For the world, the most famous "visiting cards" of Russia are the Kremlin, the Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The latter has also other names, the most popular of which is the Intercession Cathedral on the Ditch.
General information
St. Basil's Cathedral celebrated its 450th anniversary on 02.07.2011. This unique building was erected on Red Square. Amazing in its beauty, the temple is a whole complex of churches united by a common ground. Even those who do not know anything about the architecture of Russia will immediately recognize the Church of St. Basil the Blessed. The cathedral has a unique feature - all its variegated domes differ from each other.
In the main (Pokrovskaya) church there is an iconostasis, which was moved from the destroyed in 1770 Kremlin church of the Chernigov miracle-workers. In the podklet of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God are the most valuable icons of the cathedral, the most ancient of which is the icon of St. Basil the Blessed (16th century), written specifically for this church. Immediately exhibited icons XVII century: Our Lady of the Sign and Protection of the Blessed Virgin. The first copies an image located on the east side of the church facade.
The history of the temple
The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, the history of the construction of which was covered with a number of myths and legends, was built on the orders of the first Tsar of Rus Ivan the Terrible. He was dedicated to a landmark event, namely, the victory over the Kazan Khanate. To the great regret of historians, the names of the architects who created this unmatched masterpiece have not survived to this day. There are many versions of the one who worked on the erection of the temple, but it is not established reliably, who created the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed. Moscow was the main city of Russia, so the tsar collected the best masters in the capital. According to one legend, the main architect was Postnik Yakovlev from Pskov, nicknamed Barma. Another version completely contradicts this. Many believe that Barma and Postnik are different masters. Even more confusion arises from the third version, which says that the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow was built by the Italian architect. But the most popular legend about this temple is the one in which it says about the blindness of the architects who created this masterpiece, so that they could not repeat their creation.
origin of name
It's amazing, but despite the fact that the main church of this church was dedicated to the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is known all over the world as St. Basil's Cathedral. In Moscow there have always been many holy fools (blessed "God's people"), but the name of one of them is forever imprinted in the history of Russia. Mad Vasily lived on the street and even walked half-naked in the winter. At the same time his entire body was wrapped in chains, which were iron chains with large crosses. This man was highly respected in Moscow. Even the tsar himself treated him with an uncharacteristic reverence for him. Vasily Blessed was revered by the townspeople as a miracle worker. He died in 1552, and in 1588 a church was built over his grave. It was this building that gave the generally accepted name to this temple.
St. Basil's Cathedral (description)
Almost everyone who visits Moscow knows that the main symbol of Russia is the Red Square. St. Basil's Cathedral occupies one of the most honorable places in the whole complex of buildings and monuments located on it. The temple is crowned with 10 magnificent domes. Around the main (main) church, called the Intercession of the Theotokos, eight others are symmetrically located. They are built in the form of an eight-pointed star. All these churches symbolize the religious holidays that take place on the days of the taking of the Kazan Khanate.
The cupolas of St. Basil's Cathedral and the bell tower
Eight churches are crowned with 8 onion heads. The main (central) structure is completed by a "tent", above which a small "glavka" rises. The tenth dome was built above the church bell tower. It is striking that all the domes of the temple are completely different from each other in their texture and color.
The modern bell tower of the church was erected on the site of the old belfry, which completely deteriorated in the XVII century. It was built in 1680. At the base of the bell tower there is a tall massive quadrangle, on which an octagon is erected. On it there is an open platform, enclosed by 8 pillars. All of them are interconnected by arched spans. The top of the platform is crowned by a tall octagonal tent, the ribs of which are decorated with tiles of different colors (white, blue, yellow, brown). Its edges are covered with green curly tiles. At the top of the tent is an onion glauca crowned with an octagonal cross. Inside the site on the wooden beams hanging bells that were cast in the XVII-XIX centuries.
Architectural features
The nine churches of St. Basil's Cathedral are connected by a common base and a bypass gallery. Its peculiarity is a fanciful painting, the main motive of which are floral ornaments. The unique style of the temple combines the traditions of both European and Russian architecture of the Renaissance. A distinctive feature of the cathedral are the archways. The height of the church (at the highest dome) is 65 m. The names of the churches of the Cathedral are Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Trinity, the Martyrs Adrian and Natalia, the Entry into Jerusalem, John the Merciful, Varlaam Khutynsky, Alexander Svirsky, Grigory Armenian, and the Protection of the Mother of God.
Another feature of the temple is that it does not have a basement. It has extremely strong podklet walls (reach a thickness of 3 m). The height of each of the rooms is approximately 6.5 m. The whole construction of the northern part of the temple is unique, as the long box vault of the podlet has no supporting pillars. The walls of the building are "cut" by so-called "blows", which are narrow holes. They provide a special microclimate in the church. For many years, the premises of the podklet were not available to parishioners. Nishi-caches were used as vaults and were closed by doors, the presence of which is now only evidenced by the loops preserved on the walls. It is believed that until the end of the XVI century. They kept the royal treasury.
Gradual transformation of the Cathedral
Only at the end of the XVI century. Over the temple appeared figured heads, which replaced the original overlap, burnt in the next fire. This Orthodox Cathedral until the XVII century. Was called Troitsky, because the very first wooden church that was in this place was built in honor of the Holy Trinity. Originally this structure had a more strict and restrained appearance, as it was erected from stone and brick. Only in the XVII century. All the domes were decorated with ceramic tiles. At the same time asymmetric buildings were added to the temple. Then there appeared tents above the porches and an intricate list of walls and ceilings. In the same period on the walls and ceiling there was an elegant painting. In 1931, before the temple was erected a monument to Minin and Pozharsky. To date, St. Basil's Cathedral is in the joint jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Historical Museum of Moscow. This building is a cultural heritage of Russia. The beauty and uniqueness of this temple was appreciated all over the world. The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The significance of the Intercession Cathedral in the USSR
Despite the persecution of the Soviet authorities against religion and the destruction of a huge number of churches, the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow in 1918 was taken under state protection as a cultural monument of world significance. It was at this time that all efforts of the authorities were aimed at creating a museum in it. The first curator of the church was the archpriest John Kuznetsov. It was he who practically independently cared for the repair of the building, although his condition was simply awful. In 1923, the Cathedral housed the historical and architectural museum "Intercession Cathedral". Already in 1928, he became one of the branches of the State Historical Museum. In 1929, all bells were removed from him, and divine services were banned. Despite the fact that the temple has been constantly restored for almost a hundred years, its exposition was closed only once - during the Great Patriotic War.
The Intercession Cathedral in 1991-2014.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, St. Basil's Cathedral was transferred to the joint use of the Russian Orthodox Church and the State Historical Museum. Since 15.08.1997, festive and Sunday services were resumed in the church. Since 2011, the inaccessible chapters have been opened for visiting, in which new expositions are arranged.