History of the Cathedral

In 1858, five years after the foundation of the Bolshaya Stanitsa in Vernyi, the consecration of the Bolshaya Stanitsa Sophia Church took place. Soon after, it was dismantled and moved to the Malaya Stanitsa and renamed in honor of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God by the decision of a public meeting of Cossacks on November 25, 1864. The transfer of the cathedral to the new location was completed on November 13, 1871.
The earthquake of 1887 damaged the Kazan church as well, which resulted in frequent repairs and large expenses to restore the church. As a result, in 1897, the Diocesan authorities deemed it necessary to rebuild the building of the cathedral. So, in 1898, according to the project of the famous Russian architect Michael Brusentsov, the Kazan Cathedral was consecrated. And in 1901, it began to function in the form that it retains to this day.

During the years of Soviet power, there were repeated attempts to close the church. In 1919, priest Parfeniy Petrovich Krassivsky, who had resisted the looting of the church, was doused with gasoline and burned alive on the grounds adjoining the church, near the northern entrance. Another clergyman (according to some reports, Father Parfeniy’s brother Vassiliy) was tied to a horse and cut to pieces by the stones of the Tashkent highway. In 1925, they tried again to close the temple, but at the cost of the lives of ten people, among whom was also a clergyman of the church, priest Yevfimiy Krugovykh, the faithful defended their sanctuary. The attempted closure also failed in 1929. Closure of the church took place in 1934, despite the protests of the townspeople and the letter signed by 813 residents of Malaya Stanitsa.
Return of the temple to the faithful occurred on December 16, 1944 in response to numerous requests from the Orthodox residents of Almaty. The restored Kazan church acquired the status of the Cathedral, the main temple of the Kazakhstan Diocese, as the authorities did not consider it possible to return the Ascension Cathedral to the faithful. Until the return of St. Nicholas Cathedral in 1946, the Kazan Cathedral was the only functioning cathedral in the city of Alma-Ata. For a short time in the sixties, the Kazan Cathedral was given the status of the Cathedral again.
Today, the Kazan Cathedral is the oldest of the existing Orthodox churches of Almaty and, perhaps, one of the oldest surviving buildings of our city.
Reconstruction of the Cathedral
2003 – Reconstruction of the bell tower of the Kazan Cathedral.
2003 (November 4) –The consecration of new bells by His Eminence Methodius, Metropolitan of Astana and Almaty.
2003 – Lifting and installation of new bells. The first bell ringing in the Kazan Cathedral.
2004 – Reconstruction of the aisle in honor of St. Martyr George
2005 – Overhaul of the central altar.