For the whole world, the most famous “calling cards” of Russia are the Kremlin, Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. The latter also has other names, the most popular of which is the Intercession Cathedral on the Moat.
General information
St.
Basil's Cathedral celebrated its 450th anniversary on July 2, 2011. This unique building was erected on Red Square. Amazing in its beauty, the temple is a whole complex of churches united by a common foundation. Even those who do not know anything about Russian architecture will immediately recognize St. Basil’s Church. The Cathedral has a unique feature - all its colorful domes are different from each other.
In the main (Intercession) church there is an iconostasis, which was transferred from the Kremlin church of Chernihiv miracle workers destroyed in 1770. The basement of the Church of the Intercession of Our Lady contains the most valuable icons of the cathedral, the most ancient of which is the icon of St. Basil the Blessed (16th century), written especially for this church. Icons of the 17th century are on display right there: Mother of God of the Sign and Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The first copies an image located on the east side of the facade of the church.
The history of the temple
St. Basil's Cathedral, the history of which was overgrown with a number of myths and legends, was built by order of the first Tsar of Russia Ivan the Terrible. It was dedicated to a significant event, namely, the victory over the Kazan Khanate. Unfortunately for historians, the names of architects who created this peerless masterpiece have not survived to this day. There are many versions regarding who worked on the construction of the temple, but it has not been reliably established who created St. Basil's Cathedral. Moscow was the main city of Russia, so the tsar gathered the best craftsmen in the capital. According to one legend, the main architect was Postnik Yakovlev from Pskov, nicknamed Barma. Another version completely contradicts this. Many believe that Barma and Postnik are different masters. Even more confusion arises from the third version, which says that St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow was built according to the project of an Italian architect. But the most popular legend about this temple is the one that talks about the blinding of the architects who created this masterpiece so that they could not repeat their creation.
origin of name
Amazingly, despite the fact that the main church of this temple was dedicated to the Protection of the Holy Virgin, it is known throughout the world as St. Basil's Cathedral. There have always been many holy fools in Moscow (blessed “God's people”), but the name of one of them is forever imprinted in the history of Russia. Mad Vasily lived on the street and even walked half naked in winter. At the same time, his whole body was entwined with chains, which were iron chains with large crosses. This man was highly respected in Moscow. Even the king himself treated him with unusual reverence. St. Basil was revered by the townspeople as a miracle worker. He died in 1552, and in 1588 a church was erected over his grave. It was this building that gave the generally accepted name to this temple.
St. Basil's Cathedral (description)
Almost everyone who visits Moscow knows that Red Square is the main symbol of Russia. St. Basil's Cathedral is one of the most honorable places in the whole complex of buildings and monuments located on it. The temple is crowned with 10 magnificent domes. Around the main (main) church, called the Protection of the Virgin, 8 others are symmetrically located. They are built in the shape of an eight-pointed star. All these churches symbolize the religious holidays falling on the days of the capture of the Kazan Khanate.
Domes of St. Basil's Cathedral and the bell tower
Eight churches crown 8 onion chapters. The main (central) building is completed with a "tent", above which a small "glaucus" rises. The tenth dome was built above the church bell tower. It is striking that all the domes of the temple are completely different from each other in their texture and color.
The modern bell tower of the temple was erected on the site of the old belfry, which completely fell into disrepair in the XVII century. It was erected in 1680. At the base of the bell tower is a tall massive quadrangle on which an octagon is erected. It has an open area, fenced with 8 pillars. All of them are interconnected by arched spans. The top of the platform is crowned with a high octagonal tent, the edges of which are decorated with tiles of different colors (white, blue, yellow, brown). Its edges are covered with green curly tiles. At the top of the tent is a bulbous cupola crowned with an octagonal cross. Inside the platform, bells hang on wooden beams, which were cast back in the 17th-19th centuries.
Architectural features
The nine churches of St. Basil's Cathedral are interconnected by a common base and a bypass gallery. Its feature is a fanciful painting, the main motive of which is floral ornaments. The unique style of the temple combines the traditions of both European and Russian Renaissance architecture. A distinctive feature of the cathedral are
arched openings. The height of the temple (on the highest dome) is 65 m. The names of the churches of the Cathedral: Nicholas the Miracle Worker, Trinity, Martyrs Adrian and Natalia, Entrance to Jerusalem,
John the Gracious, Varlaam Khutinsky, Alexander Svirsky, Gregory of Armenia, the Protection of the Mother of God.
Another feature of the temple is that it has no basement. It has extremely strong sub-basement walls (reach a thickness of 3 m). The height of each room is approximately 6.5 m. The entire structure of the northern part of the temple is unique, since the long box vault of the basement does not have any supporting pillars. The walls of the building are “cut through” by the so-called “vents”, which are narrow openings. They provide a special microclimate in the church. For many years, the basement premises were not accessible to the parishioners. Niche hiding places were used as storages and were closed by doors, the presence of which is now indicated only by the hinges preserved on the walls. It is believed that until the end of the XVI century. they kept the royal treasury.
The gradual transformation of the Cathedral
Only at the end of the XVI century. figured chapters appeared over the temple, which replaced the original ceiling that burned down in the next fire. This Orthodox Cathedral until the XVII century. It was called Trinity, since the very first wooden church, which was located on this site, was built in honor of the Holy Trinity. Initially, this structure had a more rigorous and restrained appearance, since it was built of stone and brick. Only in the XVII century. all domes were decorated with ceramic tiles. At the same time, asymmetric buildings were attached to the temple. Then came the tents above the porches and the intricate painting of the walls and ceiling. In the same period, graceful paintings appeared on the walls and ceiling. In 1931, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was erected in front of the temple. To date, St. Basil's Cathedral is jointly run by the Russian Orthodox Church and the
Moscow Historical Museum
. This structure is the cultural heritage of Russia. The beauty and uniqueness of this temple was appreciated throughout the
world. St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The value of the Intercession Cathedral in the USSR
Despite the persecution of Soviet power against religion and the destruction of a huge number of churches, St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow in 1918 was taken under state protection as a cultural monument of world significance. It was at this time that all the efforts of the authorities were aimed at creating a museum in it. The first caretaker of the church was Archpriest John Kuznetsov. It was he who almost independently took care of the repair of the building, although his condition was simply terrible. In 1923, the Cathedral housed the historical and architectural museum Pokrovsky Cathedral. Already in 1928, he became one of the branches of the State Historical Museum. In 1929, all the bells were removed from it, and worship was prohibited. Despite the fact that the temple has been constantly being restored for almost a hundred years, its exposition was closed only once - during the years of World War II.
Pokrovsky Cathedral in 1991-2014
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, St. Basil’s Cathedral passed into joint use of the Russian Orthodox Church and the State Historical Museum. On 08/15/1997, festive and Sunday services were resumed in the church. Since 2011, previously inaccessible chapels have been opened for visitors, in which new expositions are arranged.