St. Peter and Paul Cathedral is a monument of Church architecture of Republican value. The initiator of the construction, count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, eldest son of P. A. Rumyantsev - Zadunaisky, who after the death of his father the owner of Gomel. On 28 March 1808 he went to the Mogilev Archbishop Varlaam requesting permission to build in Gomel a stone Church in honor of Holy apostles Peter and Paul. Along with the letter he was sent a plan of the proposed temple, designed by the architect John Clark. The request was granted. October 18, 1809, on the right Bank of the Sozh river in the vicinity of the Palace of Archpriest John Kononovych Grigorovich was laid for the Church. It was built within 10 years. About 5 years were needed to decorate the temple of the costly Church utensils brought by the Earl from St. Petersburg. For all its simplicity, the temple features great harmony parts. The building was built in the classical style with a height of 25 meters. At the base of the temple is four-pointed cross; the four outside portico with columns in Doric style. The temple is crowned by a dome. At the request of Rumyantsev, the iconostasis of the Church was decorated with columns of the Doric style and icons, donated by the count.