Bogoyavlenskiy pereulok 2, stroenie (building) 2
Tel. (495) 698 3825
Open: 8am- 8pm daily
The original medieval church of the Epiphany (Собор Богоявления) was built here in 1296 by Prince Daniil. At the time of construction, it was located on the far outskirts of medieval Moscow. The present Epiphany Cathedral replaced the medieval church in 1693-96.
The huge Epiphany Cathedral has not lost its
significance in modern Moscow. There is no longer a monastery as
such, new buildings have appeared nearby, but it still rises among
its surroundings, claiming central importance in Kitai-Gorod. Its
powerful dome is clearly visible from Zamoskvorechye and can even
compete with the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square.
The
Epiphany Monastery is rightfully considered one of the oldest in
Moscow: it was founded by the first Moscow prince Daniil
Alexandrovich in 1296 - only the Danilov Monastery is older than it.
At first, all the buildings of the monastery were wooden, but in
1342, with the donations of the boyar Protasius, the first stone
Cathedral of the Epiphany was erected. Subsequently, all
reconstructions were carried out on the basis of this building: in
1571 after the invasion of the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray, then in
1624 at the end of the Time of Troubles. Finally, in 1693-1695, the
existing building was erected on the foundations of the old
cathedral. Subsequently, it was updated several times, but the
structure no longer changed.
Built in the style of the
Naryshkin Baroque, the Epiphany Cathedral is oriented vertically: an
octagon is placed on the quadrangle, which in turn is crowned with
an elongated drum with an octagonal dome. The facades are lavishly
decorated with white stone carvings; the large window frames with
figured columns and ridges look especially magnificent. The sides of
the octagon are also crowned with ridges, and the corners of the
quadrangle are decorated with stylized vases. The upper half of the
quadrangle is cut through from the north and south by double
windows; the basement windows are smaller in size and decorated more
modestly, but also with elements of the Naryshkin baroque. The
refectory and the quadrangle are connected by a wide gallery, on
which additional chapels later appeared. A bell tower topped with a
spire was built above the western entrance. In the interior,
attention is drawn to the large sculptural compositions “Coronation
of the Mother of God,” “Nativity” and “Baptism.”
In the lower
church, consecrated in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of
God, there was previously a vast necropolis: here were the tombs of
the most noble families of Russia - the Golitsyns, Sheremetevs,
Dolgorukovs, Saltykovs and many others. The cathedral was badly
damaged during the fire of 1812: from the explosion that occurred in
the Kremlin, iron connections in the building burst, glass and
frames flew out, and the cross on the bell tower was bent in half.
Over the next few years the building was refurbished.
The
Epiphany Monastery was also one of the centers of education in
Russia in the 17th century. In 1685, scholar-monks from Greece - the
brothers Sophronius and Ioannikis Likhud - settled there. Here they
founded their own school, where they taught Greek, grammar,
literature, rhetoric, logic and other sciences. Two years later, in
1687, the school moved to the neighboring Zaikonospassky Monastery
and was transformed into the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy - this was
the first higher educational institution in Russia.
In
addition to the cathedral, there were two more gate churches in the
monastery: the first, in the name of the Nativity of John the
Baptist, was dismantled in 1905 (despite the protests of the Moscow
Archaeological Society) for the construction of an apartment
building on Nikolskaya Street; and the second, the Image of the
Savior Not Made by Hands, was lost in the early 1920s after the
closure of the monastery.
Divine services in the cathedral
ceased after the revolution, its decoration was badly damaged, and
it itself was successively used as a dormitory, industrial premises
and a rehearsal hall. Some tombstones from the lower church and
basement were moved to the Donskoy Monastery, which then belonged to
the Museum of Architecture.
During the Great Patriotic War, the
cathedral was almost lost: a German bomber fell in the immediate
vicinity of it, on the corner of Nikolskaya and Bogoyavlensky Lane.
The buildings that stood on this site were completely destroyed, and
the cathedral itself lost its head with a drum - they were
demolished by a plane during the fall. After the war, the area was
cleared and built up with a massive building in the Stalinist Empire
style.
Since 1991, a gradual process of revival of the
Epiphany Cathedral began. Monastic life was not restored, so the
cathedral functions as a parish church. In 2007, a monument to the
Likhud brothers was erected in front of the altar of the cathedral
on Bogoyavlensky Lane.
Until the 1930s, the necropolis in the lower church housed the tombs of the Golitsyn, Sheremetev, Dolgorukov, Saltykov, Lomodanovsky, and Repnin families of the nobility. In all, there were more than 150 graves. The gravestones of Mikhail Golitsyn, Commander-in-Chiefs Grigory Yusupov and Alexander Menshikov, and Senator Alexei Golitsyn were of great artistic value. The tomb of Marshal Mikhail Golitsyn was erected in 1765 by French sculptor Jean-Antoine Oudin; in 1935 it was moved to the necropolis of the Donskoi Monastery; most 18th-century tombstones are flattened, Baroque-style wall headstones. They are decorated with ribbons, wreaths, bouquets, intricate textile draperies, and human figures. In pre-revolutionary publications, its author was considered one of France's leading masters; in the 1930s, the tomb was looted. Only the most valuable monuments for historians were moved to the Donskoi Abbey.
Subway: Ploshchad Revolyutsii