Description of the attraction
The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the most solemn and revered holidays among Christians. In honor of the gospel event that occurred with Virgin Mary, many churches around the world have been consecrated.
On Cathedral Square One of the most famous and richest churches of the Annunciation rises in the Moscow Kremlin. Appearing as the home church of a grand-ducal family, the Annunciation Cathedral turned into one of the most significant Russian churches, where many great dukes and Russian emperors were crowned and baptized.
The history of the construction of the Annunciation Cathedral
The temple leads its history from XIII centurywhen a wooden church appeared on the site of today's Annunciation Cathedral. It was erected by order of the Vladimir prince Andrey Gorodetsky, the son of Alexander Nevsky and a member of military campaigns against the Golden Horde khans. A century later, the first stone temple was built on the site of the wooden one. It was a house church with one head, built of stone blocks. The basement of the first white-stone church was preserved and was later used in the construction of the cathedral. The early stone church was decorated with wall paintings, which were made by famous Russian masters in 1405 Andrei Rublev, Theophan the Greek and Prokhor s Gorodets … Frescoes also adorned the altar barrier. It contained images of the saints. The first stone cathedral was called "The Annunciation on the Tsar's Entrance".
In 1416, the Church of the Annunciation at the Grand Ducal Sovereign's courtyard was dismantled and it was decided to build a new one. The previous building did not meet modern requirements and was too cramped and inconspicuous for the tsarist scope. As a result, the temple received a large central and two small domes, and as decoration - a carving on a drum and an apse. So it became similar to the partially preserved to this day Church of the Nativity of the Virgin on Seny.
The first Moscow Tsar Ivan III in 1484 decides to rebuild the house church again. To carry out work from Pskov, well-known artisans Krivtsova and Myshkin, and after five years the architects report on the completion of the work. The new church was surrounded by a porch, in the basement, which has been preserved from the former times, the tsar's treasury was kept, and in the decoration of the facades one could guess the features of the most different schools of ancient Russian architecture: Suzdal, Vladimir, Moscow, and Kostroma. The white stone pillars supporting the covered galleries were decorated with rosettes in the form of flowers, and the porch connected the temple with the Treasury and the royal palace … At the beginning of the 16th century, the new church was painted, and frescoes with images of Aristotle and Socrates, Plato and Ptolemy appeared on its walls. The icons in the temple received precious salaries.
Unfortunately, fires were in that era one of the main disasters that people almost could not resist. The Annunciation Church was not saved from the fire either. He is strong suffered in 1547, when the fiery element destroyed not only icons and books, but also frescoes, stone carvings and part of open galleries.
From Ivan the Terrible to the present day
A significant restructuring took place in the Annunciation Cathedral during the reign Ivan the Terrible … In 1560, the construction of side-chapels began, consecrated in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, Michael the Archangel, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and St. George. The appearance of the main part of the cathedral was changed due to the addition of the western chapters and covering them and the roof with gilded sheet copper. As a result the temple became nine-domed and golden-domed … The walls were decorated outside panels … The temple was presented with an icon of the Annunciation from the Yuryev Monastery in Novgorod and a golden cross installed on the central chapter.
A global reconstruction took place in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and in the 19th century … In 1800 changed floors: they became white stone, decorated with black carvings. The chapel of St. George was rededicated in honor of Alexander Nevsky and received a new Empire style iconostasis. A little later, a sacristy was added to the southwestern part of the temple, and an arcade was adorned with the southern porch. In honor of the emperor Nicholas I in 1836 appeared in the cathedral chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and then the temple was connected to the Grand Kremlin Palace, built for the sovereign.
In October 1917, during an artillery shelling a shell hit the cathedralcausing minor damage. Painter Igor Grabar, who created a committee for the preservation of monuments of ancient painting, convinced the government of the need for a restoration group. Several ancient icons and frescoes were cleared in the cathedral, which, according to the researchers, painted Feofan the Greek and Andrei Rublev … The restorers managed to restore the southern portal of the cathedral.
