The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was founded by decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and consecrated only after 26 years. The cathedral is the largest temple in the Lavra and the most popular among tourists. In summer, festive services are held here, musical performances of the Lavra Choir are held.
Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius
Orthodox monastery of the Trinity, founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh in the 14th century, for several centuries has been considered the largest center of spiritual Orthodoxy and the most revered Russian shrine.
In the 17th century, the monastery withstood the many-month siege of the Polish-Lithuanian army (15 thousand soldiers). The defenders of the monastery in the amount of 3 thousand people withstood the siege, thanks not only to their courage, but also to the miraculous appearance of Sergius of Radonezh.
Since 1744, the monastery was renamed with honor with respect to the Lavra, other monasteries and hermitages, spiritually connected with it, gradually began to be built around it. In 1814, after a fire in Moscow, the Theological Academy, which is the oldest university in Russia, moved here.
From 1920 to 1945, the Lavra was closed, and the Historical and Art Museum and living quarters were temporarily housed on its territory, then its revival began in 1946.
Construction history
The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is called the monument church due to the fact that its construction marked the triumphal fall of the Kazan Khanate. The construction of the temple was carried out for 26 years and was completed only in 1585. The consecration ceremony was performed by Metropolitan Dionysius, while Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich and his wife were present.
The majestic cathedral is located in the center of Lavra. It was built in the Byzantine style on the model of the cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin (architect A. Fioravanti from Italy), but the walls were built of bricks (2.25 m thick). The builders at the construction of the temple turned to Russian traditions and made 6 pylons with a rectangular cross section. The Assumption Cathedral in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is crowned with 5 domes, the central one is golden, dedicated to the Savior, the remaining four are blue, with stars, are dedicated to the Virgin.
The arched-columnar belt, which is characteristic of the architecture of the cities of the Golden Ring, was used in the construction of the cathedral. Earlier, an open porch was attached to the cathedral from the west, then it was replaced in the 18th century. on the porch, painted according to the instructions of Metropolitan Plato.
The interior of the temple
The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and, especially, its interior space amaze with its huge size and bright light coming through the window openings. Huge pylons (3x3 m) support cross vaults with five reels.
The naves and walls of the facades in the center are wider than the rest. At the back of the iconostasis are choirs with a 3-tier gallery.
For almost 100 years there has been an unwritten Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. The year 1684 became significant in its history: an artel of 25 icon painters was hired with the money of Archbishop Moses Ryazansky under the supervision of master D. Plekhanov. In one summer, they painted walls, pillars and a vault with frescoes on biblical themes, which to this day have been practically preserved intact. Moses Ryazansky was solemnly buried in the walls of the Assumption Cathedral next to other archbishops.
The wall paintings are light airy frescoes in blue, lilac, blue and violet tones. On the north and south walls in four rows are depicted gospel stories (Mother of God, Ecumenical Councils), and on the west - scenes of the Last Judgment with a large number of figures and details.
Monumental paintings depicting the noble princes (Alexander Nevsky, Vladimir Kiev, Tsarevich Dmitry and others), martyrs and saints in full growth are located on all 6 pillars that support the vaults. Religious frescoes are also on window slopes and arches. Inside the temple looks unrealistically high and solemn.
The interior of the cathedral also preserved cast chandeliers of the 17th century, made of bronze by the masters of the Moscow Armory as a gift to the monastery from the Yanov family.
The main altar has 2 chapels:
- the great martyr Theodore Stratelates, the patron saint of Tsar Feodor Ioannovich;
- Boris Godunov’s wife, Martyr Irina.
A later chapel - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - was built in the 17th century. during the defense of the monastery from the invasion of Polish-Lithuanian soldiers.
Shrines of the Assumption Cathedral
On the south side of the cathedral on the pedestal is the tomb of Sergius of Radonezh, in which he was buried (1392), and then after 30 years his relics were discovered in it. In the 16th century, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, a silver crayfish was made, which now stands in the Trinity Cathedral. In the years when the relics lay in the coffin, the pilgrims who came to the cathedral necessarily applied themselves to it and tried to bite off a piece of it to carry with them. Within a few years, one of the walls began to collapse, and it had to be strengthened with metal brackets, and also enclose the coffin in a glass sarcophagus.
