List of tallest Eastern Orthodox church buildings

	Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, with its tallest Orthodox bell tower (122 m).

This is 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	City	Country
1	127 (135 m when the cross is installed) [1]	People's Salvation Cathedral		It is the tallest (127m), longest (126m) and largest (by volume (323,000 m3) and area (7,200 m2)) Orthodox church building in the world. It is located in central Bucharest, facing the same courtyard as the Romanian Parliament Building.	2010–present	Bucharest	Romania
2	122.5 [2]	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
3	103.4 [3]	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 cathedral and second largest church building of the Russian Orthodox Church, having a capacity for some 10,000 people	1995–2000	Moscow	Russia
4	101.5 [4]	Saint Isaac's Cathedral		A masterpiece of late Classicism The largest church building in Russia (both by volume and area). Second largest Orthodox church building in the world (by volume [5] and by area [6] ).	1818–1858	Saint Petersburg	Russia
5	96 [7]	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
6	95	Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces			2018-2020	Odintsovsky District	Russia
7	93.7 [8]	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
8	90.5 [9]	Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral		Located in the very center of the city. The second tallest church in Romania	1934–1946	Timișoara	Romania
9	87.1 [10]	Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi		The main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church	1995–2002	Tbilisi	Georgia
10	87 [11]	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
11	85 [12]	Saint Trinity Cathedral in Baia Mare		Tallest cathedral in Maramureș, Romania	2003–	Baia Mare	Romania
12	85 [13]	Annunciation Cathedral in Voronezh		Built in the Russian Revival style in Pervomaysky (former City) Garden – a place where never before was the church	1998–2009	Voronezh	Russia
13	82 [14]	Cathedral of the Nativity		Located in Mărășești-Zamca neighbourhood, near the city center. The tallest cathedral in the Moldavia region.	1991–2015	Suceava	Romania
14	81 [15]	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
15-16	80 [16]	Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg		The dome was reconstructed after the 2006 fire	1828–1835	Saint Petersburg	Russia
15-16	80 [17]	Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkiv		In 1997 a fire damaged the dome and the cross of the bell tower	1888–1901	Kharkiv	Ukraine
17	79 [18]	Church 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
18	78 [19]	Trinity Cathedral in Pskov		Located in the Pskov Krom (or Kremlin)	1682–1699	Pskov	Russia
19	78 [20]	Săpânța-Peri Monastery  [ ro ]		Tallest wooden church in the world	1998–2003	Săpânța	Romania
20	77 [21]	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
21	76 [22]	Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan in Stavropol		Located at the highest point of the city.		Stavropol	Russia
22	75.6 [23]	Trinity Cathedral in Morshansk			1836–1857	Morshansk	Russia
23	75 [24]	Dormition Cathedral in Astrakhan		Located inside the Astrakhan kremlin	1698	Astrakhan	Russia
24	74.6 [25]	Ascension Cathedral in Novocherkassk		Cathedral of the Don Cossacks Army [26]	1805–1905	Novocherkassk	Russia
25–26	74 [27]	All Saints Monument Church		Monument Church dedicated to All Saints and the memory of those who unjustly perished [28]		Minsk	Belarus
25–26	74 [29]	Ascension Cathedral in Yelets		Inside the cathedral there is a rich iconostasis with gilded wood carvings	1845–1889	Yelets	Russia
27	73 [30]	Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Kaliningrad		Located on the central square of the city	2004–2006	Kaliningrad	Russia
28	72 [31]	St. Michael's Cathedral in Cherkasy		Built in the Neo-Byzantine style, 136 metres tall belfry under construction	1994–2002	Cherkasy	Ukraine
29	71.5 [32]	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
30	70.6 [33]	Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt		The cathedral was designed especially high to serve as a landmark for those in the sea	1902–1913	Kronstadt	Russia
31-33	70 [34]	Cathedral of the Lord's Ascension, Bacău		Still in construction	1991–	Bacău	Romania
31-33	70 [35]	Alexander Nevsky Cathedral		Built in the style of classicism	1818–1823	Izhevsk	Russia
31-33	~ 70 [36]	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

