Ulitsa Volkhonka 15
Subway: Kropotkinskaya
The Temple of Christ The Savior's Cathedral, or the Church of the
Nativity of Christ, is the cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church,
located in the central part of Moscow on Volkhonke Street. The
existing building, built in the 1990s, is a recreation of the temple
of the same name, destroyed in 1931. The largest Orthodox church in
Russia. The temple is located on an elevation, surrounded by a small
park with a complex of buildings and structures for religious and
secular purposes. The temple complex also includes two small
temples: the stone church of the Intercession of the Mother of God
and the log chapel of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, the
forerunner of the modern Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
The
decision to erect the first temple in honor of the victory in the
Patriotic War of 1812 over Napoleon was made by Emperor Alexander I
immediately, the laying of the temple in the name of Christ the
Savior, designed by architect Alexander Witberg, took place on
October 24 (12), 1817 on Vorobyovy Gory. However, in 1825, the work
was stopped, and the architect and other members of the construction
commission were accused of financial embezzlement.
Architect
Konstantin Ton was appointed the author of the new project. On
September 10 (22), 1839, the solemn laying of the cathedral on
Volkhonka took place. Construction actually began 2 years before and
was completed in 1860, after which the interior and interior
decoration were created; on May 26, 1883, the first temple was
consecrated.
The temple building was destroyed on December 5,
1931 as a result of Stalin's reconstruction of Moscow. The site was
planned to be given over to the construction of the Palace of
Soviets, but as a result, the Moscow swimming pool was created on
this site. The temple building was recreated on the basement using
other building materials in 1994-1999.
The temple has the
status of a patriarchal compound and is a collective cenotaph of
soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army who died in the war with
Napoleon, the names of officers who fell in the war and Foreign
campaigns of 1797-1806 and 1813-1814 are inscribed on the walls of
the temple.
The idea of building a temple in honor of the victory
in the Patriotic War was first expressed in December 1812 by General
Peter Kikin, an associate of Alexander I. He wrote to Admiral Alexander
Shishkov, a zealot of ancient traditions: "This war, apparently, which
was supposed to decide the fate of Russia, shake the foundations of its
civil and political ties, and even Faith itself, is not ordinary; why
should the monument be the same - God's Providence with the help of
faith and the national spirit saved us. Thanks to Him, and the monument
belongs to Him."
Kikin wanted to revive the ancient Russian
tradition of votive temples. Such structures were erected in honor of
the victory over the enemy, as well as in memory of those who died
during the fighting. Most likely, the tradition of monument temples
existed back in the pre-Mongol period: according to a late (and
controversial) legend, Yaroslav the Wise built St. Sophia Cathedral in
Kiev on the site of the battle with the Pechenegs. It is also assumed
that after the Battle of Kulikovo, temples were built in the name of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because the holiday coincided with
the battle of Russian troops with the Mamaev Horde. In honor of the
military victories, St. Basil's Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Kazan
Icon of the Mother of God on Red Square were erected in the capital.
On December 25, 1812, after the expulsion of Napoleon's troops from
Russia, Emperor Alexander I signed the Supreme Manifesto on the
construction of a temple in the name of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The salvation of Russia from enemies as numerous in strength as in evil
and ferocious intentions and deeds, the extermination of all of them in
six months, so that with the most rapid flight, hardly the smallest part
of them could leave Our borders, is clearly the goodness of God poured
out on Russia, is a truly memorable incident that will not be erased
forever from everyday life.
In order to preserve the eternal memory
of that unparalleled zeal, loyalty and love for Faith and for the
Fatherland, with which the Russian people exalted themselves in these
difficult times, and in commemoration of Our gratitude to God's
Providence, which saved Russia from the destruction that threatened it,
We set out to create a church in the name of the Savior Christ in our
Capital City of Moscow, The decree will be announced in due course.
May God bless Our undertaking! May it be accomplished! May this Temple
stand for many centuries, and may the censer of gratitude of later
generations be smoked in it before the holy See of God, along with love
and imitation for the deeds of their ancestors.
— Alexander I
The temple being built, according to Alexander, should
have been distinguished by the grandeur and grandeur of the spiritual
idea. Soon, an open international competition was held with the
participation of 38 architects. Among them were such famous architects
as Andrei Voronikhin, Giacomo Quarenghi, Vasily Stasov and others. In
1813, architect Voronikhin presented at least seven variants of the
temple's design, none of which was accepted. Experts identify several
main types that prevailed in the submitted projects. The first option is
a round temple with a single dome of the classical type. The second is a
temple resembling an ancient Russian five—domed cruciform cathedral in
terms of plan. In 1814, the design assignment was clarified: the
cathedral was planned to be built over the next 10-12 years. The project
of 28-year-old artist and mason Carl Wittberg won this first
competition. In terms of this temple had a height of 240 meters and was
three times larger than the modern one. It included a Pantheon of the
dead, a colonnade of 600 columns made of captured cannons, as well as
monuments to rulers and prominent generals. For the approval of the
project, Witberg converted to Orthodoxy. Vorobyovy Gory, which Emperor
Alexander I often called the "crown of Moscow", was chosen as the
location for the temple. Previously, this place was one of the country
royal residences — Vorobyovsky Palace. The choice of location was also
historically determined: the path to the temple was located between the
Smolensk and Kaluga roads to Moscow, along one of which Napoleon's
troops entered the city, on the other they left it.
For Wittberg,
who was not a professional architect, the construction had primarily
symbolic significance — he planned to build a new Solomon's Temple, or,
as he often called it in his notes, the Temple of Wisdom. This project
was based on Masonic ideas, and its author sought to find "the universal
first principle underlying God, nature and thought" and embody it in
architecture.
