Assumption Cathedral

A true and unsurpassed masterpiece of religious architecture in all of Bukovyna is the Old Believer Assumption Cathedral, built in 1900-1908 as the main church of a nunnery at the expense of a wealthy family of Moscow Old Believers, Hlib and Olha Ovsyannikov, designed by Austrian architect W. Klick. An astronomical amount of money was spent on its construction - half a million Russian rubles in gold at the time. The building materials, granite details, and decoration for the church were delivered directly from Moscow, and two wagons of Russian soil were even brought under its foundation.

The church is cruciform in plan with five domes resembling huge onions. The domes are covered with copper sheets and topped with gilded crosses. Its decoration uses elements of eclectic architecture: hewn stones, multicolored ceramic glaze of blue, orange, and pink colors, and such elements of ancient Russian church architecture as kokoshniks, beads, and curbstones.

The cathedral truly impresses with its grandeur and wealth, and the splendor of its exterior decor can only be compared to the luxury of the residence of the Bukovinian metropolitans in Chernivtsi or St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

The interior of the cathedral is represented by one large and two small iconostases made of oak by the best carvers from Volodymyr and painters from the Palekhiv workshops. The cathedral's bell tower, which is truly unparalleled in Ukraine, is also striking in its architecture and richness of exterior decoration. It is higher than the cathedral, has four tiers, and its top is covered with colorful tiles. The bell tower offers a unique view of the Assumption Cathedral, Bila Krynytsia, and the surrounding area of the Hlyboka district.

Two world councils of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church were held in the premises of the Assumption Church: in 1996 and 2006.