The main symbol of Russia is St. Basil's Cathedral. Intercession Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral)

• Orthodox St. Basil's Cathedral (XVI century) is symbol of Russian church architecture that time.
• IN Soviet time There was a museum here, and religious services resumed in 1991. Now held every week.
• Architect, who built St. Basil's Cathedral, was called Barma Postnik.
• The magnificently decorated church was a thanksgiving to the Almighty for the outstanding military success ‒ capture of Kazan.
• The cathedral consists of nine separate churches, which are located on the same foundation and connected by two galleries.
• The relics of St. Basil, the holy fool who lived in Moscow in the 16th century, are buried in the temple.

The narrow galleries between the churches also have decoration: in the 17th century. they were painted with floral patterns, and a little later - with subject frescoes. Special attention It is worth paying attention to the basement, which used to serve as a treasury. Its space is covered with complex box vaults. In addition, a collection of icons is exhibited in the basement, as well as silver dishes, samples of weapons and a beautiful cover on the shrine of St. Basil, embroidered in the 16th century.

St. Basil the Blessed and the shrines of the cathedral

Saint Basil the Blessed, whose relics are buried in the Cathedral, lived in Moscow in the 16th century. and was a holy fool - a religious ascetic who rejected worldly goods. His life says that he all year round walked without clothes, slept on the street and observed strict fasting. According to legend, he performed many miracles and had the gift of providence: Ivan the Terrible himself was afraid of his speeches. The saint was greatly revered, and his memory has been preserved to this day. The temple also contains the tomb of Blessed John of Moscow.

First, in 1554, a wooden Church of the Intercession with seven chapels was built next to the walls, and in 1555 the stone Cathedral of the Intercession was laid Holy Mother of God- 9 churches on a single basement. Five of them were consecrated in the name of saints and Orthodox holidays, during which the most important events of the Kazan campaign took place.

Chronicles name the Russian architects Postnik and Barma as the builders of this architectural miracle. There is even a version that this is one person. But historians believe that the construction of the Intercession Cathedral could not have happened without the participation of Western European masters.

After 30 years, another small temple was added to the ensemble in honor of the Moscow holy fool - St. Basil the Blessed. He gave the popular name to the entire cathedral. But this did not happen immediately, but only at the end of the 17th century.

At first, the new church was not connected to the basement of the cathedral and was the only one of all that was heated. Therefore, services were held in it all year round, and in the other churches of the cathedral - only in the warm season (from Trinity to the Intercession). Over time, people began to say that they were going to serve in St. Basil’s Cathedral, while they were going to St. Basil’s Church. So gradually they began to call the entire structure a temple in the name of the famous saint.

And until the 17th century, the cathedral was also called Trinity, since the first wooden church on this site was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The Intercession Cathedral was also known as the “Jerusalem Cathedral,” which is associated with the ritual of “procession on a donkey,” which symbolized the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem on a donkey.

This ritual was first mentioned in the 16th century. It did not stop even in 1611, when it was occupied by Polish invaders. The ceremony followed a strict ritual. First, the patriarch addressed the king with a special invitational speech, and after Matins the king went out to the. He was accompanied by boyars, okolnichy and other courtiers. From began procession, in which up to 300 priests and up to 200 deacons participated. The Tsar and the Patriarch entered the chapel of the Entrance to Jerusalem of the Intercession Cathedral and prayed there.

A lectern with the Gospel and icons of John the Baptist and Nicholas the Wonderworker were installed on it, and the path from the Place of Execution was covered with red clothes or cloth. Not far from the Execution Ground stood a horse covered with a white blanket with long ears- the symbol of “donkey” - and an elegant willow. The willow was decorated with raisins, walnuts, dates, apples.

At the end of the prayer, the patriarch climbed up and presented the king with a palm branch and willow branches. The archdeacon, facing west, read the Gospel, and with the words “and two ambassadors from the disciples,” the cathedral archpriest and the sacristan set off to fetch the donkeys. The Patriarch, holding the Gospel and the cross, sat on a donkey. The horse was led by the Tsar himself, in front of whom the attendants carried the Tsar's staff, the Tsar's willow, the Tsar's candle and the Tsar's towel.

When the procession entered the Spassky Gate, all the bells of the Kremlin churches rang. And the ringing continued until the procession entered the Assumption Cathedral. In the cathedral they finished reading the Gospel. The king went to one of the house churches, and the patriarch completed the liturgy. After this, the patriarch blessed the willow, the keys cut off branches for the altar, the royal family and the boyars. The remains of the willow and decorations were distributed to the people.

An unconditional symbol of Moscow, the Intercession Cathedral was still a completely uncharacteristic structure for Russian architecture.

The height of St. Basil's Cathedral is 61 meters (this is very high for the 16th century). The churches were built of brick, a material still unusual for that time, and were even painted to look like brick, which gives the cathedral such a “gingerbread” character. But, probably, at first the Intercession Cathedral was not the same as it is now, and its palette was limited only to white and brick colors. But still he was so beautiful that he impressed even foreigners.

But over time, the cathedral deteriorated, and wooden buildings appeared near its walls. And when Alexander I, during a visit to England, was shown an image of the cathedral without extensions, he said that he would like to have the same in Moscow. It was explained to the Tsar that St. Basil's Cathedral has been decorating Red Square for almost 300 years. After this, he ordered the demolition of the houses and shops surrounding the cathedral. And in 1817, walls lined with wild stone were built in their place. So the cathedral seemed to be on a high terrace.

