Christ the Savior Church in Uralsk, Eastern Orthodox church in Oral, Kazakhstan
Christ the Savior Church is a Russian Orthodox church on Dostyk Avenue in Oral, built from 1891 to 1907 to a design by Petersburg architect Vladimir Chagin. The brick building is crowned with golden domes, which earned it the local name "Golden Church"; its large bell, Svyatoslav, was cast in Moscow and hoisted in October 1995.
The foundation stone was laid on 31 July 1891 on Ikanskaya Square, named after the Battle of Ikan, in the presence of Tsesarevich Nicholas, the future Nicholas II, returning from his Eastern voyage. The project was by Petersburg architect V. I. Chagin, and the church was consecrated in 1907 after sixteen years of building. In November 1990, after a public rally, the building was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Locals call it the Golden Church for its gilded domes. Its great bell, named Svyatoslav, was cast in Moscow with money from businessman Valery Surkov and hoisted into the bell tower in October 1995. The parish runs the city's oldest Sunday school, and services are held daily.
The church stands at Dostyk Avenue 202, on the site of the former Ikanskaya Square, which no longer exists. Services are held daily, and the parish runs the city's oldest Sunday school. Visitors should dress modestly and avoid entering during services.
During the Soviet period, the building was repurposed and served for a time as an atheism museum with a planetarium installed beneath one of its domes. The structure returned to religious use after 1990 and has since functioned as a place of worship again.
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