Built a cathedral. The history of the construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and interesting facts. Where were the temples built?

The temple on the Russian land has long been the focus of church life and Orthodox culture to this day. On the territory of Russia, many temples have been preserved, some were erected in ancient times. Today we will talk about how the temples were built.

wooden temples

In 988, under Prince Vladimir, the Baptism of Russia took place, and the very next year Greek architects arrived from Constantinople to Kyiv, who laid the first stone church. It was the holy prince Vladimir who became the first Russian Christian prince, who issued a decree that after the baptism of the people and the Russian land, the architects would begin to cut down churches on Russian castles.

This is how wooden temples began to appear. But the oldest chronicle sources claim that wooden churches in Russia were built long before the Baptism. Wooden temples have always been easier to build than stone ones, as the building material was more readily available. Moreover, wooden architecture has long flourished in Russia, and Slavic craftsmen built temples almost by eye, without using precise measurements and complex architectural plans.

stone temples

However, after Baptism, the first stone churches began to appear in Russia. In 989, the year after the Baptism of Russia, Greek architects who arrived from Constantinople in Kyiv laid the first stone church of the Old Russian state - the Church of the Tithes.

This church was erected by the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir on the site of the death of the First Martyrs Theodore and his son John. During the construction of the Church of the Tithes, it was the largest church in Kyiv. From the annals, information has reached our days that the Church of the Tithes was called "marble", since the interior of the temple was richly decorated with marble.

In 996, the construction of the Church of the Tithes was completed and the temple was solemnly consecrated. The long tradition of donating to the temple convinced Prince Vladimir to donate a tithe of the church built, after which it was remembered in the annals as the Tithe.

After the construction of the first stone church, other stone temples began to be built. It is important that it was in the image of the Church of the Tithes that the subsequent main temples of Russian cities and monasteries were built.

Where were the temples built?

Together with the Baptism of Russia and the beginning of the construction of churches on the Russian land, a new life began. From time immemorial, on the site of a future settlement, and primarily a city, architects have been looking for a special place to build a temple - not every land was suitable for this. First of all, the builders were looking for not swampy and not too dry land for construction.

Moreover, the temple had to be built in a conspicuous place, in the main part of the settlement, so that every inhabitant could reach it. The temple was necessarily built on an elevated, "red" place, which meant - on the most beautiful.

So, first of all, a temple was erected, and after that a settlement began to grow around it. The Church occupied the most important role in the life of the Russian people, who lived both in cities and in villages and villages.

People gathered for church services on Sundays and other days, and the Russian people always went to church on great church holidays. In the same place, in churches, children were baptized, newlyweds were married and deceased relatives were buried.

Moreover, thanksgiving and supplication prayers were served in the temples, and people's assemblies gathered near the temple.

Architecture and construction of temples of Ancient Russia

The main type of construction of an Orthodox church is a cross-domed one. It was this type of temple that dominated the architecture of Ancient Russia. It was of this type that the first stone church, Tithes, was erected.

From ancient times to this day in Russia and in modern Russia, churches and cathedrals have been built and restored according to the construction projects of cross-domed churches. The technique of building stone cross-domed churches was borrowed by the architects of Ancient Russia from Byzantium.

Since the first temples after Baptism were erected by invited masters, their work laid the foundation for the tradition of building temples under the influence of Byzantine architecture. However, soon, when Russian architects themselves began to build stone churches, the Byzantine style was supplemented by its own, traditionally Russian, local style, which remained forever in Orthodox churches.

Since churches in Russia played an important role for Orthodox people, all the best was collected to decorate the churches. Temples were decorated with gold and precious stones. One of the most valuable elements of each temple were icons painted by talented icon painters.

Churches in Russia were also built of bricks, but before that, in most cases, plinth was used for construction.

From Byzantine builders, Russian craftsmen adopted plinth masonry. And until the 15th century, during the construction of temples in Russia, plinth was mainly used.

Plinfa - fired brick, with approximately equal sides. Its size was usually 40x40 cm long and wide. The thickness of the brick was 2.5-4 cm, and the brick itself was light pink in color. Usually plinths were held together with a thick layer of mortar, which made the building look striped.

The mortars that were used to build the temple, connecting the rows of plinths, were a mixture of lime, sand and crushed bricks. It is known that plinths were built more in the south of Russia, and in the north, closer to Kyiv, stone was preferred.

Later, already at the end of the 15th century, a new material appeared in Russia - brick. These are molding bricks reminiscent of modern ones. Since such a brick was cheaper and much more accessible than stone, it was widely used for the construction of temples.

The brick was fired by the builders, a special sign was put on it, indicating the classification of bricks for laying in a certain place of construction.

Meanwhile, wooden temples also did not stop building. However, the architecture of wooden temples also changed. Throughout Russia, single-domed churches began to be built, erected by builders on a powerful, massive square.

Each temple was built for a different amount of time. The simplest temple could take about a year to build, while the more complex ones could take more than six years. Everything depended on the number of craftsmen building the temple.

Wooden temples in Russia were built faster, since wooden architecture has long been developed in Russia. It took more time to build stone and brick churches, for example, the Church of the Tithes took about seven years to build. Other temples with more complex designs and expensive materials could take more than ten years to build.

