« At the conclusion of his visit to the Central States Deanery, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh venerated the holy relics at St. Theodosius of Chernigov Cathedral in Cleveland »

On September 7, 2026, the final day of his visit to the Central States Deanery, Bishop Matthew of Sourozh, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA and Canada, visited St. Theodosius of Chernigov Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio.

Like many churches in North America, the history of this holy temple is linked to St. Tikhon (the future Patriarch of Moscow), the Hieromartyr Presbyter John Kochurov (builder and first rector of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago), and the Holy Righteous Protopresbyter Alexis Toth. An outstanding missionary and associate of St. Tikhon, Father Alexis played a pivotal role in establishing the first Orthodox parish in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Orthodox community was preceded by the St. Nicholas Society, founded in late 1895 on the advice of the Hieromartyr Presbyter John Kochurov. At his insistence, the church, then under construction in the Tremont neighborhood, was named in honour of the newly glorified St. Theodosius of Chernigov. In 1902, Bishop Tikhon personally consecrated the ground for the cathedral's construction. At a church congress, St. Tikhon donated personal funds to establish an orphanage, a move that subsequently fostered the development of charitable institutions within the North American Diocese.

The cathedral building is constructed in the Neo-Byzantine style and is crowned by one large dome and twelve smaller ones. The cathedral is considered one of the finest examples of Russian church architecture in the United States and is recognized as a historic architectural landmark. It was modeled after the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, photographs of which were provided to the architect by the parish rector, and the icons for the cathedral were brought from Russia.

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