What is what in the church

The cathedral has 11 domes, and none of them are repeated.

Nine domes over the churches of the second tier (according to the number of thrones), one over the lower Church of St. Basil and one over the bell tower:
1. Protection of the Virgin Mary (central),
2. Holy Trinity (eastern),
3. The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (western),
4. Gregory of Armenia (northwestern),
5. Alexander Svirsky (southeast),
6. Varlaam Khutynsky (southwestern),
7. Three Patriarchs of Constantinople (northeast),
8. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Velikoretsky (southern),
9. Cyprian and Justina (northern).
All 9 churches are united by a common base, a bypass gallery and internal vaulted passages.

It is known that previously the basement premises were inaccessible to parishioners, and the deep niches in it were used as storage. They were closed with doors, of which only the hinges remained. Until 1595, the royal treasury was hidden in the basement of the Intercession Cathedral. Wealthy townspeople also brought their property here. We got into the basement via an internal white stone staircase from the central Church of the Intercession of the Virgin. And only the initiated knew about it. This narrow passage was later blocked, but during restoration in the 1930s it was opened.

Now St. Basil's Cathedral inside is a system of labyrinths, the walls of which are covered with frescoes. Narrow internal passages and wide platforms create the impression of a “city of churches.”

In 1918, the Intercession Cathedral became one of the first cultural monuments taken under state security. But in the post-revolutionary years it was in dire straits: the roof was leaking, windows were broken, and in winter there was snow inside the churches. And on May 21, 1923, a museum opened in the cathedral.

Collection of funds began, and after 5 years the Intercession Cathedral became a branch. In 1929, St. Basil's Cathedral was finally closed for worship, and the bells were removed for melting down. But the museum was closed only once - during the Great Patriotic War. And this is despite the constant restorations that have been going on in the temples for almost 100 years.

In 1991, the Intercession Cathedral was given to the joint use of the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church. Divine services resumed in the temple after a long break. Now they are held every Sunday in St. Basil's Church, and on October 14, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, in the central church.

IN main church In the cathedral there is an iconostasis from the Kremlin Church of the Chernigov Wonderworkers, dismantled in 1770, and in the chapel of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem there is an iconostasis from the Kremlin Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky, dismantled at the same time.

St. Basil's Cathedral is known all over the world, and its photograph is even included in the list of system desktop wallpapers of the Windows 7 operating system.

And mystics call the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos “an icon imprinted in stone.” Its shape - 8 churches united by two squares at the base around a central ninth - is not accidental. The number 8 symbolizes the date of the Resurrection of Christ. The circle is a symbol of infinity and harmony of divine creation. The squares symbolize the 4 cardinal directions, the 4 main gates of Jerusalem and the 4 evangelists. In addition, you can see how the squares at the base of the cathedral, turned at an angle of 45 degrees, form an eight-pointed star, reminiscent of the Star of Bethlehem on the birthday of Christ. And the system of labyrinths inside the cathedral itself becomes the embodiment of the streets of the Heavenly City, which begins and ends with the church-chapel.

Contrary to popular belief, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, although visually similar to the Intercession Cathedral, is not a copy of it. St. Petersburg Cathedral is one temple with several domes and a bell tower. And St. Basil's Cathedral is several independent churches on a single foundation. There are no such cathedrals anywhere else in the world.