A small temple was erected by builders and craftsmen, who were at least 10-12 people. Much more craftsmen, about thirty, were invited to build large temples.

To whom were temples dedicated?

Temples in Ancient Russia were dedicated to the Life-Giving Trinity, Christ the Savior, the Mother of God, and also to numerous saints. Moreover, many churches were dedicated to great church holidays - the Intercession and Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Ascension of the Lord and many others.

Soon, in Ancient Russia, a tradition arose to erect temples-monuments in places where especially important, memorable events took place - military victories, great battles or the death of those who laid down their lives for their faith and Fatherland.

Video

Video: Vladimir Budko

Today, July 12, the Intercession Cathedral, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral, celebrates its 450th anniversary. This date is not accidental: on July 2 (June 29, according to the old style), 1561, the central Intercession Church of the cathedral was consecrated.

The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral, is located in the southern part of Red Square in Moscow, near the Spassky Gates of the Kremlin, above the descent to the Moscow River. It was built in the middle of the 16th century by order of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible to commemorate the conquest of the Kazan Khanate - part of the former Golden Horde - as a token of gratitude for the victory.

What used to stand on the site of the Pokrovsky Cathedral is not exactly known. Russian chronicles contain fragmentary and conflicting reports about wooden and stone churches. This gave rise to many conjectures, versions and legends.

According to one version, shortly after the return of Ivan IV the Terrible from the Kazan campaign of 1552, on the site of the future Church of the Intercession on the Moat on the edge of the Moskva River, a wooden church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity with seven chapels was laid on a hill.

Saint Macarius Metropolitan of Moscow advised Ivan the Terrible to create a stone church here. Metropolitan Macarius also owned the main compositional idea of ​​the future church.

The first reliable mention of the construction of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God dates back to the autumn of 1554. It is believed that it was a wooden cathedral. It stood for a little over half a year and was dismantled before the construction of the stone cathedral began in the spring of 1555.

Intercession Cathedral was erected by Russian architects Barma and Postnik (there is a version that Postnik and Barma are the names of one person). According to legend, so that the architects could not create a new better creation, Tsar Ivan IV, upon completion of the construction of an outstanding masterpiece of architecture, ordered them to be blinded. Subsequently, the inconsistency of this fiction was proved.

The construction of the temple was carried out only 6 years and only in the warm season. The chronicle contains a description of the "miraculous" finding by the masters of the ninth, southern throne, after the entire construction was almost completed. However, the clear symmetry inherent in the cathedral convinces us that the architects initially had an idea about the compositional structure of the future temple: it was supposed to put eight aisles around the central ninth church. The temple was built of brick, and the foundation, plinth and some decorative elements were made of white stone.

By the autumn of 1559 the cathedral was basically completed. On the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God, all the churches were consecrated, with the exception of the central one, since "the large church of the middle Intercession of that year was not completed."

The consecration of the Intercession Church and, accordingly, the entire cathedral took place on July 12 (June 29, according to the old style), 1561. The church was consecrated by Metropolitan Macarius.

Each cathedral church received its own dedication. The Eastern Church was consecrated in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity. Researchers are still looking for an answer to why this church got its name. There are several hypotheses. It is known that in honor of the "Holy Life-Giving Trinity" in 1553 a monastery was founded in conquered Kazan. It is also believed that the wooden Trinity Church originally stood on the site of the Intercession Cathedral, which gave the name to one of the aisles of the future temple.

Four side aisles were consecrated in honor of the saints, on whose days of memory the most important events of the Kazan campaign took place: Cyprian and Justina (October 2 (15) - on this day the assault on Kazan ended), Gregory, the Enlightener of Great Armenia (on the day of his memory September 30 (13 October) there was an explosion of the Arskaya tower in Kazan), Alexander Svirsky (on the day of his memory on August 30 (September 12), a victory was won over the army of Tsarevich Yepanchi, who was hurrying from the Crimea to help the Tatars), the Three Patriarchs of Constantinople Alexander, John and Paul the New ( commemorated also on August 30).

Three more chapels are dedicated to Nikolai Velikoretsky, Varlaam Khutynsky and the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem. The central throne is named in honor of the Intercession of the Virgin, since on October 1 (14) on the day of this holiday, which symbolized the intercession of the Mother of God for the Christian race, the main assault on Kazan began. By the name of the central church, the whole cathedral was named.

The prefix "on the Moat", found in chronicles about the cathedral, is due to the fact that a deep and wide defensive moat ran through the entire area, later called Red, along the Kremlin wall from the 14th century, which was filled up in 1813.

The cathedral had an unusual architectural composition - 9 independent temples were built on a single foundation - the basement - and interconnected by internal vaulted passages surrounding the central temple. Outside, all the churches were surrounded by the originally open gallery-ambulance. The central church ended with a high tent, the aisles were covered with vaults and crowned with domes.

The ensemble of the cathedral was complemented by a three-hipped open belfry, in the arched spans of which massive bells hung.

Initially, the Intercession Cathedral was crowned with 8 large domes and a small dome above the central church. To emphasize the significance of the building material, as well as to protect the cathedral from atmospheric influences, all its walls were painted in red and white colors from the outside. The painting imitated brickwork. The material of the original covering of the domes remains unknown, as they were lost during the devastating fire of 1595.

