Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
Храм Христа Спасителя Khram Khrista Spasitelya
The new Cathedral of Christ the Saviour as viewed from the bridge over the Moscow River
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
55°44′40″N 37°36′20″E / 55.74444°N 37.60556°E / 55.74444; 37.60556
Location	Moscow, Russia
Denomination	Russian Orthodox
Website	www.xxc.ru
History
Consecrated	19 August 2000
Architecture
Style	Russian Revival
Specifications
Capacity	9,500 people[1]
Length	79 m[1]
Width	79 m[1]
Height	103.4 m (top cross)[2] 91.5 m (top dome)[2] 69.5 m (dome ceiling)[2]
Nave height	37 m (interior)[1]
Other dimensions	194,900 m3 [2]
Floor area	3,980 m2[3]
Dome diameter (outer)	29.8 m[2]

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Russian: Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, romanized: Khram Khristá Spasítelya, IPA: [xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə]) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of 103 metres (338 ft),^[4] it is the third tallest Orthodox Christian church building in the world, after the People's Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania and Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The current church is the second to stand on this site. The original church, built in the 19th century, took more than 40 years to build, and was the site of the 1882 world premiere of the 1812 Overture composed by Tchaikovsky. It was destroyed in 1931 on the order of the Soviet Politburo. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal Palace of the Soviets to house the country's legislature, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Construction started in 1937 but was halted in 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. Its steel frame was disassembled the following year, and the palace was never built. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the current cathedral was constructed on the site between 1995 and 2000.