Description of the attraction
Archangel Cathedral on the Kremlin Cathedral Square, like other local churches, is included in the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin". It was built at the beginning of the 16th century in honor of the holy Archangel - the main archangel, the most revered not only in Orthodoxy, but also in other world religions. archangel Michael was considered in Russia the heavenly patron saint of princes going on feats of arms. The Grand Dukes came to the temple for a blessing, and after the wedding to the kingdom, the next Russian emperor came to the Archangel Cathedral to bow to the graves of their ancestors.
The history of the construction of the temple
The first religious building in honor of the holy Archangel appeared in the center of old Moscow in mid-13th century … The wooden church was erected by order of the brother of Alexander Nevsky, the Moscow prince Mikhail Khorobrit, who died soon in a battle with the Lithuanians. The church stood for almost a hundred years, until in 1333 a white-stone church was consecrated in its place. It was built Ivan Kalita, Prince of Moscow and Grand Duke of Vladimir, who thus thanked the higher powers for ending the famine in Russia. The stone temple was small and single-domed, and members of the grand ducal family began to be buried within its walls. A few decades later, they invited to decorate the stone church Theophanes the Greek - the famous icon painter and master of monumental fresco paintings. The Greek and his disciples also painted several icons for the church iconostasis, which was two-tiered and high.
By the beginning of the 16th century, the church fell into disrepair due to frequent fires and from time to time. A huge number of burials did not correspond to the capabilities of a small temple, and Ivan III Kalita, who then occupied the royal throne, ordered to dismantle the building. In 1505, an Italian architect Aleviz New received the assignment to design and build a stone church in the best Russian traditions. Ivan III soon died and was buried in the unfinished cathedral, and oversaw the progress of construction work after his death Vasily III.
Aleviz Novy managed to realize all the wishes of the customer. His own project was a traditional Russian Orthodox cross-domed church with five chapters and seven aisles. The cathedral was consecrated in honor of the Archangel Michael in 1508 year … Cathedral chapels were built in honor of Andrew of Crete, John the Merciful, the First and Second Finding of the Head of the Prophet John the Baptist, Simeon the Stylite the Pilot, the Apostle Aquila and the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.
Cathedral before and after the revolution
Moscow fires repeatedly caused damage to the temple. He suffered especially badly in 1547when the fire severely damaged the wall painting. The frescoes had to be restored, for which icon painters were invited from Novgorod and Pskov.
The frescoes were restored a century later, when the emperor Alexey Mikhailovich gave the order to knock down the old painting, having previously drawn up a detailed description of it, and replace it with new frescoes. Due to the wars with Poland and Sweden and the shortage of money in the treasury, the work dragged on for a long time and was completed only in 1666. An artel of masters who painted the Archangel Cathedral in the 17th century, headed Simon Ushakov … By that time, the well-known Moscow icon painter was already the "honored" master of the Armory Order, and then - of the Armory Chamber. The school of icon painters Simon Ushakov enjoyed the special favor of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Almost a hundred companions and students worked with Ushakov in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Among them were Gury Nikitin, the largest master of frescoes and icon painting of the second half of the 17th century, and Fedor Zubov, the tsar's flag bearer and the head of the granted icon painters of the Armory Chamber, who replaced Ushakov in this post.
Another fire that happened in 1737 and named Troitsky, again brought destruction to the Archangel Cathedral. The temple had to be overhauled, and this happened already during the reign Elizaveta Petrovna … As a result of the restoration at the Cathedral of the Archangel, the shape of the central chapter was changed, the southern wall was reinforced with vertical ribs of white stone, and the zakomars acquired a laconic and austere look. Inside, the reconstruction touched the icons, which were removed into silver frames, decorated with embossing and gilding.
In 1742 it was established Moscow diocesan administration and the Cathedral of the Archangel became the place where the pulpit was established. The new status required special luxury, but also provided the temple with sufficient funding. The cathedral was constantly being renovated and reconstructed.
The fires were replaced by another misfortune from Europe. The Napoleonic army, which occupied Moscow, outraged many Orthodox churches, and the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin was no exception. The priceless icons were damaged, the silver of their salaries was melted into ingots, and a kitchen was placed in the altar, where they prepared food for Napoleon. The temple was rededicated in 1813, and a few years later, the central cathedral chapter was covered with gilding, and the corner domes were covered with tinplate plates.
General cleaning was carried out in the cathedral in 1913 year: Russia was preparing to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty. Then the Royal Doors were restored and the iconostasis was washed, all church utensils were cleaned, and a canopy was built over the burial place of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and lamps were lit.