In its original form, the cathedral existed until 1588. Then, from the northeast side, a tenth church was added to it over the grave of the holy fool Basil the Blessed, who spent a lot of time at the cathedral under construction and bequeathed to bury himself next to it. The famous Moscow miracle worker died in 1557, and after his canonization, the son of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich, ordered the construction of a church. In architectural terms, it was an independent pillarless temple with a separate entrance.

The place of finding the relics of St. Basil the Blessed was marked with a silver shrine, which was subsequently lost during the Time of Troubles, at the beginning of the 17th century. Divine services in the church of the saint soon became daily, and starting from the 17th century, the name of the chapel was gradually transferred to the entire cathedral, becoming its "folk" name: St. Basil's Cathedral.

At the end of the 16th century, figured domes of the cathedral appeared - instead of the original burnt cover.

In 1672, an eleventh church was added to the cathedral from the southeast side: a small church over the grave of St. John the Blessed, a revered Moscow holy fool who was buried near the cathedral in 1589.

In the second half of the 17th century, significant changes took place in the external appearance of the cathedral. The wooden sheds over the grove, which burned down every now and then in fires, were replaced with a roof on arched brick pillars. Above the porch of the church of St. Basil the Blessed, the church of St. Theodosius the Virgin was added. Above the previously open white stone stairs leading to the upper tier of the cathedral, vaulted hipped porches appeared, arranged on the so-called "creeping" arches.

In the same period, polychrome ornamental painting appears. It covers the newly built porches, supporting pillars, the outer walls of the galleries and the parapets of the promenades. The facades of churches retain at this time a painting that imitates brickwork.

In 1683, the entire cathedral along the upper cornice was surrounded by a tiled inscription. Large yellow letters on a dark blue background of glazed tiles told about the history of the creation of the temple and its renovation in the second half of the 17th century. The inscription was destroyed a century later during the next repair.

In the 1680s the belfry was rebuilt. On the site of an open structure, a two-tiered bell tower was erected with an open upper platform for ringing.

In 1737, during a grandiose fire, St. Basil's Cathedral was badly damaged, especially its southern church.

Cardinal changes in its program of murals occurred during repairs in the 1770s-1780s. The altars of wooden churches demolished to prevent fires from Red Square were transferred to the territory of the cathedral and under its vaults. At the same time, the throne of the Three Patriarchs of Constantinople was renamed in the name of John the Merciful, and the church of Cyprian and Justina began to bear the name of Saints Adrian and Natalia (the original dedications to the churches were returned in the 1920s).

The inside of the church was painted with oil painting depicting saints and hagiographic scenes. Oil painting was updated in 1845-1848. and at the end of the 19th century. Outside, the walls were covered with paintings that imitated masonry from large boulders - "wild stone". The arches of the basement (lower non-residential tier) were laid, in the western part of which housing was placed for the clergy (temple servants). The bell tower was combined with an extension to the cathedral building. The upper part of the chapel of St. Basil the Blessed (the Church of Theodosius the Virgin) was rebuilt into a sacristy - a repository of church valuables and shrines.

In 1812, an order was given to the French gunners to blow up the cathedral. However, it was only plundered by Napoleon's troops, but immediately after the war it was repaired and consecrated. The area around the cathedral was landscaped and surrounded by an openwork cast-iron grate, designed by the famous architect O. Beauvais.

At the end of the 19th century, for the first time, the task arose of returning the cathedral to its original appearance. The specially created Commission for the restoration of the monument included well-known architects, scientists and painters, who determined the main directions for the study and restoration of the Intercession Cathedral. However, the lack of funds, the October Revolution and the subsequent period of devastation in the history of Russia did not allow the implementation of the planned program.

In 1918, the Intercession Cathedral was one of the first to be taken under protection by the state as a monument of national and world significance. Since May 21, 1923, it has been open to visitors as a historical and architectural museum. At the same time, until 1929, divine services were held in the church of St. Basil the Blessed.

In 1928, the Pokrovsky Cathedral became a branch of the State Historical Museum and remains so to this day.

In the 1920s extensive scientific and restoration work was launched on the monument, thanks to which it became possible to restore the original appearance of the cathedral and recreate the interiors of the 16th-17th centuries in individual churches.

From that moment to the present, four global restorations have been carried out, including architectural and painting works. The original "brick-like" painting of the 16th century was restored on the outside, in the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God and in the Church of Alexander Svirsky.

In the 1950s-1960s. unique restoration work was carried out: in the interior of the central church, a "church chronicle" was opened, in which ancient architects indicated the exact date of completion of the construction of the cathedral - July 12, 1561 (the day of Equal-to-the-Apostles Peter and Paul); for the first time, the iron coverings of the domes were replaced with copper ones. The successful choice of material contributed to the fact that until now the coatings of the domes remain unscathed.