They say that......during the construction of the Intercession Cathedral, Barma and Postnik did not use drawings, but relied on a diagram drawn directly at the construction site. But the architects used a life-size wooden model of the temple, so during the restoration they discovered wooden structures in the brickwork. This is a full-scale model of the cathedral.
...in Moscow in the 16th century there lived the holy fool Vasily. He had the gift of a clairvoyant, and even Ivan IV himself revered Vasily. The king allowed him unheard of insolence. For example, one day Ivan IV invited the holy fool to the palace, wanting to hear some kind of prediction, and ordered a glass of wine to be served to him. Several times Vasily threw a filled glass out the window, and when the Tsar angrily asked what he was doing, the holy fool replied that he was putting out a fire in Novgorod. And soon news of the fire actually arrived in Moscow. Perhaps that is why, after the death of St. Basil, Ivan IV himself volunteered to carry his body to the cemetery.
...one day some rich man gave St. Basil a fur coat. A gang of thieves noticed her and sent a rogue to him, who said to the holy fool in a mournful voice:
- My comrade died. And he and I were so poor that we had nothing to cover him. Give your fur coat to God's cause, holy man.
“Take it,” said Vasily, “and let everything be as you told me.”
When the swindler approached with a fur coat to the one who, pretending to be dead, was lying on the ground, he saw that he had actually given his soul to God.
...Ivan IV ordered the architects of St. Basil's Cathedral to be blinded so that they would never create anything like that again. But it is known that the allegedly blinded Postnik later participated in the construction of the Kazan Kremlin. Therefore, in fact, this is just a legend that complements the image of the formidable king and was sung by the Soviet poet D. Kedrin in the poem “Architects”.
...Napoleon, leaving Moscow, wanted to take this miracle with him, but could not. Then he ordered to blow up the Intercession Cathedral so that no one would get it. According to one legend, a sudden rainfall extinguished the wicks. According to another, an explosion occurred, but the temple remained unshaken.
...in the 1930s L.M. Kaganovich proposed demolishing the temple to make way for demonstrations and traffic. He even made a model and brought it to Stalin, where, with the words: “And if only he had - once again!...” he removed the temple with one jerk.
Stalin replied: “Lazarus, put him in his place!”
They also say that Pyotr Baranovsky knelt down at a meeting of the Central Committee, begging to preserve the religious building. And this saved the temple.
...there is another urban legend about the construction of the cathedral and Blessed Basil of Moscow, recorded in 1924 by folklorist Evgeniy Baranov.
“This church was built, it’s true, by Ivan the Terrible, but it wasn’t started by him. And then there lived in Moscow one such holy fool - St. Basil the Blessed. This cathedral began from him, and Ivan the Terrible came ready-made. Well, really, I didn’t spare my money.
And this holy fool walked around winter and summer in one shirt and barefoot... And he collected money. And he collected it like this: he would come to the market, lift up the floor and stand there, but he himself would remain silent... Well, the people know: he will start putting it in the hem - some a nickel, some a penny, some as much as they can. And as soon as he gets full, he now runs to Red Square, where St. Basil is now standing. He will come running and start throwing money through right shoulder. And they fall - nickel to nickel, kopeck to kopeck, three kopecks to three kopecks. They fell in order. And there were many such piles of money. And no one touched them, and the thieves didn’t touch them. Everyone looked, but was afraid to take it.
And that’s why they were afraid to take this money: since such a little man was found, give me, he says, I’ll take a little money. Came at night, filled his pockets. And here there was both silver and gold money. Well, he put it in his pocket, he wants to walk, but his legs won’t move. This way, this and that, they don’t go, even if you do whatever you want. It was as if someone had nailed them to the ground. The thief got scared. He thinks: “I’ll throw away the money.” And the money doesn't come out of your pocket. He suffered and suffered, his business was not going well. Yes, I stood there all night. And then it’s morning. Well, people see: a man is worth Vasily’s money.
- Why are you here?
- But, he says, God punished me for theft. - And he told what trouble befell him.
But Vasily the holy fool is not here, he already ran early to the market. Well, the people look at that thief and are surprised... They waited and waited for Vasily. Well, he came running, let’s throw money over his shoulder. And here is the king. But Vasily did not understand this: the king and the king, but only he does his job. So he left all the money, looked at this thief, shook his finger at him. And then the thief was released. He quickly threw the money out of his pockets and wanted to leave. Only the king says:
- Put this scoundrel on a stake so that he doesn’t steal holy money!
Well, he was jailed quickly. He screamed and screamed and died...
And no one knew what Vasily collected money for. And he collected them for a long time. And he himself has become old. Now people see: Vasily is digging a hole in the very place where he threw the money. And no one knows why he needs this hole. People gathered, looked, and he kept digging. So he dug a hole, lay down next to it and folded his arms on his chest.
- What is it? - the people think.
Yes, one person explained it:
- But, he says, Vasily is going to die.
Now they ran and said to the king:
- St. Basil the Blessed is dying.
The king quickly got ready and came. Vasily points out the money to the Tsar and points to his pocket. They say, take this money. And he died here. So the king ordered all this money to be put in bags, put on a cart and taken to the palace.
And he buried Vasily in that place. And after that he ordered the construction of St. Basil's Church in the same place. Well, I didn’t regret my money.

Freeing Red Square from buildings that “interfered” with large-scale festive events (parades and demonstrations), Lazar Kaganovich proposed completely dismantling St. Basil’s Cathedral. And in order to convince Stalin that he was right, for clarity, he made a model of the square from which the church could be removed. But everything did not go as he planned: when he took the cathedral from the model, the leader did not appreciate these actions and said a phrase that would go down in the history of the temple forever: “Lazarus, put it in its place!”

St. Basil's Cathedral is located in the capital of Russia, Moscow, not far from the Kremlin, in the southern part of Red Square. On a geographical map it can be found at the following coordinates: 55° 45′ 9.25″ N. latitude, 37° 37′ 23.27″ e. d.
A huge stone temple appeared here after Tsar Ivan the Terrible promised God that if the Kazan campaign was successful, he would build a cathedral.

In the meantime, while hostilities lasted, after each serious victory on Red Square, temporary churches were erected around the Trinity Church, dedicated to the saints on whose day the battle was won. When the war ended in victory, the tsar ordered on the site of these churches (there were eight buildings in total) to build one, a stone one, which would stand for centuries, and in honor of the fact that the final victory came on the Intercession, in October 1552, to name the temple the Intercession Cathedral.

The new church was built very quickly, in six years. The construction of the Moscow temple began in 1555 and ended in 1561. Researchers have still not come to a consensus about who exactly was its architect. The official version says that the architects Plotnik Yakovlev and Barma were responsible for the construction work, but in Lately Many historians agree that the architect of the temple was only one master - Ivan Yakovlevich Barma, popularly known as Plotnik.

Some historians put forward another unconfirmed hypothesis that the architect of the building is an Italian master (this is evidenced by the original style of construction, combining both elements of Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance).

After the construction was completed, a legend arose that the king ordered the architects to be blinded so that they could not build a temple of such beauty. Recently, historians agree that this is just a myth, since there are documents confirming the architectural activities of Plotnik, who was involved in the construction of the Kazan Kremlin and other buildings.

