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==History==
The present day great stone cathedral was preceded by a small wooden church built at a spot specified by Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) within the half destroyed walls of the Kazan kremlin. Construction of the wooden church began on [[October 4]], 1552, and was completed in three days, on [[October 6]], 1552. The church was named in honor of the [[Annunciation]] of the Most Holy [[Theotokos|Virgin]]. Ivan himself outlined the foundation of the church and marked with a cross the intended place for the bishop's throne. The throne was placed in use on [[July 28]], 1555, when [[Archbishop]] Gury arrived and was [[enthroned]] as the first [[bishop]] of the [[diocese]] of [[Diocese of Kazan|Kazan]].
In 1555, a team of workers, led by master Postnik Yakovlev and mason Ivan Shiryai from Pskov, were directed to Kazan by an imperial letter and tasked to build walls of stone around the fortress. In addition to the walls, the builders erected a stone cathedral, built out of rough-hewn limestone, in place of the wooden church. The new cathedral was [[consecration of a church|consecrated]] on [[August 15]], 1562. The cathedral had two side [[altar]]s, on the right dedicated to the [[martyr]]ed saints [[Boris and Gleb]], and on the left dedicated to the Murom [[wonderworker|miracleworkers]], Peter and Fevroniya. Over the years the cathedral received many gifts: [[icon]]s with gilded silver frames from the tsars and clerical robes, books, and [[liturgical vessel]]s from Kazan archbishops, local generals, and princes.