In the interiors of four churches, iconostases have been reconstructed, almost entirely consisting of icons of the 16th-17th centuries, among which there are genuine masterpieces of the ancient Russian school of icon painting ("Trinity" of the 16th century). The pride of the collection are the icons of the XVI-XVII centuries. "The Vision of Sexton Tarasius", "Nikola Velikoretsky in Life", "Alexander Nevsky in Life", as well as icons from the original iconostasis of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos "Basil the Great" and "John Chrysostom". In other churches, iconostases of the 18th and 19th centuries have been preserved. Among them, two iconostasis were moved in the 1770s. from the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin (altar barriers in the Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and in the central church).

In the 1970s a fresco of the 17th century was discovered on the outer bypass gallery under late records. The found painting served as the basis for the reconstruction of the original ornamental painting on the facades of the cathedral.

The year 1990 was an important milestone in the history of the museum: the Pokrovsky Cathedral was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in Russia. After a long break in the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, divine services were resumed. The following year, the cathedral was approved for joint use by the State Historical Museum and the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1997, the restoration of the interior, monumental and easel painting was completed in St. Basil's Church, closed since the late 1920s. The church was included in the exposition of the Pokrovsky Cathedral, and divine services were resumed in it.

Divine services are held in the Pokrovsky Cathedral by the Russian Orthodox Church: on the days of the main thrones (Intercession and St. Basil the Blessed), patriarchal or sovereign services are held. At the shrine of St. Basil the Blessed, an akathist is read every Sunday.

In 2001-2011 seven churches of the cathedral were completely restored, facade paintings were renewed, and partly tempera painting of the inner gallery. In 2007, the Pokrovsky Cathedral became a nominee for the Seven Wonders of Russia competition.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

The Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Baroque style in the city on the Neva is part of the architectural ensemble of the famous Peter and Paul Fortress and belongs to the Church Diocese of St. Petersburg. For many years it has been considered an architectural monument. The cathedral houses the tomb of royal families dating back to the time of Peter I. The height of the temple is 122.5 m. Until the middle of the 20th century, the temple was considered the highest building in the country, and in St. Petersburg a building of greater height was built only in 2012.

The history of the construction of the cathedral

The biography of the cathedral begins from the time of Peter I. It was thanks to the decree of this sovereign that it was decided to build a temple in honor of Peter and Paul.

Building background

The construction of a new temple by Peter I was conceived for a reason. In 1712, St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia, and it was necessary to emphasize the new status of the city. For this, according to the idea of ​​the sovereign, it was decided to build a temple on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress, which will be located in the center.

According to the preliminary design, the cathedral was supposed to rise above the Moscow buildings: the Menshikov Tower and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. The temple became an architectural expression of the ideas of that time.

The construction of the cathedral and its life

Initially, during the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1703, along with the construction of earthen ramparts, a wooden church was built. Its laying took place on July 10 on Peter's Day. Eight months later, on April 1, the church was consecrated. On May 14, solemn services were held in honor of the famous victory over the Swedes on Lake Peipsi.

The construction of a stone church at the same place began on May 30, 1712. At the same time, the wooden church was not destroyed, it was located inside the new building. The cathedral was built according to the drawings of the Italian architect D. Trezzini, the construction management was also entrusted to him. Peter I ordered that work begin from the bell tower. The construction of the temple was delayed due to a lack of labor and building materials, and the main work was completed only in 1720. Harman van Bolos, a master from Holland, was invited to install the spire. A little later, its coating was trimmed with gilded copper. The idea of ​​Peter I came true: the height of the Peter and Paul Cathedral at its highest point was 112 m - this is 32 m more than the bell tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Construction and finishing work was completed after the death of the king in 1733.

In 1742, the Peter and Paul Cathedral received the status of a cathedral. Sixteen years later, this status was transferred to the newly built St. Isaac's Cathedral, and in 1769 the Peter and Paul Cathedral was transferred to the department at the court of the sovereign.

In 1756 lightning struck the cathedral and started a fire. The temple was heavily damaged, significant damage was done to the spire and the clock located on the facade. The restoration of the building lasted until 1772. In 1773, a new chapel of St. Catherine was built, and its consecration took place. A new clock was installed in 1776, 20 years after the fire. The chimes were made on special order by the Dutch watchmaker B. Oort Kras. Residents of St. Petersburg had the opportunity to listen to the anthem of the Russian State every hour.

In 1777, a terrible storm took place in St. Petersburg, in which the spire was damaged. Its restoration was entrusted to the architect Peter Paton, and a new figurine of an angel with a cross to replace the lost one was made by the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi. After 53 years in 1830, it became necessary to repair the figurine: fix the cross and solder the angel's wing. A truly heroic deed was performed by the roofing master Peter Telushkin. With the help of ropes on his hands, he climbed the spire and performed the required work.

In 1857-1858, according to the project of the architect K. A. Ton, instead of the wooden rafters of the spire, metal ones were installed. At the suggestion of engineer D. I. Zhuravsky, an octahedral pyramidal structure connected by rings was developed. After the completion of the new spire, the height of the building increased by 10.5 m.

In 1866, the replacement of the royal gates with new ones was completed, which were made of bronze according to the project of the architect A. Krakau. In 1877, the painting of new plafonds was completed, which lasted two years. The work was done by the Italian painter D. Boldini.

