St.

Pokrovskyi Cathedral

Short version for information plate:

The church is located in the central part of the new city within the city park. The
church was built in 1867-1868. The construction corresponds to the Late Classicism
and the then accepted scheme of Model Legal Churches. Compositionally it consists
of an alternately connected square in terms of the volumes of the vestibule, babynets,
nave and 5-sided apse with two carvings on the sides. Above the vestibule there is an
8-sided tower, a bell tower covered with a tent.

Until 2018, the vaults of the church were decorated with paintings by the famous
Russian artist Nesterov. But as a result of large-scale internal reconstruction of the
church, its painting was changed to the modern style by icon painters.

Extended version for the website:

The church is located in the central part of the new city within the city park. The
construction of the temple dates back to 1867 - 1868. The architects' choice of a
building site is striking, as the church is located on the perpendicular axis of modern
Franko Street and the branching of Sviato-Pokrovska and Shevchenko Streets, and is
a kind of dominant feature from many points of the city.

In terms of style of construction, the church belongs to Late Classicism. The base
looks like three squares connected in turn, superimposed on each other and represents
a cross. Above the vestibule there is an octagonal tower - a bell tower covered with a
tent. The roofs of other parts of the structure are full, and their slopes correspond to
the faces in the plan. The towers are completed with domes on drums and look like
onion heads. Like the cocoons of the towers and portals, they complement the
reproductions of Old Rus’ cult architecture. The facade of the cult building has a
pilaster performance with a developed platband in the form of geometric moulding.
From the side and back, the platbands are flatter and not so pronounced. The
combination of these decorative techniques gives the building an eclectic appearance
in general.

Until 2018, the vaults of the church were decorated with paintings by the famous
Russian artist Nesterov. But as a result of large-scale internal reconstruction of the
church, its painting was changed to the modern style by icon painters.

During the stormy times of the Khotyn Uprising in winter 1919, the church was
served by an authoritative religious figure, deacon Andrii Hrymalskyi, a native of
Podillia. He was not the only one who distanced himself from political battles and
called on all those involved in the confrontation to humility and condemned the
fratricidal battle for which he was condemned by the rebels. However, thanks to his
considerable authority, he was later released.

In Soviet times, the church was temporarily closed down and turned into a warehouse
for agricultural products. However, church utensils from the temple were preserved
and were not looted. During the Holodomor period, grain harvested from the
townspeople was brought here. At that time, the headquarters of the Khotyn District
Committee for the poor people was located here - an organization that hanged the
labels "curculi", "enemies of the people" and the like.

The premises later served as a lecture hall for atheistic propaganda. Perhaps this is the
reason why the church utensils were preserved.

And only after the advent of the era of the "thaw" did the church gradually begin to
hold worship services.