THE VIRGIN MARY NATIVITY CATHEDRAL

THE VIRGIN MARY NATIVITY CATHEDRAL. Located in Ufa. In 1901– 09, it was built as a church and consecrated by Nathanael in honour of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. In 2011, it was designated a cathedral. A brick style cathedral, which was originally designed as a stone single‑domed church accompanied by a three‑tier bell tower with 8 bells and a forged fence on brick pillars. Four columns divided the church into three parts. The walls were painted. It had three altars. In 1934, it was closed, looted and partially destroyed. Warehouses, a prison, aircraft workshops and the Zvezda Cinema were housed in this building. In 1991, the Cathedral was returned to worshippers and restored. Since then, many new surrounding buildings have been built, including a hotel complex, a Sunday school building and a chapel. Also, the Bell Tower mosaic icon of the Virgin Mary and 3 iconostases feature in this cathedral. Regular services have been held since 2005. In 2004, a bust to D.V.Davydov, who was both a poet and a partisan, was installed on the Cathedral’s territory. The Cathedral’s building is a historical and architectural monument.