Temple names

Even before the start of construction work, Moscow Tsar Ivan the Terrible named the temple erected not far from the Kremlin the Intercession Cathedral. For a long time, Muscovites called the cathedral the Trinity Church (the previously located shrine was dedicated to the Holy Trinity). And some time after the completion of construction, people nicknamed the temple St. Basil's Cathedral - in honor of the local holy fool, who constantly, regardless of the season, walked around with chains on his naked body. St. Basil the Blessed had clairvoyance and was able to predict the fire that almost destroyed Moscow in 1547.

He died in 1557 and was buried near the walls of the unfinished shrine, and thirty years later a chapel, an extension, was erected over his grave, in which an altar with a throne for worship was installed. Naturally, the chapel received the name of the blessed one, who was canonized at the same time: more than one miraculous healing was recorded over the place of his burial.

After the extension was completed, services began to be held in the Moscow Cathedral every day: previously the temple was not heated, and therefore services took place there only in the warm season (the new extension was more spacious and warm).

Construction

The architects built the cathedral from brick - a rather new and unusual material at that time (usually, when building churches, architects used white hewn stone). In the western part of the temple, the craftsmen were even able to lay a ceiling of bricks, making round holes in them, inserting a metal clip and securely fastening them together.

Already at the initial stage, the architect faced the first problem: the building had to be built on sandy, loose and wet soil (the proximity of the Moscow River flowing nearby affected it), which made it impossible to make a deep foundation (the foundation of the temple is several meters deep). To resolve the situation, the architects used a very interesting move: the massive structure of the temple rests on a basement consisting of several rooms - the lower floor, the height of which is six meters, and the width of the walls is three meters, while the basement has very powerful vaults and ceilings.

As building material For the lower floor, it was decided to use white limestone: its ability to absorb moisture well made it possible to minimize the risk of flooding in the event of a flood. After the basements were installed, octagonal foundations were placed on them, on which it was planned to build future temples (thus, the foundation of the building externally resembled a honeycomb and was characterized by increased strength).

It is interesting that experts, speaking about the secrets of St. Basil's Cathedral, often mention hiding places that were built in special niches on the lower floor (until the end of the 16th century, the royal treasury was even hidden here, and rich townspeople hid their property).

It wasn’t easy to get here - about the stairs leading from the Church of the Intercession Mother of God, only a few people knew, and subsequently this narrow passage was walled up. The passage was discovered only in 1930, when restoration work was carried out; now the icons of the cathedral are stored in the basement rooms.

The architects used an interesting method when creating acoustics inside the cathedral (a method not uncommon in the construction of ancient Russian churches): in order to create good sound, the architects built clay pots, voice boxes, pointing their necks towards the interior of the building. This method made it possible to relieve pressure on the load-bearing parts of the temple.

Description of the temple

Giving a description of the Moscow temple, experts focus on the fact that it lacks a clearly defined main facade: all its sides look basic. The height of the structure reaches 65 meters, so for a long time the temple was considered the tallest building in the city.

Nowadays, looking at the temple, it is difficult to believe that initially the cathedral was not so colorful: judging by the descriptions, the walls of the church were white. They began to repaint it some time later, and they did this by radically changing the appearance of the cathedral - historians discovered drawings on its walls depicting false windows, kokoshniks, and memorial inscriptions. Polychrome and floral painting on a red background appeared only at the end of the 17th century.

Judging by the descriptions that have survived, in former times the Intercession Cathedral was more beautiful and elegant: it had more complex paintings, and the main dome was surrounded by smaller ones.

The appearance of the building was quite changed a hundred years after construction was completed: two porches were added, the external gallery was covered with vaults, and the walls were painted inside the cathedral. Therefore, in the temple you can see a combination of rare monuments of ancient Russian icon painting with frescoes of the sixteenth century, paintings of the seventeenth, and oil paintings of the eighteenth.

The temple was built taking into account the cardinal directions: focusing on them, they built four churches, and the same number were built diagonally. The Intercession Cathedral has nine churches: in the center is the main Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, surrounded by four large (from 20 to 30 m) and four small churches (about 15 m), near which there was a bell tower and St. Basil's chapel. All these churches are located on the same foundation, have a common bypass gallery and are connected by internal corridors.

Domes of the Intercession Cathedral

At first, twenty-five domes were installed on the Intercession Cathedral, symbolizing the Lord and the elders located near his throne. Subsequently, only ten of them remained: one is located above the bell tower, the other rises above the chapel of St. Basil's, the rest - each above its own temple. At the same time, they are all different from each other: not only the design of the large domes is unique, but also the finishing of each drum.

Scientists suggest that initially the domes had a helmet-shaped shape, but were quickly replaced by a bulbous shape; the current colors appeared only in the middle of the 19th century, and until the 17th century. the temple had golden domes.

Temple today

Judging by the descriptions, throughout history, St. Basil's Cathedral was rebuilt and changed its appearance more than once (frequent fires, which were not uncommon in the city, also contributed to the need for frequent repair work).

For the first time, St. Basil's Cathedral was on the verge of extinction in 1812, when the French, leaving the capital of Russia, mined it (though for some reason they could not blow it up, but they plundered the church).

When the war ended, the Intercession Cathedral was not only restored, but also on the river side its wall was decorated with a cast-iron fence.

