Cathedral of the Annunciation of Mother of God or the Annunciation Cathedral is located in Kharkov, on the Karl Marx Square, 1, and is the cathedral of the Kharkov Diocese of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate. The Annunciation Cathedral is the main Orthodox church of Kharkiv, Ukraine. The pentacupolar Neo-Byzantine structure with a distinctive 80-meter-tall bell tower was erected between 1889 and 1901, from designs by a local architect, Mikhail Lovtsov.

The first church in the name of the Annunciation of Mother of God was founded around 1655 and was a wooden temple, made in the traditional Ukrainian forms with the separate bell tower and surrounded with a fence around. In 1720 there was the second priest in the church and the parish expanded. In 1738 the great fire destroyed almost completely the church building, but the temple was restored to its original form.

The decision to create the new stone temple was made much later. In 1789 there was founded the new stone temple with one dome, which bore the imprint of early classicism and was erected on the draft by P.A. Yaroslavsky, on the place of the wooden church. The construction has continued for 5 years, and on 8th September 1794 there was held the consecration ceremony of the newly built temple.

Due to the increasing population in the 30-ies of the XIX century, there was made the decision to re-expand the church and build chapels in the name of the Holy Martyr John the Warrior and St. Barbara, followed by the decision to repair the church completely.

In 1846-1863 years the temple had the title "city cathedral", while a permanent increase in the number of parishioners caused the issue of the restoration of the church and then brought to build the new church. The building began in 1888 and was carried out due to the generous donations from the merchants.

The author of the draft of the new temple was the architect M.I. Lovtsov, who boldly experimented with styles and different elements of eclecticism, having created the masterpiece in the fashionable Byzantine-Russian style and decorated it with alternating rows of red brick and light plaster.

The end of the construction of the church and its consecration ceremony dates back to 1901. Since then the fate of the temple had become unbearably heavy: the struggle of various Orthodox jurisdictions for it, attempts to close the church, its final closure, the use of sacred place as stables and storage of petroleum products.

The resumption of worship in the city cathedral has started since the occupation of Kharkov by Nazis and continued up to this day. Since 50-ies of XX century the Annunciation Cathedral has been repaired several times. The relics of St. Meletios of Kharkov and St. Athanasius Patelariya, Patriarch of Constantinople were brought in the Cathedral.

The tall construction dominates the area on this side of the river, it is an integral component of the panoramic view of the western part of the city. The Cathedral is distinguished by abundant small details and polychromatic facade (striped brickwork — in which red brick layers are combined with light plaster — resembles of the ancient Byzantine buildings). The unusual design of the Cathedral combines in one construction a cross-and-dome church with five domes and a tall (75 meters) circle belfry of a Gothic silhouette.

The Annunciation Cathedral, with a capacity for 4000 people, is generally considered the largest and the most lavish one in Kharkiv. The interiors of the Cathedral are beautiful with the main altar boasting the icons made from the white Carrara marble, as well as the icons painted on zinc boards by artists A. Danilevskyi and M. Mykhailov.

The relics of Constantinople Thaumaturge Saint Afanasiy, Venerable Melentiy and Saint Martyr Aleksandr, intensifying the power of prayers, are kept at the Cathedral.

Afanasiy the Thaumaturge visited the Moscovite state and Ukraine in the 17th century at the invitation of Czar Aleksey Mikhailovich, he visited Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitskyi, visited the famous Mharskiy Cloister where he died. His relics were later delivered to the Annunciation Cathedral. Venerable Melentiy served God and Church in Kharkiv in the 18th century. Saint Martyr Aleksandr died in the 1930th during the times of church persecution. Visit Kharkiv and enjoy its sights and offers. The best way to get there is by flight to Kharkiv.