Description of the attraction
The main Orthodox church in Russia is called Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ … It is better known as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was rebuilt in Moscow on Volkhonka instead of the one destroyed in 1931. The patronal feast is celebrated in the cathedral on January 7 in honor of Christmas.
History of the first temple
The victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 caused a rise in patriotic sentiments in the Russian army. One of the generals who participated in the war proposed to build a temple that would become a memorial to all those who died on the battlefields with the Napoleonic army. General Pyotr Kikin's idea of reviving the tradition of erecting a sacred temple was received with enthusiasm, because a similar practice existed in Russia even in the pre-Mongol period. Churches and cathedrals in honor of the victory over the invaders have already been built both in Kiev and in Moscow.
On December 25, 1812, Emperor Alexander I imperially commanded by his manifesto to build a temple in the name of Christ the Savior, because it was the providence of God, in the opinion of the people, that saved the Russian land from the French. A competition for the best project was announced, in which dozens of artists and architects from Russia and abroad took part. Among them were Andrei Voronikhin and Vasily Stasov, very famous by that time. As a result, the artist won Karl Witberg, which at the time of construction planning was not even thirty years old. The greatness and grandeur of his plan have been compared to the Temple of Solomon.
We chose for construction Sparrow Hills, called by Emperor Alexander I "the crown of Moscow". October 12, 1817 marks five years since the liberation of the capital from the French. On this symbolic day, the first temple on Sparrow Hills was solemnly laid in the presence of members of the imperial family and foreign monarchs.
Excavation work, improvement of the drainage channel, delivery of stone materials to Vorobyovy Gory - all these stages of the project implementation required significant investments and human resources. About 20 thousand serfs were attracted for the construction and more than 16 million rubles were spent, but even the zero cycle was not completed in seven years. In addition, it turned out that the soil in the selected location does not have the required reliability. The project was stopped, and those involved in the damage to the treasury were fined a million rubles. Architect Vitberg went into exile in Vyatka.
Temple designed by Konstantin Ton
The new site chosen for the construction of the cathedral was on Volkhonka … To implement the project developed by the architect Ton, it was necessary to demolish Alekseevsky nunnery, which existed in the center of Moscow since the 17th century. On this occasion The abbess of the monastery uttered a prophetic phrase that the chosen place would sooner or later be empty again.
In 1837, the first stage of construction work began, which had been going on for over forty years. The outer scaffolding was dismantled in 1860, but the decoration continued for another two decades. The interiors of the temple were decorated by famous Russian artists - Vasily Vereshchagin, Ivan Kramskoy and Vasily Surikov … High reliefs were made by sculptors Alexander Loganovsky and Nikolay Romazanov.
Cathedral of Christ the Savior became the tallest building in the capital (103.5 m) and accommodated more parishioners than any other religious building of the Russian Empire. It was solemnly consecrated in May 1883. The ceremony was attended by Tsar Alexander III. Before the revolution, the temple served as a venue for coronation celebrations and events on the occasion of national holidays.
With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, funding for churches ceased and the cathedral existed on private donations, until in 1931 it was decided to build in its place Palace of the Soviets … The fragments of the blown up cathedral were taken apart for about one and a half years.
The builders mastered the foundation of the future Palace of Soviets only by 1939, but with the beginning of the war, work was suspended. Later, anti-tank hedgehogs were made from the metal structures of the palace, and then the building that had just begun to grow was completely dismantled. Until the early 60s, the site was empty, until the city authorities decided to build a swimming pool. The abbess's prophecy continued to come true.
Return of the temple on Volkhonka
After the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', the idea of an initiative group advocating for the restoration of the cathedral found a response from state structures. The established fund has started collecting funds and donations. A granite foundation stone appeared on Volkhonka at the end of 1990, and construction work began in the spring of 1994. The implementation of the project has begun architects M. Posokhin and A. Denisov, and finished work Zurab Tsereteli.
Tsereteli's ideas have been criticized more than once during construction. The changes he made to the design of the temple caused a lot of controversy and criticism, since the details of the external design did not correspond to the original of the 19th century. As a result, n The new cathedral was recreated as a "conditional external copy" of the temple destroyed in 1931.
The modern Cathedral of Christ the Savior
The largest cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church can simultaneously accommodate about 10 thousand people … His project was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Russian-Byzantine architectural style. On the plan, the cathedral is an equilateral cross. The height of the building is 103 meters, the interior space is 79 meters. The cathedral complex includes three main parts:
- Upper Cathedral of Christ the Savior with three thrones … The main altar is consecrated in honor of Christmas, the southern one - in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker and the northern one - in honor of Alexander Nevsky.
- Transfiguration Church, called the Lower Temple, built in memory of the Alekseevsk monastery, demolished on Volkhonka in 1837. Three altars of the church are dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord, Alexy the Man of God and the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.
- Halls of church cathedrals and the Supreme Council of the Church, museum, refectory and service premises are located in the stylobate part of the complex.
The walls of the Lower Corridor are decorated with marble panels, each of which describes more than 70 battles that took place on the territory of the Russian Empire during the war of 1812. The southern and western walls of the temple are dedicated to the battles that took place outside the Fatherland.
For interior decoration were used murals and gold leaf … Look especially monumental compositions by Vasily Nesterenko - "Entry into Jerusalem" on the side of the western gallery and "Baptism of the Lord" - on the north. The domed part of the ceiling is occupied by the Fatherland fresco depicting the Lord and baby Jesus. The pylons of the temple tell about the earthly life of the Savior.
