Who built St. Basil's Cathedral? Major versions. The history of the creation of St. Basil's Cathedral St. Basil's Cathedral where it is located

In 1561, one of the most famous churches in Russia, the Intercession Cathedral, or, as it is called differently, St. Basil's Cathedral, was consecrated. Portal "Culture.RF" remembered Interesting Facts from the history of its creation.

Temple-monument

The Intercession Cathedral is not just a church, but a memorial temple erected in honor of the accession of the Kazan Khanate to the Russian state. The main battle, in which the Russian troops won, took place on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. And the temple was consecrated in honor of this Christian holiday. The cathedral consists of separate churches, each of which is also consecrated in honor of the holidays in which the decisive battles for Kazan took place - the Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and others.

Massive construction in record time

Initially, a wooden Trinity Church stood on the site of the cathedral. Temples were built around it during campaigns against Kazan - they celebrated the resounding victories of the Russian army. When Kazan finally fell, Metropolitan Macarius proposed to Ivan the Terrible to rebuild the architectural ensemble in stone. He wanted to surround the central temple with seven churches, but for the sake of symmetry, the number was increased to eight. So, on the same foundation, 9 independent churches and a belfry were built, they were connected by vaulted passages. Outside, the churches were surrounded by an open gallery, which was called the abyss - it was a kind of church porch. Each temple was crowned with its own dome with a unique pattern and original drum decoration. A grandiose building for those times, 65 meters high, was built in just six years - from 1555 to 1561. Until 1600 it was the tallest building in Moscow.

Temple in honor of the soothsayer

Although the official name of the cathedral is the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat, everyone knows it as St. Basil's Cathedral. According to legend, the famous Moscow miracle worker collected money for the construction of the temple, and then was buried near its walls. Holy fool Basil the Blessed walked the streets of Moscow barefoot, almost without clothes for almost the entire year, preaching mercy and helping others. There were legends about his prophetic gift: they say he predicted the Moscow fire of 1547. The son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich, ordered the construction of a church dedicated to St. Basil the Blessed. It became part of the Intercession Cathedral. The church was the only temple that always worked - all year round, day and night. Later, according to its name, parishioners began to call the cathedral St. Basil's Cathedral.

Louis Bichebois. Lithograph "St. Basil's Church"

Vitaly Grafov. Moscow miracle worker Blessed Basil. 2005

The royal treasury and the lectern at the Execution Ground

There are no basements in the cathedral. Instead, they built a common base - a vaulted basement without supporting pillars. They were ventilated through special narrow holes - vents. Initially, the premises were used as a warehouse - the royal treasury and the values ​​of some wealthy Moscow families were stored there. Later, a narrow entrance to the basement was laid - it was found only during the restoration of the 1930s.

Despite its colossal external dimensions, the Intercession Cathedral is quite small inside. Perhaps because it was originally built as a memorial monument. In winter, the cathedral was completely closed, as it was not heated. When services began to be held in the temple, especially on major church holidays, very few people were placed inside. Then the lectern was transferred to the Execution Ground, and the cathedral seemed to serve as a huge altar.

Russian architect or European master

It is still not known for certain who built St. Basil's Cathedral. Researchers have several options. One of them - the cathedral was erected by the ancient Russian architects Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Barma. According to another version, Yakovlev and Barma were actually one person. The third option says that a foreign architect became the author of the cathedral. After all, the composition of St. Basil's Cathedral has no analogies in ancient Russian architecture, but in Western European art you can find prototypes of the building.

Whoever the architect was, there are sad legends about his future fate. According to them, when Ivan the Terrible saw the temple, he was struck by its beauty and ordered the architect to be blinded so that he would never repeat his majestic building anywhere. Another legend says that the foreign builder was executed at all - for the same reason.

Iconostasis with inversion

The iconostasis for St. Basil's Cathedral was created in 1895 by architect Andrei Pavlinov. This is the so-called iconostasis with an inversion - it is so large for a small temple that it continues on the side walls. It is decorated with ancient icons - Our Lady of Smolensk of the 16th century and the image of St. Basil the Blessed, written in the 18th century.

Also, the temple is decorated with murals - they were created on the walls of the building in different years. Basil the Blessed, the Mother of God are depicted here, the main dome is decorated with the face of the Almighty Savior.

