Archangel Cathedral 1333. Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin

In general, the trinity of cathedrals: Arkhangelsk, Annunciation, Assumption, which frame the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square, embody the idea of ​​Grand Duke Ivan the Third (1440–1505) and his successors to demonstrate the strength and greatness of Moscow, to show the exclusivity of royal power. But Ivan Vasilyevich did not have time to see the monumental building of the Archangel Cathedral.

The Archangel Kremlin Cathedral is a Russian cathedral, on the construction of which the architect from Venice Aleviz Novy worked since 1505. The temple was consecrated on Michaelmas Day, November 8, 1508, in honor of the Archangel Michael. The full name is the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.

Archangel Michael is one of the highest angels and the main fighter against Satan and lawlessness. In the church he is also called the archangel, which means “senior warrior, leader” of the Heavenly Forces. He is considered the militant patron of the grand ducal family and the reigning Romanov family. Archangel Michael is considered the protector of the souls of the dead. He leads the angelic army, and the sovereign is earthly.

The predecessor of the current Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was a stone church named after him, built by Grand Duke Ivan Kalita in 1333. The prince bequeathed to bury him in it. This is how the tradition of burying sovereigns in the Archangel Church arose. After 172 years, this church was demolished, and in its place a tall white-stone cathedral rose, which we see today in the heart of the Kremlin.

Architecture

The construction of the Archangel Cathedral was led by the Italian architect Aleviz Novy, who managed to combine in it the internal structure traditional for Russian churches and the appearance of a Venetian palazzo, complemented by church domes traditional in Rus'.

The cathedral appears to be two-story due to the fact that the walls are visually divided horizontally by a cornice. The lower tier is more powerful, the upper one is lower and looks light and airy due to the windows framed with panels.

Aleviz used elements characteristic of Venetian architecture of the Renaissance to decorate his Moscow brainchild. For example, he placed a group of round medallion windows in the central zakomara of the western facade of the cathedral, and Italian relief “shells” in the remaining zakomaras. He built decorative arches, and on the western wall he installed large arched windows and a wide portal.

The drums of the five domes of the cathedral are decorated with carvings and narrow windows. Each capital of the 35 pilasters imitating columns is covered with its own floral ornament.

The original appearance subsequently underwent some changes. In the middle of the 16th century, the chapel of John the Baptist was added to the cathedral from the south, and the chapel to the martyr Uar from the north. Each with its own entrance.

The brainchild of the Italian turned out to be atypical for ancient Russian architecture and violated the previous temple-building canons, but over time its beauty conquered even its most ardent critics.

Paintings and icons

Under Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, the cathedral was decorated with unique murals. The sovereign's goal was to present the monarch as a God-chosen ruler given from above. Portraits of Moscow princes with halos above their heads are created on the walls, regardless of whether they were canonized or not. Next to everyone is his patron saint.

Previously, it was customary to place images of warriors and martyrs on pillars as pillars of faith. In the Archangel Cathedral, images of princes are painted on the pillars.

In the cathedral there is an ancient hagiographic icon of the Archangel Michael with his deeds, painted around 1410. According to legend, its writing is associated with Princess Evdokia, the widow of Dmitry Donskoy. One day an archangel appeared to her in a dream, after which she ordered this icon.

Necropolis

Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the Archangel Cathedral has become a princely necropolis. Each new burial was supposed to emphasize the inviolability and continuity of the power of the Rurikovichs and Moscow. However, in 1591, the last direct descendant of the reigning family, Tsarevich Dmitry, died. In 1606, his remains were transferred to the tomb of his ancestors and are now considered the main relic of the Archangel Cathedral.

During Napoleon's invasion, when "civilized" French soldiers used the temple icons as benches and beds, the relics of the prince disappeared. Subsequently, it turned out that they were saved by the priest of the Resurrection Monastery, now defunct.