Members of the royal family often attended divine liturgies in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Some requiems were honored by the sovereign himself. When Peter the Great died, it was decided to build a tomb inside the temple, where his body was laid to rest. Since then, all members of the royal family have been buried there. In 1865, the tombstones were replaced with slabs made of white marble. On top of them were carved gilded crosses.

In 1919 the Peter and Paul Cathedral was closed. Since 1924, a museum has been set up in the building. Many valuable relics were transferred to other museum institutions.

Significant damage to the cathedral was inflicted during the war. The façade was renovated in 1952. In 1954, the temple was transferred to the Department of the Museum of the history of the city. In 1957, the restoration of the interior decoration of the building was completed.

Current state

In 1990, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was again returned to the Orthodox Church, at the same time memorial services for the Russian tsars began to be held. In 2000, services and liturgies began to be held. Now the head of the temple is Arch-p Alexander. In a separate hall of the cathedral there is a museum, which contains unique collections of church utensils.

Features of the architectural ensemble

The architecture of the Peter and Paul Cathedral differs sharply from the hipped temples and churches with domes of that time. The temple is made in the style of Western European architecture: a building in the form of a rectangle, located in length from east to west. The length of the building is 61 m, the width is -27.5.

The general view of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is modest. The frames of the windows are decorated with cherubs, the walls - with columnar pilasters. 6 of the same pilasters adorn the main entrance on the west side. The façade on the east side is painted with a fresco made by art. P. Titov. A small drum with a dome crowns the pre-altar part.

On the western side of the temple, a bell tower was built in several tiers. From the main building to the bell tower, a smooth transition is provided by the first two tiers, which gradually expand. The third tier has a gilded eight-pitched roof, on which there are round windows framed with white stone on four sides. The final element is a drum with narrow windows-openings. The dome of the drum is made in the form of a crown, on which an elegant golden turret is installed. Next comes a spire 40 meters long, at the top of which is a figurine of an angel holding a cross in his hands. From a distance, it can be difficult to see, but in fact it weighs 250 kg and has a wingspan of 3.8 meters and a height of 3.2 meters.

The interior of the cathedral

The interior of the Peter and Paul Cathedral amaze with its magnificence. Large marble columns divide the main hall into 3 naves. The floor is made of limestone slabs. Rhodonite, jasper and marble were used to decorate the walls. The columns and walls are decorated with elegant stucco molding made by masters A. Quadri and I. Rossi. When drawing images from the Gospel on the walls, the artist Andrey Matveev supervised the work, under his supervision were the famous painters of that time D. Solovyov, I. Belsky, V. Ignatiev, M. Zakharov, V. Yaroshevsky, G. Gzel. Pyotr Zybin decorated the plafonds of the central vault. The walls were painted by artists Negrubov and Vorobyov.

The cathedral is illuminated by 5 bronze chandeliers, decorated with crystal and Venetian glass of various colors. Four chandeliers are exact copies made in the post-war period, the fifth is an original dating back to the 18th century.

Light and majestic at the same time, it resembles ancient Russian temples with its architecture...

The Cathedral of the Zachatievsky Monastery does not at all resemble the one that was in the monastery before its destruction in the 20th century. Why?

When we were going to build the Cathedral, many art critics firmly stated that, according to the existing rules, nothing can be built on the territory of the monastery, which is a monument of federal significance, except for an exact copy of the last church that stood here, and then after lengthy approvals. But the last temple was built in the Gothic style, and the Zachatievsky Monastery is 650 years old, it stands in a corner of old Moscow - Gothic would look out of place here.

We were more attracted by Moscow architecture - the way the temple was erected under Tsar Theodore Ioannovich at the end of the 16th century. However, we could not recreate it exactly, since that temple was too small, and no detailed images of it have been preserved.

I went to the now deceased Patriarch Alexy II, showed him a photo of the 19th century cathedral and a small engraving depicting the 16th century cathedral. His Holiness carefully examined everything, then looked at me and suddenly asked: “Mother, where do we live?” I was taken aback: "Your Holiness, in Moscow ..." - "So we will build characteristically for Moscow, design a new cathedral."

Really officials did not interfere with such a decision?

They interfered... From the ministry they sent me a solemn letter, which began with commendable words: “Dear mother Abbess! We admire your work..." - and then it followed: "We bring to your attention that in connection with such and such an article of federal legislation, it is forbidden to build anything on the territory of a monument of federal significance... Otherwise, dear mother, you will be prosecuted under such and such article. Sincerely..."

But my sisters and I were deeply convinced that, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Lord would help us build a Cathedral - snow-white, striving upwards to sing the purity of the Mother of God in stone. A series of approvals stretched out ... At first we met stiff resistance, they told me: “Mother, take care of your nerves, do not achieve the impossible.” But we prayed.

Before one of the meetings, which turned out to be decisive, I told the sisters: “Go to the temple and read akathists to the Mother of God, our heavenly patrons, until I call you.” At the seventh akathist, we received an agreement in principle... The well-known art historian Alexei Ilyich Komich, who was holding a meeting of the working group at the Ministry of Culture, suddenly said: "Let's accept the wishes of the monastery"... Since this is a person with a worldwide reputation, there were no objections.

Then a city-planning council was held at the Moscow City Hall, where there were also many contradictions, but Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov, God save him, said: “Since the Patriarch has blessed, we will not argue.”

