St. Basil's Cathedral on the Cathedral Square. Intercession Cathedral on the Moat (St. Basil's Cathedral)

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square is the main temple of the capital of Russia. Therefore, for many inhabitants of the planet it is a symbol of Russia, just as the Eiffel Tower is for France or the Statue of Liberty for America. Currently, the temple is a branch of the State Historical Museum. Since 1990 it has been included in the List of objects World Heritage UNESCO in Russia.

From the history of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square

October 1, 1552, on the Feast of the Intercession Mother of God The assault on Kazan began, which ended in victory for the Russian soldiers. In honor of this victory, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, now known as St. Basil's Cathedral, was founded.

Previously, on the site of the temple there was a church in the name of the Trinity. According to legend, in the crowd among those walking one could often see the holy fool St. Basil the Blessed, who left home in his youth and wandered around the capital. He was known for having the gift of healing and clairvoyance and collecting money for the new Intercession Church. Before his death, he gave the collected money to Ivan the Terrible. The holy fool was buried at the Trinity Church. When the Intercession Church was built, his grave was located at the very wall of the temple. Later, 30 years later, on the orders of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, a new chapel was built, consecrated in honor of St. Basil. Since then, the temple began to be called by the same name. In the old days, the Intercession Cathedral was red and white, and the domes were gold. There were 25 domes: 9 main and 16 small ones, located around the central tent, aisles and bell tower. The central dome had the same complex shape as the side domes. The painting of the temple walls was more complex.

There were very few people inside the temple. Therefore, during the holidays, services were held on Red Square. The Intercession Cathedral served as an altar. Church ministers came to the place of execution, and the sky served as a dome. The temple has a height of 65 meters. Before the construction of the Ivanovo Bell Tower in the Kremlin, it was the tallest in Moscow. After a fire in 1737, the temple was restored, and in the second half of the 18th century, 16 small domes around the towers were removed, and the bell tower was connected to the temple, which became multi-colored.

Throughout its history, the temple was on the verge of destruction several times. According to legend, Napoleon kept his horses in the temple and wanted to move the building to Paris. But at that time it was impossible to do this. Then he decided to blow up the temple. A sudden downpour of rain extinguished the lit wicks and saved the structure. After the revolution, the temple was closed, the bells were melted down, and its rector, Archpriest John Vostorgov, was shot. Lazar Koganovich proposed demolishing the building to open up traffic and hold demonstrations. Only the courage and perseverance of the architect P.D. Baranovsky was saved by the temple. Stalin’s famous phrase “Lazarus, put him in his place!” and the decision to demolish it was reversed.

How many domes are there on St. Basil's Cathedral

The temple was built in 1552-1554. at a time when there was a war with the Golden Horde for the conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms. After each victory, a wooden church was built in honor of the saint whose memory day was celebrated on that day. Also, some temples were built in honor of significant events. By the end of the war, there were 8 churches on one site. Saint Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow advised the tsar to build one temple in stone with a common foundation. In 1555-1561 The architects Barma and Yakovlev built eight temples on one foundation: four of them are axial and four smaller ones between them. All of them are different in architectural decoration and have onion domes decorated with cornices, kokoshniks, windows, and niches. In the center stands the ninth church with a small dome in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God. In the 17th century, a bell tower with a hipped dome was built. Considering this dome, there are 10 domes on the temple.

• The northern church was consecrated in the name of Cyprian and Ustina, and later in the name of St. Andrian and Natalia.
• The eastern church is consecrated in the name of the Trinity. The southern church is in the name of Nikola Velikoretsky.
• The Western Church was consecrated in the name of the Entry into Jerusalem in memory of the return of the army of Ivan the Terrible to Moscow.
• The northeastern church was consecrated in the name of the Three Patriarchs of Alexandria.
• The southeastern church is in the name of Alexander Svirsky.
• Southwestern Church - in the name of Varlaam Khutynsky.
• Northwestern - in the name of Gregory of Armenia.

Eight chapters, built around the central ninth, form a figure in plan, consisting of two squares located at an angle of 45 degrees and representing an eight-pointed star. The number 8 symbolizes the day of the Resurrection of Christ, and the eight-pointed star is a symbol Holy Mother of God. The square means firmness and constancy of faith. Its four sides mean the four cardinal directions and the four ends of the cross, the four evangelist apostles. The central temple unites the rest of the churches and symbolizes patronage over all of Russia.

Museum in St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on Red Square

Now the temple is open as a museum. Its visitors can climb the spiral staircase and admire the iconostases, which contain icons from the 16th to 19th centuries and see the patterns of the internal gallery. The walls are decorated with oil paintings and frescoes from the 16th to 19th centuries. The museum displays portrait and landscape paintings, as well as church utensils from the 16th to 19th centuries. There are opinions that it is necessary to preserve St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow not just as a monument of extraordinary beauty, but also as an Orthodox shrine.