I imagined the Creator as a dot. Calling it a unit,
God, he set up a compass and outlined a circle, of which this point is
the center; he called this periphery multiplicity-creation. So I had
unity and multiplicity, Creator and creation. How this point can connect
to the periphery, watching the drawing, I saw that the diverging legs of
the compass make a straight line, of which an infinite number make up a
circle and which all intersect in the center, make crosses; and
consequently, nature connects with the Creator with a cross. Thus, I
received three forms: a line, a cross and a circle, forming one
mysterious figure that completely calmed me; and from that moment I
comprehended this mystery.
— Memoirs of Carl Wittberg
The
church in the name of Christ the Savior, according to Wittberg's
project, was supposed to express the connection of man with God and
consist of three tiers. Wittberg believed that this temple should have a
rectangular shape in the form of a coffin, be carved into the rock and
contain catacombs. The building would serve as a place of commemoration
for the soldiers killed in the war of 1812. The lower part was called
the "Temple of the Body" and represented the chthonic, otherworldly
world or the grave. An image of the Nativity and a bas-relief in memory
of the death of Christ and the apostles were supposed to be installed in
the altar of the lower tier. The "temple of the body" was connected to
the second tier — the spiritual or moral one, located on the ground. Its
cruciform shape symbolized spirituality and life. The middle temple was
planned to be consecrated in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord
— the corresponding scene was going to be placed in the altar, and
bas-reliefs were placed on the walls. According to the plan, the third
tier was a divine temple and was dedicated to the spiritual hypostasis
of man. The temple consisted of a "pure circle, a consequence of the
cross," and the Resurrection was depicted in its altar. The upper part
was supposed to be a light source for other rooms, and the dome ceiling
was brightly lit by windows.
On October 12, 1817, on the fifth anniversary of the liberation of
Moscow from French troops, the laying of the first temple took place on
Vorobyovy Gory in the presence of Alexander I, Empresses Elizabeth
Alekseevna and Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, Prince
William of Prussia and Archbishop Augustine. The final construction
estimate drawn up by Witberg was approved by the Emperor in 1820. A
special commission was established for control, chaired by Metropolitan
Seraphim of Moscow and the Moscow military Governor-General. In 1821,
the commission gave permission to start excavation work. In the early
years, construction was carried out vigorously: according to some
reports, more than 20 thousand serfs from the Moscow region were
acquired for the work. In 1825, by the Supreme Command, it was ordered
to connect the Volga and the Moscow River to deliver stone materials to
the construction site. According to Mostovsky, the commission spent
about 278 thousand rubles on "the device of navigation along the upper
reaches of the Moskva River and the improvement of the drainage
channel", about 292 thousand rubles were spent on the construction of
barges, and 123 thousand rubles more on connecting two rivers. Despite
the enormous costs, the pace of work was constantly decreasing. For
seven years, even the "zero cycle" was not completed by the builders.
The construction work was led by Witberg himself, who had no practical
management experience: he did not keep proper records and controls,
filled out orders with a pencil, and treated contractors too trustfully.
Witberg failed to complete the project.
The construction of the
cathedral was suspended after the accession of Nicholas I to the throne
in 1825. According to the official version, this was due to the
unreliability of the soil on Vorobyovy Gory. Another committee was
formed to discuss the long-term construction project, chaired by
Engineer-General Karl Opperman. The organization included such
experienced professionals as engineers Lev Carbonnier and
Pierre-Dominique Bazin, as well as architects Karl Rossi, Vasily Stasov,
Andrey Mikhailov and others. On February 17, 1828, the Emperor was
provided with the report of the committee:
It is impossible to build
such a huge building in the chosen place, because parts of the Temple
and its foundation would go deeper below the strong and clay layer <...>
If, despite the greatest difficulties, it is still necessary to build a
Temple in the intended place, then to overcome these difficulties, costs
exceeding the possibility will be required, since it is necessary to dig
through all the sandy layers extending to an indefinite depth in order
to reach a strong continent that cannot be precipitated.
It
follows from the documents of the Commission for the Construction of the
temple that the state spent more than four million rubles in banknotes
on the implementation of the project. In total, the Commission spent
about 16 million rubles. In 1827, the construction commission was
disbanded, and Witberg and the construction managers were accused of
embezzlement and put on trial. The process lasted eight years. In 1835,
"for abuse of the emperor's trust and for damage to the treasury," those
involved in the case were fined one million rubles. Witberg himself was
exiled to Vyatka, and all his property was confiscated. There is an
opinion among historians that Wittberg was not guilty of embezzlement,
but only of imprudence and credulity. His exile did not last long, and
subsequently Wittberg's designs were used in the construction of
Orthodox cathedrals in Perm and Tiflis.
No new competition was held, in 1831 Nicholas I appointed Konstantin
Ton, who worked in the Russian-Byzantine style close to the emperor, as
the architect. According to researcher E. N. Maleeva, the embodiment of
the idea of the memorial temple, originally conceived by Alexander I,
meant dynastic succession for the new emperor.
The emperor also
chose a new location on Volkhonka, which at that time was called
Chertolye; the buildings located there were bought up and demolished,
including the Alekseevsky Convent, a monument of the XVII century, later
transferred to Krasnoe Selo. There is a legend among the people that the
abbess, dissatisfied with the demolition of historical buildings and the
transfer of the Alekseevskaya monastery, cursed the builders and
predicted: "This place will be empty."
The plan for the new
temple was approved and approved on April 10, 1832, and soon a new
"Commission for the construction of a Temple in the Name of Christ the
Savior in Moscow" was appointed under the chairmanship of the Moscow
Governor-General, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn. Unlike the first, the second
temple was built almost entirely at government expense.
