pyskorsky Transfiguration Monastery crafted the iconostasis.
To mark the consecration, efforts were made to install a clock in the bell tower's tent, ordered by de Hennin to regulate plant operations. The clock was made at the Kamensky Iron Foundry, but arrived late in Yekaterinburg. After installation, the mechanism quickly failed, so in 1728, a new clock was made and assembled at the Yekaterinburg Plant, though it too was unreliable. In May 1729, local plant blacksmiths repaired and maintained the mechanism, continuing to oversee its operation.
In 1733, after approval from the Governing Senate, de Hennin began constructing a new stone church in Yekaterinburg. However, V. N. Tatishchev, who replaced de Hennin as head of the Ural Mining Administration in 1734, ordered the structures dismantled, dissatisfied with both the church design and the chosen site.
On September 26, 1747, the old church was destroyed by fire, with only some church utensils saved. A joint investigation by Yekaterinburg police and the Tobolsk consistory identified a hot coal left in the altar furnace as the primary cause. The commission estimated the damage at 116 rubles and 10 kopecks. The sexton G. Patrushev, responsible for fire safety, was deemed primarily culpable and severely punished in October 1748. After the fire, the church's land was temporarily used as a cemetery, and the Catherine parish was closed until late 1763.
Stone church
Before the old church's demolition, the Mining Administration commissioned a new stone cathedral design from Saint Petersburg architect Johann Werner Müller. His 1743 design in the Western European Baroque style envisioned a three-altar church with a three-tiered square bell tower and a hexagonal dome over the central section. Müller placed the side altars within the central nave, unlike the standard Russian church architecture of the time, which typically added side altars as separate volumes.
On January 15, 1746, a construction estimate was sent to the Berg-Kollegium for approval. After lengthy discussions, on July 24, 1747, the board's president A. F. Tomilov submitted a report to Elizabeth Petrovna, detailing the history of the first Catherine Church and requesting an additional 3,000 rubles from the plant's treasury, beyond the 2,000 rubles approved by the Senate. On August 24, 1747, Yekaterinburg authorities received a message from the Berg-Kollegium stating that the stone church construction issue was under review and postponed indefinitely.
Over time, the need for a new church grew urgent. By 1756, Yekaterinburg's population reached 5,726, including 5,074 Orthodox Christians. The Epiphany Church, built in 1747, was relatively small, accommodating less than half the parishioners during festive services, forcing others to stand outside or attend the Uktus Plant church. A fundraising campaign among residents collected over 2,000 rubles by the start of construction.
Construction required approval from the Tobolsk Consistory. Deacon Mikhail Florovsky from the Epiphany Church traveled to Tobolsk to obtain the charter. In the absence of a bishop, Tobolsk could not issue permission and forwarded the request to the Holy Synod. The Synod's approval was received on December 23, 1757, and the new church's foundation was laid by archpriest Fyodor Kochnev on August 16, 1758. Müller's original design was significantly altered during construction by the chief surveyor of the Mining Office Athanasius Ivanovich Kichigin. The revised plan, approved by the Berg-Kollegium, placed side altars in separate extensions, barely connected to the central altar. As a result, the main altar became a "cold" church, used only from May to October, while the side altars were "warm," allowing year-round services. The church's volume was significantly larger than the original design.
Initially, the construction contract was planned for local Yekaterinburg masons and brothers Grigory and Ivan Antipievich Tatarinov, experienced masons from Solikamsk, a major supplier of construction labor in the 18th century. However, on June 1, 1759, work began with teams from Yaroslavl led by I. Ya. Dubov, who offered a lower cost. In November, mine surveyor I. Kuznetsov, inspecting the work, identified significant deviations from the design drawings. Measurements showed the altar was 1 arshin 2 vershoks wider and 1 arshin and ¼ vershok longer, and the church was ¾ arshin longer overall. The contract with Dubov was terminated, and after additional bidding in December, the contract to fix the issues and complete the church was awarded to the Tatarinov brothers, as no others applied. Later, Solikamsk master Jonah Timofeevich Kremlin joined them. The new contractors were given greater autonomy and the right to hire workers at their discretion.
The church was built with state funds and parishioner donations. In summer, up to 250 workers were employed; in winter, about 40. The main workforce consisted of prisoners paid daily wages, while local residents handled material transport.
On July 22, 1763, with the blessing of Tobolsk and Siberian Metropolitan Pavel, Archpriest Kochnev consecrated the northern altar in the name of Archdeacon Stephen, and on September 23, 1763, the southern altar in the name of John the Theologian.According to other sources, the southern side chapel was consecrated on September 25, 1763, and the northern one on July 22, 1764 in the name of Simeon of Verkhotursk. In October 1764, the completed altar in the name of Dmitry of Rostov was consecrated. During this time, the church was still being finished, and its interior was being decorated.
On December 21, 1767, Metropolitan Pavel signed a charter blessing the new church's consecration, delivered to Yekaterinburg ten days later. However, the consecration of the Catherine Cathedral occurred on September 22, 1768, timed to coincide with the anniversary of Catherine II's coronation.
In 1809, the cathedral's clergy requested permission to expand the Dmitry altar and rename it in honor of All Saints. The Perm bishop approved, contingent on parishioner consent. Parishioners agreed, formalizing their decision in April 1810. The Perm Consistory's decree permitting construction and renaming was received on June 15, 1810. Construction began immediately, but the altar's consecration occurred in June 1834 by Yekaterinburg's first bishop Ev lampiy, in the name of the Holy Trinity.
Budget Fundraising for construction continued until 1766, managed by the treasurers of the Mining Plants Office. From 1737 to 1763, 9,871 rubles and 33 kopecks were collected. An additional 839 rubles were raised from 1763 to 1766 to complete the project. City authorities also organized fundraising through various methods. In 1761, state scales were set up at the market square, charging traders for use, earning 234 rubles over two years for the church. By August 1, 1760, construction costs totaled 2,865 rubles, including 1,240 rubles from donations.
Casting bells required separate fundraising and materials. Fifty poods of copper were donated by Count R. Vorontsov, A. Tirchaninov. Avoluntary subscription among private plant owners for copper was announced, with only S.Yakovlev and Turchaninov responding. In 1762, two bells were cast at N. Demidov's plants for 240 rubles.