History of the Assumption Cathedral begins with St. Peter, Metropolitan of Russia.

Saint Peter, the first head of the Russian Church, who settled in Moscow, was buried in an unfinished church. Subsequently, most of the successors of the metropolitan, following both his example and the long tradition of finding eternal rest under cathedral were buried here.

By the second half of the 15th century, the first Assumption Cathedral was noticeably dilapidated, and the young Russian state, then united by the iron hand of the great princes of Moscow, needed a new architectural creation, which would be a symbol of the power of the new state. The metropolitans of All Russia had no less desire to glorify the Church.

But like many great undertakings, the majestic Assumption Cathedral, as we see it now, was not built on the first attempt. Many times in its history, the Assumption Cathedral was rebuilt and restored.

Sasha Mitrahovich 04.01.2017 13:38

The surviving evidence of the construction of the first in is very unusual - not a single ancient Russian construction was awarded such a detailed description in the annals.

Preliminary work on the construction of the Assumption Cathedral began in the autumn of 1471, when Metropolitan Philip, who was in charge of the Russian Church at that time, ordered to prepare a stone for future construction. Perhaps this decision was influenced by a big fire that swept through the Kremlin in a fiery whirlwind a year earlier and damaged the ancient building.

However, a fire alone could hardly be the main reason for such a powerful restructuring. At the same time, measurements were taken of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, chosen as a model for the Moscow namesake temple, after which the artisans began to dig a foundation pit and build new foundations. The laying of the foundations in April 1472 was accompanied by a great celebration, in which both the head of the Church and the head of state took part.

On the initial stage construction work, which was led by architects Krivtsov and Myshkin, went on simultaneously with the dismantling of the walls of the old Assumption Cathedral. The fact is that the new cathedral church, although it was built on the same place as its predecessor, was noticeably larger than it.

On May 29, 1472, a solemn ceremony took place - the exhumation, or, in church language, the acquisition of the relics of the metropolitans buried in the former cathedral. An attentive chronicler, describing the state of the discovered relics, venomously remarked to the unfortunate contemporaries who revered only saints with incorruptible relics: .

By the end of the spring of 1474, the building had risen to the level of vaults. Probably, in the grand-ducal and metropolitan chambers they were already thinking about the imminent consecration of the temple, but on May 20, disaster struck: due to too much load, the northern wall collapsed, “dragling” the vaults, part of the pillars, choirs and half of the western wall. According to some reports, the building could not withstand the earthquake that occurred in Moscow then.

Luckily, no one was hurt. The destruction of the temple under construction caused decisive action by Ivan III. He ordered to dismantle the rubble and sent an embassy to Italy in order to invite an authoritative architect from there. At the same time, Ivan III turned for craftsmen to Pskov, whose architects were especially famous in Russia in the 15th century.

A year later, the famous engineer and architect Aristotle Fioravanti arrived in Moscow.

Sasha Mitrahovich 04.01.2017 14:01

The architect of the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin - Aristotle Fioravanti - was born around 1415 in Bologna. Until 1473, he mainly worked in Italy, and also carried out orders from the famous Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus.

In Moscow, Fioravanti, in fact, began construction anew: the innovations of the Italian are already found in the principles of laying the foundations. At the same time, the new building is slightly smaller and oriented somewhat differently than the cathedral of 1472.

Fioravanti, like his predecessors, relied on a model - the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir (there is a legend according to which the architect, who came to Vladimir to get acquainted with the prototype, exclaimed, looking at the local cathedral: “Ours were building!”).

However, he did not copy the plan of the Vladimir temple, but used many techniques hitherto unknown to Russian architecture: forged intra-wall and through-hole iron ties, lightweight vaults, etc. Fioravanti’s perfect knowledge of building technology, the rationalism of his planning and spatial thinking left a special imprint on the appearance of the Assumption Cathedral, the forms of which were reproduced in most of the significant church buildings of the 16th - early 17th centuries.

The construction of a new cathedral church of the Metropolis of All Russia was successfully completed, and on August 12, 1479, it was consecrated.

Sasha Mitrahovich 04.01.2017 14:11

The completion of construction and the celebrations associated with its consecration on August 12, 1479, were accompanied by a decent scandal. Passions flared up because of a dispute about how to properly perform the rite of consecration itself - by making a procession clockwise around the temple or against it.

From the point of view of Ivan III, Metropolitan Gerontius, who then headed the Russian Church, violated the rules: “The metropolitan did not walk along the sunrise from the crosses near the church,” the chronicler wrote about the discontent of the Grand Duke. The interest of the scribe who noted this incident is understandable: the quarrel took place on the highest level, moreover, dissatisfaction came from secular authorities, which, in theory, should rely on spiritual authority in resolving canonical and ritual issues.

Ivan III remained adamant for a long time, disputes, either subsiding or resuming with renewed vigor, continued for more than two years, while other Moscow churches, created at the expense of the Grand Duke, stood unconsecrated.

The Russian clergy, for the most part, took the side of the metropolitan, not accepting the arguments of the Grand Duke: “And after the Grand Duke, there are few of them, one Bishop of Rostov Prince Asaf and Archimandrite Chudovsky Genadei.” But only the decisive step of Gerontius, who declared that he was ready to give up the chair, and left for the Simonov Monastery, forced the Grand Duke to reconcile in the autumn of 1481

Sasha Mitrahovich 04.01.2017 14:22

Despite the difficulties with the consecration of the temple, it immediately turned into a cult and political center of the Moscow state. It was here that the relics of the saints, who were considered the main protectors of the principality, were transferred from the old Assumption Cathedral.

Here, in the tense autumn days of 1480, when the question of whether or not to be independent of the young state was being decided on the Ugra River, Ivan III was sent to “The Most Pure Lady of the Mother of God and to the holy miracle worker, asking for help and intercession for the Orthodox Christians.”

On February 4, 1498, the wedding for the grand reign of the heir to the throne Dmitry, the grandson of Ivan III, who was declared co-ruler with his grandfather, took place in the Assumption Cathedral. The wedding ceremony was prepared extremely magnificent, and the Byzantine imperial ceremonial was taken as its basis. Such an event occurred for the first time in the history of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

As the cathedral church of the unified Russian state, the Assumption Cathedral also became the place of ordination of the heads of the Church, first the metropolitans, later the Patriarchs. It was here that the first patriarchal consecration in Russian history took place in 1589: Metropolitan Job was ordained by Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople, becoming “the most holy Patriarch of the reigning city of Moscow and the Great Russian Tsardom.”