The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the burial place of the crowned persons and famous Orthodox figures. The tombstones of Queen Maria Vladimirovna and Queen Evdokia, as well as archbishops (Moses Ryazansky, Augustine of Moscow, who raised the spirits of soldiers in 1812) and Metropolitan of Moscow Makarii (who wrote books on theology) were installed inside the cathedral.
Many tourists come now to bow to the relics of St. Innocent, the Orthodox bishop of Kamchatka and America, considered the patron saint of all those studying foreign languages, and the Monk Maxim the Greek.
In the warmer months, services and liturgies are held in the church.
Burial of the Godunov family
To the left of the entrance to the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the tomb of Godunov. It was built in the 18th century in the form of a stone tent (on the site of the former refectory narthex), which is adjacent to the cathedral wall. Inside it are the tombs of Boris Godunov and his wife Maria and son Fedor (they were killed by order of the self-appointed Tsar Dmitry, and the bodies were brought here in 1606) and the beautiful daughter Xenia (deceased nun in 1622).
At the opening of the grave in 1940, they got their things that were very well preserved: Fedor’s silk shirt, Tsarevna’s shoes (things are now exhibited in the museum), but the burial itself was ruined, because the skulls were thrown out.
Crypt Cathedral
The crypt of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is located under the cathedral itself, and the entrance to it is on the south side. It was built in the 19th century. for the burial of Metropolitan Sergius and Leontius, then at the same time chapels with an altar were consecrated here. Already in the 20th century. two more chapels are being built here, in the center - the tomb of 2 patriarchs - Alexy I (1970) and Pimen (1990). In the crypt's premises, parts of the church vestments and personal items, photos are displayed on the windows.
The crypt is open for free access by visitors, prayers are held in it, the consecrated oil is distributed.
Iconostasis
The very first iconostasis of the cathedral was destroyed, now another is put in its place.
The iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra consists of 5 tiers with frames of icons made of gold or carving, twined with vines and contains 76 icons, mainly of the late 17th century.
The five-row iconostasis is crowned by the Crucifixion with the forthcoming Mother of God and the Apostle John the Theologian, framed by carved patterns with sunflowers, roses and grapes. Carving is also present on the frame of the iconostasis, on the columns of the altar in the form of interweaving branches of the vine, and on friezes - outlandish flowers. All carvings depict "Gardens of Eden." At the top of the Cross are images of cherubs, and the royal crown crowns everything.
Many icons were made with the participation of the famous icon painter Simon Ushakov, one of the famous is “The Last Supper” (1685), which is now in the museum of the monastery.
All the icons and carved decorative elements over the past centuries have been updated several times, which is confirmed by the samples of restorers (all icons have 3-4 layers). The last time the icons were updated was in 1986-1988. due to their emergency condition. At the same time, the original 16th century icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was discovered, which appeared after the removal of two layers of later icons drawn from above.
Mosaic icons
Inside the cathedral are two icons of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, made of mosaics:
- First Martyr Jacob Stephen, who until 1931 was in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
- Our Lady of Kazan (according to one version, she was brought from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, according to another, from the chapel near the Kazan station in Moscow).
Our Lady of Kazan has a special meaning for all Russian people. In the fate of the cathedral, she also played a role and helped to withstand the siege of the monastery by Polish-Lithuanian troops in the 17th century. The liberation of Moscow in August 1612 also occurred with her blessing. This icon, donated by the Cossacks, was carried at the head of the army by Prince Pozharsky.
Restoration of the cathedral
The risk of a possible collapse of the temple wall appeared in the middle of the 19th century. after the liquidation of Pisarevsky pond due to the destructive effect of groundwater, when cracks began to go along the wall. But the work to save the cathedral began only in the 20th century.
One of the first restorations during the years of Soviet power began in 1940 and lasted until 1967: the frescoes were washed from dirt and glue, the basement damaged by dampness was repaired, the window openings were restored. Among the specialists who restored the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the architect V.I. Baldin (he participated initially from 1938 (as a student) and until 1997). Restoration of the monuments of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius became the work of his life.
Assumption Cathedral - 21st century
On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the Mother Superior of the Russian land, large-scale restoration work was carried out (2012-2016), including cleaning of icons and restoration of carved details of the iconostasis, which made it possible to restore the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in all its splendor. The photo posted above clearly confirms this.