Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

The present cathedral is one of Moscow’s principal Orthodox landmarks and a venue for major church ceremonies. Its modern rebuilding is closely tied to the post-Soviet revival of public religious life in Russia. The original 19th-century cathedral, conceived as a memorial after the Napoleonic Wars, was demolished in 1931.

A reconstruction was undertaken in the 1990s, and the present cathedral was consecrated in August 2000. The official cathedral history distinguishes clearly between the original nineteenth-century memorial church and the present reconstruction. The first cathedral was conceived as a national monument connected with the war against Napoleon and was destroyed in December 1931.

The site was later occupied by the Moskva swimming pool. Reconstruction on the historic site became part of the post-Soviet revival of public Orthodox life, and liturgical use returned around the turn of the millennium. The present building is therefore not the surviving fabric of the original cathedral, even though it consciously recreates its form and symbolism. Today it is an important venue for major services of the Russian Orthodox Church as well as a prominent Moscow landmark.