When, from the middle of the 16th century, class-representative institutions began to gather in Russia - zemstvo cathedrals, the Assumption Church was chosen as the place for their opening. According to the assumption of the Soviet historian L. V. Cherepnin, the first Zemsky Sobor of 1549 began with a church service in the Assumption Cathedral, and then continued its work in the royal chambers. Usually this first congress of estates is called the “Council of Reconciliation”, because the representatives of the estates who gathered at it were supposed to discuss the most important problems of various sectors of society that had accumulated during the boyar rule under the young Ivan the Terrible.

Sasha Mitrahovich 04.01.2017 14:36

However, according to the inexorable law of life, with every joy there is sadness. , wholly supported by both secular and ecclesiastical authorities, and also benefited by the gifts of the nobility, saw not only triumph, but also experienced troubles.

So, in 1493, two fires ignited by lightning damaged its roof. There have been repeated fires since then. The "big" fires of 1547 and 1682 became especially destructive for the temple. In their all-consuming flame, which did not spare even non-combustible elements, the white-stone decoration of the drums perished. The powerful archivolts of the zakomar and the arcade-columnar frieze over the western porch were also burned, the porch itself was damaged.

In general, the western side of the cathedral, along with the vaults, turned out to be the weakest part in the entire building. Due to the uneven settlement of the foundations, it was in disrepair throughout the 17th century. And the vaults of the temple, which threatened to fall, were dismantled "to a single brick" back in 1624. The following year, craftsmen D. Thaler and B. Ogurtsov re-folded them according to a modified pattern, taking into account the deformations formed in the upper tier. In addition, the thin one and a half meter walls of the cathedral gave cracks and began to disperse in their upper tiers.

The economic situation of the Assumption Cathedral was not easy in the difficult “rebellious” 17th century. At the same time, it is believed that by the 1670s the temple was able to fully recover from the devastation of the previous time, the main of which was the Troubles that broke out at the beginning of the century. As always, the support of the top of the state played a big role.

During the XVIII-XIX centuries - as a rule, in connection with the next coronation celebrations - the cathedral was repeatedly put in order and repaired. Restoration work affected both its external appearance (replacing the cladding, cleaning the walls, rearranging window openings) and interior decoration.

Restoration work was carried out during 1882. Their main task was to restore the main iconostasis of the cathedral, strengthen its wooden structures and create a new silver frame, taken out by the French in Patriotic war 1812.

On January 3, 1918, the Assumption Cathedral, along with its relics and valuables, was nationalized. True, divine services continued in it for several more years - the spiritual center was adjacent to the stronghold of Soviet power.

(Russian Dormition Cathedral; English Dormition Cathedral)

Opening hours: every day from 10.00 - 17.00, day off - Thursday.

The Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is one of the greatest shrines in all of Russia. For several centuries, this temple was the spiritual and political center of the country: grand dukes were appointed here, crowned kings, emperors were crowned, state acts were announced, bishops, metropolitans and patriarchs were elevated to the rank. This is the oldest fully preserved building in Moscow.

The first stone cathedral, on the site of the current one, was built at the beginning of the 14th century, during the reign of Ivan I. On August 4, 1326, on the site of the former wooden church, the white stone Cathedral of the Assumption was laid Holy Mother of God, in fulfillment of the wishes of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia - Peter, who had recently moved to Moscow. In the northern part of the cathedral, Peter himself made a tomb for himself.

In the summer of 1471, “Metropolitan Philip began to diligently think about building a new stone cathedral church in Moscow, because the old one, from antiquity and from many fires, was already threatened with destruction, its vaults were already reinforced, propped up with thick trees.” The construction of a new cathedral, huge for that time, was entrusted to Russian architects Krivtsov and Myshkin. Philip ordered the construction of a new cathedral on the model of the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral, but larger than it. The masters quite accurately repeated the shape of the Vladimir Cathedral, it was supposed to have five naves, five domes and choirs. The length of the cathedral, with the required addition of 1.5 fathoms, was approximately 40 m, width - 34 m and height - about 35 m. When the walls of the new cathedral rose to the height of human growth, niches were made in them, and the relics of Moscow saints - Peter, Cyprian, Photius and Jonah. On August 20, 1479, Metropolitan Gerontius consecrated the church. The relics of the saint, which were at the time of construction in the church of St. John the Theologian, were transferred to the cathedral.

The cathedral often suffered from fires. Already in 1493 the cathedral was twice lit by lightning. And at the end of the 15th century, Grand Duke Ivan III, who united all Russian principalities under the rule of Moscow, began the creation of a new residence with the reconstruction of the Assumption Cathedral. Semyon Tolbuzin, for a decent amount for that time of 10 rubles a month, persuaded the Bolognese master Aristotle Fioravanti to come to Moscow. Fioravanti arrived in Moscow in April 1475 and immediately upon arrival set to work. It must be said that in the Russian chronicles a very detailed description construction of the Assumption Cathedral. So, it is reported that the Italian master ordered “to dig the ditches again”, deeper than the Russian masters, he hammered oak piles into them. In the annals there is also a mention that Aristotle used “wheels” (blocks) during the construction, as a result of which “the stone is not carried upwards, but it is clinging and pulling up, and small wheels are clinging to the top, the carpenters call them a vekshoy, a hedgehog to them in the hut to drag the earth, and it is wonderful to see. Here, in 1498, Ivan III crowned Dmitry's grandson (son of Ivan Ivanovich Molodoy and Elena Voloshanka) Grand Duke, bypassing his eldest son Vasily, from Sophia Paleolog. Although later, at the very beginning of the 16th century, Ivan III removed Dmitry from political life, bowing in favor of Basil, however, developed in 1498, according to the Byzantine model, the magnificent coronation ritual continued to exist, and later formed the basis for the coronation of Ivan IV, in 1547, with the royal crown.