The temple experienced its saddest times in the 20th century. In 1918, the Bolsheviks shot the rector of the church, Ivan Vostorgov, for “anti-Semitic propaganda.” Three years later, all valuables were removed from the cathedral, and the building was transferred to the Historical Museum. For some time it remained an active church, until in 1929 services were banned by removing all the bells (services in the cathedral were resumed only in 1991).

The second time the temple was on the verge of extinction was in 1936, when restorer Pyotr Baranovsky was asked to measure the temple in order to subsequently demolish it. In response to this, the architect categorically stated that this idea was insane and criminal, and threatened to commit suicide if it was carried out. Immediately after this, an arrest followed, but the church was not touched: it had too many defenders. Therefore, when he was released six months later, the temple stood in the same place. For the whole world the most famous " business cards

» Russia are the Kremlin, 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

The cathedral celebrated its 450th anniversary on July 2, 2011. This unique structure was erected on Red Square. The temple, amazing in its beauty, is a whole complex of churches united by a common foundation. Even those who know nothing 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 (Pokrovskaya) church there is an iconostasis, which was moved from the Kremlin Church of the Chernigov Wonderworkers, destroyed in 1770. In the basement of the Church of the Intercession of Our Lady there are the most valuable ones, the oldest of which is the icon of St. Basil (16th century), painted specifically for this temple. Icons from the 17th century are also on display here: Our Lady of the Sign and the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first copies the image located on the eastern side of the church facade.

St. Basil's Cathedral, the history of whose construction is surrounded by a number of myths and legends, was built by order of the first Tsar of Rus', Ivan the Terrible. It was dedicated to a significant event, namely the victory over the Kazan Khanate. Much to the regret of historians, the names of the architects who created this incomparable masterpiece have not survived to this day. There are many versions as to 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 Rus', 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 states that St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow was built according to the design 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 Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is known throughout the world as St. Basil's Cathedral. In Moscow there have always been many holy fools (blessed " God's people"), but the name of one of them is forever etched in the history of Rus'. Mad Vasily lived on the street and even in winter walked half naked. 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 the Blessed 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.

Almost everyone who visits Moscow knows that the main symbol of Russia is Red Square. St. Basil's Cathedral occupies 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 Intercession of the Virgin Mary, 8 others are symmetrically located. They are built in the shape of an eight-pointed star. All these churches symbolize the religious holidays that fall on the days of the capture of the Kazan Khanate.

Domes of St. Basil's Cathedral and bell tower

Eight churches are crowned with 8 onion domes. The main (central) building is completed with a “tent”, above which a small “head” rises. The tenth dome was built over the church bell tower. The amazing thing is that they are all 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 17th century. It was erected in 1680. At the base of the bell tower there is a tall, massive quadrangle on which an octagon is erected. It has an open area fenced with 8 pillars. All of them are connected to each other by arched spans. The top of the site is crowned with a high octagonal tent, the ribs of which are decorated with tiles different color(white, blue, yellow, brown). Its edges are covered with green figured tiles. At the top of the tent there is a bulbous dome topped with an octagonal cross. Inside the site, bells that were cast back in the 17th-19th centuries hang on wooden beams.

Architectural features

The nine churches of St. Basil's Cathedral are connected to each other by a common base and a bypass gallery. Its peculiarity is its intricate painting, the main motif of which is floral patterns. The unique style of the temple combines the traditions of both European and Russian architecture of the Renaissance. Distinctive feature the cathedral are and the height of the temple (according to the highest dome) is 65 m. The names of the churches of the Cathedral: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Trinity, Martyrs Adrian and Natalia, Entrance to Jerusalem, Varlaam of Khutyn, Alexander of Svir, Gregory of Armenia, Intercession of the Mother of God.

Another feature of the temple is that it does not have a basement. It has extremely strong basement walls (they 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 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 parishioners. Hiding niches were used as storage and were closed with doors, the presence of which is now evidenced only by hinges preserved on the walls. It is believed that until the end of the 16th century. The royal treasury was kept in them.

Gradual transformation of the Cathedral

Only at the end of the 16th century. Figured domes appeared above the temple, replacing the original ceiling, which burned down in another fire. This orthodox cathedral until the 17th century was called Trinity, since the very first wooden church that was located on this site was built in honor of the Holy Trinity. Initially, this structure had a more austere and restrained appearance, since it was built of stone and brick. Only in the 17th century. all domes were decorated with ceramic tiles. At the same time, asymmetrical buildings were added to the temple. Then tents appeared over the porches and intricate paintings on the walls and ceiling. During the same period, elegant paintings appeared on the walls and ceiling. In 1931, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was erected in front of the temple. Today, St. Basil's Cathedral is under the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Historical Museum, the structure is cultural heritage Russia. The beauty and uniqueness of this temple was appreciated and throughout St. Basil's in Moscow is classified as an object World Heritage UNESCO.

The significance of the Intercession Cathedral in the USSR

Despite persecution Soviet power in relation to religion and the destruction of a huge number of churches, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow back in 1918 was taken under state protection as a cultural monument of world significance. It was at this time that all efforts of the authorities were aimed at creating a museum in it. The first caretaker of the temple was Archpriest John Kuznetsov. It was he who practically independently took care of the renovation of the building, although its condition was simply terrible. In 1923, the historical and architectural museum “Pokrovsky Cathedral” was located in the Cathedral. Already in 1928 it became one of the branches of the State Historical Museum. In 1929, all the bells were removed from it, and worship services were prohibited. Despite the fact that the temple has been constantly being restored for almost a hundred years, its exhibition was closed only once - during the Great Patriotic War.