After the accession of the Romanovs, they began to install their tombs around Dmitry Uglitsky, thereby trying to show continuity. There was a tradition in the cathedral in which people left notes addressed to the king. No one except him had the right to take them. Under Peter I, this custom ceased to exist. But each new emperor, after being crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral, marched to Arkhangelsk, where he bowed to the coffins of his fathers.

The last to be buried here was Peter the Great's grandson, fourteen-year-old Peter II, in 1730.

The burials are located in a special order: the great Moscow princes are separate from the appanage princes, those who fell into disgrace or died violently, apart from others.

The tombstones of Ivan the Terrible with his sons Ivan and Fedor are located separately in the altar part of the cathedral.

Russian grand duchesses, and later queens, were buried in the Ascension Cathedral, founded by the pious princess Evdokia. She herself was the first of the Russian princesses to be buried there in 1407. The Ascension Monastery was demolished in 1929. Sarcophagi with the remains of high-ranking women were saved and moved to the basement of the Archangel Cathedral.

Removal of the sarcophagus from the tomb of the queens of the Ascension Cathedral. 1929

Sarcophagi of Russian queens in the basement of the Archangel Cathedral

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The cathedral received its familiar appearance already under Ivan III - in 1505-1508. The architect Aleviz Fryazin Novy from Venice was invited to build the temple. Muscovites called all foreigners Fryazin (from “fryag” or “Varangian”), so the real names of Italian architects of that time have not been preserved.

The Archangel Cathedral became the complete opposite of the Assumption Cathedral - the traditional Russian temple was decorated in the style of a Renaissance palazzo. The church turned out so good that Russian architects began to actively use details of European architecture. And in 1772, to strengthen the temple building, white stone counterforts appeared. The author of this architectural trick is Vasily Bazhenov.

The domes of the Archangel Cathedral are the only Kremlin churches not gilded, because here is the oldest tomb of the Moscow princes.

What is what in the church

All Russian tsars before Peter I, except Boris Godunov, rest in the cathedral. Emperor Peter II is also buried here. In total there are 53 burials in the tomb. Most are under floor slabs with 17th-century tombstones. In preparation for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, they were also covered with copper glazed cases.

Ivan IV was buried separately from everyone else. He believed that he was worthy of a special burial place. The king's body rests in the deacon house along with the ashes of his two sons. In 1963, the grave of Ivan IV was opened for scientific research, and Mikhail Gerasimov recreated a portrait of the Tsar (it can be seen in the Museum of Moscow). At the same time, a lot of mercury was discovered in the bones of Ivan IV. Some believed that this was how the king was treated for sexually transmitted diseases, but, most likely, he was slowly poisoned. A lot of mercury was also found in the blood of Marfa Sobakina, the third wife of Ivan IV, who died almost immediately after the wedding. She was buried in the Ascension Monastery, but when the monastery was dismantled in the 20th century, all burials were moved to the basement of the extension of the Archangel Cathedral.

Tsarevich Dmitry, who died in Uglich, is also buried in the Archangel Cathedral. To this day, no one knows whether he fell on the knife in an epileptic fit, or whether he was stabbed to death. In 1812, the French took with them the silver shrine of the tomb where the relics of the prince were located, but the relics themselves were preserved. Already in 1813, a new shrine was made.

Also in the Archangel Cathedral is the empty tomb of Boris Godunov, whose ashes, by order of False Dmitry I, were thrown into the street in 1605 so as not to “desecrate” the temple. Later, Boris Godunov was reburied in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The frescoes in the Archangel Cathedral were painted by 92 artists under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

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The uniqueness of the painting is in the so-called gravestone portraits. These are conventional portraits in the lower tier of the walls above the burials of the great Moscow and appanage princes. Of course, the gallery of historical figures opens with the image of Ivan Kalita.

A large place in the painting of the Archangel Cathedral is occupied by military themes and stories about the struggle of Archangel Michael with the fallen angel Satanail. Archangel Michael was considered the heavenly patron and intercessor of princes in military affairs. Therefore, when setting off on military campaigns, Russian monarchs performed a ritual of worshiping their ancestors in the Archangel Cathedral and asked them for spiritual strength for victory.