The first land contributions to the Assumption Cathedral date back to the end of the 15th century, when its lands began to separate from the lands of the metropolitan see. In 1486, on the eve of his death, Prince Mikhail Andreevich of Vereya gave “to the Most Pure Cathedral Church in Moscow, to the archpriest and priest, in the Yeroslavsky district, his village of Tatarenki in Zaechkovo with everything that the ancients had drawn to that village for their souls, after their belly ". Interestingly, this contribution was conditional - it was stipulated that if the Grand Duke needed this village, he could take it for himself, giving the archpriest and priests of the Assumption Cathedral 60 rubles for it. In addition to direct land contributions, money was also donated to the cathedral, with the condition of buying land on them.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the growth of the estates of the Assumption Cathedral continued, and in the 1630s the size reached its maximum. The land holdings of the cathedral were endowed with significant benefits. The first letter of commendation was given back in 1575 by Ivan the Terrible. Boris Godunov, in 1598, gave a new letter of commendation.

In 1605, the rebellious Muscovites, speaking on the side of the impostor False Dmitry I, having defeated the courts of the Godunovs, many boyars, nobles and clerks, broke into the Assumption Cathedral "with weapons and a drecolium", as Patriarch Job later recalled, interrupted the service and "extracted it from the altar, in the church and on the square, carrying shame with many shames. False Dmitry I, having entered Moscow, was married in the Assumption Cathedral to the kingdom, on July 21, 1605, by Patriarch Ignatius, who replaced Job, who was sent into exile.

After the election in 1606, on Red Square, of Vasily Shuisky by his supporters as tsar, he went to the Assumption Cathedral, where he gave a "cross-kissing note" that under him there would be no violations of feudal legality, committed under Grozny and Godunov. Another noisy church performance was organized in the Assumption Cathedral in connection with the protracted siege of Kaluga, where Bolotnikov took refuge after the retreat from Moscow, with the remnants of his army. The outcome of the struggle was still unclear, and in the Assumption Cathedral, in the presence of the tsar, Patriarch Hermogenes, the royal court, and Moscow residents, the former Patriarch Job, specially brought from Staritsa, freed the Muscovites from their previous oaths, including "Tsar Dmitry", under whose slogan the development of insurrection. The cathedral also suffered during the destruction of Moscow by Polish troops and a large detachment of German mercenaries in 1611-1612.

In 1624, the vaults of the cathedral, which threatened to fall, were dismantled “to a single brick” and rebuilt, taking into account the deformations formed in the upper tier according to the changed pattern (“flipped” configuration), with their reinforcement with cohesive iron and with the introduction of additional girth arches.

Since the 17th century, the composition of the clergy of the cathedral has been precisely known. So, in 1627, the clergy were: archpriest, protodeacon, two keykeepers, 5 priests, 5 deacons and 2 sexton. (For comparison: the clergy of the Archangel Cathedral consisted of 14 priests, the Annunciation - of 11). Candles and church wine were issued from the patriarchal state order. Moreover, until 1675, candle ends went to the benefit of the clergy, but after that they began to be given back to the patriarchal state order, where they were melted into candles.

In 1642-1644, the cathedral was painted anew, but fragments of the original paintings have been preserved, which are the oldest extant example of fresco painting in the Kremlin. In addition, mica doors with copper bars were arranged in the cathedral. At the end of the work, most of the people who took part in them received generous gifts from the king in cloth, sables, silver goblets and ladles. In the 1660s, the painting of the outer walls was renewed: above the altars, above the northern and western doors. Due to the uneven settlement of the foundations throughout the 17th century, the western wall of the cathedral was in disrepair. For emergency reasons, the cathedral was connected at the level of five arches with additional connections.

In the 17th century (and probably earlier), the courtyards of the Assumption Cathedral were located in the Kremlin near the Tainitsky Gates. The land on which the yards of the Bogoroditsky clergy were located belonged to the Assumption Cathedral, but the buildings themselves, the yards, were private property, owned by those who lived there. Since 1654, the courtyards of the Assumption Cathedral were "whitewashed" (exempted from taxes), but at the beginning of the 18th century, Peter I, despite his letter of commendation, charged "bath" money from the courtyards, in the amount of 1 ruble from each bath.

In 1721, instead of a single patriarch, a college of spiritual dignitaries was placed at the head of the Russian church. The immediate management of the Assumption Cathedral and its clergy belonged to the Moscow Synodal Office, the beginning of which, as an independent institution, was laid by the decree of Peter I of January 19, 1722. On May 24, 1721, the Synod issued a decree that “in Moscow, to the cathedral and noble parish churches,” to ordain students of the Moscow “Slaveno-Latin dialect schools” as priests and deacons. From a clergyman who wanted to become a protodeacon of the Assumption Cathedral, in addition, "loudness" was required. In order to elect a completely worthy protodeacon, distinguished by "loudness", a competition was sometimes arranged between several candidates in the church of the twelve apostles.

The fire that began in Moscow on September 2, 1812, on the very day the French entered Moscow, and lasted until September 8, destroyed almost three-quarters of Moscow's buildings. The Kremlin survived the fire, although the danger of catching fire was so great that Napoleon, who settled in it, with his guards, had to leave it for a while. The shrines of the Moscow saints - Peter, Jonah and Philip were covered with silver boards. All this was stolen, only the shrine of the holy Metropolitan Jonah and a part of the robes on the icons located on the third tier of the iconostasis, on the right side, remained. In addition to plundering the cathedral, the French also desecrated it. So, they arranged a horn in the middle of the cathedral, in which they melted the robes from the icons and burned the sacred brocade vestments. All the murals of the cathedral, which were produced at the end of the 18th century, were spoiled by the soot from the fires, with the help of which the enemy heated the cathedral, which did not yet have ovens, and flying from the hearth to the ash from burnt brocade vestments. How great the devastation of the cathedral was can be seen from the fact that 192,135 rubles 54 kopecks were spent on its renewal.

The cathedral was restored and re-consecrated on August 30, 1813, by Bishop Augustin of Dmitrovsky (Vinogradsky). On February 2, 1818, new staffs were established for the Assumption Cathedral, according to which the clergy and church ministers began to receive the following content: protopresbyter - 2000 rubles, sakellarii 950 rubles each, four presbyters 850 rubles each, protodeacon 1000 rubles, 4 deacons each 750 rubles, psalmists and sextons 150 rubles each. In 1822, Emperor Alexander I granted some ministers an additional allowance: sacellaria "as guardians of the Lord's Robe and the shrine of the cathedral in general" and two presbyters assigned to the relics of St.

The first warden of the Assumption Cathedral on January 29, 1817, was the Moscow, 2nd guild, merchant Sergei Fedorovich Boldyrev. The duties of the elders included managing the church economy of the cathedral together with the sakellari, under the supreme supervision of the protopresbyter.