Intercession Cathedral in 1991-2014.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, St. Basil's Cathedral came into joint use with the Russian Orthodox Church and the State Historical Museum. From August 15, 1997, holiday and Sunday services were resumed in the church. Since 2011, previously inaccessible aisles have been open to the public and housed new exhibitions.

1.Why was the Intercession Cathedral built on Red Square?
2.Who built the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square
3.Postnik and Barma
4.Architecture of the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square
5.Why is the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square called St. Basil’s Cathedral
6. St. Basil the Blessed
7.Cultural layer near the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square
8. Bell tower and bells
9.Additional information about bells and ringing
10. Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Facade icons
11. Heads of the Intercession Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is on the Moat, or, as it is more often called, is unique monument ancient Russian architecture. For a long time it has served as a symbol not only of Moscow, but of the entire Russian state. Since 1923, the cathedral has been a branch of the historical museum. It was taken under state protection in 1918, and services there ceased in 1928. However, in the 1990s of the last century, services were resumed and in St. Basil's Church are held every week, in other churches of the cathedral - on patronal holidays. Services are held on Saturdays and Sundays. On Sunday, services are held from 10 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. On Sundays and religious holidays, excursions to St. Basil's Church are not conducted.

Why was the Intercession Cathedral built on Red Square?

The cathedral was erected in honor of the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. The victory over Kazan was perceived at that time as the final victory over the Golden Horde. Going on the Kazan campaign, Ivan the Terrible made a vow: in case of victory, to build a temple in honor of her. The construction of temples in honor of the most important events and military victories has been a long-standing Russian tradition. At that time, sculptural monuments, columns, and obelisks were unknown in Rus'. However, memorial churches have been erected since ancient times in honor of important state events: the birth of an heir to the throne or a military victory. The victory over Kazan was marked by the construction of a memorial church, consecrated in the name of the Intercession. On October 1, 1552, a decisive assault on Kazan began. This event coincided with the celebration of a major church holiday - the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The central church of the cathedral was consecrated in the name of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, which gave the name to the entire cathedral. The first and main dedication of the temple is the votive church. His second dedication was the capture of Kazan.

Who built the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square

The construction of the memorial church was blessed by Metropolitan Macarius. Perhaps he is the author of the idea of ​​the temple, because Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible was still very young at that time. But it is categorically impossible to say this, since very few written sources have reached us.

In Rus', it often happened that, having erected a temple, they wrote down the name of the temple builder (tsar, metropolitan, noble person) in the chronicle, but forgot the names of the builders. For a long time It was believed that the Intercession Cathedral was built by the Italians. But in late XIX centuries, a chronicle was discovered from which the true names of the builders of the cathedral became known. The chronicle reads as follows: “The pious Tsar John, having come from the victory of Kazan to the reigning city of Moscow, soon erected stone churches near the Frolov Gate above the ditch(Frolovsky – now Spassky Gate) and then God gave him two Russian advertising masters(i.e. by name) Fasting and Barma and higher wisdom and more convenient for such a wonderful work ".

Postnik and Barma

The names of the architects Postnik and Barma appear in sources telling about the cathedral only at the end of the 19th century. Ancient source, which tells about the Church of the Intercession, which is on the Moat, is the Degree Book of the Royal Genealogy, written under the leadership of Metropolitan Athanasius in 1560-63. It talks about the votive construction of the Intercession Cathedral. The Facial Chronicle is no less important. It talks about the foundation of the cathedral, its construction and consecration. The most important, most detailed historical source- This is the life of Metropolitan Jonah. The Life was created in the 1560-1580s. This is the only source where the names of Postnik and Barma are mentioned.
So, the official version today sounds like this:
the Church of the Intercession, which was erected on the Moat by Russian architects Barma and Postnik. According to the unofficial version, this cathedral was built by foreigners of unknown origin. If Italians were previously mentioned, now this version is highly doubted. Without a doubt, when starting the construction of the cathedral, Ivan the Terrible called upon experienced architects. In the 16th century, many foreigners worked in Moscow. Perhaps Barma and Postnik studied with the same Italian masters.

Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Architecture

The Intercession Cathedral is not one huge church, as it might seem at first glance, but several completely independent churches. It consists of nine temples on a single foundation.

Heads of the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, which is on the moat

A tent-roofed church rises in the center. In Rus', tented temples are considered to be those that have a pyramidal rather than vaulted ending. Around the central tented church there are eight small churches with large beautiful domes.

It was from this cathedral that the ensemble of Red Square that we are accustomed to now began to take shape. The tops of the Kremlin towers were built in the 17th century; they were built with an eye on the Intercession Cathedral. The tent on the Tsar's tower-gazebo to the left of the Spasskaya Tower repeats the tented porches of the cathedral.

South porch of the Intercession Cathedral with a tent
The Tsar's Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is located opposite the Intercession Cathedral

Eight churches surround the central tented temple. Four churches are large and four are small.

Church of the Holy Trinity - eastern. Church of Alexander Svirsky – south-eastern. Church of St. Nikola Velikoretsky - southern.. Church of Varlaam Khutynsky - southwestern. The Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is western. Church of Gregory of Armenia - northwestern. The Church of Cyprian and Justina is northern.
St. Basil's Church, behind it is the Church of the Three Patriarchs of Constantinople - northeastern.