Iconostasis in St. Basil's Cathedral. 2016. Photo: Vladimir d "Ar

"Lazarus, put me in my place!"

The cathedral was almost destroyed several times. During the Patriotic War of 1812, French stables were located here, and after that the temple was completely blown up. Already in Soviet times, Stalin's associate Lazar Kaganovich suggested dismantling the cathedral so that there would be more space on Red Square for parades and demonstrations. He even created a layout of the square, and the temple building was easily removed from it. But Stalin, seeing an architectural model, said: “Lazar, put it in its place!”

(St. Basil's Cathedral) - a bright monument of Russian architecture, located on Red Square. The magnificent and solemn appearance of the cathedral with unusual multi-colored domes, which was loved by Muscovites and well remembered by foreigners, made it one of the main symbols not only of Moscow, but of all of Russia.

The temple was built in 1555-1561 by an unknown architect (there are different versions) on the orders of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the victory over the Kazan Khanate and the capture of Kazan, which fell on the day of the Intercession Holy Mother of God. Subsequently, it was rebuilt several times.

The peculiarity of the temple is that in fact it is 9 separate churches, united by a common foundation. In the center is the pillarless Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, 8 smaller churches are grouped around it: the Trinity, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (in honor of the Velikoretskaya icon), the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the martyrs Adrian and Natalia, St. John the Merciful, Alexander Svirsky, Varlaam Khutynsky, Gregory of Armenia . The thrones of the churches were consecrated in honor of the Orthodox holidays and the days of memory of the saints that fell on the days of the decisive battles for Kazan.

Architecture

The architectural appearance of the Intercession Cathedral is unique. Pretentious and solemn, like a painted gingerbread, at first glance it seems like a random heap of multi-colored domes, but in reality it is not. The cathedral building has a clear structure and is a rhombus inscribed in a square, forming an eight-pointed star in plan. In fact, these are 9 separate churches, united by a common base (basement): in the center there is a pillarless Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, ending in a high tent with a small gilded dome, 8 smaller churches are grouped around it, topped with relief onion domes of different colors. On the south side there is a two-tier hipped bell tower, and on the east side there is a chapel in honor of St. Basil the Blessed. The building is encircled by a closed gallery, which is adjoined by two massive porches with hipped roofs.

The height of the cathedral is 65 meters.

In total, the Intercession Cathedral is decorated with 11 domes, 9 of which are located above the churches, one - over the aisle of St. Basil the Blessed, and another (very small) - above the bell tower. Of these, 9 domes are distinguished by a unique relief and coloring: colored spikes, rhombuses, ornaments; the meaning of their flowers is not known for certain, but it is believed that the temple symbolizes Heavenly Jerusalem. According to the assumption of the Russian writer Nikolai Chaev (1824 - 1914), the color of the domes is explained by the dream of Blessed Andrei the Holy Fool (of Constantinople), who dreamed of Heavenly Jerusalem with gardens with many flowering trees and fruits of unspeakable beauty.

The decorative design of the temple looks magnificent, but laconic: it includes fly, semi-columns, kokoshniks and weights, traditional for Russian temple architecture. The gallery along the entire perimeter is painted with images of flowers and floral ornaments. The walls are decorated with facade icons of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos with the upcoming Basil and John the Blessed (southern wall of the bell tower) and Our Lady of the Sign with the saints in the fields (eastern facade).

History of the Intercession Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the Moat, got its name from its location nearby, which passed along Red Square along the eastern wall of the Kremlin in the 16-19 centuries. However, in colloquial speech, the official name of the temple is practically not used: it became better known as St. Basil's Cathedral - in honor of the most famous Moscow holy fool and miracle worker. - a legendary figure in the history of Moscow; in the past, on the site of the Pokrovsky Cathedral, there was a wooden Trinity Church (which is on the Moat), in the cemetery at which the holy fool was buried. After his canonization in 1588, a chapel in his honor was added over the burial place of the miracle worker to the Pokrovsky Cathedral. Subsequently, the people began to call the whole cathedral the name of the miracle worker.

The temple was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan.