And how did you manage to find funds for such a grandiose construction?

When we started building, we did not have any financial resources. There was not enough money even to buy potatoes, to pay utility bills. By the grace of God, a person was found who paid for the demolition of the school building, then others - those who donated funds for archaeological research. When it was necessary to start the actual construction, there was no help from anyone. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II asked me: “Mother, do you have any benefactors?” - "Not". - “But how are you going to build?” “We hope in the Lord and Mother of God.” - "Well, then we'll build it."

And indeed, in some miraculous way, funds gradually arrived. Finally, just at the time when all the sources of money dried up, a man came who said: “Mother, I am used to helping in a big way. I take over the construction of the Cathedral.” I didn’t even quite believe it, because at the beginning of construction, many undertook to help us, and then, for reasons beyond their control, stepped aside ...

But the help didn't stop there. When we were just making the foundations, the benefactor offered to buy material for the domes. We covered the cupolas with gold smalt, which we purchased in Italy: for the large chapter - from yellow gold, for the rest - from white. This material is durable, unlike gold leaf, which quickly loses its appearance in Moscow conditions. God save the servant of God Demetrius, he did not spare money for materials. The temple outside and inside is finished with white stone, covered with hand-carved. At the height of the crisis, I suggested at least upstairs, on the drum, to use an artificial stone - but the ktitor replied: “What are you, mother, we are building with you for centuries, we will not save.”

And how was the project of the Cathedral born?

Several architects worked with us, they offered their projects, but we could not stop at any of them. And then a miracle happened. Our parishioner, the servant of God Peter, an architect by profession, had an amazing dream: as if he came to the territory of the monastery at night and saw a pillar, on which the venerable mothers Juliana and Eupraxia climbed the stairs. Peter followed them. I saw Moscow from above: the Kremlin, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior... The Monk Juliana asked the Monk Eupraxia: “What, is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior big?” - "Yes". - "Is our Cathedral big?" - "Big, but smaller." Peter woke up with the idea of ​​making a sketch of the Cathedral. Made. Brought it to us. Turned out to be exactly what we wanted...

It looks like the construction of the Cathedral is some kind of miracle from start to finish!

We have a special place: for six centuries there was a monastery here, a host of ascetics - this is very affecting. And one more thing: in the monastery you can tangibly feel the protection of the Mother of God. The Mother of God is indeed our Heavenly Mother, everything that is done here is done by Her intercession, and not by our own strengths or merits. It is amazing that all the main events in the monastery are

November 25, the day of the "Merciful" icon of the Mother of God. The Patriarch planned to consecrate the gate temple on the day of the Image Not Made by Hands - on his patronal feast, but it turned out that the consecration was transferred to the "Merciful". The Church of the Conception was consecrated on "Gracious", the Holy Spirit - on the eve, the Cathedral was planned to be laid in the summer, but for reasons beyond our control, the laying was moved to "Gracious", on the same holiday, bells, crosses were consecrated in different years ... On this the day was consecrated and the Cathedral itself.

The Mother of God, with her grace, covers us, sinners and the weak. The erection of the Cathedral is a miracle of the Most Pure One, we ourselves would never have been able to build it. Construction went on during the crisis, it was almost the only construction site in Moscow that was not frozen, so even the media turned to us with the question of how this was possible. When the scaffolding was removed, it seemed to me that this temple was lowered from the sky.

- The “merciful” icon of the Mother of God is the main shrine of the monastery. But she was not returned to it immediately after the opening of the monastery?

In 1993, when the monastery began to be revived, we wanted to immediately take away the miraculous icon, and leave a list for the parishioners of the church of Elijah the Everyday, where it was kept for all the years of persecution of faith. But the hierarchy did not bless to do this immediately, since the temple had not yet been restored.

We took the list, and literally two weeks later it became myrrh-streaming.

And the icon itself was transferred only in 1999, when the Church of the Conception appeared in the Refectory building. They planned to hold a big religious procession, but the date was postponed all summer.

Finally, deep autumn has come, when religious processions are usually no longer satisfied. My sisters and I decided to read the akathist to the “Merciful” Mother of God for forty days, so that the Most Pure Herself would manage everything in the way She pleased. After that, I invited His Holiness to serve with us on November 25, without even mentioning the transfer of the icon. And the Patriarch himself decided not only to celebrate the service, but also to transfer the miraculous image. It was twenty-five degrees below zero outside, but a majestic religious procession took place, in which more than a hundred clergymen, four bishops took part ...

Why was the Cathedral made two-storied, and even so complexly planned: with many aisles at the top, with two underground temples and a museum at the bottom?

During the excavations, we found a whole street of cells of the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, the remains of the floors of the 13th century, along which St. Alexy and the venerable mothers Juliana and Eupraxia walked. The foundations of the first stone church erected at the beginning of the 16th century, then the stone church of the second half of the same century, erected by the diligence of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich and his wife, Tsarina Irina Godunova, as well as the foundations of the last stone Cathedral built in the 19th century, were discovered.

When we came into contact with all this antiquity, we realized that we could not destroy or bury what was found. Although many people advised to call an excavator, quickly rake everything out, take it out and start building the Cathedral. But we felt that this is our shrine, that all these stones are saturated with the feat of our predecessors.

