Subway: Alexandrovskiy sad, Biblioteka imeni Lenina, Borovitskaya
Bus: 6, K
Open: 10am- 5pm Fri- Wed
Cathedral of the Assumption is one of the most important church in Moscow Kremlin. It holds several stone coffins of Russian princes, metropolitans and patriarchs are buried. Although the Church of the Assumption stood on this site since the 14th century, Ivan the Great decided to rebuild it in 1470s and increase its size and splendour. The first version of the church collapse and tsar gave the task of rebuilding it to Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti. The second time around the church was completed.
Interesting details of the assumption Cathedral
Iconostasis Of The Assumption Cathedral
The 14th-century icon of
the" Saviour not made with hands " is one of several icons that form
part of the iconostasis of the assumption Cathedral. The iconostasis
itself dates back to 1652.
Frescoes Of The Assumption
Cathedral
In 1642-4 a collective of artists, headed by Sidor by
Popovym and Ivan and Boris Paseena painted these murals. The walls
of the Cathedral were first gilded to give the appearance of an
illuminated manuscript.
Scenes from the life of Metropolitan
Peter
Attributed to the great artist Dionysius, this 15th-century
icon is located on the South wall of the Cathedral. It depicts
various events in the life of this religious and political leader.
The Throne Of Monomakh
The Royal throne of Ivan the terrible
Monomakh is decorated with carvings dedicated to the exploits of
Prince Vladimir Monomakh. Panels depict his military campaigns, and
one shows him receiving the crown from the Byzantine Emperor
Constantine Monomachus. This legend was used to give legitimacy to
the idea that the Russian monarchs were the heirs of Byzantium.
The Patriarch's seat was carved out of white stone in 1653 for
use by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Tombs of
Metropolitans and patriarchs are arranged along the wall of the nave
and crypt. Almost all the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church are
buried in the Cathedral.
The chandelier is cast from silver,
taken from the French after their occupation of Moscow in 1812.
South entrance of the assumption Cathedral
The magnificent
arch of the southern entrance is decorated with frescoes from the
17th century. It served as the main entrance for Royal processions.
The gate was brought to Moscow from Suzdal in 1401. The back of the
door is engraved with scenes from the Bible.
History Of
The Assumption Cathedral
Construction
The first assumption
Cathedral in Moscow was founded on August 4, 1326 under Ivan kalit,
and consecrated on August 14, 1327. It was founded by Metropolitan
Peter of Kiev and all Russia, who moved his throne from Vladimir to
Moscow. Initially, it was a single-domed white-stone three-apse
temple, crowned with kokoshniks, to which later chapels were added.
In style, it resembled the Vladimir-Suzdal buildings of the early
XIII century, in particular St. George's Cathedral in Yuriev-Polsky.
The temple was built in a typical technique for this time: masonry
from roughly processed squares of white stone combined with
smooth-hewn elements of architectural decoration. The Cathedral kept
the icon "our lady of Odigitria, with holidays in the fields",
brought from Byzantium.
During a major fire in 1470, raging
in the Kremlin, the North aisle of the temple — the Church of
Worship of the verig of the Apostle Peter-collapsed, the vaults
cracked, and then they were reinforced with massive logs.
Metropolitan Philip of all Russia initiated the renovation of the
Cathedral. The reason for perestroika was also the change in the
status of Moscow, which became the political and spiritual center of
the Russian state. To raise funds, all monasteries were taxed, and
laity and clergy were encouraged to donate. The project was assigned
to the Pskov masters Krivtsov and Myshkin, the work was headed by
Vladimir Grigorievich Ivan Vladimirovich Hourani and Vasily
Yermolin. In 1472, a solemn ceremony of laying the Foundation of the
temple was held. The assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was chosen as
a model of construction. Inside the building, a temporary wooden
Church was built, where Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologos.
The construction was not completed: the temple built to the vaults
collapsed after the "coward" - an earthquake that occurred in Moscow
on may 20, 1474. The chronicler testifies:
... being a coward in
the city of Moscow and the Church of St. The mother of God, made
byst already to the upper chambers, falling at 1 o'clock in the
morning, and the temples all shaken, as if the earth was shaken.
Researchers call the cause of destruction insufficient strength
of the mortar and thin side walls. To complete the construction, the
Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti was invited to Moscow.
According to his project, the Cathedral was built from hewn blocks
of white stone and brick, which laid out the pillars, arches and
drums of the heads. To strengthen the walls, iron piles were laid in
them. The facades were divided by vertical protrusions. The Church
was consecrated on 12 August 1479 by Metropolitan Gerontius. In
1481, the Cathedral was painted by the iconographer Dionysius and
his students. Sergey Zagraevsky points out the peculiarity of the
architect's engineering idea: the bricks were built into the masonry
in such a way that the whole building retained its white-stone
appearance.
XVI-XIX centuries
During the restoration after
the fire of 1547, the top of the Church was covered with gilded
copper sheets, and the relics of Metropolitan Peter were transferred
from a silver Shrine to a gold one. In 1561, four ancient images
were brought from Veliky Novgorod and placed in the assumption
Cathedral: "Saviour on the throne (Spas Golden robe)", "the Apostles
Peter and Paul", "Ustiug Annunciation" and "virgin Hodegetria".
In 1624, the vaults that threatened to fall were dismantled and
restored again with additional reinforcement with connected iron and
the introduction of spring arches. Four years later, a fire broke
out in the Cathedral, after which it was overhauled. The vaults and
drums were reinforced again, and the white-stone archivolts were
removed and replaced with brick ones. To protect the strands from
the rain, canopies made of roofing iron were arranged over them. In
1625, the Lord's robe, sent as a gift to Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich by
the Persian Shah Abbas I, was moved to the Cathedral. In honor of
this event, the holiday "the Position of the Lord's Robe"was
established. The precious ark with the robe was placed in a bronze
tent for storing sacred relics.