The history of St. Basil's Cathedral is full of mysteries and white spots: in particular, it is not known for certain who was its architect. According to the most common version, it was built by architects Ivan Barma and Postnik Yakovlev, however, it is considered outdated. There is a version that the legendary Barma and Postnik are the same person (Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma), as well as a theory that the cathedral could have been built by an unknown Italian architect (since Italians built a significant part of the Kremlin’s buildings), which has not yet been found convincing confirmation. A common urban legend says that after the construction, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, struck by the beauty of the cathedral, ordered the architects to be blinded so that they would not build anything like this again, however, in reality this is unlikely: if Postnik Yakovlev was really one of the architects, then after the Intercession Cathedral he took participation in the construction of the Kazan Kremlin and, obviously, could not be blinded. Although, again, there is a version that these were different Postniks.

The walls of the temple were built of red brick, which was quite an innovative building material for Moscow at that time. In order to protect the rare material from exposure to atmospheric precipitation, the outside walls of the building were painted in red and white tones, emphasizing the masonry. In 1588, by order of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, a chapel of St. Basil the Blessed was added to the temple, made in the form of an independent pillarless church with a separate entrance.

Not much information has been preserved about how the Intercession Cathedral looked originally. It is known that in the past the bypass gallery encircling it was open and did not have massive hipped porches and paintings with floral ornaments: the vault above the gallery and two porches above the stairs were built on in the second half of the 17th century, when the building underwent significant restructuring. In the same period, new churches were added to the cathedral: the Deposition of the Robe of the Virgin, the Holy Virgin Theodosius and others. According to the Russian historian Peter Khavsky, by 1722 there were 18 thrones in the cathedral: the Life-Giving Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, St. Nicholas of Velikoretsky, the Beheading of John the Baptist, Paraskeva-Friday, Varlaam Khutynsky, Apostle Andronik, Gregory of Armenia, Cyprian and Justinia, the Deposition of the Robe Theotokos, Sergius of Radonezh, Basil the Great, Alexander Svirsky, Virgin Theodosius, Mary of Egypt, All Saints, Theophany and the Three Patriarchs.

The domes also looked different: those colored figured domes, according to which St. Basil's Cathedral is known today, appeared only at the end of the 16th century; the former ones were probably helmet-shaped, and one of the city fires destroyed their covering. Even their original number is doubtful: it is known that during the restoration of 1784-1786 under the guidance of the architect Ivan Yakovlev, 8 small cupolas at the base of the tent were dismantled, which were recognized as later additions.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, the cathedral was plundered by the French, but immediately after the war it was repaired and consecrated. In 1817, when Red Square was reconstructed according to the project of Osip Bove, the retaining wall of the temple from the side of Vasilyevsky Spusk and Moskvoretskaya Street was lined with stone, and a cast-iron fence was installed at the top.

In the Soviet years, St. Basil's Cathedral escaped demolition (although divine services were still banned in it) and became one of the first architectural monuments taken under state protection. Since 1918, its museumification began, and in 1923 it was decided to create a historical and architectural museum in it, which later became part of the State Historical Museum. Initially, the building was in a deplorable state, but since the 1920s, repair and restoration work began in it, designed to return the cathedral to its original appearance and partially recreate the interiors of the 16-17th centuries. In 1931, the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, previously erected in the central part of Red Square, was moved to the cathedral.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union - since 1991 - the building of the temple is in the joint use of the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Myths and legends

Being one of the most famous sights of Moscow and having at the same time a rather vague history, St. Basil's Cathedral simply had to acquire urban legends.

The most common legend concerns the construction of the temple: allegedly, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, struck by the incredible beauty of the building, ordered his architects - Barma and Postnik - to be blinded so that they could never build a temple more beautiful than in Moscow. In reality, this is unlikely: firstly, it is not known for certain which architects erected the building. In addition, it is not clear whether the legendary Barma and Postnik were different people - Ivan Barma and Postnik Yakovlev - or whether it was one person - Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma. Be that as it may, after the construction of the Pokrovsky Cathedral, Postnik Yakovlev participated in the construction of the Kazan Kremlin, which means that he could not be blinded - if, again, these were not different people.

There is a legend that the image of the historical Kul-Sharif mosque, destroyed by Russian troops during the capture of Kazan in 1552, is "encrypted" in the structure of St. Basil's Cathedral: 8 of its heads allegedly symbolize 8 minarets of the destroyed mosque, and the 9th dominates them to commemorate the victory .

They say that Basil the Blessed, anticipating a victory over Kazan, collected money for the construction of the Pokrovsky Cathedral and, shortly before his death in 1552, gave it to Ivan the Terrible. However, this legend has no evidence.