During Soviet times, services in Kremlin churches were banned. But since 1990, the Archangel Cathedral was returned to the Orthodox Church, although the museum continues to operate there. On patronal holidays, services are held in the cathedral. Moreover, before the service it is consecrated anew.

Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in photographs from different years:

Can you add anything to the history of the Archangel Cathedral in Moscow?

ARKHANGELSK CATHEDRAL

The Archangel Cathedral closes the ensemble of Kremlin buildings on Borovitsky Hill. Its northern and western facades face the ancient Cathedral Square, the southern - towards the Moscow River.

The existing Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505-1508. Italian architect Aleviz Novy. Construction began under Ivan III and was completed under his son, Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich.

After the Assumption Cathedral, it was the second largest temple in the Moscow Kremlin. Before this, there was the ancient Archangel Cathedral, built by Ivan Kalita in 1333 in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from severe famine. At the beginning of the 16th century. due to its cramped conditions and dilapidation, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of a more extensive temple.

The Italian architect created a traditionally Russian, rectangular temple, the vaults of which are supported by six square pillars. The facades of the cathedral, having three divisions from north to south and five divisions from west to east, end with zakomaras decorated with white stone shells. They are decorated with pilasters with capitals, cornices and a white stone plinth. From the outside, the walls of the cathedral are divided into two tiers by a horizontal belt, which gives it the appearance of a two-story civil building. The cathedral is crowned with five domes. The central dome was gilded, and the sides were covered with white iron. Now all the domes are painted silver.

From the eastern side to the cathedral at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries. two chapels were added - the single-domed churches of “St. Uar” and “John the Baptist”.

The northern and western facades of the cathedral are decorated with carved white stone portals in the Italian Renaissance style, painted with paints and gold.

Initially, the cathedral had covered galleries on three sides, which were a kind of stands for honored guests during ceremonies on Cathedral Square. Two of them were dismantled in the 18th century. The gallery has been preserved only on the southern side, covered with buttresses added in this century! Until 1920, on the north side of the cathedral there was a Gothic-style portal, added at the end of the 18th century. architect M.F. Kazakov. On the western side of the cathedral there is a loggia for the entrance to the temple and a vestibule, divided into four floors. The third of them houses the choir.

During Napoleon's invasion of Moscow, the French set up a wine warehouse in the Archangel Cathedral, and the altar was used as a kitchen. All the valuables of the cathedral were stolen. After the defeat of Napoleonic hordes, the cathedral was restored to its original form.

The painting inside the cathedral was done soon after its construction, but the names of the artists have not survived to us. Fragments of ancient painting in light, gentle tones discovered in the diakonnik in 1955 give reason to believe that it belongs to the brush of masters of the school of Dionysius. By 1652 the original painting had become very dilapidated and was removed.

After this, the cathedral was painted again (in 1652, 1660, 1666). The painting of the cathedral was carried out by a large group of artists summoned to Moscow “for the sovereign’s business” from many Russian cities - Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Vologda, Novgorod, Ustyug, etc. These masters were headed by the royal icon painters Stepan Ryazanets, Yakov Kazanets, Fyodor Kozlov , Fedor Zubov, Ivan Filatyev. A careful selection of icon painters was made by the outstanding artist of that time, Simon Ushakov.

The mural painting of the Archangel Cathedral as a whole is made in the same manner, in a single color scheme. It is distinguished by its extraordinary colorfulness and decorativeness, which is very characteristic of Russian art of the second half of the 17th century.

The theme of the painting in the cathedral is literary and narrative in nature. Here, compositions on religious themes are perfectly combined with everyday, historical and battle scenes, clearly reflecting the patriotic struggle of the Russian people for their national independence.

Battle scenes were written with great skill, glorifying the exploits of the Russian people in an allegorical form. Religious themes in painting recede into the background.

Conventional portrait images of Russian princes are of great interest. They well convey the cut of a princely dress, typical of ancient Rus', and the variety of plant and floral patterns.