The coronation of Nicholas II on May 14, 1896 was the last coronation in the Assumption Cathedral.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the Assumption Cathedral was restored. New slopes, in order to less damage the painting of the walls, were made not of stone, but of alabaster on a wire mesh. According to the remains found, the ridges of the windows of the second tier were restored, and by analogy, the windows of the absides. The rollers of the windows of snare drums have also been restored, but here, due to the small thickness of the walls, the masonry was not turned over, but the profile was made only of plaster. A lot of controversy was caused by the issue of coverings of the cathedral. The locks of the vaults were opened in the form of large stone slabs with a recess in the middle for installing a cross, and at a distance of about 3 arshins from the top, iron ears were found in the masonry, for stretch marks to it. Others objected that there must have been wooden cranes, since in the annals there are references to fires that began with chapters. On August 15, 1917, on the patronal feast, the All-Russian Local Council of the Orthodox Russian Church opened here, and in October it decided to restore the patriarchate in the Russian Church.

A new era in the life of the monument began with the revolutionary events in the Kremlin that took place on November 2, 1917. The Assumption Cathedral, like some other Kremlin buildings, was damaged by shelling: the central, southwestern and southeastern domes were damaged. On November 20, 1918, the cathedral was examined by the architect of the Moscow Palace Administration, Academician I.V. Rylsky, and the restoration estimates were drawn up by the architect V. Markovnikov. One of the explanatory notes relating to the restoration work in the Kremlin reports that "almost everything was corrected by the works of 1917-1918, and now it is difficult to catch that the Kremlin was under fire."

The Assumption Cathedral was closed for access and worship in March 1918, after the government of the RSFSR moved to the Kremlin. The last, before the closing of the temple, the service was performed on Easter 1918 - April 22 (May 5); the divine service, which served as the initial basis for P. D. Korin’s painting “Departing Russia,” was led by the vicar of the Moscow diocese, Bishop Trifon (Turkestanov) of Dmitrov.

After the October Revolution, the Assumption Cathedral was turned into a museum. Thanks to constant restoration work, almost all icons and murals were uncovered from under later records. In the period of the late 10s - early 20s of the XX century, restorations and disclosures of many ancient icons were made.

During the 1930-1940s, from the Assumption Cathedral and other monuments of the Kremlin, primarily abolished, the issuance of items, mainly from precious and non-ferrous metals, continued to the State Fund, Rudmetalltorg, Antiques (in 1930 alone, 1219 items were handed over ). The condition of the cathedral deteriorated sharply, the roof was leaking, and there was no money for repairs, in winter and spring the walls were covered with thick frost, ice growths formed on the floor, which made it necessary to close the cathedral for visitors to access. All this led to a significant deterioration in the state of monumental and easel painting. Only in 1946 did systematic work begin to strengthen the icons and frescoes in the cathedral. An examination of the murals in the interior of the cathedral showed that a hole in the central drum (1917) was not plastered, some of the murals were cleared and re-recorded in 1914-1917 (northern nave). In the south nave, the domes and vaults were completed, while the painting on the wall and pillars was only cleared away. The commission decided to carry out only conservation work, in which the entire surface of the wall painting was strengthened, washed and brought into an exposition form. At the same time, the question was raised about the need to restore heating and electric lighting in the cathedral, which was done only in 1949-1950.

In 1954, after a long break, excursions were organized to the newly restored Assumption (guide N.V. Gordeev) and Annunciation (guide E.I. Sergeeva) cathedrals, and from June 20, 1955, the Kremlin opens for free access to visitors. In February 1960, it was transferred to the Ministry of Culture of the USSR.

In the 70s, a comprehensive study of the monument began on the basis of a program approved by the Academic Council of the Kremlin Museums back in September 1964. It provided for the clarification of the technical condition of the building envelope, its foundations, vaults, girth arches and ties, as well as the causes of high humidity and salinity of the masonry, which causes damage and destruction of the murals in the cathedral. During 1974-1976, foundation grouting was carried out along the perimeter of the building and at the eastern pylons to prevent it from settling. The new air conditioning system ensured the maintenance of stable temperature and humidity parameters in the cathedral, which are necessary to create optimal conditions for the preservation of monuments in its interior.

The Assumption Cathedral today is a majestic and monumental, powerful proportions, three-aisled five-domed church. The surface of the walls is only emphasized by narrow slit-like windows and a small arched frieze. Chronicles noted that the building looks "like a single stone." Contemporaries are amazed at the majesty and height, lordship and space of the cathedral.

The facades of the cathedral are divided by blades into equal parts: the north and south - into four, the west and east - into three. The upper row of windows is strongly raised and partially captures the zakomar field. The most important elements of the building are girder arches, vaults and drums made of brick (white stone cornices). The size of the Fioravanti brick is (28x16x7 cm). The walls and vaults above the western porch are made of another, larger brick (30x14.5x8 cm, as well as 22x11x5 cm). Perhaps they were added later. All vertical divisions of the facade are the same in width and main facade, outgoing to Cathedral Square Kremlin, has four divisions of the same size, completed by semicircular zakomaras of equal height.

The lower light of the Assumption Cathedral now consists of ten windows of the quadrangle and seven windows of the altar semicircles. New in the composition of the Assumption Cathedral was also the use of five low and flat apses with a three-nave plan, as a result of which the altar part is poorly revealed from the outside, and from the side of the Cathedral Square is hidden behind a corner buttress.

The architecture and murals of the temple create an image of the cosmos, where the vaults symbolize the sky carried by the pillars of the cathedral. As a rule, images of martyrs are placed on the pillars, who support the Church with their lives and martyrdom in the same way as the pillars carry the vault. The vaults of the Assumption Cathedral are of particular interest - twelve equal parts were covered: five - with drums, seven - with cross vaults. In the architecture of grand ducal Moscow, cross vaults were used by Aristotle, apparently for the first time, although pre-Mongol Russia knew them. Both the middle and the corner drums in the cathedral are located above cells of the same size and set at the same height, with the eastern drums cut off by the iconostasis. The reception is taken from the composition of the cross-domed church. The diameter of the central drum, about a meter, exceeds the diameter of the hole on which the head rises. Despite all the problems, the building was built in such a way that it is dominated by a sense of the integrity of the internal space, not partitioned off, but only architecturally dissected, widely spaced by slender round pillars.