Not without the library of Ivan the Terrible! According to one of the legends, it was hidden just in the cellars of the Intercession Cathedral. Unfortunately, in reality this is impossible: the building simply has no basements. The cathedral was erected on a massive basement, which rests on an artificial hill, and its foundation is not so deep. However, in the basement there were rooms for storing valuables; another urban legend says that the royal treasury could be stored in them.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, when the French troops were leaving Moscow, Napoleon ordered to blow up the cathedral, however, the French failed to do this: supposedly the rain that had begun extinguished the wicks and prevented the building from being blown up. They say that Napoleon gave such an order in his hearts: he liked the cathedral so much that he wanted to move it to Paris, but he was informed that this was impossible (what a surprise!).

In the 1930s, Lazar Kaganovich suggested that the Intercession Cathedral be demolished so that Red Square would have more space for parades and demonstrations. According to urban legend, he made a model of Red Square with a removable cathedral building and brought it for demonstration to Stalin to show how the cathedral interfered with the passage of cars and columns. Showing the model, he unexpectedly tore off the Pokrovsky Cathedral from it in order to clearly show how much better it would be without it, but the surprised Stalin exclaimed: "Lazar, put it in its place!" - and the cathedral was saved.

Today, St. Basil's Cathedral is one of the most popular attractions in Moscow, a must-see point on the maps of tourists coming to the capital. Its unusual and memorable appearance has made it one of the wonders and symbols of Russia - and even those who have never been to Moscow can easily guess its domes, which are often printed on postcards and souvenirs, in books, textbooks and encyclopedias. If somewhere they say or write about Moscow and Russia, the words will most likely be illustrated with a photograph of the Pokrovsky Cathedral.

At the same time, the townspeople really love him.

Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat located on Red Square, house 2. You can get to it on foot from metro stations "Okhotny Ryad" Sokolnicheskaya line, "Revolution square" Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya, "Theatrical" Zamoskvoretskaya and "China town" Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya and Kaluga-Rizhskaya lines.

St. Basil's Cathedral is a side chapel of the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and is one of the eight churches surrounding the central cathedral. Although the official name of the shrine of the Russian Orthodox Church is the Intercession Cathedral, for believers and those who are interested in religious architectural monuments, it is known as St. Basil's Cathedral. You can understand the symbolism of the temple and its significance for Russia and the Russian people by considering the history of the emergence of a unique cathedral and churches attached to it.

Prerequisites for the construction of the cathedral

St. Basil's Cathedral is not the first building of a religious shrine that arose in Moscow in the 16th century. Initially, wooden churches were erected in honor of saints or Orthodox holidays that fell on the day of any military event in Kazan, when Tsar Ivan the Terrible fought against the Tatar invasion. One of the great battles, which took place on October 2, 1552, ended with a complete victory over the Kazan Khanate and the annexation of the city's lands to the Orthodox city of Moscow.

On this date (October 1) falls the religious holiday of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which gave rise to the construction of a cathedral in memory of the final victory, which was consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Virgin. But the day of the campaign itself and the victory coincided with another Orthodox day - the veneration of Saints Cyprian and Justina.

By decree of Ivan the Terrible, it was decided to unite all the marching churches erected on Red Square earlier, and the new temple, into a cathedral, which should become stone. But upon returning to Moscow, a wooden cathedral was built with seven chapels. It was consecrated in the name of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. Only a year later, the wooden buildings were dismantled and the construction of a stone church began, but it still had nothing to do with the name of St. Basil the Blessed.

Reasons for founding the temple

St. Basil's Cathedral, among other buildings of the Intercession Church, appeared only in 1588 and became the 9th church of a unique monument of the Orthodox faith. The reasons for the construction of St. Basil's Cathedral were the events that took place during the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible and his son Fyodor Ivanovich. According to legend, Vasily was a holy fool and collected alms on Red Square, from which he fed and lived. He dressed in rags or went completely naked even in severe frost. He wore chains as a symbol of repentance and self-sacrifice for the sake of Christ. He had the gift of healing and foresight, which is also evidenced by various legends or descriptions of his life.

Ivan the Terrible treated the holy fool with special respect, and after his death, the date of which is twofold (1552 or 1557), permission was given to bury the body near the walls of the Intercession Church. According to chronicle documents, a few years after the death of Vasily, several healings were recorded from his relics, which was the reason for erecting a shrine of precious metal with expensive stones over the grave of Basil the Blessed and building a church that was consecrated in honor of this saint.

Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich set the date for honoring the name of St. Basil the Blessed - August 2, on the day of the miraculous healing.

Unlike other churches that were part of the ensemble of churches of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Basil's Cathedral was an independent building and had a separate entrance.

The reasons for the construction of a multi-chapel temple are two versions:

• The Cathedral of the Intercession was supposed to become the likeness of the Vlachensky monastery, in which the miracle of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was revealed. It has a seven-tower shape. The Intercession Cathedral in Moscow was supposed to commemorate the ideology of the state of that time, that Moscow is the Third Rome.
• The idea of ​​a multi-chapel cathedral was proposed by Metropolitan Macarius, who wanted to build another city in the center of Moscow, symbolizing Jerusalem, so to speak, a city within a city, which also echoed the concept of the Third Rome. The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos is the Heavenly Jerusalem and it must be indivisible, which is why all the buildings were erected on a single foundation.

Regardless of what idea was the reason for the creation of a religious shrine, it is the object of unique Orthodox architecture, which still arouses admiration among people.

How the cathedral was built: versions

There are several versions about the construction of the cathedral, the ensemble of buildings of which includes St. Basil's Cathedral, who is the architect of the project and how their fate developed after the work was completed.

• One version suggests that Ivan the Terrible invited an architect from Pskov to realize his idea. His name was Postnik Yakovlev, but the people had the nickname Barma. This indicates that one person created the project of the Intercession Church and followed its construction.
• The second version boils down to the fact that Postnik and Barma are two different people who jointly brought the idea of ​​a multi-chapel cathedral to life.
• The third version has nothing to do with Postnik or Barma. It is assumed that the author of the project was a European architect, presumably an Italian. The style of the temple is very similar to the motifs of the Moscow Kremlin, which was built by a European architect. But there is no documentary confirmation of the version.

Changes in architecture and design

The modern view of St. Basil's Cathedral (the official name is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos) differs in many ways from the cathedral built in the middle of the 16th century. Changes in style and architecture were due to frequent fires and the desire to make the cathedral more usable.

Initially, the appearance of all buildings was strict, but immediately elegant. The walls were painted with frescoes and patterns imitating brickwork to give the cathedral more majesty.

Churches did not have porches. St. Basil's Cathedral was not listed on the project and was not built simultaneously with other aisles. The bell tower stood separately and had a different shape.

The central tent-style cathedral, surrounded by small churches in honor of the significant dates of the Kazan campaign, was a kind of memorial monument and did not require a special style.

Until 1588, the cathedral did not have a single heated room, which excluded the possibility of holding services during the cold period. St. Basil's Cathedral became the first heated object, which attracted pilgrims and believers all year round to the Moscow shrine. The temple worked around the clock and received wandering people for the night. This moment, perhaps, served to ensure that the cathedral became known precisely by the name of St. Basil's Cathedral, and not the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Improvements of the 16th century

Due to frequent fires in Moscow, the wooden tops of churches burned down. Once again, it was decided to change the shape of the domes of the temple. They were made figured and upholstered with iron.

From the inside, all the rooms of the cathedral were united by labyrinths of passages, allowing the servants to move freely from one room to another. The area of ​​the churches themselves was very small, that they were compared with cells. On major holidays, divine services were held on Red Square, because not a single church could accommodate everyone.

How the temple changed in the 17th century

Significant changes took place only in the 17th century. A hipped bell tower was added to the ensemble of the cathedral in 1670. The cathedral received a new coloring in the form of a colorful ornament. Several more churches were added to the cathedral of eight aisles and St. Basil's Cathedral, which had to be removed from Red Square due to their dilapidation. According to the inventory of dilapidated buildings of 1688, there is information that 20 thrones were attached to the Intercession Cathedral.

In addition to the transfer of existing churches, in 1672 a chapel was added over the grave of another Moscow holy fool named John, who died in 1589 and was buried on the territory of the cathedral.

By 1680, the cathedral was significantly updated due to the fact that the wooden galleries of the open type were replaced by brick ones with a closed top, which made it possible to move around the perimeter of the cathedral in any weather and protected the churches and St. Basil's Cathedral from destruction by fires. Outside and inside the walls of the gallery and other rooms were painted with herbal ornaments, which gave more elegance to the religious shrine.