On the southwestern pillar of the cathedral, Alexander Nevsky, the hero of the Battle of the Ice (1242), is depicted; on the northwestern pillar, his son Daniil Alexandrovich, under whom the Moscow principality was formed, is depicted. On the southern wall there are images of the Moscow princes Ivan Kalita and Dimitri Donskoy.

Over the course of several centuries, the mural painting of 1666 was painted in oil paints many times (in 1773, 1826, 1853). Subsequently, the ancient painting was forgotten and it was believed that it had not been preserved. In 1953, a special commission was created, under whose leadership Soviet artists began to restore ancient paintings. Over the course of two years, the plaster and paint layers were carefully strengthened, and then the murals were cleared. All work was completed in 1955.

The central part of the cathedral is separated from the altar by a carved wooden gilded iconostasis 13 meters high.

It is an example of wood carving from the 18th-19th centuries.

The iconostasis contains monuments of ancient Russian icon painting of the 15th-17th centuries, among which the icon “Archangel Michael”, attributed to Andrei Rublev or his students, stands out. Most of the icons were made in 1680-1681. icon painters Dorofey Ermolaev, Zolotarev and Mikhail Malyutin.

The cathedral is illuminated by nine gilded chandeliers from the 17th century, restored in 1953-1955.

Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the Archangel Cathedral has been the tomb of the great Moscow princes and kings, from 1340 to 1700. The first to be buried here was Ivan Kalita, who died in 1340 (his tombstone is at the southern wall of the cathedral). An exception is the burial of Emperor Peter II, who died in Moscow from smallpox in 1730.

In total, there are 54 burials in the cathedral, over which there are 46 tombstones (under some of them there are two burials). All tombstones are decorated with inscriptions in Slavic script and ornaments carved on white stone. The bronze coverings of the tombstones were made in 1903.

Dimitri Donskoy and Ivan III (tombs near the southern wall), Ivan the Terrible and his sons (tombs behind the iconostasis) and other figures of Russian history are buried in the cathedral.

At the right south-eastern pillar of the cathedral (in front of the altar) there is a shrine of the son of Ivan the Terrible - Tsarevich Dimitri, whose remains were transferred to the cathedral from Uglich by Tsar Vasily Shuisky in 1606. Soon after this, a carved white stone gilded canopy was made over the shrine. In 1955 it was restored as a monument of history and applied art of the early 17th century. and returned it to its original appearance.

The Archangel Cathedral was especially revered by the great princes and kings, who came here to worship their ancestors - after being crowned kings, when going on a campaign, returning, etc.

Rich contributions were made to the cathedral, and entire villages were assigned serfs. From archival documents it is known that 18 thousand serfs were assigned to the Archangel Cathedral. The trial and reprisal of rent defaulters took place at the cathedral in the so-called “judgment hut of the Arkhangelsk estates,” the cellars of which have survived to this day on the southwestern side of the temple. In 1826, the current stone tent was built on the site of this hut. The Archangel Cathedral was a large feudal corporation.

Nowadays, the Archangel Cathedral is an outstanding historical, artistic and architectural monument of the Moscow Kremlin.

Description:

Story

Reliable information about the time of the appearance of the Church of the Archangel Michael in the Kremlin has not been preserved. There is an assumption that the first wooden cathedral in honor of this saint in the Moscow Kremlin arose presumably around the middle of the 13th century.

In 1333, Moscow Prince Ivan Kalita, according to a vow, built a new stone church in the Kremlin in honor of Archangel Michael. At the end of the 14th century. The cathedral was painted by Theophanes the Greek and his disciples. It is likely that in the cathedral of the times of Ivan Kalita, chapels appeared in honor of the heavenly patrons of his sons: Simeon the Stylite and Andrew of Crete. Ivan Kalita and his sons Simeon the Proud and Andrey were buried in the Archangel Cathedral, which from the very beginning became the tomb of the Moscow princes.

In 1471, under Ivan III, two more chapels appeared in the temple: the Apostle Aquila and the Resurrection of the Lord.