The best craftsmen were involved in painting the altar church. On the altar barrier, the oldest frescoes of the Moscow Kremlin have been preserved - images of ascetic monks, executed in 1481 by the artel of the great icon painter Dionysius. The modern appearance of the cathedral is determined by the murals of 1642-1643 (a group of 150 artists worked on them, led by the tsarist painters - Ivan and Boris Paiseins and Sidor Pospeev), and a grandiose iconostasis of 1653, created at the initiative of Patriarch Nikon. The collection of icons of the XI-XVII centuries, in the Assumption Cathedral, is one of the richest in the world. Most of them were written in Moscow for the cathedrals of the XIV and XV centuries, others were brought to Moscow from ancient cities, during the period of gathering Russian lands. Particularly interesting is the huge composition "The Last Judgment", placed on the western wall of the cathedral.

The royal prayer place - Monomakh's throne, was created in 1551 for the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Its performers were probably Novgorod carvers. Here are various motifs and techniques of carving, once widespread in Russia. The building is square in plan, with columns of complex shape, balusters, valances, crowned with an intricate tent, with numerous kokoshniks, rosettes and vases. In twelve bas-reliefs, on the walls, the "Legend of the Princes of Vladimir" is illustrated, which tells about the importation, to Russia, of royal regalia - Monomakh's hats, barm (ceremonial mantle) and other items.

From 1326, when St. Peter was buried in the temple, and until 1700, the cathedral served as the burial place of the Primates of the Russian Church - metropolitans and patriarchs. In total, the cathedral has 19 tombs located along the walls of the cathedral. The relics of the Moscow wonderworkers Peter, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes rest in wooden reliquaries decorated with metal plates - reliquaries.Today, the cathedral, which preserves the tomb of the heads of the Russian church, ancient murals, a unique collection of icons, is one of the most visited museums in the Moscow Kremlin. Since 1990, divine services have resumed in the cathedral.

In the Moscow Kremlin, the Assumption Cathedral is the main shrine of the country, in which the most important attributes of this holiness are concentrated: the tombs of saints and icons. The history of the creation of the Cathedral has more than one century, the names of many significant people for Russia are associated with it.

History of formation

The Assumption Cathedral became a symbol of new Russia, which began to move from the second half of the 12th century to the North-East to the city of Vladimir, where Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky created a new center of Russian life, an alternative to Kyiv. During his time, the Assumption Church was erected in the city of Vladimir, the greatest masterpiece of pre-Mongolian Russia. In some way, he became the prototype of the future Assumption Cathedral in Moscow.

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in the Kremlin, Moscow

But before such a temple appeared in Moscow, some events preceded this:

• the youngest son of the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, Prince Daniel, receives the small city of Moscow and its environs as an inheritance;
• during his reign, holy prince Daniel was able to significantly expand the boundaries of his principality, annexing Kolomna and Pereslavl-Zalessky to the Moscow principality;
• the prince's children, Yuri and Ivan I Kalita, further expanded the boundaries of their principality, but above all, created the basis for the future of the Russian state.

It was under Prince Ivan Kalita that the first Assumption Cathedral in Moscow was built. It was originally associated with the name of St. Peter, who moved from Vladimir to Moscow at the invitation of Prince Ivan.

1. Metropolitan Peter of Kyiv moved from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325, where, at his insistence, a church was founded in 1326, which was consecrated on August 4, 1827.
2. Metropolitan Peter himself did not live to see the consecration, but was buried in the cathedral itself. Later, three chapels were added to the temple: in 1329 in honor of the Adoration of the honest chains of the Apostle Peter, Praise of the Virgin (1459) and in honor of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica.
3. At the end of the 15th century, namely in 1474, they began to build a new cathedral. The construction was entrusted to the Pskov masters Myshkin and Krivtsov, the walls were almost built, but due to improper work, the Assumption Cathedral collapsed.

The wife of Grand Duke Ivan III, Sophia Paleolog, suggested that her husband invite a master from abroad. An ambassador was sent to Italy, who invited an experienced master - Aristotle Fioravanti.

Interesting fact! Fioravanti was not only a skilled architect, but also an engineer and gunsmith.

Before starting construction, he thoroughly studied the samples of Russian architecture of the pre-Mongolian period, having visited Vladimir and other cities where stone churches have been preserved. The temple was founded in 1475, and in August 1479 it was consecrated.

Gate icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Cathedral of the Dormition

Important! It is probably no coincidence that the next year after the laying of the old Assumption Cathedral in 1326, the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita received a label in the Horde for a great reign, and from that moment the actual rise of Moscow began. And the next year, after the consecration of the new cathedral in 1480, the Russian state was freed from the Mongol yoke.

After the October Revolution, the new authorities banned worship in the churches of the Kremlin. The last service in the cathedral was held on Easter 1918. Since 1922, the Assumption Cathedral has become part of the Moscow Kremlin Museum, but it was opened to visitors only in 1955. Worship services in the temple resumed in 1990, however, they are held only on major holidays and you can get to them by invitation cards.

Description of the cathedral

The model for the temple was the cathedral in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin in the city of Vladimir. Aristotle Fioravanti was faced with the task of significantly expanding the interior space of the temple, as well as following the traditions of Russian architecture, which he succeeded perfectly. architectural elements temples are made as follows:

The Assumption Cathedral looks like a single whole, it seems that it is simply carved from one large white stone.

Interesting fact! In order to increase the internal volume, Aristotle Fioravanti in the construction of the temple used cross vaults, the thickness of which is one brick, as well as metal ties inside the walls and openings. Such a decision in the history of Russian architecture was applied for the first time.

shrines

In the Assumption Cathedral from 1395 until the October Revolution was the main shrine of pre-Mongolian Russia, the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Now this icon is in the church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Tolmachi, it is the house church of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Interesting! According to legend, the icon has always chosen the place where it should be, now it is a small temple in Moscow.

Of those shrines that are now in the cathedral, icons have been preserved:

• Mother of God "Blaherna". According to legend, it was written by the Evangelist Luke and from Antioch came to Constantinople, and in 1653 was donated to the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The icon itself is made in the wax-mastic technique, that is, it is, as it were, embossed, and wax with particles of the relics of many saints was used as mastic;
• Peter's Icon of the Mother of God. It is believed that it was painted by Metropolitan Peter himself when he was still hegumen in Volyn, he presented it to Metropolitan Maxim of Kyiv, who brought the icon to Vladimir, and then she ended up in Moscow;
• Korsun Icon of the Mother of God. Tradition claims that the icon was painted by the Evangelist Luke from the Mother of God herself, and the list of this icon was transferred to Korsun during the Baptism of Prince Vladimir. Initially, she was in Novgorod, and then was moved to Moscow.

