The construction of an unusually beautiful snow-white and majestic Transfiguration Cathedral, which is the pearl of the city of Bila Tserkva (Ukraine), is associated with the name of the Orthodox landowner Alexandra Vasilyevna Branitskaya. In old age, she began to be called the Countess, the temple publisher, archival documents indicate this, as she made a promise to build twelve Orthodox churches.
Transfiguration Church
There is another person who was quite famous at that time and was related to the construction of this city shrine - Metropolitan of Kiev and Galitsky Evgeny (Bolkhovitinov). In 1833, an appeal came to his name, which was brought by the envoy of Alexandra Branitskaya. In her letter, the countess requested blessings for the construction of a stone church in the White Church.
According to the request, the Holy Transfiguration Church should have three holy thrones: the first in honor of the Savior, the other two in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Right Prince Alexander Nevsky. The countess was going to build a temple solely at her own expense. Permission was obtained, along with this dean priest of the village of Grebinok, Eustathius Durdukovsky was ordered to consecrate a place for the construction of the temple. In the spring of 1833, father Eustathius consecrated a place on the Cathedral Square of the city, and after that the construction work began, which lasted six years, for that time the time was very short.
Rector Archpriest Peter Lebedintsev
The Countess-philanthropist hoped to see her brainchild during her lifetime, and her wish came true. She appeared before the Lord at the age of 84 in 1838. A year later, on September 24, 1839, the newly-built Countess of the Transfiguration Church was consecrated by the Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Filaret (Amphitheater).
From 1851 to 1860, Archpriest Peter Gavrilovich Lebedintsev became one of the most famous priors of the church. This clergyman was a very educated and well-known throughout Russia scholar historian, ethnographer, member of several scientific partnerships, and the author of many reform projects in the church life of the Kiev region. For such a prolific activity, Father Peter received the largest number of prizes among the priests of the Kiev region of the XIX century. He has state orders of St. Anne III and II degree, St. Vladimir IV degree. He corresponded with ecumenical patriarchs and received awards from foreign kings.
Father Peter, being the rector of the Transfiguration Church, was the first to open a network of paraphilous schools in the Russian Empire and put a lot of effort into the prosperity of the church entrusted to him.
Nadrosye
According to the inventory of property of 1852, the Transfiguration Church was the richest in Nadrosia in terms of providing church things. The main shrines were a piece of the Life-giving Cross, the Gospel of the 1600th edition (Vilna) and the Gospel in red velvet and a silver-gilded frame of the Lviv edition of 1636.
There was one significant drawback in the temple. Father Fyodor Gankevich informed the Metropolitan that it is very cold here in winter due to drafts penetrating through windows and doors. In accordance with this, in 1884-1887, insulation work was launched, double windows and doors were installed, and heaters and heaters were installed at the beginning of the 20th century.
Test times
Almost every abbot of the church did many good deeds that increased the well-being of the White Church shrine. But with the advent of Soviet power, the Transfiguration Church launched, some shrines were sent to the museum, and most of them were re-melted for state needs and for the needs of the starving. The lands (143 tithes) were also confiscated.
On the territory of the temple was the grave of Countess Alexandra Vasilyevna Branitskaya, who was desecrated and thrown into the trash. Gradually, the temple was ravaged and closed, then the NKVD archive was opened in it. And then the power structures began the physical destruction of the shepherds. In 1938, among other shepherds, father Alexander Rudskoy, who had been a rector for a long time, was arrested and executed.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Transfiguration Church was severely damaged by bombing, and archives and utensils burned down, but the powerful walls of the church survived even under the onslaught of this terrible fire.
During the war it was opened, and it began to act after it was transferred to the newly created Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), but there were few parishioners.
And already in 1944, after the mitigation of atheist terror, believers of the city returned the temple to the UOC-MP. The paraffil temple has been operating since 1962. Then the local authorities closed it again, citing an emergency condition. Despite the fact that the building belonged to architectural monuments in the 70s, a sports hall was arranged in it.
The temple was reopened in 1989 and appointed rector Archpriest Ilya Kravchenko, who immediately began the restoration and restoration of the dilapidated cathedral.
Rectors
In 1994, the church became the main shrine of the newly created Belotserkovsky diocese, received the status and name of the Transfiguration Cathedral.
His Grace Bishop Seraphim (Zaliznitsky) was appointed the first bishop to the Belotserkov chair, who carried out a number of internal works, installed a new iconostasis and made murals of the church.
Since May 31, 2007, by the decision of the Holy Synod, the UOC has headed the Belotserkovsky Chair, His Eminence Archbishop Mitrofan (Yurchuk), under his leadership, the revival of the central church of the diocese was continued. A sound system was installed, the limit of Seraphim of Sarov was updated, the church compound was ennobled, etc.
On July 20, 2012, Augustine (Markevich) was appointed Archbishop of Belotserkovsky and Boguslavsky. Today, under his leadership, the Transfiguration Cathedral is experiencing a new phase of prosperity.
On the territory of the Transfiguration Church is St. Nicholas Church, which dates from 1706.