In the summer of 1837, the laying and strengthening of the foundation
of the future temple at the chosen location began. On September 10,
1839, in the presence of Emperor Nicholas I and the Grand Dukes of the
heirs to the throne Alexander Nikolaevich and Mikhail Pavlovich, a
solemn laying ceremony was held, headed by Metropolitan Filaret of
Moscow and Kolomna (Drozdov). A cruciform gilded plaque with the carved
names of the chairman and members of the construction commission and the
architect was installed on the foundation stone, specially brought from
Vorobyovy Gory. The following inscription was also carved on the plaque:
In the summer of 1839, on September 10, by the command of the Most Pious
Autocratic Great Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, the fulfillment of
the sacred vow made in Bose by the resting Emperor Alexander I began,
and with the August hand of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, due to the
impossibility of erecting the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, according
to the first assumption, on Vorobyovy Gory, a foundation stone was laid
at this place for the structures of this Temple.
By 1841, the
walls reached the level of the basement, and eight years later the vault
of the large dome was completed. The outer scaffolding from the future
temple was removed already in 1860, but the decoration and decoration,
as well as the construction of the embankment and the square continued
for another 20 years. In the period from 1837 to 1862, construction
costs came from the Commission for the construction of the temple, but
in 1862, the Highest Imperial Decree established an annual appropriation
of about 300 rubles in silver. The construction of the temple was
supervised by a student of Tone, architect Joseph Kaminsky. Vasily
Surikov, Ivan Kramskoy, Vasily Vereshchagin, Henry Semiradsky, Alexey
Korzukhin, Fyodor Bruni and other masters of the Imperial Academy of
Arts worked on the painting of the temple. The high-relief statues of
saints were made by sculptors Anton Ivanov, Nikolai Ramazanov and
Alexander Loganovsky. Architect Viktor Kossov also participated in the
interior design of the temple.
In 1880, the building was
officially named the Cathedral in the Name of Christ the Savior
Cathedral, the clergy and clergy were approved. By decree of May 25,
1883, the cathedral was accepted "at the expense of the treasury" with
an annual estimate of 66,850 rubles for "staff expenses for the
maintenance of the Moscow Cathedral in the name of Christ the Savior."
After Ton's death in 1881, the construction was headed by his student,
academician Alexander Rezanov. At the design stage in the 1830s and
1840s, Rezanov participated in the works as an artist. In the same year,
work was completed on the construction of the embankment, the area
around the temple, and outdoor lanterns were installed.
To
transport blocks of granite and marble from the northern provinces of
European Russia, the Catherine Canal was dug in the northwestern part of
Moscow province. An artificial canal connected the Moskva River with the
Volga through the rivers Istra, Sister and Beloved
Even before
the completion of the construction, images of the temple began to appear
on the plans and landscapes of Moscow. For example, the cathedral was
marked on the "Illustrated plan of the capital city of Moscow",
published in 1878 by A. A. Kasatkin, and on the "Illustrated new plan of
the capital city of Moscow with the landmark buildings of the Kremlin,
Kremlin and other Moscow cathedrals, monasteries, famous churches,
palaces of the Kremlin and the famous suburban surroundings of it",
painted in 1882 the draftsman Orlovsky. However, the early images were
somewhat different from the erected building.
On June 7, 1883,
the solemn consecration of the cathedral took place, performed by
Metropolitan of Moscow Ioanniky (Rudnev) with a host of clergy and in
the presence of Emperor Alexander III, who had recently been crowned in
the Moscow Kremlin. The ceremony was also attended by Empress Maria
Feodorovna, the heir and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. The event was
accompanied by a procession from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to
the Assumption Cathedral and back, the ringing of bells from all Moscow
churches, and fireworks. After the consecration, the first liturgy was
celebrated in the church. The Cathedral in the Name of Christ the Savior
with a height of 103.5 meters has become the tallest building in Moscow
and the most spacious temple in the country.
Shortly after the
consecration of the temple, a state award was established — the medal
"In memory of the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior",
which was awarded to those involved in the design and construction. In
total, the construction of the cathedral cost the treasury about 15
million rubles, while the money for the construction of the temple was
included in the total estimate of government expenditures for the
Department of railways and public buildings. A donation from the Moscow
merchants — more than 20 pounds of gold - was accepted only for the
gilding of domes and roofs.
The construction of the temple was
critically perceived by some contemporaries. Thus, the battle artist V.
V. Vereshchagin believed that the cathedral, executed by a "rather
incompetent architect in Tone," is a direct reproduction of the famous
Taj Mahal in the city of Agra." Other authors, on the contrary, note
that the Moscow temple became a reflection of complex processes in both
Russian and pan-European architecture of the XIX century, when the
"international" classicism was replaced by a period of historicism
(eclecticism) and attempts began to rethink and revive their national
architecture in different countries. This creative search was a "trial
and error" method. Among the buildings in Europe that are close in time
and spirit are the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris.
The temple played a significant role in the socio-religious, as well
as cultural life of the capital of the Empire. On August 20, 1882, the
1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, written by the composer in
honor of the victory in the war with Napoleon, was performed for the
first time in the cathedral, conducted by Hippolyte Altani. The church
had a choir, which was considered one of the best in Moscow. The regents
of the church choir were the composers Alexander Arkhangelsky and Pavel
Chesnokov. The band performed works by the church composer Alexander
Kastalsky, and the voices of Fyodor Chaliapin and Konstantin Rozov were
also heard here.
The temple was the center of the celebrations of
the opening of monuments to Alexander III and Nikolai Gogol. The main
patronal feast of the cathedral — the Nativity of Christ — until 1918,
in pursuance of the decree of Emperor Alexander I of August 30, 1814,
was celebrated in the church calendar as the anniversary of the victory
in the Patriotic War of 1812 ("remembrance of the deliverance of the
Church and the powers of Russia from the invasion of the Gauls and the
congress of twenty languages"). The temple had a rich library, which was
used for guided tours.
Alexander Hotovitsky served as the
sacristan from August 1917 (until his arrest in 1922). On November 5
(18), 1917, the name of the new patriarch was announced in the cathedral
after the liturgy and prayer service: The elder of the Zosimov Desert,
Alexy (Solovyov), drew lots with the name of Metropolitan Tikhon
(Bellavin).
The temple continued to operate after the 1917
revolution. Since January 1918, the Bolsheviks have stopped funding
churches. In order to maintain the vital activity of the temple, the
Brotherhood of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was organized. In a
short time, temporary electric lighting was provided at the expense of
private donors, a church choir, a reading room were organized, and the
sacristy was repaired. One of the members of the brotherhood was the
publisher Ivan Sytin, who at his own expense published a small book
about the history and architecture of the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior.
The clergy and parishioners of the Cathedral of Christ
the Savior did not support the formation in May 1922 (shortly after
Patriarch Tikhon was placed under house arrest) The Supreme Church
Administration (Renovationists). According to Metropolitan Mikhail
(Ermakov), "the believing population of Moscow in a huge mass is also
against impostors. When Metropolitan Antonin and Bishop Leonid wanted to
ordain prot. Albinsky was not allowed in the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior by the people, and was ordained at the Patriarchal Compound."
On June 6, 1922, the Supreme Church Administration issued a
resolution in which it asked the state authorities to investigate the
case of counterrevolutionary activities in the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior. The request was granted, and soon the Renovationists appeared in
the Moscow cathedral. One of the leaders of Renovationism, Metropolitan
Alexander Vvedensky, became the rector of the church. He remained in
this position until the closure of the temple in 1931.
The abbots
of the old temple
Alexey Sokolov (since August 31, 1883);
Pavel
Kazansky (since 1899);
Mikhail Sobolev (since 1908);
Vladimir
Markov (since 1911);
John Arsenyev (since January 15, 1918).
The idea of building a Palace of Soviets in the capital was first
voiced in 1922 by Sergei Kirov at the First All-Union Congress of
Soviets. On July 13, 1931, a meeting of the Central Executive Committee
of the USSR was held under the chairmanship of Mikhail Kalinin. At the
meeting, it was decided to build a Palace on the territory of the
Cathedral of Christ the Savior: "The square of the Cathedral of Christ
in the mountains should be chosen as the place for the construction of
the Palace of Soviets. Moscow with the demolition of the temple itself
and with the necessary expansion of the square." This decision was
prepared at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU(b) on June 5, 1931.
11 days later, the resolution of the Committee on Religious Affairs at
the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee was adopted:
Due to
the allotment of the site on which the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is
located for the construction of the Palace of Soviets, the specified
temple should be liquidated and demolished. To instruct the Presidium of
the Moscow City Executive Committee to liquidate (close) the temple
within a ten-day period… The petition of the OGPU economic department
for the flushing of gold and the petition for the construction of the
Palace of Soviets for the transfer of building material should be
submitted to the secretariat of the Central Executive Committee
For several months, hasty work was carried out to dismantle the temple
building, the remains of which were eventually decided to blow up. On
December 5, 1931, two explosions were carried out, after the first the
domes and upper tiers of the temple were demolished, the skeleton itself
stood. According to eyewitnesses, nearby buildings shuddered from the
explosions, and the blast wave was felt several blocks away. It took
almost a year and a half to sort out the debris and rubble left after
the explosion of the religious building. In 1937, the cladding removed
from the temple was used to decorate the building of the Council of
Labor and Defense and the stations of the Sokolnicheskaya metro line
under construction.
The excavation of the future palace began in
1935, and by 1939 the foundation of the high-rise part of the building
was completed. 280 steel plates were laid on the concrete ring, which
served as the base for steel shoes, on which the columns of the frame
were to rest. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the project
was temporarily abandoned. Some of the metal structures of the Palace
were used to manufacture anti-tank hedgehogs for the defense of Moscow.
Soon, the building, which had barely risen from the foundation level,
was completely dismantled. The idea of building the Palace of Soviets
was finally abandoned in 1956. And in 1960, the outdoor swimming pool
"Moscow" was completed on the site of the foundation, which existed
until 1994.
In April 1988, an initiative group was organized in Moscow for the
reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, one of the driving
ideas was repentance to the Russian Orthodox Church for the destruction
of the monument in the past. The group publicly disseminated information
that was not allowed in the official rhetoric of the atheistic USSR.
However, after the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism
of Rus in the summer of the same year, the state's policy towards the
church and religion softened. In September 1989, the initiative group
reformed into an Orthodox community and organized a "people's
referendum" for the revival of the temple, which was supported by
thousands of Soviet citizens. The first Fund for the Restoration of the
Cathedral of Christ the Savior was created by national patriotic forces
already in 1989. It was headed by Vladimir Soloukhin. However, the funds
raised had almost completely devalued by 1992 due to inflation.
On December 5, 1990, a granite foundation stone was installed on the
site of the future construction site for the start of construction of
the small forerunner temple of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior - the
log chapel of the icon of the Mother of God "Derzhavnaya", the
construction of which was completed in 1995, and in 1992 a Fund for
financial support for the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior was founded. It was planned that the fund would not use budget
allocations, but Boris Yeltsin's decree established tax incentives for
organizations donating money for restoration and participating in
restoration.
From 1994 to 2002, donations were received from
hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens, from Russian and foreign
companies. It is known that the money contributed by the
Military-Industrial Bank, 50 million rubles, was used to start
construction.
On May 31, 1994, the Moscow Patriarchate and the
city Hall adopted a resolution to begin construction work on the
restoration of the temple. The Council for the reconstruction of the
religious building was headed by Patriarch Alexy II and Moscow Mayor
Yuri Luzhkov. It also includes professors of the Russian Academy of Arts
Nikolai Ponomarev, Mikhail Anikushin, sculptor Zurab Tsereteli,
architect Mikhail Posokhin (son of the chief architect of Moscow in the
1960s) and others. During the Soviet period, icon painting schools did
not officially function in Russia and many writing skills were lost. To
prepare artists for work on the painting of the temple, a department of
church historical painting was specially opened at the St. Petersburg
Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after Repin.
The new temple was designed by architects Mikhail Posokhin, Alexey
Denisov and others. Although the restoration of the temple was supported
by many community groups, its construction was accompanied by protests
and accusations of corruption by the city authorities. Soon Denisov
retired from work, and his place was taken by Zurab Tsereteli, who
completed the construction. The sculptor changed the original design,
approved by the Moscow authorities, and introduced new details into the
exterior design of the temple. Under Tsereteli, the white stone walls
were decorated with marble compositions (the originals are kept in the
Donskoy Monastery) and bronze high reliefs, which, however, were
criticized as inconsistent with the original. The painting of the
temple's interiors was carried out by artists recommended by Tsereteli,
but the cultural value of these paintings has also become a matter of
dispute. The original white stone cladding was replaced with marble, and
the gilded roof of the roofs, except for the domes, was made on the
basis of titanium nitride. These changes made to the historical project
influenced the change of the facade's color scheme from warm to colder.
In 1995, at a meeting of the art criticism commission for the artistic
decoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, it was decided to
raise bronze medallions on it. Due to the rapid pace of construction,
the medallions were not ready on time, instead, exact replicas of white
polymer material were installed on the facades. The bronze medallions
were made and stored in workshops until 2010, when they were finally
installed. According to the website of the Academy of Arts, in
accordance with historical materials, Tsereteli restored six crosses, 16
gates and large chandeliers of the cathedral. Under the leadership of
the People's Artist of Russia Yuri Orekhov, masters Julian
Rukavishnikov, Vladimir Tsigal, Tatyana Sokolova, Alexander Belashov,
Mikhail Dronov and others worked on the sculptural decoration of the new
temple. To assist in the work of domestic specialists, the Sculptor
Foundation was organized.
Efrem Zverkov, Vice-President of the
Academy of Arts, contributed to the organization of All-Russian
competitions for the decoration of the cathedral. Among the art groups
that won the competition to restore the historical murals of the temple,
most were graduates of the St. Petersburg Institute of Painting,
Sculpture and Architecture named after I. E. Repin and the Moscow
Surikov Institute. The most extensive paintings of the vaults of the
main dome and chapels, as well as the drum, were carried out by
craftsmen under the direction of Zurab Tsereteli. The coordination group
of specialists in the artistic decoration of the complex was led by a
member of the artistic commission, priest, later archpriest, Leonid
Kalinin.
The new Cathedral of Christ the Savior was recreated by
1999 as a conditional external copy of its historical predecessor: the
building became a two-level structure, with the Church of the
Transfiguration of the Savior in the basement. Three years earlier, in
August 1996, on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Patriarch
Alexy II consecrated the lower Transfiguration Church and held the first
liturgy in it. On December 31, 1999, the upper temple was opened to the
public. On the night of January 6-7, 2000, the first solemn Christmas
Liturgy was celebrated. On August 19 of the same year, the great
consecration of the church by the participants of the Bishops' Council
of the Russian Orthodox Church took place. The next day, the
canonization of the executed Romanov family and the Cathedral of the New
Martyrs and Confessors of Russia took place in the church.
According to the architect Konstantin Ton, the Cathedral of Christ
the Savior was supposed to be a structure combining classical traditions
and features of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture. With the five-domed finial
typical of ancient Russian temples, in terms of the structure it was an
equi-pointed cross with projections in the corners. The facades of the
temple were strictly symmetrical, and the entrances were supposed to
represent solemn open loggias-galleries. Later, the loggias were laid
with massive doors and glazing, which proportionally distorted the idea
of the author, who conceived to combine ancient Russian features and
distant motifs of the Italian Renaissance. The planes of the walls were
plastered, decorative carvings and sculptures were made of white marble
quarried near the village of Protopopovo in Kolomna county. The height
of the building was 48.5 fathoms (about 103.5 meters), the space
occupied by the temple along with the porches was 1,500 square fathoms.
The temple could accommodate up to 7,200 people.
The decoration
of the walls of the temple with marble began on July 16, 1861, by the
Highest order of the emperor. The interior cladding used Labrador and
Shokshinsky porphyry, as well as Italian and Belgian types of stone. The
small iconostases in the side chapels of the cathedral were also made of
marble. The marble works were carried out by the metropolitan merchant
and master Gabriel Balushkin, who agreed to perform contracts for 585.4
thousand rubles. On August 18, 1873 and August 21, 1875, the Highest
orders were issued to decorate the lower corridor of the temple with
marble slabs with inscriptions about the days of battles, killed,
injured and distinguished soldiers of the Patriotic War of 1812. The
installation of 117 marble slabs was completed in 1879.
The main
iconostasis of the temple had the shape of an octagonal chapel made of
white marble. The structure was crowned with a gilded tent. The
installation of the marble iconostasis was completed for 89 thousand
rubles.
By personal order of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, the
painting in the temple was supposed to remind "of all the mercies of the
Lord, sent down through the prayers of the righteous to the Russian
kingdom for nine centuries." On the vault of the main dome, at a height
of 33 fathoms, the Lord of Hosts was depicted blessing with both hands.
On his bosom is the Son of God in the form of a baby, holding a charter
with the inscription "Logos", and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove
and surrounded by divine gifts. Angels, winged cherubim and seraphim
were placed around the throne of the Lord Almighty. The paintings on the
dome vault were made by master Markov in 1861-1866. On the belt of the
dome there were paintings with the biblical story from the fall to the
descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, as well as other episodes
and faces of the Old and New Testaments. According to the idea, these
images "make up the heavenly Church, gathered around the Savior and
representing a moment of joyous celebration, giving thanks."
On
the western vault there was an image of the royal Savior with a book and
a scepter. On the vault on the south side is the Infant Jesus surrounded
by angels. The dome of the north wing — the chapel of St. Alexander
Nevsky — was painted with images of the Lord Almighty with a scepter and
a Book of Destinies and four evangelists in the form of apocalyptic
animals. The pylons and niches of the temple were also decorated with
paintings from Sacred History. In the right choir of the temple there
was an image of the Savior Not Made with Hands, in the left — the
Vladimir Mother of God. There were six icons on the royal gates, flanked
by images of four Moscow saints — Peter, Jonah, Alexy and Philip. The
main iconostasis consisted of four tiers with sacred images.
An
important place in the decoration of the destroyed cathedral of Christ
the Savior was occupied by bronze work, which was used to make doors,
window and mirror frames of the structure, as well as drains. Among
other types of work, the temple was supposed to be decorated with
mosaics. According to the surviving calculations, it is known that it
took almost 26 thousand vershkov to cover with mosaic, and the work was
entrusted to the St. Petersburg Mosaic Institution at the Academy of
Arts. The cost of mosaic floors in the choirs alone cost the commission
about 22 thousand rubles.
The facade of the building was
decorated with two rows of relief images. The high reliefs were located
in the portals and corners of the temple, as well as above the cornice.
According to historians, "sacred historical images resembling or having
identity with the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 - figures of holy
intercessors and prayer books for the Russian land" were placed on the
four walls of the temple. High reliefs on religious and historical
themes were placed on the outer walls of the temple. The subjects for
the images were chosen by Metropolitan Filaret.
The entire temple
was illuminated by sixty windows, of which 16 were installed under the
main dome, 36 were located above the choirs, and eight were in the
corridor. In the west wing there was a huge bronze gilded chandelier
with 148 candles. The temple was also illuminated by two chandeliers
with 100 candles and a large number of devices for 24, 42 and 43
candles. 21 candlesticks were used to illuminate the altar.
As of 2018, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is the largest
cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church and can accommodate up to
10,000 people. Its total height reaches 103 m, which is 1.5 m higher
than that of St. Isaac's Cathedral, the height of the interior space is
79 m, the wall thickness is about 3.2 m. The size of the main cross is
8.5 m, other crosses are 6.5 m. In terms of the temple looks like an
equilateral cross about 80 m wide. The appearance of the temple repeats
the traditions of the Russian-Byzantine style, which enjoyed the support
of the emperor at the time of construction. The painting inside the
temple occupies about 22,000 m2, of which 9,000 m2 are covered with gold
leaf. The volume of the building is 524,000 m3. The modern complex
includes:
The upper temple is actually the Cathedral of Christ
the Savior. It has three thrones: the main one consecrated in the name
of the Nativity of Christ and two side ones in the choirs in honor of
Nicholas the Wonderworker (south) and St. Prince Alexander Nevsky
(north). Consecrated on August 6 (19), 2000;
The lower temple is the
Transfiguration Church, erected in memory of the Alekseevsky Convent,
which was located on this site. It has three altars: the main one in
honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord and two small chapels in honor
of Alexy, the man of God and the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. It
was consecrated on August 6 (19), 1996.
The stylobate part, which
houses the temple museum, the hall of Church Cathedrals, the hall of the
Supreme Church Council, refectory chambers, as well as technical and
office premises.
Under the temple there is a two-level
underground parking for 305 places with a car wash, above which an
observation deck and a complex of auxiliary structures for religious
purposes are located near the temple. During the descent, a small temple
of the complex was built — the Church of the Intercession of the Mother
of God, built with the central temple in the same architectural style
and included in a single ensemble with it. The temple complex also
includes a log temple - the forerunner of the main temple — the chapel
of the icon of the Mother of God "Derzhavnaya", located in the park part
of the complex.
The new cathedral was built in the tradition of
votive temples as a monument to the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812.
The lower corridor serves as a monument to military operations. To the
left of the western entrance to the temple, the texts of the Supreme
Manifesto of June 13, 1812 on the entry of the French army into Russia
and the Appeal to the Russian people on July 6 about the militia are
placed on the wall. Following them, descriptions of 71 battles that took
place on the territory of Russia in 1812 are placed on marble plaques
along the walls of the Lower Corridor in the format "the name of the
battle, the date, the troops involved, the names of the killed and
wounded officers and the total number of those who were out of action."
Russian Russian Orthodox Church. A series of commemorative plaques ends
on the eastern wall of the temple, where the manifesto on the expulsion
of Napoleon from Russia on December 25, 1812 and two thank-you
manifestos are placed: to the Russian people and to the Russian
nobility. In addition, opposite the mountain place there is a manifesto
on the construction of a temple in the name of Christ the Savior in
Moscow. On the south and west sides there are boards with descriptions
of 87 foreign battles, which end at the western doors with manifestos:
about the capture of Paris, the deposition of Napoleon and peace in
Europe. Above each battle board there are magnifications to the saints,
whose memory is celebrated on this day.
First, ornaments were
created, which form more than half of the artistic decoration of the
temple. For their execution, the artists used more than 50 kg of gold
leaf. Most of the artistic decoration of the temple is represented in
the spaces of the galleries. The compositions "The Baptism of the Lord"
and "The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", made by master Vasily
Nesterenko, are located on the north and west sides, respectively. The
paintings in the chapel of St. Nicholas were made by a group of artists
led by Professor Sergei Repin (Vasily Sukhov, Nikita Fomin, Alexander
Chuvin, etc.), and in the chapel of St. Alexander Nevsky — by the group
of Alexander Bystrov (Julia Behova, Alexander Krivonos, Alexander
Poghosyan, etc.
The restoration of the icons of the main
iconostasis was carried out by the masters of the Interregional
Scientific and Restoration Art Department and the Art Temple association
(heads - Andrey Obolensky, Nikita Nuzhny; participants - Vitaly
Bakshaev, Alexey Egorov, Dmitry Trofimov, etc.). The sculptural and
picturesque decoration of the temple was completed in a short time and
accepted by the commission in December 1999. The arch of the main dome
has traditionally been of decisive importance in the design of temple
interiors. The dome space is represented by the composition
"Fatherland", which depicts the Lord of Hosts with the infant Jesus and
the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The painting of the belt depicts
the Savior and the Mother of God. The figures of the saints were
executed by a group of artists led by Zurab Tsereteli.
The
picturesque row on the pylons of the temple depicts stories from the
earthly life of the Savior. The compositions "Transfiguration of the
Lord" and "Ascension of the Lord" were recreated by a group led by
artist Vitaly Bakshaev (Alexey Egorov, Nikita Nuzhny, Dmitry Trofimov),
the paintings "Evangelist Luke" and "Evangelist John" were made by the
team of artist Alexei Artemyev. The compositions "Ascension of the Lord"
and "Evangelist Matthew" were also performed by Vasily Nesterenko, who
participated in the restoration of frescoes under the arches. The
paintings of the southwestern pylons "Descent of the Holy Spirit on the
Apostles" and "Evangelist Mark" were created by a group of painters led
by Sergei Prisekin (Sergei Ossovsky, Mikhail Poletaev, Alexander Sytov).
Extensive work on the reconstruction and drawing of ornaments and
inscriptions was carried out by a team of artists under the direction of
Alexey Zhivaev. Separate teams of craftsmen worked on recreating the
compositions in the niches of the pylons, as well as the central arches.
The tabernacle was recreated from preserved newsreel footage in
accordance with Konstantin Ton's drawings. The base of the Tabernacle is
made of Kalkan jasper, the upper part is made of gilded silver.
Sculptural images of angels and evangelists, multi-figure story reliefs,
medallions with the faces of the compilers of the liturgies are cast in
silver. The middle part of the composition is a tent—roofed nine—domed
chapel, under its dome there is an ark for storing the Holy Gifts, on
the sides there are figures of angels with rhipids. The sculptural
images of evangelists and angels created by sculptor Alexander
Lokhtachev correspond to the traditional interpretation in terms of
their plastic execution. The tabernacle was executed by Zlatoust
workshops "LiK" under the leadership of Honored Artists of Russia
Alexander Lokhtachev, Nina Lokhtacheva and Grigory Manush.
Art
historian Irina Yazykova, comparing the original temple and the restored
one, stated that the original idea to restore the temple in all its
former greatness was not achieved: "A concrete temple is no longer the
same as a stone one, its volume and silhouette are perceived
differently. The changed urban environment also contributes to this. And
the beauty of the appearance of the former temple was in the white stone
bas-reliefs made by the best sculptors of the XIX century. The white
three-dimensional compositions greatly facilitated the heaviness of the
temple. In the modern version, they were replaced by bronze reliefs,
made much faster, requiring less labor and giving the facades a
different character. Much greater historical authenticity has been
achieved in the interior decoration."
Funeral services for people significant for modern Russian history
and culture are held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Vladimir
Soloukhin, who died in 1997, was the first person to say goodbye to even
before the consecration of the temple. In the church there were
farewells to Georgy Sviridov, Boris Yeltsin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Igor
Moiseev, Lyudmila Zykina, Sergei Mikhalkov, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Galina
Vishnevskaya, Elena Obraztsova, Valentin Rasputin, Andrei Karlov, Yuri
Luzhkov, Stanislav Govorukhin, Archpriest Dimitri Smirnov, Archpriest
Mikhail Vasiliev, Vera Vasilyeva , By Vyacheslav Lebedev, Nikolai
Ryzhkov.
In 2004, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox
Church was held in the hall of church Councils, at which a decision was
made on the canonization of a number of saints and the restoration of
communion with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR). On May 17,
2007, the Act of Canonical Communion between the ROCOR and the ROC was
signed in the church.
On December 9, 2008, the funeral service of
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia took place in
the cathedral. On January 27, 2009, a new Patriarch of Moscow and All
Russia was elected at the Local Council, also held in the church, and on
February 1 of the same year, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was
enthroned.
On September 9, 2012, the Moscow-wide church
celebrations in honor of the 200th anniversary of victory in the
Patriotic War of 1812 took place in the votive church.
On
February 21, 2012, members of the punk rock band Pussy Riot performed an
action in the walls of the temple, which they called a "punk prayer".
The band tried to perform the song "Mother of God, drive Putin away!" in
front of the entrance to the altar. A wide public outcry was caused by
the subsequent trial, at which this action was recognized as hooliganism
committed on the grounds of religious hatred. The members of the group
were sentenced to two years in prison, serving their sentences in a
correctional colony of general regime.
On April 22, 2012, a
prayer service was held in the church and in the surrounding area in
defense of the faith, the desecrated shrines, the good name of the
Church and the admonition of its persecutors. According to the Moscow
police, about 65 thousand people took part in the prayer service.
On June 9, 2004, the relics of St. Filaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of
Moscow, were transferred from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to the Cathedral
of Christ the Savior. In 2018, they rest in a shrine south of the Royal
Gates of the upper temple.
Great Orthodox relics and shrines were
brought to the temple and temporarily exhibited.
On November
19-28, 2011, the Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary was brought from the
Vatopedi Monastery, and on July 19-28, 2013, the cross of St. Andrew the
First—Called was brought from Patras.
From January 7 to January
13, 2014, the Gifts of the Magi from the monastery of St. Paul, on Mount
Athos, were in the temple, taken outside Greece for the first time in
history. From May 21 to July 12, 2017, the Orthodox worshiped the relics
of Nicholas of Myra, who arrived from Bari, where they are permanently
located. Mass pilgrimages of believers were made to the brought shrines.
From September 21 to October 14, 2018, the ark with the right hand of
St. Spyridon of Trimifunt was located in the temple for worship, which
arrived from the city of Kerkyra, where it is permanently located.
During their stay in Moscow, more than 500 thousand people worshiped the
great Christian shrine.
In the cathedral of Christ the Savior
there are constantly:
a piece of the Robe of Jesus Christ;
relics
of St. Filaret (Drozdov);
the ark, which contains:
a particle of
the Virgin's Robe;
The head of St. John Chrysostom;
a particle of
the relics of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky;
a particle of the relics
of Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow;
a particle of the relics of the
Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir;
fragments of the relics of
Grand Duke Mikhail of Tver and St. Mary of Egypt;
a particle of the
relics of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow;
a particle of the relics
of St. Basil the Great;
a particle of the relics of John the Baptist;
a particle of the relics of St. Andrew the First-Called;
The Nail of
the Cross of the Lord;
a particle of the relics of St. Michael
Malein;
a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr Theodore
Stratilat;
a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr Euphemia the
All-Praised;
The head of St. Gregory the Theologian;
a particle of
the relics of St. Euphrosyne of Moscow;
one of the miraculous lists
of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God;
the miraculous list of the
Smolensk-Ustyuzhenskaya Icon of the Mother of God;
the icon of the
Nativity of Christ, brought by Patriarch Alexy from Bethlehem;
the
throne of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (in the main
altar);
icon of the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of
the Russian Church, glorified on August 20, 2000 in the Cathedral of
Christ the Savior;
the list of the miraculous icon "Our Lady of St.
Luke" ("Madonna di San Luca"), brought from Bologna (Italy)
For 2021, the rector of the temple is Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and
All Russia, and the clergy of the temple include:
Archpriest Mikhail
Ryazantsev, the church's key keeper;
Archpriest Georgy Martynov;
Archpriest Andrey Marushchak;
Priest Sergiy Kuksov;
Priest Dimitri
Kelmanov;
Priest Artemy Kokosh;
Archdeacon Konstantin Bargan;
Archdeacon Dionysius Pryakhin;
Archdeacon Nikolai Filatov;
Deacon
John Klintsov
In ecclesiastical and administrative terms, the church has the status
of a compound of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Both the
buildings and premises of the temple complex and the land under them are
the property of the city of Moscow. The complex is managed by a
non-governmental non-profit organization "The Foundation of the
Cathedral of Christ the Savior", acting on the basis of a Trust
management Agreement for objects of general cultural and engineering
purposes of the complex of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior No. 01
dated 05/24/2004, concluded with the Department of Property of the city
of Moscow. The Foundation was established in the early 2000s, but in
fact it is the successor to the Fund for Financial Support for the
Reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Having the
cultural and engineering facilities of the temple in trust management,
the foundation earns money from commercial operations that do not
involve the cult part of the monument - the temple itself, in which
divine services are held. The premises of the church are in gratuitous
use of the ROC, but if necessary, the Church pays rent on a general
basis to use the premises in the "secular" part of the building. The
Fund covers the costs of building maintenance, its income is replenished
with subsidies from the city budget:
140 million rubles in 2006;
170 million in 2007;
217 million in 2011.
Every year during the
navigation period, from the pier of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior,
numerous motor ships take river trips around the center of Moscow.
In the article "Two Worlds in Ancient Russian Iconography" published
in 1916, Evgeny Trubetskoy reflected his impressions of the temple in
this way: "... one of the largest monuments of expensive nonsense is the
Church of the Savior — it's like a huge samovar, around which
patriarchal Moscow has gathered complacently."
In 1930, the poet
Nikolai Arnold wrote about the impending destruction of the temple:
Goodbye, guardian of Russian glory,
Magnificent Cathedral of Christ,
Our giant is golden-headed,
What shone above the capital…
...Nothing is sacred to us!
And isn't that a shame,
That the "cap
of cast gold"
Lay on the block under the axe.
The painting by
the People's Artist of Russia Valery Balabanov "Swimmer" (1976-1986)
depicts a reflection of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which did
not exist at that time, in the pool "Moscow". Later, the Russian
Orthodox Church and some art historians began to perceive this work as a
prophecy that predicted the restoration of the cathedral. On November 4,
1997, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia,
the artist presented the painting to the museum of the recreated temple.
Boris Akunin wrote about the temple in the novel "Altyn-Tolobas" in
2001:
Opposite the newly rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Savior (Sir
Alexander always said that this giant head disfigured the face of Moscow
with its disproportionality and that the only good thing for the new
Russians was the explosion of a monstrous creation), the master stopped
and found that he probably liked the cathedral — over the twentieth
century, houses in the city had grown, and now the massive golden helmet
was already It didn't look like a foreign body.
The Cathedral of
Christ the Savior is mentioned in the novel "Metro 2033" by the writer
Dmitry Glukhovsky. According to the plot of the novel, stalkers in
post-nuclear Moscow make sorties near this temple.