Tambov Cathedral

The original wooden church honoring the Feast of the Transfiguration was built in 1636 — the same year when the town of Tambov was founded.

The eparchy was established in 1682 as part of a string of new bishoprics that were meant to promote Christianity in the sparsely populated steppe region formerly known as the Wild Field.

[1] The first bishops decided to replace the wooden church with a bigger stone building patterned after a new Baroque cathedral in Ryazan.

Construction works started in 1694 at the instigation of Bishop Pitirim and, due to a lack of funds, took 90 years to complete.

The statue of Bishop Pitirim in front of the campanile was designed by Aleksandr Rukavishnikov, a well-known sculptor from Moscow.