Also the relics of the Saints of Moscow:

Holy relics of the first Russian patriarch Job, as well as the holy patriarch Hermogenes. In addition, such relics of the Christian world as the Nail of the Lord and the staff of St. Metropolitan Peter of Moscow are kept in the Assumption Cathedral.

The unique wall painting and iconostasis of the XVII Cathedral with numerous icons famous all over the world, among which: "The Savior the Bright Eye", "The Savior in the Force", "The Savior the Golden Hair".

Patronal feasts and address

In addition to it, there are three more aisles:

• in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul (July 12);
• Praise of the Mother of God (5th week of Great Lent on Saturday);
• in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (November 8).

Important! The Cathedral has the status of a cathedral Patriarchal church, so services here are performed by the decision of the Patriarch, as a rule, on the days of thrones and major holidays.

But the Assumption Cathedral can be visited at any time, except Thursday, as a museum, which operates from 10-00 to 17-00, and from May 15 to September 30 from 9:30 to 18-00.

To get to the Assumption Cathedral, which is located on the Assumption Square of the Moscow Kremlin, for this it is better to use the metro and get to the station "Biblioteka im. V. I. Lenin” or “Alexander Garden”.

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

They say that every city founded in antiquity or in the Middle Ages has its own secret name. According to legend, only a few people could know him. The city's secret name contained its DNA. Having learned the "password" of the city, the enemy could easily take possession of it.

"Secret Name"

According to the ancient urban planning tradition, at the beginning the secret name of the city was born, then there was a corresponding place, the “heart of the city”, which symbolized the World Tree. Moreover, it is not necessary that the navel of the city should be located in the "geometric" center of the future city. The city is almost like Koshchei’s: “... his death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, that egg is in a duck, that duck is in a hare, that hare is in a chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak, and that Koschei tree, like its own eye, protects ".

Interestingly, ancient and medieval city planners always left hints. Love for puzzles distinguished many professional guilds. Some Freemasons are worth something. Before the profanation of heraldry in the Enlightenment, the role of these rebuses was performed by the coats of arms of cities. But this is in Europe. In Russia, until the 17th century, there was no tradition at all to encrypt the essence of the city, its secret name, in the coat of arms or some other symbol. For example, George the Victorious migrated to the coat of arms of Moscow from the seals of the great Moscow princes, and even earlier - from the seals of the Tver principality. It had nothing to do with the city.

"Heart of the City"

In Russia, the starting point for the construction of the city was the temple. It was the axis of any settlement. In Moscow, this function was performed by the Assumption Cathedral for centuries. In turn, according to the Byzantine tradition, the temple was to be built on the relics of the saint. At the same time, the relics were usually placed under the altar (sometimes also on one side of the altar or at the entrance to the temple). It was the relics that represented the “heart of the city”. The name of the saint, apparently, was the very "secret name". In other words, if St. Basil's Cathedral was the "founding stone" of Moscow, then the "secret name" of the city would be "Vasilyev" or "Vasilyev-grad".

However, we do not know whose relics lie at the base of the Assumption Cathedral. There is not a single mention of this in the annals. Probably the saint's name was kept secret.

At the end of the 12th century, a wooden church stood on the site of the current Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. A hundred years later, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich built the first Assumption Cathedral on this site. However, for unknown reasons, after 25 years, Ivan Kalita builds a new cathedral on this site. It is interesting that the temple was built on the model of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky. It's not entirely clear why? St. George's Cathedral can hardly be called a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture. So there was something else?

perestroika

The model temple in Yuryev-Polsky was built in 1234 by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich on the site on the foundation of the white stone church of St. George, which was built in 1152 when the city was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Apparently, some increased attention was paid to this place. And the construction of the same temple in Moscow, perhaps, was supposed to emphasize some kind of continuity.

The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow stood for less than 150 years, and then Ivan III suddenly decided to rebuild it. The formal reason is the dilapidation of the structure. Although one and a half hundred years for a stone temple is not God knows how long. The temple was dismantled, and in its place in 1472 the construction of a new cathedral began. However, on May 20, 1474, an earthquake occurred in Moscow. The unfinished cathedral was seriously damaged, and Ivan decides to dismantle the remains and start building a new temple. Architects from Pskov are invited for construction, but for mysterious reasons, they categorically refuse to build.

Aristotle Fioravanti

Then Ivan III, at the insistence of his second wife Sophia Palaiologos, sends emissaries to Italy, who were supposed to bring the Italian architect and engineer Aristotle Fioravanti to the capital. By the way, in his homeland he was called the “new Archimedes”. It looks absolutely fantastic, because for the first time in the history of Russia, a Catholic architect is invited to build an Orthodox church, the main church of the Moscow State!

From the point of view of the then tradition - a heretic. Why an Italian was invited, who had never seen a single Orthodox church, remains a mystery. Maybe because not a single Russian architect wanted to deal with this project.

The construction of the temple under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti began in 1475 and ended in 1479. It is interesting that the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was chosen as a model. Historians explain that Ivan III wanted to show the continuity of the Muscovite state from the former "capital city" of Vladimir. But this again does not look very convincing, since in the second half of the 15th century, the former authority of Vladimir could hardly have had any image value.

Perhaps this was due to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which in 1395 was transported from the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir to the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, built by Ivan Kalita. However, history has not preserved direct indications of this.

One of the hypotheses why Russian architects did not get down to business, and an Italian architect was invited, is connected with the personality of the second wife of John III, the Byzantine Sophia Palaiologos. A little more about this.

Sophia and the "Latin faith"

As you know, Pope Paul II actively promoted the Greek princess as a wife to Ivan III. In 1465 her father, Thomas Palaiologos, brought her with his other children to Rome. The family settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV.

