Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, Ulaanbaatar

Founded in 1864, the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church began with the Russian consulate in Urga, today’s Ulaanbaatar, erecting a building attached to the Orthodox mission and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. That initiative established the first Holy Trinity parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Mongolia.

The parish’s continuity was later disrupted. From 1927 it no longer had a resident priest, services stopped, and the church building was reassigned to other uses before being demolished in the 1930s. Only after the 1990 democratic revolution did the local Orthodox community re-emerge.

A new phase started in 2001, when the foundation stone for a new Holy Trinity church was blessed. Construction began in 2005 and the present building was completed in 2009. Today, Holy Trinity serves as Mongolia’s principal Russian Orthodox church. While the parish’s roots reach back to the nineteenth century, its current home is recent, reflecting the community’s post-1990 revival.

Architecturally, the church follows Russian Revival traditions with a cross-in-square plan. Its domes, detailing, and interior iconography express that heritage and offer a clear window into how Orthodox Christianity maintains its presence in Mongolia’s religious landscape.