Catedral Ortodoxa Russa de São Nicolau

This guide to the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas in São Paulo traces how Bishop Theodosius built a cathedral for a diaspora fleeing revolution and civil war, raising walls in the old Pskov style along Rua Tamandaré in about eight months in 1938. Parishioners gave what savings they had, and the rest came from Protopresbyter Konstantin Izraztsov in Buenos Aires, who forwarded funds meant for the wider diocese into this one roof instead. Look at the wooden screen behind the altar, an iconostasis carved by Pugachov, a master craftsman trained in Pskov, its icons a gift from that same Izraztsov. Every hinge and joint here was assembled fast, cheap, and by hand.