A few days after their arrival, Thomas died, having converted to Catholicism before his death. History has left us no information that Sophia converted to the "Latin faith", but it is unlikely that the Palaiologos could remain Orthodox while living at the court of the Pope. In other words, Ivan III, most likely, wooed a Catholic. Moreover, not a single chronicle reports that Sophia converted to Orthodoxy before the wedding. The wedding took place in November 1472. In theory, it was supposed to take place in the Assumption Cathedral. However, shortly before this, the temple was dismantled to the foundation in order to begin new construction. This looks very strange, because about a year before that, it was known about the upcoming wedding. It is also surprising that the wedding took place in a specially built wooden church near the Assumption Cathedral, which was demolished immediately after the ceremony. Why no other Kremlin cathedral was chosen remains a mystery.

What happened?

Let's get back to the refusal of Pskov architects to restore the destroyed Assumption Cathedral. One of the Moscow chronicles says that the Pskovites allegedly did not take up the work because of its complexity. However, it is hard to believe that Russian architects could refuse Ivan III, a rather harsh man, on such an occasion. The reason for the categorical refusal should have been very weighty. It was probably related to some heresy. A heresy that only a Catholic could bear - Fioravanti. What could it be?

The Assumption Cathedral, built by an Italian architect, does not have any "seditious" deviations from the Russian tradition of architecture. The only thing that could cause a categorical refusal is the holy relics.

Perhaps the relics of a non-Orthodox saint could become a "mortgage" relic. As you know, Sophia brought many relics as a dowry, including Orthodox icons and a library. But, probably, we do not know about all the relics. It is no coincidence that Pope Paul II lobbied for this marriage so much.

If during the reconstruction of the temple there was a change of relics, then, according to the Russian tradition of urban planning, the “secret name” and, most importantly, the fate of the city changed. People who understand history well and subtly know that it was with Ivan III that the change in the rhythm of Russia began. Then the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

“Be that church wonderful, great
majesty, and height,
and lordship, and ringing, and space,
the same has never happened before in Russia,
other than the Vladimir churches,
and master Aristotle.”
Nikon chronicle

In order to understand and appreciate the architectural features of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, you need to have a good idea of ​​the model, following which Aristotle Fiorovanti built the main temple of Moscow Russia at the end of the 15th century. This is the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. At present, we do not have the opportunity to present illustrations of the Vladimir temple. Therefore, we abstract from comparative analysis two outstanding cathedrals and briefly characterize the main methods of the architect, which he applied in the construction of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Unlike the traditional Russian architecture of that time, the Assumption Cathedral is NOT a cross-domed one. The temple belongs to the hall or ward type of structures. This means that all parts of the inner space of the cathedral are equal in size.

The plan of the internal structure of the Assumption Cathedral is taken from the book “Architectural Monuments of Moscow”, M., “Art”, 1982.

The cathedral is crowned with the traditional five domes, symbolizing Jesus Christ and the four evangelists: John, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Here a logical question arises - if all parts of the Assumption Cathedral are the same, then its chapters should be equal in size. In order to emphasize the traditional character of the cathedral, Aristotle Fiorovanti deliberately built the central dome above the rest and surrounded it with an additional wall to make it look larger than the rest. According to unverified information, a hiding place was arranged in the space between the two walls of the central dome, where the state treasury was repeatedly hidden from taty, for example, from the Poles in 1612.

The chamber structure of the cathedral influenced its appearance. (Recall that the interior of cross-domed churches is divided into naves, that is, the longitudinal parts of the interior, separated by columns or supporting pillars. In Russian churches, there are traditionally three naves - two side (southern and northern) and a central one. In a cross-domed structure, the central the nave is noticeably wider than the side ones.In the Cathedral of the Assumption, all naves are equal in width.

Scheme of the internal structure of the cross-domed church. The diagram shows that the central part of such a cathedral is noticeably larger than other parts.

Due to the design features, the outer walls of the Assumption Church are divided into equal-sized sections. Remember the cross-dome, in which the spins vary in width. In the Assumption Cathedral, the rhythmic vertical division of the walls into equal parts emphasizes the solidity of the entire building; it was not for nothing that our ancestors said that the cathedral was built “like a single stone”.

The southern wall of the Assumption Cathedral overlooking the Cathedral Square is the most expressive.

The southern wall of the Assumption Cathedral faces the Cathedral Square

Vertical blades-pilasters divide it into four equal-sized strands. Each spinner ends with a zakomara. Slit-like windows are inscribed in the upper tier.

The horizontal division of the wall is emphasized by the arcade-columnar belt. The columns of the belt protrude halfway from the thickness of the wall, as if they were cut into it. Exactly in the middle of the belt in each spindle there is one window of the lower tier.

The main entrances to the Assumption Cathedral were both from the south and from the north. Through the southern portal, one could enter the temple from the side of the Cathedral Square.

From the north side, one could enter the cathedral from the metropolitan court.

The main gates are designed in the form of perspective portals. They are decorated with semicircular arches.

Southern portal of the Assumption Cathedral

The arches are decorated with so-called "beads" - an element common in Moscow architecture.

"Beads" adorn the southern and northern portals of the Assumption Cathedral

Stairs with wide platforms at the entrance lead to the portals. They were intended for solemn exits of sovereigns and hierarchs.

Looking at the Assumption Cathedral, you can see its asymmetry. The domes of the cathedral, as well as the southern and northern portals of the temple, are somewhat shifted to the east. The altar apses are, as it were, smoothed out, they are low and not voluminous. Protruding pylons cover them from the north and south. These techniques further enhance the impression of solidity. The expression of the contemporaries of the cathedral again comes to mind: "like a single stone."

View of the Assumption Cathedral from the east side. The picture clearly shows that small apses on the right and left (from the south and north) are covered by pylons protruding deeply from the walls.
Fragment of the eastern wall of the Assumption Cathedral

The outer walls of the Assumption Cathedral, except for the western one, are decorated with paintings.

Frescoes on the southern facade of the Assumption Cathedral

We point out right away that all the paintings on the walls of the Assumption Cathedral appeared immediately after the completion of its construction, that is, at the end of the 15th century. They were repeatedly updated, but the concept of the paintings remained the same.

In the upper part of the south wall, decorated with paintings, the image of the Virgin of Vladimir is depicted. This is an enlarged iconography of the famous icon “Our Lady of Vladimir”, which was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow and for a long time was in the Assumption Cathedral. It may have been painted in 1480, when the ancient miraculous icon is believed to have remained in the Moscow Cathedral.

Our Lady of Vladimir is depicted with the forthcoming archangels Michael (left) and Gabriel (right).
Probably, the appearance of this image is associated with the bloodless victory of the Russian army in the “standing on the Ugra”. The event is connected with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Tier below are images of saints. There are six of them.

