St. Basil's Cathedral (Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God on the Moat) in Moscow: description, history, domes

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

For the whole world, the most famous "visiting cards" of Russia are the Kremlin, Red Square 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

St. Basil's Cathedral celebrated its 450th anniversary on July 2, 2011. This unique building was erected on Red Square. Amazing in its beauty, the temple is a whole complex of churches united by a common foundation. Even those who do not know anything about the architecture of Russia will immediately recognize the Church of St. Basil the Blessed. The cathedral has a unique feature - all its colorful domes are different from each other.

In the main (Protection) church there is an iconostasis, which was moved from the destroyed in 1770 Kremlin church of the Chernihiv wonderworkers. In the basement of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God are the most valuable icons of the cathedral, the most ancient of which is the icon of St. Basil the Blessed (XVI century), painted specifically for this temple. Exhibited hereicons of the 17th century: Our Lady of the Sign and Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The first copies the image located on the east side of the facade of the church.

The history of the temple

St. Basil's Cathedral, the history of the construction of which has acquired a number of myths and legends, was built by order of the first Tsar of Russia, Ivan the Terrible. It was dedicated to a significant event, namely, the victory over the Kazan Khanate. To the great 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 Russia, 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 according to the third version, which says 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 tells about the blinding of the architects who created this masterpiece so that they could not repeat their creation.

Origin of the name

It's amazing, but despite the fact that the main church of this temple was dedicated to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, it is known throughout the world as St. Basil's Cathedral. In Moscowthere have always been many holy fools (blessed "God's people"), but the name of one of them is forever imprinted in the history of Russia. Mad Vasily lived on the street and even in winter he went 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 uncharacteristic reverence. 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 common name to this temple.

St. Basil's Cathedral (description)

Practically everyone who visits Moscow knows that the main symbol of Russia is the 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, 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 the bell tower

Eight churches crown 8 onion domes. The main (central) building is completed with a "tent", above which rises a small "cupola". The tenth dome was built over the church bell tower. It is amazing that all the domes of the temple are completely different from each other in their texture and color.

Modern bell towerThe 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 high massive quadrangle, on which an octagon is erected. It has an open area, fenced with 8 pillars. All of them are interconnected by arched spans. The top of the site is crowned with a tall octagonal tent, the edges of which are decorated with tiles of different colors (white, blue, yellow, brown). Its edges are covered with green figured tiles. At the top of the tent is an onion dome crowned with an octagonal cross. Inside the site, bells hang on wooden beams, which were cast back in the 17th-19th centuries.

Architectural features

Nine churches of St. Basil's Cathedral are interconnected by a common base and bypass gallery. Its peculiarity is bizarre painting, the main motive of which is floral ornaments. The unique style of the temple combines the traditions of both European and Russian architecture of the Renaissance. Arched openings are also a distinctive feature of the cathedral. The height of the church (according to the highest dome) is 65 m.

Another feature of the temple is that it has no basement. It has extremely strong basement walls (reaching a thickness of 3 m). The height of each room isapproximately 6.5 m. The entire construction 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 the so-called "vents", which are narrow openings. They provide a special microclimate in the church. For many years, the basement premises were not available to parishioners. The hiding places were used as storages and were closed with doors, the presence of which is now evidenced only by the hinges preserved on the walls. It is believed that until the end of the XVI century. they kept the royal treasury.

The gradual transformation of the Cathedral

Only at the end of the XVI century. figured domes appeared above the temple, which replaced the original ceiling, which burned down in another fire. This Orthodox Cathedral until the XVII century. It 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 building 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. In 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 jointly run by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Historical Museum of Moscow. This building is a cultural heritageRussia. The beauty and uniqueness of this temple was appreciated all over the world. St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Meaning of the Intercession Cathedral in the USSR

Despite the persecution of religion by the Soviet authorities and the destruction of a huge number of churches, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow was taken under state protection as a cultural monument of world significance back in 1918. It was at this time that all the efforts of the authorities were aimed at creating a museum in it. Archpriest John Kuznetsov became the first caretaker of the temple. It was he who almost independently took care of the repair of the building, although his 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 banned. Despite the fact that the temple has been constantly restored for almost a hundred years, its exposition 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 was transferred to the joint use of the Russian Orthodox Church and the State Historical Museum. On August 15, 1997, festive and Sunday services were resumed in the church. Since 2011, previously inaccessible aisles have been opened for visiting, in which new expositions are arranged.