Therefore, they decided to save the finds and make a museum under the Cathedral. Of course, this complicated the construction project and caused a lot of problems: it was necessary somehow to preserve the historical foundations and create new ones. Now, in the basement of the Cathedral, we are equipping a museum and two churches are already operating.

To whom are these underground churches dedicated?

One temple was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "The Burning Bush", the other - in the name of All the Reverend Fathers and Wives, who shone in the feat of fasting and prayer. During the excavations, we came across a huge number of remains, most of which belonged to the nuns who labored in our monastery. Many of the bones are golden, honey-colored, and this, according to the Athos tradition, testifies to the deceased as having pleased God. Many of the remains - with chains, with rosaries, crosses ... We realized that with their prayers, sweat, blood, tears, the monastery stood, stands and will stand.

There was a desire to especially honor their memory, so that those who come here could prayerfully commemorate the monastics who have died here. The names of all the ascetics of the monastery are unknown to us, and therefore it was decided to dedicate the chapel to all the reverend fathers and wives, for which the blessing of both the deceased Primate and the now living His Holiness Patriarch was received.

Divine services are performed regularly in this church, mainly for the sisters of the monastery, and on certain days, for example, at early Sunday liturgies and on the patronal feast of the monastery, parishioners can also pray here. We thought for a long time how to make the iconostasis, especially since the underground premises of the church are damp.

Finally, we settled on a rather unusual option - a forged iconostasis. Its main motif is the vine, which reminds us that Christ is the Vine and we are the offspring.

I have never seen a forged iconostasis before!

And where were the remains found during the excavations buried?

At first they were buried in the monastery cemetery and in the courtyard, and then they made a chapel for the church of the Reverends

Ossuary as on Athos and Sinai. A crypt was arranged under the floor, where the bones lie, and the skulls were placed on the shelves. They made an inscription that we saw in one of the ossuaries: “We were like you, and you will be like us.” Here we serve lithium, requiem services, sisters come here just to pray. Here one involuntarily thinks about Eternity, about the frailty of earthly existence... It helps to stop, to sober up. "Remember your last and you will not sin forever."

It is very symbolic that at the base of the main cathedral of the monastery are the relics of the predecessors...

When in 2011 the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought to Russia, Elder Ephraim from Vatopedi visited our monastery. He shared that when he entered the territory of the monastery, he immediately felt the protection of the Queen of Heaven. And he said: “You had so many ascetics who stand before the Throne of God for you - both martyrs and reverends - their prayer is very tangible.”

And why did they build an underground temple in honor of the "Burning Bush"?

In the second half of the 18th century, over the place of the alleged burial of the founders of the monastery - St. abbess Juliana and nun Evpraksia at the expense of a philanthropist - a noble maiden A.M. Anichkova built a temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Burning Bush". It was small, not heated. At the end of the 19th century, a spacious Kazan chapel was built in its place, which was connected to the main volume of the Cathedral.

We decided to restore this temple in the basement of the new cathedral, under the Kazan chapel. Since the Burning Bush, symbolizing the Mother of God, is a bush that burned and did not burn, we also made the iconostasis of the temple ceramic - coming out of the fire. Passed through the fire and candlesticks, and chandeliers - they are forged. And the painting is "fiery" - in ocher-red, saturated colors. Our icon painters traveled to Cappadocia and painted this church with images and compositions in the style of frescoes of ancient Cappadocian temples.

Alina Sergeychuk spoke with Abbess Juliania (Kaleda)

Magazine "Church Builder" No. 40 (autumn 2013), publishing house "Rusizdat".

Today we are told that the famous Cologne Cathedral in the German city of Cologne was allegedly built over several hundred years (the construction of the Cologne Cathedral in the Middle Ages. An unfinished tower with an overhanging wooden crane is visible on the left. Taken from).

It is believed that construction began in the Middle Ages, allegedly in the 4th century AD. . Then the cathedral was allegedly rebuilt many times, and nothing of these "early cathedrals" has survived today. The Gothic cathedral began to be erected on this site allegedly in 1248. They even call the exact date: August 15, 1248. It is further assumed that the construction was "mostly" completed in the 16th century, around 1560. Then this huge medieval cathedral was allegedly only partially restored and slightly renovated, but in general its appearance changed little (modern view of Cologne Cathedral. City of Cologne, Germany. Taken from).

How justified is this point of view? When was the cathedral that we see today built? Do we really see a medieval building, the main part of which was created in the XIII-XVI centuries?

The figure reproduces a diagram from a technical brochure, clearly showing which parts of the cathedral are composed of medieval masonry, and which were built in the last two centuries. The full title of the brochure is: “Gefahr fϋr den Kölner Dom. Bild-Documentation zur Verwitterung. Auszug aus dem Kölner Dom-Lese- and Bilderbuch. Professor Dr. Arnold Wolff”, the brochure is intended for professionals interested in the details of the conservation and restoration of stone structures. Printed in Cologne and available inside Cologne Cathedral.

