List of tallest Orthodox church buildings

Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, with its tallest Orthodox bell tower (122 m).	Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, the tallest Orthodox church (103 m).

This a list of tallest Orthodox church buildings in the world, all those higher than 70 metres.

Traditionally, an Orthodox church building is crowned by one or several domes with Orthodox crosses on the top of each. The overall height of the temple is measured by the highest point of the cross above the main temple.

The number of domes is symbolical. One dome is a symbol of Christ or God, three domes are symbolic of Trinity, five domes symbolize Christ and Four Evangelists, seven domes are often used because seven is a holy number, and thirteen domes correspond to Christ and his twelve Apostles. Other numbers are also encountered.

An Orthodox church building may also have a bell tower or zvonnitsa, either a part of the main church building, or standalone structure. Typically, bell tower is higher than the main temple.

This list is divided into two sections, one listing the highest temples and the other listing the highest bell towers or zvonnitsas.

Churches and Cathedrals

Rank	Height (m)	Name	Image	Notes	Years of construction	Location
1	103 [1]	Cathedral of Christ the Saviour		The original Cathedral had been built in 1839–1883, but was demolished during the Soviet period on Stalin's orders in 1931. Rebuilt once again, it is the main and largest cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church, having a capacity for some 10,000 people	1995–2000	Moscow  Russia
2	101,5 [2]	Saint Isaac's Cathedral		A masterpiece of late Classicism	1818–1858	Saint Petersburg  Russia
3	98 [3]	Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi		The main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church	1995–2002	Tbilisi  Georgia
4	96 [4]	Khabarovsk Metropolitan Cathedral		The location of the cathedral was chosen by the patriarch Alexis II of Moscow during the helicopter flight over Khabarovsk	2001–2004	Khabarovsk  Russia
5	93,7 [5]	Smolny Cathedral of the Resurrection		The original project also included the 140 metre high standalone bell tower, that was never built	1751–1835	Saint Petersburg  Russia
6	87 [6]	Alexander Nevsky Novoyarmarochny Cathedral		Located on the spit of Oka and Volga rivers. Built in commemoration of the visit of Nizhny Novgorod Fair by Emperor Alexander II of Russia	1867–1880	Nizhny Novgorod  Russia
7	85 [7]	Annunciation Cathedral in Voronezh		Built in the Russian Revival style in Pervomaysky (former Сity) Garden - a place where never before was the сhurch	1998–2009	Voronezh  Russia
8	83,7 [8]	Timişoara Orthodox Cathedral		Located in the very center of the city. The tallest church in Romania	1934–1946	Timişoara  Romania
9	81 [9]	Church of the Savior on Blood		The name refers to the blood of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, who was assassinated on that site in 1881. Also known as the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ	1883–1907	Saint Petersburg  Russia
10	80 [10]	Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg		The dome was reconstructed after the 2006 fire	1828–1835	Saint Petersburg  Russia
11	79 [11]	Cathedral of Saint Sava		Located on the place where the remains of Saint Sava are thought to have been burned in 1595 by the Ottoman Empire's Sinan Pasha	1935–2004	Belgrade  Serbia
12	78 [12]	Trinity Cathedral in Pskov		Located in the Pskov Krom (or Kremlin)	1682–1699	Pskov  Russia
13	78 [13]	Săpânța-Peri Monastery		Tallest wooden church in the world	1998-2003	Săpânța  Romania
14	77 [14]	Transfiguration Cathedral in Nikolo-Ugresh monastery		The monastery was often visited by the young Peter I of Russia. The cathedral is the main one in the monastery and has a space for some 7000 people.	1880-1894	Dzerzhinsky  Russia
15	76 [15]	Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan in Stavropol		Located at the highest point of the city.		Stavropol  Russia
16	75,6 [16]	Trinity Cathedral in Morshansk			1836-1857	Morshansk  Russia
17	75 [17]	Dormition Cathedral in Astrakhan		Located inside the Astrakhan kremlin	1698	Astrakhan  Russia
18	74,6 [18]	Ascension Cathedral in Novocherkassk		Cathedral of the Don Cossacks Army[19]	1805–1905	Novocherkassk  Russia
19–20	74 [20]	All Saints Monument Church		Monument Church dedicated to All Saints and the memory of those who unjustly perished[21]		Minsk  Belarus
19–20	74 [22]	Ascension Cathedral in Yelets		Inside the cathedral there is a rich iconostasis with gilded wood carvings	1845–1889	Yelets  Russia
21	73 [23]	Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Kaliningrad		Located on the central square of the city	2004–2006	Kaliningrad  Russia
22	72 [24]	St. Michael's Cathedral		Built in the Neo-Byzantine style	1994–2002	Cherkassy  Ukraine
23	71,5 [25]	Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg		According to the wishes of the Emperor Paul of Russia, the cathedral was modelled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome	1801–1811	Saint Petersburg  Russia
24	70,6 [26]	Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt		The cathedral was designed especially high to serve as a landmark for those in the sea	1902–1913	Kronstadt  Russia
25	~ 70 [27]	St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral in Peterhof		Modelled after St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, but has a more pyramidal form	1894–1904	Peterhof  Russia
26	70 [28]	Ascension Church in Bacău		Still in construction	1991-	Bacău  Romania