In 1955, the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin was opened Museum, but restoration work continued until 2010. When the walls were cleaned in the middle of the last century, under the layers of later records were discovered 16th century frescoes … In 1989, an exposition was opened in the Annunciation Cathedral, in which they collected icons that had belonged to the temple throughout its existence.
What to see in the Annunciation Cathedral
The architectural appearance of the temple was finally formed in the 60s of the 16th century:
- Above portals of the north and west façades Italian stone carvers worked. Both pairs of doors are framed by columns of the Corinthian order, and on the north you can see the Gospel scenes of the prophecies of the Savior and the Mother of God, depicted in a rare technique of fire gilding on copper sheets.
- Southern portal created in the best traditions of the architects of the early Moscow period. The doors are decorated with half-columns, beads and sheaf-shaped capitals, and the panels are decorated with carved compositions depicting floral ornaments and vases.
- Iconographic plot "The Tree of Jesse" can be seen on the arches of the western and northern galleries of the cathedral. It is an allegorical depiction of the Savior's genealogy and consists of more than two hundred figures. At the entrance, King David is depicted first, and on the western portal you can see the Mother of God with the baby Jesus in her arms, completing the tree.
- Pillars of the temple are decorated with images of the great Moscow and Russian princes - Vladimir Monomakh, Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko, Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy and Alexander Nevsky.
- South gallery the temple serves as a place where a collection of icons that have been in the temple from the XIV century is collected. One of the most valuable and ancient, according to legend, was written by the Evangelist Luke. Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called Hodegetria, is especially revered in Orthodoxy. Its celebration takes place on August 10 and it is believed that the image protects the western borders of Russia.
In the 15th century, from Greece were sent as a gift relics of many saints, which are placed in a silver shrine and kept in the southern gallery of the Annunciation Cathedral.
Temple iconostasis
The altar partition separating the altar from the rest of the Orthodox church and located between the southern and northern walls is called the iconostasis. In the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the iconostasis is high and this is the oldest among such iconostases in Russia.
The skeleton of the iconostasis is made of bronze by the minting method … The project was drawn Nikolay Sultanov, Russian architect and art critic. Sultanov explored the Byzantine style, and his most famous architectural project was the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Peterhof. Nikolai Sultanov restored many estates and churches throughout the country and, in particular, supervised the restoration of the Volkov-Yusupov chambers in the Kharitonevsky lane of the capital.
The iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral consists of five rowscalled ranks. The festive and deesis rows were painted in the XIV-XV centuries. Some researchers believe that this was done by Rublev and the Greek, but other art critics and historians question this hypothesis. The Deesis tier of the high iconostasis in the Kremlin Cathedral consists of eleven icons, each of which is 210 cm high. The festive row contains fourteen altar images.
The oldest icon of the altar partition of the Annunciation Cathedral - All-merciful Savior … It can be seen to the right of the Royal Doors. The other two ranks contain images written later, in the 16th century. Thirty tablets of the iconostasis depict the Menaion of each month of the year, holidays and some saints, as well as important biblical subjects, including the Presentation of the Lord, the Adoration of the Magi, Baptism and the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Exposition "Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin"
Many interesting historical relics are kept in the basement of the temple, where it works exhibition "Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin" … The collection includes jewelry, church utensils, ingots of precious metals, coins and weapons. In total, the museum has more than one and a half thousand exhibits, and they are all dated to the historical period from the XII to the XVII century.
More than two hundred rarities from the section devoted to ancient jewelry art were found in Moscow treasures at the end of the last century. They were buried in the first half of the 13th century, when Moscow was threatened with ruin by the hordes of Khan Batu. In the collection you can see ornaments for the head and hands, parts of a ceremonial costume made in filigree technique agraph beads, bracelets, gilded medallions and pendants to headdresses.
Silver ingots, exhibited in the Museum of the Annunciation Cathedral, served both as a means of payment and investment. Each ingot from the found treasures weighs about 200 grams. In the XIV century, you could buy two good horses with it.
Shishaki helmets, which were forged from a single iron plate, served the Russian horsemen. In the museum, you can see in detail authentic 15th century helmets, as well as weapons - battle ax, iron arrowheads, chain mail and armor.
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.
