In the course of the 19th century, the place of prayer for Poles in Kharkov was a residential building, a chapel and, finally, a church, built in 1887-1891. Today, the church remains a centre of Polish tradition, a centre of the local Polish community and a beautiful monument of sacred architecture.

Catholic community in Kharkov

The documented history of the Catholic Church in Kharkov dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. The city was part of the world's largest archdiocese, the Mogilev Archdiocese, which was founded on the initiative of Catherine II by Pope Pius VI in 1783. The first parish priest of Kharkiv was a Pole in 1829, the Franciscan Fr Hemilion Czaplinski, who had previously held pastoral posts in Moscow. Services were held in the provisionally adapted premises of the First Gymnasium, then the University. In 1832, the first temporary chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary was consecrated. In 1832, the first temporary chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary was consecrated.

In 1886, the Kharkiv parish numbered nearly 3,000 worshippers; in addition, 1,500 officers and soldiers of the local garrison were also Catholics. Housed in a small building at the beginning of today's Gogol Street, the temple could not accommodate everyone at the service. Therefore, the Polish community decided to build a church on the same street. The process of its construction followed the practice of erecting Catholic churches in the Russian Empire. This means that, most often, a local architect - a Pole - designed and supervised the construction of the church. The authorities granted permits for the construction of churches and parish premises. On the other hand, during the construction process, the faithful tried to use their own expertise to the maximum.

Boleslav Mikhailovsky - builder of the Kharkiv church

The author of the Kharkiv church project was a well-known architect in the city, Boleslav Mikhailovsky (1830-1909), who worked as a city engineer for 35 years and successfully carried out professional activities. He designed some 30 buildings in Kharkov, which are a unique phenomenon in the city's architecture. Mikhailovsky was also a lecturer of the first real secondary school in Kharkiv, a social activist, and actively participated in the life of the local Polish community. He was known for his extremely conscientious and responsible approach to work, which won him widespread seriousness and respect. He carried out the design and supervision of the investment free of charge. In response to a proposal from the Roman Catholic parish council in Kharkov to receive payment for the design and supervision of the construction of the new church, he wrote in his letter of 12 January 1887: As before, I now also reject the offer of remuneration for my work. Many of the faithful are donating money for the construction of the temple, and I, in turn, want to donate my work. He later received the sum of 500 roubles from grateful parishioners.

Construction of the church in Kharkov

The foundation stone was laid in 1887. The construction of the temple, financed by the donations of Catholics, encountered many problems, mainly financial. The Catholic Review in April 1889 noted: In Kharkov ... The construction of the Catholic church, which is distinguished by its splendid architecture, is progressing at a jaundiced pace due to the lack of funds to complete the temple. According to the calculation of the engineer Michałowski, who is building the church, there is still a shortfall of about 15,000 rb. For this reason, the church was built using funds received from donors from all over the Russian Empire.

Architectural form of the Kharkov church

The church was a unique building in Kharkov at the time. "Catholic Review" on 26 January 1893 reported: The peculiarity of the church is the vaulting. As the nave turned out to be too wide for a masonry vault to be built over it, the idea was conceived to build a so-called pot ceiling. They were made of iron, connected to each other with iron rods, and on top of these were placed bricks which had been hollowed out and heavily burnt. This ceiling imitates the real vaulting quite well and harmonises with the overall style of the building. Inside the church there are 3 altars: a large one of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and 2 side altars: of Lord Jesus, with a painting by Henryk Siemiradzki, and of St Anthony. The location of the church is good: there is a square for processions, and further on there is the presbytery, separated only by a garden from the church". Siemiradzki painted this picture especially for Kharkov, which he visited for the last time in 1890.

To the right of the altar of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which housed a statue of the Virgin Mary made of blue Italian marble, was the pulpit, with a statue of St Peter below it. On the walls, in specially constructed niches, were paintings. Above the door was the inscription "DEO OMNIPOTENTI" ("TO GOD ALMIGHTY"). Three bells were hung in the bell tower. An organ was also purchased for the church. The newly built church was consecrated on 26 July 1892 by the auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Mogilyov, Frantsisk Albin Symon. In 1901, on the initiative of engineers Adam Krzyżanowski and Adolf Pavlovich, electric lighting was installed in the church.

The church in Stalinist times

After the end of the civil war and the final seizure of power in Ukraine by the Bolsheviks (1920), the Kharkov parish, like many others, functioned under steadily deteriorating conditions. During the anti-religious campaign, the church and the faithful tried to support the Polish consulate general functioning in Kharkov from 1924 to 1934. Consul Stanislaw Oraczewski noted: The Catholic clergy continues to be persecuted. Contact with the Consulate General is minimal. Diplomats attempted to clandestinely assist the Kharkiv church financially and by providing food . As a result, the church, where masses were celebrated until 1937, became one of the last functioning churches in the then USSR. During the Great Terror, the Polish authorities were unable to rescue the priests. In the autumn of 1933, after seven years of exile and imprisonment, Father Vincent Ilgin, parish priest of Kharkiv from 1919 to 1926, was deported to Poland. In August 1937, the last parish priest, Father Leonard Gaszynski, was arrested on charges of involvement in a counter-revolutionary organisation and was shot on 12 October, together with 11 parishioners. The Roman Catholic temple in Kharkov was closed and the parish liquidated.

Between 1941 and 1943, during the German occupation of Kharkiv, the church was reopened. Services were mainly conducted by Italian chaplains. In 1947, the city authorities handed over the church building to the regional film directorate, following which the church was extensively rebuilt and the surrounding area was developed with studios and garages.

Kharkov church today

On 7 January 1991, the future pastor of the parish, Fr Yuri Ziminski, celebrated the first mass after many years on the steps of the church. In December of that year, the historic church building was returned to the parish. In the early 2000s, the interior of the church was restored. Since 2002, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been the cathedral of the then-established Kharkiv-Zaporozhsky diocese.

Nowadays, commemorations of historical persons and events are placed inside the Kharkiv church. To the right of the porch, in a niche, is a bust of musician Konstantin Gorski (1859-1924), for thirty years one of the leading participants in Kharkiv's cultural life. On the façade of the church, to the left of the entrance, is a plaque expressing the Armenians' gratitude to the local community for saving children during the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. In 2021, a statue of Pope John Paul II was erected in front of the entrance to the cathedral.

Kharkiv Cathedral has also witnessed the most recent tragic events of Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine. On 1 March 2022, a Russian rocket hit the roof of the diocesan curia next to the church. As of today, however, the Catholic church remains undamaged in one of the cities hardest hit by the war.