Each great country has symbols expressing its essence, national spirit, and an idea uniting people into a single people. Russia is too multifaceted to have only one such symbol.
But on Red Square there is a temple that personifies a lot of what is called true Russian: a long history where there is light and darkness, and an amazing harmony consisting of bright diversity. To put all this into a brief description of St.
Basil’s Cathedral, writing magnificent epithets is not required, it is enough to recall the legends and traditions with which his story is full.
Royal vow
Ivan the Terrible is not in vain called the "collector" of the Russian Land - with him, an extensive power began to form around Moscow led by the autocratic sovereign. The Kazan Khanate - the remnant of the Golden Horde - for a long time opposed the expansion of Muscovite Russia to the east, and the Orthodox sovereign made a vow - to build a temple in the center of the capital if Kazan was conquered. They became the Cathedral of St. Basil, whose history began in 1555.
During the campaign, the Russian army won victories over the Tatars important, but of local importance. In memory of them, near the Kremlin, the king ordered the construction of churches dedicated to the saints commemorated in the days of these victories. So a few wooden pillar-like buildings arose on the covered part of the moat surrounding the Kremlin. Eight separate churches united around the main church dedicated to the Protection of the Virgin (it was on the days of this church holiday that the final fall of Kazan took place) - this is the architectural description of St. Basil's Cathedral. The composition of such a composition is attributed to Metropolitan of Moscow Macarius, who had a great influence on the tsar.
The legend of the architect
About who exactly built the Russian “eighth wonder of the world”, there is no exact information, only versions and legends remain. It is believed that the Pskov masters Barma and Postnik Yakovlev were invited to translate wooden buildings into stone. These names are included in the canonical description of St. Basil's Cathedral. The writing of the version that it was one person - Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma - is also based on chronicles and looks believable. There, Barma is referred to as the builder of the Kazan Kremlin, the construction of which began later, after the construction of the temple on Red Square in 1561 was completed.
This mention casts doubt on another beautiful legend. Tsar Ivan admired the result of the work of architects and asked if they could repeat such beauty elsewhere? "We can!" - proudly answered the master, forgetting that the sovereign is called Grozny. The autocrat ordered the builders to be blinded so that the St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow would remain their unique creation. Fortunately, this is only a tradition, and the skill of Russian masters was legendary.
Construction miracle
The amazing harmony and expressiveness of the architectural appearance of the cathedral is not its only merit. The craftsmanship with which St. Basil's Cathedral was built is amazing. A brief description of the materials and technologies used speaks volumes. Its walls are made of unusual material for that time - brick, because hewn blocks of white stone - limestone were usually used, especially since for a long time the walls of the cathedral were painted white and the domes were golden, which made it look like Vladimir and Suzdal churches.
The high engineering level and filigree craftsmanship with which the complex surfaces of the vaults and intricate details of the outdoor decor are laid out are invariably included in the description of St. Basil's Cathedral. The compilation of the version that the cathedral was built by a Western European architect, possibly an Italian, causes a doubt that masters of this level could be found in Russia of the 16th century. It is important to remember here that the final look of this masterpiece was formed during a long and constant history, when numerous cataclysms in the form of fires required the alteration and reconstruction of the temple.
Heavenly Jerusalem
In terms of the building, which has such a complex and whimsical appearance - an understandable and harmonious figure - an eight-pointed star formed by two squares located at an angle of 45 degrees. This is the star of the Virgin, and the very idea of uniting several churches under a single roof goes back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it is no coincidence that the cathedral was long called Muscovites Jerusalem.
The ethereal nature of the cathedral’s magnificence is emphasized by the increased decorative appearance: magnificent paintings in plant motifs and a particularly unusual shape and bright coloring of onion domes that appeared in the 1780s.
The originality of the cathedral is given by some irregularity in the form of the central tent of the Church of the Intercession and free layout, including the chapel of St. Basil located in the north-east. For a long time it was the only heated room in the church, where the service took place in the winter, and gradually the whole cathedral was called the church of St. Basil.
Christ for the holy fool
In Russia, ascetics have always been revered who renounced the conveniences and comforts of a well-fed life for the sake of serving God. The holy fools, whom the people considered the intercessors of the common people before the power of the earthly and heavenly, were always revered in Moscow. Especially famous was St. Basil (1468-1557), who was considered the patron saint of the city.
Basil was revered not only by ordinary people, he was respected by Metropolitan Macarius, and Tsar Ivan himself listened to him. Blessed Vasily was the first to raise money for the construction of the temple. It was said that he stored the collected trifle openly, but miraculously, not a penny was lost, for the thief was struck by paralysis, from which only Vasily could cure.
This money was the first spent on construction, when the blessed one had already died, and at his funeral, Grozny himself carried the coffin.
Legends of different times
Neither a church man, nor an atheist, nor a mere mortal, nor a tyrant endowed with colossal power, can be left indifferent to St. Basil’s Cathedral. A brief description of the traditions associated with it confirms this.
When the enlightened Napoleon entered the capital of wild Russia, he called the cathedral a mosque and built a stable there. But he could not appreciate its magnificence and ordered to dismantle the temple, so that later it could be erected in the center of Paris. When the impossibility of this procedure became clear, he gave an even more wild order - to blow up the cathedral. According to legend, the Lord did not allow this - heavy rain flooded the ignition cords, preventing barbarism from happening.
Another omnipotent ruler is associated with a story that happened in Soviet times. At the head of Moscow was Lazar Kaganovich, who embodied Stalin's plans to create the ideal communist capital. When approving the plan for the reconstruction of the center of Moscow, he removed the model of the cathedral, wanting to show how it would be more convenient to make the passage of the masses easier during the demonstrations on Red Square. The legend kept the words of the leader: “- Lazarus! Put it in your place! .. ”The former seminarian could not deprive Moscow of the church named after the blessed intercessor, although hundreds of churches were destroyed by his order.
Forever symbol
Born by the talent and faith of the people, he stood in the fire of wars and revolutions. There is confidence: so far at the address: Red Square, house 2, there is not a multi-story business center or an impregnable mansion, but St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia will not lose hope.