Cathedral of the Andronikov Monastery in Moscow

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

On the picturesque bank of the Yauza is the ancient Andronikov Monastery. In Moscow, it belongs to the main shrines and is considered one of the most ancient buildings in the capital. Above the territory of the monastery rises, admiring with its exquisite architectural forms, the most ancient temple - the Cathedral of the Savior. Address of the Andronikov Monastery: Moscow, Andronevskaya Square, 10.

Andronikov Monastery

In 1357, on the left bank of the Yauza, Metropolitan Alexy founded the male Andronikov Monastery. It received its name in honor of the first abbot Andronicus, who was a student of Sergius of Radonezh himself. In the middle of the 14th century, the Spassky Cathedral was erected on the territory of the monastery, at first wooden, and in 1427 - white stone.

In Moscow, in the Andronikov Monastery, he spent his last years and the great icon painter Andrei Rublev was buried here. During the construction of the Moscow Kremlin, brick production was established in the monastery settlement.

From the 14th to the 18th century, the monastery became the center of the censusbooks. Most of the works of St. Maximus the Greek were kept in his archive. Unfortunately, the collection of manuscripts was lost during the terrible fires that engulfed the monastery in 1748 and 1812. Became the place of imprisonment of the main ideologue of schismatics - Archpriest Avvakum Andronikov Monastery in Moscow (1653).

In the 19th century, there was a hospital and a religious school on the territory of the monastery.

Abode in Soviet times

After the revolution (1917), the monastery was closed, and two years later one of the first Cheka camps for political prisoners was organized on its territory. During the period of the struggle against religion (from 1929 to 1932), the monastery bell tower, which was built in the 18th century, was destroyed along with the gate church. The necropolis of the monastery, one of the oldest in Moscow, was destroyed. Participants of the Battle of Kulikovo, the Northern War, and the Patriotic War of 1812 were buried there.

In 1947, a new museum appeared in Moscow. In the Andronikov Monastery, the Museum-Reserve of Old Russian Art was founded, which was named after Andrei Rublev. In 1993, archaeological excavations began on the territory of the monastery.

The architectural ensemble of the monastery includes:

• The white-stone four-foot Spassky Cathedral with elements of frescoes made under the direction of Daniila Cherny and Andrei Rublev.
• One-pillar refectory.
• The Church of the Archangel Michael, made in the Baroque style, which wasrestored in 1960.
• Tomb of the Lopukhins.
• Towers and walls (XVII).
• Fraternal Corps (XVIII).
• The building of the religious school (1814).

Description of the cathedral

According to surviving sources, the stone cathedral of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery in Moscow was built under Abbot Alexander in the period from 1410 to 1427.

The structure belongs to the group of white-stone buildings that were erected in the Moscow lands at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. At the same time, the Spassky Cathedral of the Anronikov Monastery in Moscow differs significantly from most of its contemporary churches - the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod (1400), the Trinity Cathedral (1423), the Nativity Cathedral (1430). Its features are associated with a strong influence on its architectural appearance of the Balkan architecture.

During its long history, the temple suffered several fires. During the war with Napoleon (1812) it was plundered and suffered in a fire: the dome collapsed and the iconostasis burned down. But the strong stone walls of the cathedral survived.

Rebuilding and reconstruction

The Spassky Cathedral of the Andronikov Monastery in Moscow has undergone numerous reconstructions. The covered porch around it was built in the 18th century. In the middle of the 19th century, side aisles were added to the main building, and a hipped roof appeared on top. Because of these changes, the ancient monument began to look in such a way that some researchers attributed its construction to a later period.

However, the restorers B. A. Ognev and P. N. Maksimov managed to determine the ancient forms of the cathedral, which was practically revived by the architects-restorers B. L. Altshuler, L. A. David, M. D. Tsiperovich and S. S. Podyapolsky. Thanks to their efforts, the Cathedral of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery took its rightful place in the history of Russian architecture. Today, regular services are held in the cathedral.

Temple Architecture

The cathedral is built of dense limestone, which is hewn in the form of regular rectangular blocks with a smooth front surface, about 40 centimeters high. In the vicinity of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery, the very “Yauz limestone” was mined.

The Cathedral of the Savior is set on a basement - a high white stone foundation. From the north, south and west, there are entrance doors framed by perspective portals and white-stone high porches. "The image of the Savior not made by hands" can be seen above the western entrance. On the eastern side of the temple there is an altar with three semicircular altar apses, the central one being much larger than the side ones.

The facades of the cathedral are divided by pillars that are built into the walls and protrude from the facades (pilasters). They correspond exactly to the girth arches and inner blades of the interior. Such vertical division further emphasizes the height of the structure. The main volume of the temple is a small cube, which ends with three rows: the lower one is keeled zakomaras, the second and third are kokoshniks. The cathedral is completed by a huge light drum, which is crowned by a gently sloping dome with a cross.

Specialistsconsider the Cathedral of the Savior a model of early Moscow architecture. During this period, cross-domed, one-domed, four-foot churches with three apses were built. In the interior of the cathedral, a cross-domed structure is clearly seen. At the top, a cross is clearly visible, which forms the intersection of the transverse and longitudinal barrel vaults.

The peculiarity of the composition of the temple is the dynamism of the silhouette, aspiration upwards. This is due to the memorial nature of the building: the memorial temple is dedicated to the heroic soldiers of the Battle of Kulikovo, who were buried in the Andronikov Monastery.

Interior design

Light enters the cathedral from all sides, as there are windows on all the walls. Uniform lighting gives the building some charming, bewitching look. Fragments of ancient painting have been preserved on the walls - elements of plant and zoomorphic compositions. On the eve of the celebration of the 650th anniversary of the Andronikov Monastery, new icons appeared in the iconostasis of the cathedral. "St. Savva and Andronicus" is located on the northern wall. The icon “St. Ephraim and Alexander” is considered truly unique: it depicts the faces of the holy abbots of the monastery.

Icon workshop and singing school

Today, many residents of the capital know the address of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery. In Moscow, they know that not only divine services are held on the territory of the monastery. There is a school of znamenny ancient Russian church singing. The monastery has long had a choir, whichoften came to listen to the great Rachmaninoff.

In 1990, Patriarch Alexy II blessed the restoration of the famous school of church singing in the Spassky Cathedral. And today all divine services are accompanied by monophonic (unison) chant. In addition, an art workshop of icon painting operates in the temple. The monastery has a small publishing house: church books are printed here that tell about the traditions and history of the monastery and the cathedral.

Museum

Since 1960, the Andrei Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Art and Culture has been operating on the territory of the Andronikov Monastery. Its exposition is located in the Church of the Archangel Michael and in the restored part of the refectory. It covers more than seven centuries in the history of Russian artistic culture. The abbot's building is reserved for the exhibition hall.

The museum began its work back in 1947. However, over time, it turned into a restoration center and became a repository of dilapidated frescoes and icons that were brought here from the destroyed churches of our country. Only in 1960 was the status of the museum confirmed. Today, its collection includes over ten thousand exhibits: ancient Orthodox religious objects, icons from different eras, very rare handwritten and Old Believer church publications, and other rarities. The pride of the museum are the works of Andrei Rublev, icons that were commissioned by Ivan the Terrible.

Where is the monastery?

Many guests of the capital are interested in how to get to the Andronikov Monastery. Find him in Moscownot difficult. To get to the monastery, located on Andronevskaya Square, you need to take the metro to the station "Ploshad Ilyicha".

Go to the railway platform, then turn left, go to St. Sergius of Radonezh and walk 600 meters past the "Forgiveness" chapel to Andronievskaya Square, where the monastery is located.