walnut end floor no relation Prince Mikhail S. Vorontsov
Construction
On May 8, 1849, at noon, in the presence of Prince Mikhail S. Vorontsov and his wife, the foundation was laid. The project of the church was developed by Prince Grigory Gagarin in the Russian-Byzantine style. The construction was supervised by field engineer captain V. I. Gerschelman. The church was built from local hewn stone and was designed for 500 people. While digging the foundation, the builders stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient temple. Presumably, in the 4th century, an Albanian Orthodox Church was located on that place. Many clay pipes and the remains of a pool were found, as well as almost surviving vaults of the temple made of burnt bricks with the remains of columns and floors paved with slabs.
According to the project, the church was supposed to have a cast-iron floor, which was later replaced with a walnut end floor. Church utensils were delivered from all over the empire: crosses, chandeliers, candlesticks from Moscow, bells from Astrakhan, and an iconostasis from Tbilisi. The painting of the temple and the writing of some of the icons were made by Prince G. G. Gagarin. In particular, he painted icons: the Last Supper, the holy archangels Michael and Gabriel, the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, St. George and St. Alexander Nevsky.  A clock made by Master Stern in Odessa was installed on the bell tower. In 1875, a fence was erected around the church and a square was laid out.