Odessa Cathedral, aka Odessa Transfiguration Church, is the largest Orthodox Church in Odessa, laid down in 1794, consecrated in 1808, destroyed in 1936, re-consecrated after the restoration in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2010. Orthodox Cathedral is located in the center of Cathedral Square, next to the building of the temple there is a monument to Prince Vorontsov and the fountain-monument in honor of the city water supply.

After the consecration of Odessa in 1794, it was decided to build a church in honor of Nicholas Miracle-man at the Cathedral Square. The first stone was laid in 1795, it was planned to spend 2 years for construction, but the consecration of the church was held only in 1808. At the same time cathedral got its name: the main altar was consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration, the right one - in the name of Saint Nicholas of Myra, and the left one - in the name of Saint Spiridon.

In the Odessa Transfiguration Church there was no bell tower, it was completed later in 1837, although the project for construction was approved back in 1825.

Since 1837 there were constant modifications and alterations in the Transfiguration Church. Thus, it was expanded, facades were changed, interiors were rebuilt, bell tower was decorated. The entrance was paved with white marble, iconostasis – with grayish-white, columns were covered with artificial white marble. By 1903 Orthodox Cathedral was one of the most beautiful and largest in the Russian Empire.

In 1936 the cathedral was completely destroyed. At first it was ransacked, and then dismantled in the stones. The only thing that remained intact after such barbarism - the foundation. During the reign of the Bolsheviks on the site of the main altar there was planned to construct toilets, the holy place was rescued by academician Filatov. There appeared the fountain, named the vase of Filatov, which was moved in 2005 during the works on the restoration of the cathedral, conducted by donations from residents, tourists and legal entities.

In August 1794, the solemn consecration of the city of Odessa took place; during this ceremony, the site for construction of a church of Nicolas the Wonder-Worker was consecrated in Sobornaya Square; and in 1795, the first stone was laid. This Church became the forerunner of the future Cathedral.

The construction works on the Church, to a design by the engineer V. Vonrezant, were supposed to be completed in 1797; however, the solemn consecration of the Church was held only as late as on 25 May 1809. The Church's main altar was consecrated in the honour of the Lord's Transfiguration, the right one was consecrated in the honour of St. Nicolas and the left one was consecrated in the honour of St. Spyridon. After the Church had been consecrated, it received its final name, the Church of the Saviour's Transfiguration.

In 1825, a design of a bell tower, developed by Giovanni Frapolli, was approved. The bell tower occupied a place to the west of the Church. The construction of the bell tower was completed in 1837. Due to the fact that in 1837 Odessa became the centre of a diocese, the Church of the Saviour's Transfiguration became a cathedral. A need emerged to extend the Cathedral.

By commission of Archbishop Gabriel, in 1841 the architect D. Heidenreich developed a design of the refectory connecting the bell tower with the old church. Partial redesigns of the Cathderal were done in the 1870s and the 1880s, and in 1894 major repairs were performed.

The Cathedral's architectural drawbacks, which had occurred due to multiple extensions, were corrected during the last redesign of 1900–1903; for the redesign, 220,000 roubles from the city's budget were spent. The redesign foresaw not only modifications of the facades, but also a significant rebuilding of the interiors. In this period, two side domes were constructed, and a portico was added to the eastern facade. The bell tower was decorated as well.

The appearance of the Cathedral's interior was superb. The first thing that stroke when entering the Cathedral was an abundance of light and space. The Corinthian interior columns were faced with artificial white marble. The floor was paved with slabs of white marble. The new icon-stand was made of greyish white polished marble. Over the altar, a dome-shaped canopy rose, with columns of its own.

After the 1903 redesign, the Transfiguration Cathedral became one of the Russian Empire's largest churches, having room for 9,000 people. The size of its floor plan was 90 metres by 45 metres (around 300 feet by 150 feet), and the bell tower was 72-meter (almost 240-feet) high.

The Cathedral's main sacred object was the wonder-working icon of Our Lady of Kasperovka, which each year, on 25 September, was delivered to Odessa from the village of Kasperovka and remained in the Cathedral until after the feast of Holy Easter.

In the Transfiguration Cathedral, the following archbishops were buried: Innocent (1857), Joannicius (1877), Demetrius (1883) and Nicanor (1890). The Cathedral housed the tomb of Most Serene Duke Mikhail Vorontsov and his spouse. In 1936, the Transfiguration Cathedral was barbarously destroyed.

The destruction of the Cathedral disturbed the city's urban development situation and the "silhouette" of the city's historic centre. The Cathedral's bell tower used to dominate the city's composition, with its best overview provided from the side of the sea.

By a decree of the Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers (No. 700, as of 23.04.99), the Odessa's Transfiguration Cathedral, in Sobornaya Square, was included in "The Programme for Reconstruction of the Outstanding and Lost Monuments of the Ukraine's History and Culture".

For the purpose of an implementation of the programme for the reconstruction of the Cathedral, an initiative group, with the participation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and of Odessa's citizens and under the patronage of Odessa's mayor Ruslan Bodelan, a charitable organisation, the Black-Sea Orthodox Foundation, was established in 1999.

On 1 February 2000, the zero phase of the construction of a new church building started. The Odessa's mayor issued a number of instructions, which resulted in a completion of a package of design and construction works on the first-priority object, the bell tower. During the Christmas of 2001, the bell-tower was solemnly opened.

The size and the location of the designed building have been determined by the uncovered foundations of the Cathedral destroyed in 1936. The building's overall dimensions are 46.6 metres by 90.6 metres (around 153 feet by 297 feet). The Cathedral's building is oriented in accordance with the Orthodox tradition, along the east-west axis. The building's eastern facade faces Preobrazhenskaya Street and Grecheskaya Street. The Cathedral's main entrance is situated in the bell tower, in the western facade, which faces Koblevskaya Street and Tolstogo Street. Apart from the main entrance, the building has four more entrances, two in the northern facade and two in the southern facade.

The first service was held in the Cathedral's reconstructed lower temple on 6 January 2002.