Four large churches are oriented to the cardinal points. The northern temple overlooks Red Square, the southern one overlooks the Moscow River, and the western one overlooks the Kremlin. Most of the churches were dedicated to church holidays, the days of celebration of which fell on the most important events Kazan campaign.
Services in the eight side churches were held only once a year - on the day of the patronal feast. Services were served in the central church from Trinity Day until its patronal feast day - October 1st.
Since the Kazan campaign fell on summer time, that's all church holidays also occurred in the summer. All the churches of the Intercession Cathedral were built as summer, cold ones. In winter they were not heated and services were not conducted in them.

Today the cathedral has the same appearance that it had in the 16th-17th centuries.
At first, the cathedral was surrounded by an open gallery. Around all eight churches on the second floor there is a belt of windows.

In ancient times, the gallery was open, there were no ceilings above it, and open staircases led upstairs. The ceilings and porches over the stairs were erected later. The cathedral looked and was perceived completely differently than we perceive it today. If now it seems like a huge multi-domed church of incomprehensible design, then in ancient times this feeling did not arise. It was clear that nine soaring churches stood on an elegant, light foundation.

Height at that time was associated with beauty. It was believed that the higher the temple, the more beautiful it is. Height was a symbol of greatness, and in those days the Intercession Cathedral was visible 15 miles from Moscow. Until 1600, when the bell tower of Ivan the Great was built in the Kremlin, the cathedral was the tallest building in the city, and throughout Muscovy. Until the beginning of the 17th century, it served as a town-planning dominant, i.e. the highest point in Moscow.
All churches of the cathedral ensemble are united by two bypass galleries: external and internal. The ceilings over the walkway and porches were made in the 17th century, because in our conditions having open galleries and porches turned out to be an unaffordable luxury. In the 19th century, the gallery was glazed.
In the same 17th century, a tented bell tower was built on the site of the belfry to the southeast of the temple.

Tent bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral

The outer walls of the cathedral are restored approximately once every 20 years, and the interiors - once every 10 years. Icons are inspected every year, since our climate is harsh and icons are not immune to swelling and other damage to the paint layer.

Why is the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square called St. Basil's Cathedral

Let us remember that the cathedral consists of nine churches on a single foundation. However, ten multi-colored domes rise above the temple, not counting the onion above the bell tower. The tenth green chapter with red spikes is located below the level of the heads of all other churches and crowns the north-eastern corner of the temple.

Head of St. Basil's Church

This church was added to the cathedral after construction was completed. It was erected over the grave of a very famous and revered holy fool of that time, St. Basil the Blessed.

St. Basil the Blessed

This man was a contemporary of Ivan the Terrible, he lived in Moscow, and there were many legends about him. (The miracles of St. Basil are described in the article) From the current point of view, a holy fool is something like a madman, which, in fact, is absolutely wrong. In the Middle Ages in Rus', foolishness was one of the forms of asceticism. St. Basil the Blessed was not a holy fool from birth, he is a holy fool for Christ’s sake, who became one completely consciously. At the age of 16, he decided to devote his life to God. It was possible to serve the Lord in different ways: go to a monastery, become a hermit, but Vasily decided to become a holy fool. Moreover, he chose the feat of the god-walker, i.e. he walked without clothes both in winter and in summer, lived on the street, on the porch, ate alms and spoke incomprehensible speeches. But Vasily was not crazy, and if he wanted to be understood, he spoke intelligibly and people understood him.

Despite such harsh conditions life, St. Basil lived very long life even in modern times, he lived to be 88 years old. He was buried next to the cathedral. Burial near the temple was commonplace. At that time, according to Orthodox tradition, each temple had a cemetery. In Rus', holy fools were always revered both during life and after death and were buried closer to the church.

After the death of St. Basil, he was canonized. As if over a saint, a church was erected over his grave in 1588. It so happened that this church turned out to be the only winter one in the entire cathedral, i.e. Only in this temple services were held every day all year round. Therefore, the name of this small church, built almost 30 years later than the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary on the Moat, was transferred to the entire Intercession Cathedral. They began to call it St. Basil's Cathedral.

Cultural layer near the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square

An interesting detail can be seen on the eastern side of the temple. There is a rowan growing there in... a pot.

The tree was planted, as it should be, in the ground, and not in a pot. Over the years, a cultural layer of considerable thickness has formed around the cathedral. The Intercession Cathedral seemed to have “grown into the ground.” In 2005, it was decided to return the temple to its original proportions. To do this, the “extra” soil was removed and taken away. And by that time the mountain ash had already been growing here for decades. In order not to destroy the tree, a wooden cover was made around it.

Bell tower and bells

Since 1990, the cathedral has been jointly used by the state and the Russian Orthodox Church. The building of the Intercession Cathedral belongs to the state, since its funding comes from the state budget.

The church bell tower was built on the site of a dismantled belfry.

The cathedral bell tower is operational. The museum staff make the calls themselves; they were trained by one of the leading bell ringers in Russia, Konovalov. Museum workers provide support themselves church service bell ringing. A specialist must ring the bells. Museum workers do not trust anyone with the collection of bells of the Intercession Cathedral.

Fragment of the bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral

A person who does not know how to ring, even a fragile woman, can send his tongue incorrectly and break the bell.