The revolution brought many changes and the Archangel Cathedral, like the rest of the Kremlin churches, was closed in 1918. Restoration work began almost immediately - repairs were required after shelling during the 1917 armed uprising. Employees created on the initiative of the academician and artist I. Grabar of the scientific restoration center, the icons were strengthened and covered with protective material, many images were restored, and later, the 17th century murals were opened.
Opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin since 1955 Museum.
What to see in the Archangel Cathedral
During an excursion to the Moscow Kremlin, first of all, you should pay attention to the external architectural features of the temple:
- Cathedral built made of white stone and has five domes … Its height is 21 meters. The central chapter is located above the pulpit, small domes are installed above the altar part of the temple.
- On the facade you can see pilasters and cornices, acting as decoration and visually dividing the wall into two floors. In the lower tier, powerful decorative arches stand out.
- In the external decoration of the cathedral, the traditions of Italian Renaissance architecture are clearly traced - vegetable capitals of order pilasters, made in the form of semicircular pediments zakomaras with "shells", and a combination of round windows of various sizes.
- Main portal is located in a recess of impressive width, in the form of a powerful arch with paintings on the ceiling. It is decorated with vegetal stone ornaments and crowned with carved acroteria - attachments at the top of the pediment.
Interior Archangel Cathedral is able to impress any admirer of Old Russian painting:
- On the pillars and walls of the first tier are located portraits of Russian princes … Among the sixty images, Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily III are easily recognizable.
- The ceiling of the dome and the walls of the central drum contain painting on biblical themes, small domes - portraits of archangels, saints and scenes from the life of the Archangel Michael.
- The icon painters placed the compositions of the Theotokos cycle above the altar. Looks especially majestic fresco "Assumption of the Virgin".
- In the western part of the temple, you can see a cycle of art paintings on the theme "Symbols of Faith".
- The oldest frescoes and wall paintings preserved in the Archangel Cathedral are dated XVII century.
V necropolis There are 54 burials in the Archangel Cathedral. The very first in the temple was buried Ivan Kalita, who laid it. In the chapel for the royal tomb, built in the 16th century, the tsars John the Terrible and Fyodor Ioannovich and the innocently murdered Tsarevich Ioann Ioannovich were buried.
Temple iconostasis
Deserves special attention the iconostasis of the Archangel Cathedral Moscow Kremlin. The iconostasis is called the altar partition, which runs between the northern and southern walls of the temple and usually consists of several rows of icons. The iconostasis separates the altar part of the church from the rest of the premises. In the Archangel Cathedral, it is a frame structure decorated with carved colored decor. The height of the iconostasis is 13 meters, and it was made in 1680 at the Amusement yard. The first iconostasis, installed in 1508 during the construction of the cathedral, died in a fire in 1547.
The iconostasis of the Archangel Cathedral is divided by horizontal cornices into four tiers and consists of three vertical parts. The four tiers of the iconostasis are traditional: prophetic, deesis, festive and local rows. The bulk of the images for the iconostasis were painted by artists Fyodor Zubov, Dorofey Zolotarev and Mikhail Milyutin. This was in 1681. Among the icons there are also older ones dating from the XIV-XVI centuries.
The center of the prophetic row is the image of the Mother of God on the throne, and on either side of it are images of Old Testament prophets with scrolls containing the texts of their predictions. In the Deesis row, you should pay attention to the central composition. Savior in the Forces … Other icons of this tier depict the Mother of God with the Archangel Michael and John the Baptist with the Archangel Gabriel. The festive rite tells about the church holidays mentioned in the New Testament. The local tier features patron saints who were venerated by the great dukes and sovereigns of Russia. The oldest image of the local row - icon painted at the end of the 14th century commissioned by the widow of Dmitry Donskoy and depicting the Archangel Michael with deeds.
On a note:
- The nearest metro stations are Borovitskaya, Aleksandrovsky Sad, Lenin Library, Arbatskaya.
- Official website: www.kreml.ru
- Opening hours: From May 15 to September 30 - every day except Thursday, from 9:30 to 18:00. Ticket offices are open from 9:00 to 17:00. from October 1 to May 14 - every day, except Thursday, from 10:00 to 17:00. Ticket offices are open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The Armory and Observation Deck of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower operate on a separate schedule.
- Tickets: on sale near the Kutafya Tower in the Alexander Garden. The cost of a ticket to Cathedral Square, to the Kremlin cathedrals: for adult visitors - 500 rubles. For Russian students and pensioners upon presentation of the relevant documents - 250 rubles. Children under 16 years old - free. Tickets to the Armory and Ivan the Great Bell Tower are purchased separately from the general ticket.
Description added:
Dimka Bagulinka 2016-16-05
The Archangel Cathedral is an excellent museum and educational historical monument!
