The Re-inventory book of the City of Belo-ozero of 1617/18, the earliest known surviving description of the city, mentions the church of the Transfiguration of the Lord with the side-altars of Demetrius of Thessalonica and Catherine of Alexandria among the three temples in the territory of the Belozersk Fortress. It is a wooden church with a refectory and a bell tower with two bells. The church was built by the parish community. It is known that in 1617-18 the priest Ivan and bell ringer Afonka Bogdanov, son of Shasha, served here.
According to the 1677 extract from the Belozersk cadastres of 1675-76, by the mid-1670s only one church building -- a temple in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord -- remained in the Belozersk Kremlin. The cathedral was covered with thin boards. It was adjoined by a dining and bell tower with four bells of 30 poods or about 500 kilograms. At this time, the building of the Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was still wooden, but unlike the modest temple of the early 17th century, it was crowned by a tented dome.
In 1668 the construction of the stone building of the cathedral began. The 1675-76 Census Book of the City of Beloozero states: ‘The cathedral church shall be once again built out of stone, funded by the great Tsar and by donations from of all ranks of people’. The place where before ‘there was the church of the Transformation of the Lord with its court, and customs, and the suburbs, and all residential people’s shops and barns, and bread square’, at this time would “lie fallow”, that is, empty.
In the “Historical and geographical description of the city of Belozersk with its district”, made around 1781, it is reported that in 1720 a tent-shaped bell tower was built here. It was built with the donation of the Belozersk merchant Ivan Galkin. The tent-shaped tower was followed by a dome with a spire.
The preserved brick building of the cathedral by its architectural design is static and massive. The case is that new developments in architectural styles came to the Belozersk region with some delay. In view of this, architectural traditions dating back to the 16th century have been preserved in the shape of the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. The temple is topped by five loosely arranged onion heads on large bases -- drums, somewhat shifted towards the altar. The decor of the drums testifies to the influence of the “fretwork” of the 17th century: here you can see the small rounded perches-corbel arches, a series of false arches with columns, traditional ornamental belt.
There are stairs in the cathedral walls leading to the drums. Thanks to the fact that the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was listed as a building of artistic value in 1931, it was possible to preserve it. In 1960, the cathedral was placed under the state protection. The latest restoration work on the exterior of the temple was carried out in 2011-2012. At present, the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour is a museum site, where services are held during major church holidays.
According to the 1677 extract from the Belozersk cadastres of 1675-76, by the mid-1670s only one church building -- a temple in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord -- remained in the Belozersk Kremlin. The cathedral was covered with thin boards. It was adjoined by a dining and bell tower with four bells of 30 poods or about 500 kilograms. At this time, the building of the Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was still wooden, but unlike the modest temple of the early 17th century, it was crowned by a tented dome.
In 1668 the construction of the stone building of the cathedral began. The 1675-76 Census Book of the City of Beloozero states: ‘The cathedral church shall be once again built out of stone, funded by the great Tsar and by donations from of all ranks of people’. The place where before ‘there was the church of the Transformation of the Lord with its court, and customs, and the suburbs, and all residential people’s shops and barns, and bread square’, at this time would “lie fallow”, that is, empty.
In the “Historical and geographical description of the city of Belozersk with its district”, made around 1781, it is reported that in 1720 a tent-shaped bell tower was built here. It was built with the donation of the Belozersk merchant Ivan Galkin. The tent-shaped tower was followed by a dome with a spire.
The preserved brick building of the cathedral by its architectural design is static and massive. The case is that new developments in architectural styles came to the Belozersk region with some delay. In view of this, architectural traditions dating back to the 16th century have been preserved in the shape of the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. The temple is topped by five loosely arranged onion heads on large bases -- drums, somewhat shifted towards the altar. The decor of the drums testifies to the influence of the “fretwork” of the 17th century: here you can see the small rounded perches-corbel arches, a series of false arches with columns, traditional ornamental belt.
There are stairs in the cathedral walls leading to the drums. Thanks to the fact that the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was listed as a building of artistic value in 1931, it was possible to preserve it. In 1960, the cathedral was placed under the state protection. The latest restoration work on the exterior of the temple was carried out in 2011-2012. At present, the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour is a museum site, where services are held during major church holidays.