What can be seen from this map-scheme of the cathedral? The oldest masonry, namely the masonry of 1248-1560, is shown in the diagram with horizontal hatching. All other masonry, depicted in seven other ways - oblique hatching, dotted, etc. - already belong to the era later than 1826!

Chronology of the laying of the Cologne Cathedral. Taken from the technical brochure Gefahr fϋr den Kölner Dom. Bild-Documentation zur Verwitterung. Auszug aus dem Kölner Dom-Lese- and Bilderbuch. Professor Dr. Arnold Wolf. We received this pamphlet at Cologne Cathedral itself. It is striking that the oldest medieval masonry of 1248-1560, that is, the horizontal shading in the drawing, is only a small part of the modern building. In fact, this is only half of the foundation of the cathedral. Yes and that. this surviving medieval foundation consists of two parts quite far apart. The rest of the masonry, that is, the vast majority of the volume of the modern building, appeared here only at the beginning of the 19th century! In particular, the masonry of the era of 1560-1825 is completely absent from the diagram. Does this mean that in the era from 1560 to 1825, that is, about two hundred and fifty years, no work was carried out at all? Or did they not lead to a noticeable change in the structure of the walls of the cathedral?

Thus, German historians and archaeologists tell us quite unequivocally that the cathedral we see today was actually built entirely in the 19th century! But in this case, on what basis does Scaligerian history assure us that before our eyes is a medieval temple? Perhaps someone will say: well, let the cathedral be almost completely created in the 19th century. But it almost certainly reproduces a medieval original that has stood on this site since the 13th century.

What are the grounds for such a hypothesis? we say. Are there authentic medieval drawings depicting Cologne Cathedral before the 17th century? It seems that there are simply no such original drawings dating back to the 17th century. In any case, in the same brochure by Arnold Wolf, only an engraving of 1834-1836 depicting the Cologne Cathedral is given. It is curious that it shows a cathedral, very similar to the modern one. In the album on p. 21 is shown, as, apparently, the oldest, only an engraving of 1809 depicting the cathedral. In our opinion, this only means that the construction of the cathedral in its present form began only in the 19th century. Which, in fact, is what the above masonry scheme claims. Construction was started around 1820 and completed in outline around 1835. That is about 15 years. The engraving of 1834-1836 recorded the last stage of the creation of the temple. Then, in the 19th and 20th centuries, it was actually restored and rebuilt several times, but its external appearance changed slightly.

There were probably some traces of an ancient structure on the site of the modern Cologne Cathedral. After all, some mysterious masonry is marked on the drawing in some parts of the foundation, dating from the era of supposedly 1248-1560. However, from the same diagram it absolutely unambiguously follows that this ancient medieval masonry was used, among other things, as a building material during the subsequent construction of the cathedral in the 19th century. Take a look again at fig. 49. The left tower of the cathedral in its lower part is lined with stones of the 19th century, between which stones of the 13th-16th centuries are laid in some places! And the upper half of this tower, as well as the second tower, by the way, was entirely created only in the 19th century. Thus, the ancient medieval building, which was on the site of the modern Cologne Cathedral, was dismantled in the 19th century, and its material went to the construction of a virtually new building.

So, we would like to ask historians and archaeologists the following questions.

1) Are there authentic medieval drawings depicting the Cologne Cathedral, or the building that was in its place earlier than the 17th century?

2) Is it true that the modern Cologne Cathedral "looks like" a medieval temple that stood here before the 19th or 18th century? Our hypothesis: if some temple stood here, it did not look like what we see today. For example, it was significantly less.

Why are there no noticeable traces of masonry from 1560-1825 in the walls of the modern Cologne Cathedral? Doesn't this mean that real construction began only in the 19th century? On the site of some small building of the XIII-XVI centuries. By the way, how reliable is the masonry dated, allegedly belonging to the XIII-XVI centuries? Or maybe these stones were laid here much later, say, in the 17th-18th centuries? By the way, let's ask another interesting question: how exactly do modern archaeologists date the stonework fragment? How do they know that a given stone was placed in the wall of the cathedral in such and such a year, and not in some other?

In conclusion, let us make a general remark about the strange duration of the construction of many famous buildings of the European Middle Ages. According to Scaligerian history, they were built for a very, very long time. For many hundreds of years. Take, for example, the Strasbourg Münster. At one time it was the tallest building in Europe. We are told that it was allegedly started to be built in 1015, and completed only in 1275. It turns out that it took 260 years to build. The Erwin von Steinbach Tower, under Münster, was allegedly built for 162 years. The historian Kohlrausch reasonably notes "... therefore, the entire building (of Münster. - Auth.) was built for 424 years". Almost half a millennium!

Kohlrausch could not pass by the allegedly very long construction of the Cologne Cathedral. Apparently. realizing that such a strangely long duration needs an explanation, he writes the following: “Cologne Cathedral, founded in 1248 ... the construction lasted 250 years. such slowness, - Kohlrausch theorizes, - is explained by the fact that thousands of images are excised on his stones. As we begin to understand, the point is not in the images, but in the wrong Scaligerian chronology, which artificially stretched the construction time for many centuries.

A.T. Fomenko. “Four hundred years of deceit. Mathematics allows you to look into the past. – M.: Astrey; AST; Vladimir: VKT, 2010. - 350 p.