Inscriptions about the date of completion of the restoration (1683) were put on ceramic tiles and placed on the walls of the cathedral.

Fire and restoration

The Trinity fire in Moscow in 1737 did not bypass the temple, which burned down almost 100%. But it was decided to restore the temple. Work on the interior and architecture of the cathedral was entrusted to Ivan Michurin, who drew up a detailed plan and description of the Intercession Cathedral at the time of restoration.

New work to repair and change the architecture of the cathedral was carried out in 1784-1786 with the assistance of Catherine II, who allocated impressive funds for the renovation of the cathedral.

St. Basil's Cathedral also fell under alteration, which received a covered porch due to the abolition of the throne of the Feodosievskaya Church from the northern facade of the Pokrovsky Cathedral.

During this period, the exterior of the cathedral had nothing to do with the modern look, because street trading was not banned. Bookshops and Apple Row completely covered the walls of the cathedral. Only Alexander the First solved the problem with inappropriate buildings and transformed the area around the cathedral with the help of wild stone and iron bars.

19th - early 20th century and their influence

The history of the XIX-XX centuries left its mark on the cathedral. First, Napoleon attempted on the shrine, because he was amazed by the unique building and wanted to destroy the Orthodox core of Russia. Attempts to blow up all the churches and St. Basil's Cathedral were in vain, but church utensils were stolen, the premises were defiled. This led to a new stage of restoration work in the cathedral, which made it possible to preserve the shrine to this day.

The next restoration work was carried out in the temple in 1890 and in 1912:

• reinforced floors;
• the cathedral sacristy was renovated, decorating its windows with colored stained-glass windows.

Foundation of the museum in the 19th–20th centuries

The beginning of the 20th century was marked for the Pokrovsky Cathedral by the fact that in 1918 it was taken under state protection as a historical object of national and global scale. Services in some churches have completely stopped. The process of transferring the cathedral to the status of a museum began.

In 1923, it was decided to place a historical and architectural museum in the premises under the leadership of E. I. Silin, who was a researcher at the State Historical Museum.

In 1928, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (popularly, St. Basil's) received the status of a branch of the State Historical Museum, which has survived to this day.

Until 1949, research work was carried out in the cathedral, which opened underground manholes connecting the temple with the Kremlin. The functional significance of some rooms located in the basement of the cathedral was revealed.

Since 1991, St. Basil's Cathedral has been under the joint patronage of the State Historical Museum and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The current state of the temple

Today, the cathedral has been completely restored and operates, combining the functions of a museum and a place for worship on Sundays and Easter.

In 2008, the Intercession Cathedral received the status of one of the seven wonders of Russia, and in 2017 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, being a unique architectural monument and the pride of Russian Orthodoxy.

Freeing Red Square from buildings that "interfere" with holding large-scale festive events (parades and demonstrations), Lazar Kaganovich proposed to completely dismantle 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 the phrase that went 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, in Moscow, not far from the Kremlin, in the southern part of Red Square. On the geographical map, it can be found at the following coordinates: 55° 45′ 9.25″ s. w., 37° 37′ 23.27″ E d.
A huge stone temple appeared here after Tsar Ivan the Terrible promised God to build a cathedral in case of success of the Kazan campaign.

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

The new church was erected very quickly, in six years. The construction of the Moscow temple began in 1555 and ended in 1561. Researchers have not yet 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 recently many historians agree that the architect of the temple was only one master - Ivan Yakovlevich Barma, popularly - 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 the building, which combines 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 have agreed that this is just a myth, since there are documents confirming the architectural activity of Plotnik, who was engaged in the construction of the Kazan Kremlin and other buildings.

Temple names

Even before the start of construction work, the Moscow Tsar Ivan the Terrible, not far from the Kremlin, the temple was called the Pokrovsky Cathedral. Muscovites called the cathedral the Trinity Church for a long time (the previously located shrine was dedicated to the Holy Trinity). And some time after the completion of construction, people called the temple St. Basil's Cathedral - in honor of the local holy fool, who constantly, regardless of the season, walked with chains dressed on his naked body. Basil the Blessed possessed 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 was erected over his grave, an extension in which an altar with a throne for worship was installed. Naturally, the aisle 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 in the Moscow Cathedral began to be held every day: previously the temple was not heated, and therefore services took place in it only in the warm season (the new extension was more spacious and warmer).