More information about bells and ringing

The ancient cathedral belfry was three-tiered, three-spanned and three-hipped. There were bells hanging on every tier in each span. There were several bell ringers and they were all located below. The bell system was ochepnaya or ochepnaya. The bell was firmly attached to the beam and they rang it, swinging not the tongue, but the bell itself.

The bells of the Intercession Cathedral were not undermined a certain sound, they had only three main tones - one tone at the bottom of the skirt, a second in the middle of the skirt, a third at the top, and there were also dozens of overtones. It is simply impossible to play a melody on Russian bells. Our ringing is rhythmic, not melodic.

To train bell ringers, there were characteristic rhythmic chants. For Moscow: “All monks are thieves, all monks are thieves, and the abbot is a rogue, and the abbot is a rogue.” For Arkhangelsk: “Why cod, why cod, two kopecks and a half, two kopecks and a half.” In Suzdal: “They burned with their shanks, they burned with their shanks.” Each area had its own rhythm.

Until recently, the heaviest bell in Russia was the Rostov bell “Sysoi”, weighing 2000 pounds. In 2000, the “Great Assumption” bell began to ring in the Moscow Kremlin. It has its own history, each sovereign cast his own Greater Uspensky, often pouring over the one that existed before him. A modern one weighs 4,000 pounds.

When the bells ring in the Kremlin, both the bell tower and the belfry ring. The bell ringers are on different levels and don't hear each other. The chief bell ringer of all Rus' stands on the steps of the Assumption Cathedral and claps his hands. All the bell ringers see him, he beats out the rhythm for them, as if conducting the bells.
For foreigners, listening to Russian bells was a martyr's torment. Our ringing was not always rhythmic, often chaotic, the bell ringers had trouble keeping up with the rhythm. Foreigners suffered from this - they were calling everywhere, their heads were pounding from the irregular cacophonous ringing. Foreigners liked the Western ringing more, when they rocked the bell itself.

Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Facade icons

On the eastern outer wall of the Intercession Cathedral there is a facade icon of the Mother of God. This is the very first facade icon that appeared here in the 17th century. Unfortunately, almost nothing remains of the 17th century letter due to fires and repeated renovations. The icon is called the Intercession with the upcoming Basil and John the Blessed. It is written on the wall of the temple.

The Intercession Cathedral belongs to the Church of the Mother of God. All the local façade icons were painted specifically for this cathedral. The icon, which was located on the south side of the bell tower from the moment it was painted, fell into terrible condition by the end of the 20th century. The south side is most susceptible to the damaging effects of sun, rain, wind and temperature changes. In the 90s, the image was removed for restoration and restored with great difficulty.
After restoration work, the icon frame did not fit in its original place. Instead of a frame, they made a protective box and hung the icon in its original place. But due to large temperature changes characteristic of our climate, the icon began to collapse again. After 10 years it had to be restored again. Now the icon is in the Church of the Intercession. And for the south side of the bell tower they wrote a copy right on the wall.

Icon on the bell tower of the Intercession Cathedral

The copy was consecrated when the 450th anniversary of the cathedral was celebrated, on Intercession Day in 2012.

Heads of the Intercession Cathedral

The top of churches, which we call a dome, is actually called a chapter. The dome is the roof of the church. It can be seen from inside the temple. Above the dome vault there is a sheathing on which metal sheathing is fixed.

According to one version, in the old days the domes on the Intercession Cathedral were not bulbous, as they are now, but helmet-shaped. Other researchers argue that there could not be helmet-shaped domes on such thin drums as those of St. Basil's Cathedral. Therefore, based on the architecture of the cathedral, the domes were onion-shaped, although this is not known for certain. But it has been absolutely established that initially the chapters were smooth and monochrome. In the 17th century they were briefly painted in different colors.

The heads were covered with iron, painted blue or green colors. Such iron, if there were no fires, could withstand 10 years. Green or blue paints were obtained based on copper oxides. If the heads were covered with German tinned iron, then they could be silver in color. German iron lived for 20 years, but no more.

In the 17th century, the life of Metropolitan Jonah mentions “figured chapters of various types.” However, they were all monochrome. They became variegated in the 19th century, maybe a little earlier, but there is no confirmation of this. Why are the chapters multi-colored and different shapes Now no one can say on what principle they were painted; this is one of the mysteries of the cathedral.

In the 60s of the twentieth century, during a large-scale restoration, they wanted to return the cathedral to its original appearance and make the chapters monochrome, but Kremlin officials ordered them to be left in color. The cathedral is recognizable primarily by its polychrome domes.

During the war, Red Square was guarded by a continuous field of balloons to protect it from bombing. When anti-aircraft shells exploded, fragments falling down damaged the casing of the domes. The damaged domes were immediately repaired, because if the holes were left, a strong wind could completely “undress” the dome in 20 minutes.

In 1969, the domes were covered with copper. The chapters used 32 tons of copper sheets 1 mm thick. During a recent restoration it was discovered that the chapters were in perfect condition. They just had to be repainted. The central head of the Church of the Intercession has always been gilded.

Each chapter, even the central one, can be entered. A special staircase leads to the central chapter. The side chapters can be entered through external hatches. Between the ceiling and the sheathing there is a space the height of a man, where you can walk freely.
The differences in the sizes and colors of the chapters and the principles of their decoration are not yet amenable to historical analysis.

We will continue our acquaintance with the Intercession Cathedral inside the temple.





The article is based on materials from a lecture given by a methodologist at the State Historical Museum in February 2014.