The first image on the left is questionable. In the book of T.V. Tolstoy “Assumption Cathedral” it is indicated that Metropolitan Peter is depicted. I quote from the book: “... six figures of saints are placed on the southern facade of the Assumption Cathedral (from left to right) - Moscow metropolitans Peter, Alexy, Iona and Philip, as well as the Novgorod saints - Bishop Nikita and Archbishop John. On the fresco above the saint, “Leonty Metropolitan of Rostov” is clearly read.

Fresco fragment. Image of one of the six saints, the first on the left. Metropolitan Leonty of Rostov In the center - Metropolitan of Moscow Jonah To the left of the window - Metropolitan Peter of Moscow

The next three saints: Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow, Metropolitan Philip of Moscow, St. Nikita of Novgorod.

To the right of the window is Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow In the center is Metropolitan Philip of Moscow

The sources do not indicate which Philip is depicted on the south wall of the cathedral. There is an opinion that Philip I was originally depicted. He was the initiator of the construction of the modern Assumption Cathedral. Later, the image was replaced and now we see the image of Metropolitan Philip II of Moscow (in the world of Fyodor Kolychev), who was canonized in 1672 under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

The last image on the right is St. Nikita of Novgorod

The images of these saints are very logical. The relics of the holy Moscow metropolitans Peter, Jonah and Philip are buried in the Assumption Cathedral. Nearby, in the Miracle Monastery, the holy relics of Metropolitan Alexy were kept. The image of the Novgorod Saint Nikita is associated with the conquest of Novgorod by Ivan III in 1478.

Under the image of the saints in the center of the spinner, under the window, there is an image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. This image is associated with patronage, divine protection, and often this icon was placed on the gates, above the entrances, above the doors.

Below, above the arches of the portals, Deesis is depicted - in the center is the image of Christ, on the left - the Virgin, on the right - John the Baptist.

Below to the left of the door is the Archangel Michael,

on the right is a guardian angel.

This theme is related to the entrance to the temple. Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel are holding scrolls in which they “include the names with the fear of God of those who enter the church.”

Of interest are the copper southern gates leading to the temple. They were made in Moscow in the technique of gold picking in the second half of the 16th century. Currently they are closed with bars and late glass door, so it is not possible to view the images.

Frescoes on the northern facade of the Assumption Cathedral

The upper composition of the painting of the northern facade is the image of the Cathedral of the Apostles. Deesis is depicted at the top - in the center is Jesus Christ, on the left is the Mother of God, on the right is John the Baptist. Below are the twelve apostles. Medallions with faces are braided with a climbing vine.

As well as on the southern facade, six saints are depicted on the northern wall in an arched frieze. From left to right: Saint Paphnuty of Borovsky, Saint Isaiah Bishop of Rostov, Saint Leonty.

Left - St. Paphnutius Borovsky

It seems strange that Saint Leonty is depicted on both the southern and northern facades. Most likely, these are two different saints. One is Leonty I, Bishop of Rostov and Suzdal (died no later than 1077), the other is Leonty II, Archbishop of Rostov (1158-1161?). Which of them is written on which wall, it was not possible to find out.

The next three saints - to the right of the window - St. Ignatius of Rostov, St. Dmitry Prilutsky, St. Sergius of Radonezh.

To the right of the window - St. Ignatius of Rostov In the center - St. Dmitry Prilutsky Right - St. Sergius of Radonezh

The choice of these saints is common for Russian icon painting of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The inclusion of the Rostov saints can be explained by the fact that the confessor of Ivan III was Archbishop Vassian of Rostov. He was also the customer for the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral.

On the sides of the entrance, as well as on the southern wall, the Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel with scrolls are depicted.

Also on the northern wall is a memorial cross in honor of the holy Metropolitan of Moscow Jonah. The St. Cancer is located in the Assumption Cathedral in the northwestern corner, the cross in the icon case is located outside at the burial place of St. Jonah.

Western facade of the Assumption Cathedral. Porch-porch

Portals on the southern and northern walls of the cathedral served as the main entrances to the temple. These gates were opened on especially solemn occasions. The main entrance to the temple to this day is the western gate. They were also used on special days during solemn processions, religious processions and coronations. On the western side, facing the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, Aristotle Fioravanti added an open stone porch-porch. The arch of the porch rests on the columns.

The western facade of the porch is decorated with a hanging weight, in architecture this detail is often called a hanging stone.

“Girka” is an architectural detail that closes the vault. "Girka" in the upper part of the porch-porch of the Assumption Cathedral looks at the Rizopolozhenskaya Church.

The porch of Aristotle Fioravanti has not been preserved. The porch “fell apart” during a fire in 1547. The roof of the cathedral was on fire, the western porch was destroyed, later it was restored.

Initially, on the pediment above the portico there was an image of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, but now it has been lost.

In the middle of the 19th century, the porch was redone. In 1858 the cathedral was heated. The open portico was converted into a glazed vestibule. By 1896, for the coronation of Nicholas II, they made new metal bindings and oak doors according to the drawing of the architect K.M. Bykovsky.
Murals have been preserved in the inner vault of the portico of the western entrance. Inside the vestibule, through the upper glass, you can see picturesque images, these are scenes from the Apocalypse.

This is a 17th century painting. The original - 1513-1515, apparently, died in a fire in 1547.

Frescoes on the eastern wall of the Assumption Cathedral

Paintings have also been preserved on the eastern wall above the altar apses.

The central fresco is the New Testament Trinity.

To the left of the Trinity is the composition “Praise of the Virgin”.

On the right - "Sophia the Wisdom of God." Shown here is a fire-faced angel in the form of Sophia the Wisdom of God. He sits on a throne and rests on seven pillars. According to the legend, "wisdom builds a home for itself and establishes seven pillars." To the left of the throne is the image of the Mother of God, to the right is John the Baptist. Both figures are painted winged, like immaculate angels. The model for the fresco was the temple icon of St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod.

The image of Sophia the Wisdom of God appeared in the middle of the 16th century, somewhat later than the rest of the murals.

We examined all the images on the facades of the Assumption Cathedral. Only the content of the inscriptions above the southern and northern arches of the portals remained unclear.

An inscription is visible above the lower arch of the southern portal.

The article was written based on the materials of the book by Tatyana Vladimirovna Tolstaya “Assumption Cathedral”, M. 2009.