Bell towers

Rank	Height (m)	Name	Image	Notes	Years of construction	Location
1	122,5 [2]	Peter and Paul Cathedral		The three-level bell tower is 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	116 [37]	Transfiguration Cathedral in Rybinsk		Five-storey bell tower crowned by a gilded spire.	1797–1804	Rybinsk   Russia
3	107 [38]	Monastery of Our Lady of Kazan		Tallest Christian structure in the Central Federal District of Russia.	2009–2011 [39]	Tambov   Russia
4	106 [40]	Resurrection Cathedral in Shuya		A standalone Orthodox bell tower. Tallest in the Ivanovo Oblast.	1810–1832	Shuya   Russia
5	97 [41]	Annunciation Cathedral		Built in the Pseudo-Russian style.	1998–2009	Voronezh   Russia
6	96,52 [42]	Great Lavra Belltower		Located in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.	1731–1745	Kyiv   Ukraine
7	93,7 [43]	Peter and Paul Church		The highest rural bell tower in Russia.		Porechye-Rybnoye Yaroslavl Oblast   Russia
8	93 [44]	Nikolo-Ugresha monastery		The bell tower is adjacent to the other buildings of the monastery.	1758–1763, rebuilt in в 1859 г.	Dzerzhinsky   Russia
9	90,3 [45]	Nikolo-Berlyukovsky Monastery		In old Russian measures, the height of the bell tower is equal to 127 arshin and 4 vershoks.	1895–1899	the village of Avdotyino Moscow Oblast   Russia
10	89,5 [46]	Assumption Cathedral in Kharkiv		About 3.5 million bricks and 65.5 tons of iron were used for construction.	1821–1841	Kharkiv   Ukraine
11	88 [47]	Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius		Five-storey bell tower.	1740–1770	Sergiyev Posad   Russia
12	83,2 [48]	Assumption Cathedral in Ryazan		Built by several different architects. Located in the Ryazan Kremlin.	1789–1840	Ryazan   Russia
13	82 [49]	All Saints Cathedral in Tula		At the corners of the first level there are sculptures of angels with trumpets.	1776–1825	Tula   Russia
14	81,6 [50]	Saint Trinity Monastery in Alatyr		The bell tower is included in the Russian Book of Records.	the monastery is founded in 1584	Alatyr   Russia
15–16	81 [51]	Ivan the Great Bell Tower		Located on Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin.	1532–1543	Moscow   Russia
15–16	81 [52]	Saint Assumption Sarov Monastery		In good weather the buildings of the Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery can be seen from the bell tower.	1789–1799	Sarov   Russia
17	80 [53]	John the Evangelist Monastery in Poschupovo		The monastery is situated on the right bank of the Oka River.	1901	Poschupovo, Ryazan Oblast   Russia
18	79.9 [54]	Dormition Cathedral in Astrakhan Kremlin		The height of the bell tower is 37 sazhen. The cross is 7 metres high.		Astrakhan   Russia
19	79.5 [55]	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
20	78.5 [56]	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
21	78 [57]	Novospassky Monastery		The monastery played a crucial role in repelling the attack of Crimean Tatars in 1591.	1759–1795	Moscow   Russia
22	77 [58]	Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa		The bells are controlled by an electronic device capable of playing some 99 melodies.	2000–2001	Odesa   Ukraine
23–24	76 [59]	Resurrection Cathedral in Kashin		The church is under restoration.	1816–1886	Kashin   Russia
23–24	76 [60]	Bell Tower of Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv		UNESCO World Heritage Site		Kyiv   Ukraine
25	75,6 [61]	Tobolsk Kremlin bell tower		The only stone kremlin in Siberia.	1794–1809	Tobolsk   Russia
26–28	75 [62]	Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos		The bell ringing is heard in the radius of 42 versts around the tower.		Rostov-on-Don   Russia
26–28	75 [63]	St. Nicholas Church in Venyov		The church was demolished in 1950s but the bell tower still stands.	1801–1843	Venyov   Russia
26–28	~75 [64]	The Church of Saint Myrrhbearers in Kaluga		The construction cost was 64,500 rubles.	1818–1820	Kaluga   Russia
29	74,5 [65]	The Flooded Belfry		Now the bell tower stands amid the waters of the Uglich Reservoir, which covered the old city center of Kalyazin in 1939.	1796–1800	Kalyazin   Russia
30	74 [66]	Epiphany Cathedral in Kazan		There is a temple on the second level of the bell tower.	1895–1897	Kazan   Russia
31–34	72 [67]	Novodevichy Convent		The bell tower consist of six octagonal levels.	1690	Moscow   Russia
31–34	72 [68]	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
31–34	72 [69]	Cathedral of Saint George the Martyr		The total weight of the bells is 18.5 tons.	1848–1872	Odintsovo   Russia
31–34	72 [70]	Valaam Monastery		The monastery is situated on the Valaam Archipelago in Karelia.	1896	Valaam   Russia
35	70,3 [71]	Serafimo-Diveevsky Monastery		In Soviet times the bell tower was used for TV transmissions.	1848–1872	Diveyevo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast   Russia
36–37	70 [72]	Ascension Monastery in Tambov			2007–2012	Tambov   Russia
36–37	70	Trinity Cathedral in Gus-Zhelezny		Built in the, rare for Russia, Gothic Revival style.	1802–1868	Gus-Zhelezny   Russia

See also

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

References

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