Bell towers

Rank	Height (m)	Name	Image	Notes	Years of construction	Location
1	122,5 [29]	Peter and Paul Cathedral		Three-level bell tower is a part of the church. It is crowned with a gilded spire. The figure of a flying angel is at the very top of the structure	1712–1733	Saint Petersburg  Russia
2	106 [30]	Resurrection Cathedral in Shuya		The tallest standalone Orthodox bell tower	1810–1832	Shuya  Russia
3	96,52 [31]	Great Lavra Belltower		Located in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra	1731–1745	Kiev  Ukraine
4	93,8 [32]	Transfiguration Cathedral in Rybinsk		Five-level bell tower, crowned by a gilded spire	1797–1804	Rybinsk  Russia
5	93,7 [33]	Peter and Paul Church		The highest rural bell tower in Russia		the settlement of Porechye-Rybnoye Yaroslavl Oblast  Russia
6	93 [34]	Nikolo-Ugresha monastery		The bell tower is adjacent to the other buildings of the monastery	1758–1763, rebuilt in в 1859 г.	Dzerzhinsky  Russia
7	90,3 [35]	Nikolo-Berlyukovsky Monastery		In old Russian measures, the height of the bell tower is equal to 127 arshin 4 vershoks	1895–1899	the village of Avdotyino Moscow Oblast  Russia
8	89,5 [36]	Assumption Cathedral in Kharkiv		About 3,5 million bricks and 65,5 tons of iron were used for construction	1821–1841	Kharkiv  Ukraine
9	88 [37]	Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius		Five-level bell tower	1740–1770	Sergiyev Posad  Russia
10	83,2 [38]	Assumption Cathedral in Ryazan		Built by several different architects. Located in Ryazan Kremlin	1789–1840	Ryazan  Russia
11	82 [39]	All Saints Cathedral in Tula		At the corners of the first level there are sculptures of angels with trumpets	1776–1825	Tula  Russia
12	81,6 [40]	Saint Trinity Monastery in Alatyr		The bell tower is included in the Russian Book of Records	the monastery is founded in 1584	Alatyr  Russia
13–14	81 [41]	Ivan the Great Bell Tower		Located on the Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin	1532–1543	Moscow  Russia
13–14	81 [42]	Saint Assumption Sarov Monastery		In the good weather the buildings of the Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery are seen from the bell tower	1789–1799	Sarov  Russia
15–16	80 [43]	John the Evangelist Monastery in Poschupovo		The monastery is situated on the right bank of Oka River	1901	the settlement of Poschupovo, Ryazan Oblast  Russia
15–16	80 [44]	Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkiv		In 1997 a fire damaged the dome and the cross of the bell tower	1888–1901	Kharkiv  Ukraine
17	79.9 [45]	Dormition Cathedral in Astrakhan Kremlin		The height of the bell tower is 37 sazhen. The cross is 7 metres high		Astrakhan  Russia
18	79.5 [46]	John the Baptist Church		The bell tower was built in the Neo-Byzantine style after the project of engineer Kulchitsky. Sponsored by the merchant Diomid Mitrofanovich Khutaryov	1891–1895	Serpukhov District of Moscow Oblast  Russia
19	78.5 [47]	St. Sophia Cathedral in Vologda		The bells of the tower were made by Dutch, Russian and German bellmakers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries	1869–1870	Vologda  Russia
20	78 [48]	Novospassky Monastery		The monastery played a crucial role in repelling the attack of Crimean Tatars in 1591	1759–1795	Moscow  Russia
21	77 [49]	Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa		The bells are controlled by an electric device, capable of playing some 99 melodies	2000–2001	Odessa  Ukraine
22–23	76 [50]	Resurrection Cathedral in Kashin		The church is under restoration	1816–1886	Kashin  Russia
22–23	76 [51]	Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev		UNESCO World Heritage Site		Kiev  Ukraine
24	75,6 [52]	Tobolsk Kremlin bell tower		The only stone kremlin in Siberia	1794–1809	Tobolsk  Russia
25–27	75 [53]	Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos		The bell ringing is heard in the radius of 42 verst around the tower		Rostov-on-Don  Russia
25–27	75 [54]	St. Nicholas Church in Venyov		The church was demolished in 1950s but the bell tower still stands	1801–1843	Venyov  Russia
25–27	~75 [55]	The Church of Saint Myrrhbearers in Kaluga		The construction cost was 64500 rubles	1818–1820	Kaluga  Russia
28	74,5 [56]	The Flooded Belfry		Now the bell tower stands amid the waters of Uglich Reservoir, which covered the old city center of Kalyazin in 1939	1796–1800	Kalyazin  Russia
29	74 [57]	Epiphany Cathedral in Kazan		There is a temple on the second level of the bell tower	1895–1897	Kazan  Russia
30–33	72 [58]	Novodevichy Convent		The bell tower consist of six octagonal levels	1690	Moscow  Russia
30–33	72 [59]	Monastery of the Deposition in Suzdal		The bell tower was built to commemorate the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812	1813–1819	Suzdal  Russia
30–33	72 [60]	Cathedral of Saint George the Martyr		The total weight of the bells is 18.5 tons		Odintsovo  Russia
30–33	72 [61]	Valaam Monastery		The monastery is situated on the Valaam Archipelago in Karelia		Valaam  Russia
34	70,3 [62]	Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery		In Soviet times the bell tower was used for TV transmissions		Diveyevo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast  Russia
35	70 [63]	Alexander Nevsky Cathedral		Built in the style of classicism	1818–1823	Izhevsk  Russia

See also

• List of tallest churches
• List of tallest buildings in Russia
• List of Russian church types
• List of large Orthodox cathedrals

References