Construction

The architects built the cathedral from brick - a material that was quite new and unusual at that time (usually, when building temples, architects used white hewn stone). In the western part of the temple, the craftsmen were even able to lay out 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 nearby Moscow River affected), which made it impossible to make a deep foundation (the foundation of the temple has a depth of several meters). 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, which is six meters high and the walls are three meters wide, while the basement has very powerful vaults and ceilings.

As a 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 base of the building outwardly resembled a honeycomb and was distinguished by increased strength).

It is interesting that experts, speaking about the secrets of St. Basil's Cathedral, often mention the caches that were equipped in special niches on the lower floor (until the end of the 16th century, the royal treasury was even hidden here, and wealthy citizens - their property).

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

An interesting method was used by the architects when creating acoustics inside the cathedral (a method not uncommon in the construction of ancient Russian churches): in order to create a good sound, the architects mounted clay pots, golosniks into the walls of the temple, directing them with their necks towards the inner space of the building. This method made it possible to relieve pressure on the bearing parts of the temple.

Description of the temple

Giving a description of the Moscow temple, experts focus on the fact that it is devoid of a clearly defined main facade: all its sides look like the main ones. The height of the building 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 hard to believe that the cathedral was not originally so colorful: judging by the descriptions, the walls of the church were white. Some time later, they began to repaint it, and they did it, radically changing the appearance of the cathedral - historians found drawings on its walls depicting false windows, kokoshniks, commemorative inscriptions. Polychrome and floral painting on a red background appeared only at the end of the 17th century.

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

The appearance of the building was quite changed already a hundred years after the end of construction: two porches were added, the outer gallery was covered with vaults, and the walls inside the cathedral were painted. 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, oil paintings of the eighteenth.

They built the temple, taking into account the cardinal points: focusing on them, they built four churches, and the same number were built diagonally. Intercession Cathedral has nine churches: in the center - the main temple 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 on the same foundation, have a common bypass gallery and are connected by internal corridors.

Domes of the Intercession Cathedral

First, twenty-five domes were installed at the Intercession Cathedral, symbolizing the Lord and the elders, who are 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 the Blessed, the rest - each above its own temple. At the same time, they all differ from each other: not only the pattern of large domes is unique, but also the decoration of each drum.

Scientists suggest that the domes were originally helmet-shaped, but rather soon they were replaced by an onion shape, the current colors appeared only in the middle of the 19th century, and before 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 repairs).

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 (although for some reason they could not blow it up, but the church was plundered). When the war ended, the Intercession Cathedral was not only restored, but its wall was decorated with a cast-iron fence from the side of the river.

The temple experienced the saddest times in the XX century. In 1918, the Bolsheviks shot the rector of the church, John Vostorgov, for "anti-Semitic propaganda." Three years later, all valuables were seized from the cathedral, and the building was transferred to the Historical Museum. For some time it was an active church, until in 1929 worship services were banned, removing all the bells (worship services in the cathedral were resumed only in 1991).

The temple was on the verge of extinction for the second time in 1936, when the restorer Pyotr Baranovsky was asked to measure the temple in order to demolish it later. In response, 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 turned out to have too many defenders. Therefore, when he was released six months later, the temple stood in its original place.

They freeze in admiration when they see St. Basil's Cathedral, unsurpassed in its beauty, next to the Kremlin. This monument of Russian history and culture with its multi-colored painted domes has long become an integral part of the capital of Russia and its symbol. Official name of this attraction is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is on the Moat. Until the 17th century, the cathedral was called the Trinity Cathedral, since the originally built wooden church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Currently, the cathedral is included in the list of world cultural heritage and is under the protection of UNESCO.

The history of the construction of St. Basil's Cathedral.

The order to build the Intercession Cathedral was given by Ivan the Terrible in honor of the victory over the Kazan Khanate and the storming of the impregnable Kazan fortress. This event took place on the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, in honor of which the temple was named. Construction began in 1555 and was completed six years later. There is no reliable information about the architects who built the cathedral. Most researchers are inclined to believe that this is the work of the Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, who had the nickname Barma.

After the addition to the existing churches in 1588 of the Church of St. Basil the Blessed, the cathedral acquired its name. As conceived by the author, the ensemble of temples was a symbol of Heavenly Jerusalem. Instead of burnt church coverings at the end of the 16th century, figured domes, familiar to our eyes, appeared.