Shortly before his death, Ivan III decided to rebuild the ancient Archangel Cathedral, and in 1505, by his order, the dilapidated church was dismantled and a new one was founded, but soon Ivan Vasilyevich died and was buried in the newly founded temple. The organizer of the new Archangel Cathedral is considered to be his son, Grand Duke Vasily III, under whom a white stone temple was built and consecrated, which has survived to this day.

The Italian Aleviz Novy was chosen as the architect of the cathedral. In the western part of the temple, the architect built a two-tier porch with a side chapel for the prince's family. Akila. Chapels of John the Baptist at the southern apse and martyr. Uara near the northern one was added in the middle of the 16th century. In the second half of the 16th century. A throne appears in the cathedral in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God.

In the cathedral-tomb there are 46 princely tombs of Moscow princes and kings. The first to be buried here was Ivan Kalita, the last was Ivan Alekseevich, brother of Peter I. The exceptions are the holy noble Prince Daniil Alexandrovich, buried in the Danilov Monastery, and Prince Yuri Danilovich, Kalita's brother, buried in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, as well as Boris Godunov, the remains which were taken from here in 1606 by order of False Dmitry I. The grave of M.V. is also located here. Skopin-Shuisky. Also buried in the Archangel Cathedral is Emperor Peter II, who died in 1730 in Moscow from smallpox. The relics of St. were also brought here. mchch. Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor, who died in the Horde in 1246.

In addition, the cathedral contains the tombs of many appanage princes from the Moscow princely house - Yuri Zvenigorodsky, Vasily Kosoy, Yuri Dmitrovsky, Vasily Yaroslavich Borovsky, Andrei Uglitsky, as well as the hero of the Battle of Kulikovo Vladimir the Brave, Prince of Serpukhov. Over the burial of St. Tsarevich Dimitri, whose remains were transferred to the cathedral in 1606 by Vasily Shuisky, there is a white stone canopy decorated with carvings. Before Peter I, there was a custom of placing petitions on the tombs of princes and kings, which were addressed directly to the king.

In 1929, the burials of women from the Rurik and Romanov dynasties were moved to the crypt of the basement chamber of the southern extension of the Archangel Cathedral; in 2008, to the chapel of the martyr. Uar, the relics of St. Euphrosyne of Moscow.

The current iconostasis, installed on the site of the former altar barrier, was made in 1681 by a team of craftsmen led by I. Nedumov. The paintings of the Archangel Cathedral have been restored several times. Serious restoration and renovation of the iconostasis were carried out after 1812, because During the capture of Moscow by the French, a camp kitchen and a food warehouse were built in the altar of the temple.

In 1744-1883, before the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Archangel Cathedral was the cathedral of the Moscow bishops; in 1895 it came under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Palace Office.

In 1917, the cathedral was damaged during shelling by the Kremlin and was closed in 1918.

Restoration of the cathedral's paintings was carried out in 1953-1955. In 1955, a museum was opened in the Archangel Cathedral. In the 1970s, the external walls of the cathedral were restored, and the iconostasis was restored in 1979-1980.

In 1991, services resumed in the cathedral. On May 28, 1991, he performed a service over the relics of St. blgv. Prince Dimitri, canonized in 1988 by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The temple is not operational, services in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin are held rarely: on patronal holidays, days of remembrance of the dead, feasts of saints whose relics rest in the cathedral.

Thrones

The main altar is consecrated in honor of Archangel Michael, the chapels in honor of the Protection of the Mother of God, John the Baptist and the martyr Uar.

Temple shrines

Relics of the Blgv. book Demetrius of Donskoy, St. book Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and his boyar Theodore, St. blgv. Tsarevich Demetrius, Venerable Euphrosyne of Moscow. Icon of the Archangel Michael with his life, miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Gracious Sky” (another name for the image “What shall we call Thee”, “Blessed One”).

Country: Russia City: Moscow Address: 101000, Moscow, Kremlin, Cathedral Square Website: