The main cathedral on Red Square - St. Basil's Cathedral - the world-famous monument of Russian church architecture. Included in the register of world-class cultural heritage sites under the auspices of UNESCO. Its other name is Pokrovsky Cathedral.
Another cathedral on Red Square, Kazansky, is located on the corner of Nikolskaya Street, near the Mint. This temple has its own history. Moscow's cathedrals on Red Square were built at different times, and each of them is interesting and famous in its own way.
Many Muscovites and guests of the capital believe that there are not two cathedrals on Red Square, but much more. This opinion is erroneous, since other masterpieces of Russian temple architecture, although they are visible from Red Square, are located behind the Kremlin wall, on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. Thus, the answer to the question of how many cathedrals are on Red Square is unambiguous.
The center of Moscow is distinguished by an abundance of architectural monuments.
The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, the photo of which is presented in this article, is located opposite the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, at the beginningVasilyevsky descent. Nearby is the bronze memorial of Minin and Pozharsky, erected in 1818.
The Cathedral of the Intercession on Red Square is the most grandiose sight of Moscow. Groups of tourists and individual visitors walk through the galleries for hours. And if you ask a Japanese, a Frenchman or a Dane about which cathedral on Red Square they liked more, they will not hesitate to name the Cathedral of the Intercession. Muscovites will say the same.
The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square is an unsurpassed masterpiece of temple architecture of the mid-16th century, built in honor of the great event that took place in Russia in October 1552 - the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate. Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered to build such a church, "which cannot be similar." This "church" was the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, which was built in six years, from 1555 to 1561. Later, several additions of a cult nature were made.
Structure
Architects Barma and Postnik created a design for the cathedral, which consisted of a central pillar and eight aisles, which they placed on the cardinal points, in accordance with the canons of church building of that time:
- Central pillar - Protection of the Holy Mother of God.
- To the east - the chapel of the Holy Trinity.
- To the west - the chapel "Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem".
- To the northwest - the chapel of "Gregory the Catholicos of Armenia".
- To the southeast - the chapel of "SvirskyAlexandra".
- To the south-west - the aisle of "Varlaam Khutynsky".
- To the northeast - the chapel of "John the Merciful".
- To the south - the aisle of "Nicholas the Wonderworker".
- To the north - the aisle of "Cyprian and Ustinya".
There are no cellars in the cathedral, the foundation is a fundamental basement, the vaults of which rest on brick walls three meters thick. Until 1595, the basement of the Intercession Cathedral was used to store the royal treasury. In addition to gold, the vaults housed the most valuable icons.
The second floor of the temple is directly all the aisles and the central pillar of the Intercession of the Mother of God, surrounded by a gallery from which you can get through the arched entrances to all rooms, as well as go from one church to another.
Church of Alexander Svirsky
The chapel of the southeast direction was consecrated in the name of St. Alexander Svirsky. On the day of his memory, in 1552, one of the decisive battles of the Kazan campaign took place - the defeat of the cavalry of Prince Khan Yapanchi.
The Church of Alexander Svirsky is one of four small aisles, consisting of a lower quadrangle with an octagon and a drum with windows. The aisle crowns the dome with a cross.
Church of Varlaam Khutynsky
The Church of Varlaam Khutynsky, Reverend, was consecrated in his name. The chetverik at the base passes into a low octagon and further into the domed top. The apse of the church is shifted towards the Royal Gates. The interior decoration includes a tabl iconostasis with icons of the 16th century, amongwhich stands out the icon of Novgorod "Vision of Tarasius, Sexton".
Church "The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem"
The chapel of the western direction was consecrated in honor of the holiday "Entrance to Jerusalem". A large church in the form of a two-tier octagonal pillar, the transition from the third tier to the drum is carried out with the help of an intermediate belt of kokoshniks arranged "in a row".
The interior decoration is richly decorative, not devoid of solemnity. The iconostasis was inherited from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, formerly located in the Moscow Kremlin. The four-tiered table construction is decorated with gilded overlays and carved rosewood details. The bottom row of icons tells about the Creation of the world.
Church of St. Gregory, Kotalikos of Armenia
The chapel, facing the northwest, was consecrated in the name of the Enlightener of Armenia. A small church, a quadrangle with a transition to a low octagon with three tiers of kokoshniks "in rush", taken from the cross-domed style of cubic temples of the second half of the 15th century. The dome is of a peculiar shape, diamond-shaped ledges are tied with a "net" of dark green stripes.
The iconostasis is varied, in the bottom row there are velvet shrouds and the crosses of Golgotha are depicted on them. The interior of the church is full of "skinny" candles - wooden candlesticks into which thin church candles were inserted. On the walls are showcases with vestments for priests, phelonions and surplices embroidered with gold. In the center of the kandilo, decoratedenamel.
Church of Cyprian and Ustinya
Large church facing north. On the day of memory of Cyprian and Ustinya, the tsarist army stormed Kazan. The octagonal pillar with pediments passes through the tier of kokoshniks into a faceted drum. The dome, built of vertical lobes of blue and white, tops the pillar. The interior of the church consists of a carved iconostasis and numerous wall paintings with scenes from the lives of the saints.
The church has been restored many times, the last update dates back to 2007, financial support came from Russian Railways JSC.
Chisel of Nikola Velikoretsky
The chapel, facing south, was consecrated in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker, named Velikoretsky in honor of the icon found in Khlynov on the Velikaya River. The church is a two-tiered octagonal pillar with pediments, turning into a row of kokoshniks. Above the kokoshniks rises an octahedron crowned with a head with an Orthodox cross. The dome of the church is painted, bears wavy stripes of red and white.
Church of the Holy Trinity
Another large chapel of the Intercession Cathedral, facing east, is consecrated in the name of the Great Trinity. A two-tiered octagonal pillar, framed by pointed pediments on the lower tier, surrounded by kokoshniks in the middle part and crowned with an octagon with a dome, is the most colorful in the entire composition of St. Basil's Cathedral.
Aisle of "Three Patriarchs"
The chapel, facing the east, was consecrated inhonor of the three patriarchs of Constantinople: John, Paul and Alexander. It features a large five-tier baroque-type iconostasis, with icons of the local row, deesis, hagiography with hallmarks. The interior was renovated in 2007.
Basil the Blessed
In 1588, the cathedral on Red Square was completed from the northeast side. A chapel was added to the pillar of "Gregory of Armenia" in honor of St. Basil the Blessed, who died in 1552, whose remains were buried right at the construction site of the cathedral.
The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, in addition to its architectural and historical value, also has sacred features in terms of cult burials. In 1589, John of Moscow was buried in the basement of the cathedral. In 1672, the relics of John the Blessed, the miracle worker of Moscow, were buried in the Intercession Cathedral.
Kazan Cathedral on Red Square
In 1625, a wooden Temple of the Kazan Mother of God was built on Nikolskaya Street at the expense of the Moscow Prince Pozharsky. Nine years later, the Kazan Church burned down and a stone Kazan Cathedral was erected in its place. This time the construction of the temple was paid for by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, and the new building was consecrated in 1636 by Patriarch Joasaph the First.
During the period of Stalin's reconstruction of Manezhnaya Square, the cathedral was demolished, this happened in 1936. The Temple of the Kazan Mother of God was recreated in the early nineties, at the initiative of the Moscow Society for the Protection ofcultural monuments. Currently, the Kazan Cathedral, located on Red Square, is one of the most notable masterpieces of Moscow temple architecture.