The abbot of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia … In addition to ordinary divine services, various religious rites are held in it, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church is held, at which important decisions are made. People who are especially significant for Russian history, culture and literature are buried in the church. The cathedral is often mentioned in literary works, it is depicted by contemporary artists.
Shrines and relics of the temple
Many Orthodox shrines are kept in the cathedral, to which believers make pilgrimages. You can see several images that are considered miraculous: The Vladimir Mother of God, the Smolensk-Ustyuzhensk Mother of God, the icon of the Nativity of Christwhich was brought from the church in Bethlehem.
Particles of the robe of Christ and the robe of the Virgin - especially revered Orthodox relics that are in the church, as well as the relics of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called and the head of St. John Chrysostom. In the main altar one can see throne of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia … The relics of St. Philaret, bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, rest in a shrine, installed south of the Royal Doors.
Orthodox shrines from other churches and monasteries are temporarily exhibited in the cathedral, to which mass pilgrimages are made.
Six paintings by Vasily Vereshchagin
On both sides of the throne of Patriarch Tikhon you can see six colossal canvases painted by Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin, namesake of the author of the famous "Apotheosis of War". His work was formed under the influence of the pictorial manner of Karl Bryullov.
Six canvases were created by Vereshchagin in the late 70s of the 19th century for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In 1931, they miraculously survived, thanks to the enthusiasm of art critics who took part in dismantling the rubble at the site of the blown up cathedral. The works were sent to Leningrad, where they remained for a long time in a museum dedicated to the history of religion and atheism and arranged by the Bolsheviks in the Kazan Cathedral. In the 90s of the last century, the canvases were restored and returned to the temple.
Six of Vereshchagin's paintings are distinguished by their particular simplicity, image accuracy and the utmost asceticism of their compositions. The works illustrate the last hours of the earthly life of the Savior. Each of them is intended for worshipers and is close to the best examples of icon painting in their plot composition and design.
Wall and under-dome paintings by Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin can also be seen in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem and in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. Some of the mosaics in St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg are made according to the artist's sketches.
Prophecy or coincidence?
In the 70s-80s of the last century, the artist Valery Balabanov painted the picture "The Swimmer", depicting on it the reflection of a nonexistent cathedral in the mirror of the "Moscow" pool. Later they began to perceive it as a prophecy. Art critics and the Russian Orthodox Church were sure that Balabanov had predicted the restoration of the temple. Today the painting is exhibited in the museum of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Every visitor can see the work and decide for himself whether it was a prophecy.
On a note:
- Location: Moscow, Volkhonka st., 15. Phones: 8 (495) 203-38-23, 8 (495) 637-47-17. Museum phone - 8 (495) 924-8058; 924-8490.
- The nearest metro station: Kropotkinskaya.
- Official website: www.xxc.ru
- Opening Hours: The temple is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00; The Temple Museum is open from 10:00 to 18:00. The last Monday of the month is a cleaning day.
- Tickets: admission to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Museum of the Temple is free. Photo and video filming, clothing rental are paid separately.
Description added:
Polina 2015-12-10
The front side of the temple is divided by four pillars into three parts, of which the middle one is larger than the outer ones and leads to the three exit doors of the temple: south, north and west. There are 36 wall pillars (columns) in total. They support the cornice of the temple, on which 20 semicircular pointed arches (kokoshniks) are placed:
Show all text The front side of the temple is divided by four pillars into three parts, of which the middle one is larger than the outer ones and leads to the three exit doors of the temple: south, north and west. There are 36 wall pillars (columns) in total. They support the cornice of the temple, on which 20 semicircular pointed arches (kokoshniks) are placed: three arches each on the front sides of the ledges and two on the corners of the building. The entire building is crowned with five helmet-shaped heads, of which the middle one is much larger than the others. This gives unity and beauty to the whole building. The circular wall of the middle chapter rests on an 8-sided base. The other chapters are located at the corners protruding between the ledges and have the shape of octagonal towers. The style of the domes corresponds to the general character of the building: they taper at the top, like the heads of all Russian churches. Four colossal pillars inside the temple support the building. From the location of these pillars and ledges, two walls are formed - an internal and an external one, and between them there is a corridor that runs, according to the custom of ancient Christian churches, around the entire temple. The upper part of this corridor is made up of choirs decorated with paintings with two side churches arranged in them: in them the Wonderworker Nicholas and St. Prince Alexander Nevsky. The main altar is dedicated to the Nativity of Christ, its iconostasis is made in the form of a white marble chapel with a gilded bronze topping. The entire building is illuminated by 60 windows: 16 of them are located in the main dome, 36 are above the choirs, and 8 are in the corridor..
Let us now say a few words about the domes and roof of the Temple. The colossal vault of the great dome is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the field of architecture. The domes are made of stainless steel coated with titanium nitride, on which a thin layer of gold is applied by ion sputtering. For better protection against atmospheric influences, the domes are covered with the thinnest layer of diamond dust (industrial diamonds).
Below, on each of the four sides, is a porch with a parapet of fine-grained dark red granite. These porches, made up of 15 full-length steps with large platforms, lead us to the front doors. There are 12 external doors in the Temple, three on each front side of four protrusions. They are cast from bronze, with the middle one being larger than the outer ones. In the arches and niches of large and in the arches of small doors, images of Saints with inscriptions are placed. The general meaning and meaning of these figures is often the same as that of the wall art.