In the 80s of the 17th century, porches decorated with tents were erected above the stairs leading to the temple, and the open gallery surrounding the cathedral acquired vaults. In painting the surface of the gallery, the masters used herbal motifs, and during the restoration work of the first half of the 19th century, a cast-iron fence was installed around the cathedral.

From the first days of Soviet power, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow has been under the protection of the state, although until 1923 it was in disrepair. After the creation of a historical and architectural museum in it, major construction work was done and the collection of funds was carried out. May 21, 1923 the first visitors stepped over its threshold. Since 1928 it has been a branch of the State Historical Museum. At the end of 1929, the bells were removed from the temple and it was forbidden to hold services. During the Great Patriotic War, the museum was closed, but after the end of the war and the next restoration measures, the museum reopened its doors to visitors. The beginning of the 90s of the XX century was marked by the resumption of church services in the temple. Since that time, the cathedral has been shared by the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The height of St. Basil's Cathedral is 65 meters. But, despite this modest figure, the beauty of the cathedral leaves no one indifferent. Due to the fact that its ensemble includes nine churches built on a common foundation, it is included in the list of the largest cathedrals in the world in terms of volume. The uniqueness of the temple lies in the fact that it does not have a clearly defined main entrance. When entering a temple for the first time, one can get confused about its layout. But, if you look at him from a bird's eye view, or at his drawing (top view), placed on the wall of one of the churches, everything becomes clear and understandable.

Churches of St. Basil's Cathedral.

In the center of the complex stands a pillar-shaped church, consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. The central exits of the main temples surrounding it face the four cardinal directions. Smaller churches were erected between them, completing the composition. When looking at the entire ensemble from above, one can clearly see two squares turned to each other at an angle and making up a regular eight-pointed star, symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The very sides of the squares, in addition to the four ends of the life-giving cross, meant the firmness of faith. And the unification of churches around the Pillar Church symbolizes the unity of faith and God's protection, spread over Russia. The bell tower, built in 1670, is a little further away.

Secret in the temple.

Another feature of the unique ensemble is the absence of basements. It was erected on the basement - a complex of premises, the height of the walls of which exceeds six meters, and the thickness reaches more than three meters. Special openings are provided in its walls, which serve to create a constant microclimate in the premises, which does not depend on the season. In ancient times, the basement was used as a secret storage for church valuables and the royal treasury. The cache could only be accessed from the second floor of the central cathedral through a secret staircase located in the wall. Now there is a repository of icons that belong to the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. The oldest of them is the image of St. Basil the Blessed, dating from the end of the 16th century.

The whole ensemble is encircled by a covered bypass gallery, which has long become one with it. Like the inner bypass, it is painted with herbal and floral patterns dating back to the 17th century. Their floors are brick-lined, partly with herringbone masonry, and some areas with a special rosette pattern. Interestingly, the bricks preserved from the sixteenth century are more resistant to abrasion than those used in restoration work.

Basil's Cathedral inside.

The interior decoration of all the nine temples that make up the complex is not similar to one another and differs in the style of painting, colors and manner of its execution. Some of the walls are decorated with oil painting, and some have frescoes dating back to the sixteenth century. The main wealth of the cathedral is its unique iconostases, which contain more than four hundred priceless icons dating back to the period of the 16th-19th centuries and belonging to the brush of Moscow and Novgorod masters.

After the return of the temple to the bosom of the Orthodox Church, which took place on the feast of the Intercession, the museum began to renew the collection of bells. Today you can see nineteen exhibits representing masterpieces of foundry art. The "oldest" of them was cast five years before the capture of Kazan, and the youngest in 2016 turns twenty years old. With your own eyes you can see the armor and weapons with which the troops of Ivan the Terrible went to attack the Kazan Kremlin.

In addition to the unique icons inside St. Basil's Cathedral, you can get acquainted with the canvases of Russian masters of portrait and landscape painting of the nineteenth century. The pride of the museum exposition is a collection of old handwritten and early printed books. You can see all the priceless exhibits of the museum and wander around the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as part of a group tour, or book an individual visit. It should be remembered that you can take photos and videos by making a separate payment through the museum's cash desk. Between the basement and the second floor of the temple there are shops where you can buy a souvenir as a keepsake.