In 1642-1644, the Cathedral
was re-painted on the models of 1515. Fragments of the original wall
painting, which is the oldest example of fresco painting on the
territory of the Kremlin, have been preserved to this day. Among the
masters were Ivan and Boris Paiseiny, Sidor Osipov Pospeyev, mark
Matveev, Bazhen Savin, Stepan Efemov, icon painters and flag bearers
from Vladimir, Novgorod, Kostroma and other cities. They wrote 249
story compositions and 2066 individual figures. In the 1660s, the
painting of the exterior walls was updated: above the altars, over
the North and West doors. In the second half of the XVII century,
the pokhvalsky chapel, where services were held only on the patronal
feast, was moved to the South-Eastern Chapter. By this time the
Cathedral was in possession of 160 yards, and the 70-th years — 253.
The Trinity fire of 1737 damaged the Cathedral's paintings and
the integrity of the walls. Repairs were carried out during the
reign of Elizabeth Petrovna under the direction of the architect
Ivan Michurin. Restoration of the paintings began in 1767. In 1775,
by order of Prince Grigory Potemkin, icons from the Armory were
transferred to the Cathedral, which were placed in iconostases near
the North and South walls. In the 1790s, they were closed with gold
and silver salaries. In 1797, the act of succession issued by Paul
I, which canceled the decree of Peter I of 1722, was transferred to
the Cathedral for safekeeping.
During the occupation of
Moscow by the French in 1812, the Vladimir icon of the mother of
God, the Lord's robe, Korsun crosses and other valuables were taken
out of the Cathedral. Among the tombs of the saints, only the cancer
of Metropolitan Jonah has survived. In the premises of the temple
were arranged stalls for horses. The vestments from the icons were
melted down to 5.3 tons of silver and 290 kg of gold. Part of the
metal was recovered during the retreat of the troops, and in 1817,
master A. Gedlung cast a chandelier decorated with images of
flowers, ears of corn, and vines. The Cathedral was re-consecrated
on August 30, 1813 by Bishop Augustin of Dmitrov (Vinogradsky).
In 1823, the Manifesto of Alexander I was placed in the
Cathedral for safekeeping, according to which in the event of his
death, in connection with the abdication of rights to the throne of
Konstantin Pavlovich, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich became the heir
to the crown. By the coronation of Alexander III in the 1880s, the
Church was being repaired. 200 thousand rubles were spent on its
restoration. Once again, the Cathedral was restored in 1896 before
the wedding of Nicholas II, the work was supervised by icon painters
Grigory Chirikov and Mikhail Mikhailovich Dikarev, as well as
architect Sergey Rodionov. During the restoration, frescoes of the
mid-17th century were uncovered, icons were restored, and ceilings
over the apses were replaced. The Windows in the arched belt were
reduced to the size of the upper ones and decorated with
semicircular lintels.
Modern building of the assumption
Cathedral
After the destruction of the old Church, Ivan III
invited Aristotle Fioravanti, a famous architect and engineer from
Bologna, Italy, to come to Moscow and entrust him with the task of
designing the Cathedral from scratch in the tradition of Russian
architecture. Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was once again taken
as a model for a new project, and so Fioravanti travelled to
Vladimir in order to study Russian methods of building. He created a
light and spacious masterpiece that combined the spirit of the
Renaissance with Russian traditions. The Foundation for the new
Cathedral was laid in 1475, and in 1479 the new assumption Cathedral
was consecrated by Metropolitan Geronti. The interior was decorated
with frescoes and decorated with many icons, including the virgin of
Vladimir.
The design of the new Church with its five domes
(one dome symbolizes Jesus Christ, and four at the corners of the
Church of the four evangelists) proved very popular and was taken as
a template for many other churches throughout Russia. In 1547, the
first Russian Tsar Ivan the terrible was crowned in the assumption
Cathedral. Since 1721, the Church has been the site of the
coronation of Russian emperors. The assumption Cathedral also hosted
a ritual ordination of metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian
Orthodox Church. Their graves can be found here.
The assumption Cathedral has suffered from many
natural disasters over its long history, including fires in 1518,
1547, 1682, and 1737, and looting by the armies of the
Polish-Lithuanian army during the Troubles of 1612. During the
French occupation of Moscow, it was looted and used as a stable.
The assumption Cathedral was completely restored in 1894-1895
and from 1910 to 1918. On November 21, 1917, it was the site of the
ordination of Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin), Metropolitan of Moscow,
the first Patriarch of the restored Patriarchate of Moscow. However,
after the Russian revolution of 1917, the new Bolshevik government
closed all churches in the Moscow Kremlin and turned the Cathedral
into a Museum. By special permission of Vladimir Lenin, the last
Easter service was held here in 1918. The last moment of this Easter
service was the subject of Pavel Korin's unfinished painting
"Farewell to Russia". Most of the Church's treasures were
transferred to the Kremlin Armory or were sold abroad.
There
is a legend that in the winter of 1941, when Nazi Germany had
already reached the threshold of Moscow, Joseph Stalin secretly
ordered a service to be held in the assumption Cathedral to pray for
the salvation of the country from the invading Germans. Whether this
is true or not, but after his famous "brothers and sisters" during
his address to the Soviet people, this version can be easily
believed. The building of the assumption Cathedral was renovated in
1949/50, 1960 and 1978.
In 1990, the assumption Cathedral was
returned to The Russian Orthodox Church for periodic religious
services, just a few years before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It was officially transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church in
1991.