St. Basil's Cathedral is the most beautiful and mysterious church in all of Russia. It is believed that the architects who created it were deprived of their sight, Stalin himself did not allow the building to be demolished, and during the war the temple was hidden from shelling. The upper tier of the cathedral resembles a labyrinth, and the base resembles an eight-pointed star. We have collected all the most important things about the temple, by which foreigners unmistakably recognize Russia.

St. Basil's Cathedral - real name

St. Basil's Cathedral is a cult building from the time of Ivan the Terrible, by which any foreigner still recognizes Moscow. This is the most recognizable Russian temple. Few people know its true name - the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary on the Moat. On July 2 (June 29, old style), 1561, the central Intercession Church of the cathedral was once consecrated. The first reliable mention of the construction of the Church of the Intercession of Our Lady dates back to the autumn of 1554. It is believed that it was a wooden cathedral, which was later demolished to build a stone church.

The reason for the construction of the cathedral was the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. Tsar Ivan the Terrible, praying before the start of a military campaign, made a vow to God to build a temple, which Rus' had never seen before, in the event of his victory. The king was harsh and merciless, but remained a deeply religious man.

St. Basil's Cathedral - history

In order to preserve the beautiful building in a single copy, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the architects Postnik and Barma to be blinded, so says the legend. Their names became known only at the end of the 19th century. It is believed that the king watched the construction of the temple from a tower on the Kremlin wall. When construction came to an end, he called the architects to him to ask if they could repeat such a building? The architects answered the king in the affirmative. Then he ordered to deprive them of their sight. Scientists also have doubts about this: in the 16th century, outstanding architects were highly valued. So Italian craftsmen were invited to build the Kremlin. It is quite possible that, knowing the harsh disposition of the Russian Tsar, foreigners spread the rumors.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Divine services were regularly held in St. Basil's Cathedral. As a rule, they were performed in the annex - a church built in honor of St. Basil the Blessed, because the other churches were cold. That is why the name has taken root among the people - St. Basil's Cathedral.

Divine services in the temple continued until the beginning of the 20th century. The last rector became, now canonized in the host of new martyrs and confessors. He was shot for missionary activity. He enjoyed special love and respect among Muscovites.

Eyewitnesses said:

“At the request of Father John, the executioners allowed all the condemned to pray and say goodbye to each other. Everyone knelt down, and fervent prayer poured out... And then everyone said goodbye to each other. The first to cheerfully approach the grave was Archpriest Vostorgov, who had previously said a few words to the others, inviting everyone, with faith in God’s mercy and the speedy revival of the Motherland, to make the final atoning sacrifice. “I’m ready,” he concluded, turning to the convoy. Everyone stood in the indicated places. The executioner approached him from behind and took him left hand, twisted it by the waist and, putting a revolver to the back of his head, fired, at the same time pushing Father John into the grave.”

During the Great Patriotic War the museum did not stop its work, although it was closed to visitors. St. Basil's Cathedral was carefully camouflaged to protect it from bombing. There is a legend that after the war, Stalin was offered to remove the cathedral under the pretext of interfering with the parade. It is believed that Kaganovich showed Stalin a model of the square, and in his presence removed the model of the temple, offering to demolish it. Stalin abruptly interrupted him: “Lazarus, put him in his place!” Since then, no one has questioned the integrity of the cathedral.

St. Basil's Cathedral - architecture

The cathedral was built over 6 years from 1555 to 1561. Its original image was changed by extensions, but the idea of ​​​​St. Basil's Cathedral seems unusual even in modern times. It looks like a vault of eight churches that surrounds the tallest one, the ninth. A similar temple still does not exist in Russia. Each temple has its own entrance and lighting, however, the cathedral is a single building.

Without the attached porches, St. Basil's Cathedral seemed to be moving upward. The craftsmen used all possible architectural decorations at that time. All the domes of the cathedral are similar, but made differently. Nevertheless, the building looks very harmonious. This is one of the unique features of the cathedral. The idea of ​​particular differences with general similarity also dominates the interior design of the cathedral. There are a lot of sacred symbols in the architecture of the cathedral: a circle is a symbol of eternity, a triangle is a symbol of the trinity of God, a square reminds of equality and justice, and a dot is the beginning of life. The architecture of the cathedral contains enormous spiritual meaning.

The thickness of the walls of the base of St. Basil's Cathedral reaches three meters. It is this thickness that allows you to securely hold as many as nine buildings. If you look at the foundation of the church, you can see that 8 small churches form an eight-pointed star - a symbol of the Virgin Mary. In the ensemble of small churches there are larger churches. They are strictly oriented to the cardinal directions and form symmetry. Main temple, with a huge dome and tent, represents the Protection of the Mother of God, Her intercession.

The first changes to the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary on the Moat occurred almost immediately after construction and were associated with the name of the famous Moscow saint - St. Basil the Blessed. Before the appearance of the stone cathedral on this site, there was a wooden Trinity Church, where Saint Basil often came to pray. In 1558, a lower church was added to the Intercession Cathedral over the burial place of the Moscow wonderworker - St. Basil the Blessed. To build this temple, the builders dismantled part of the original cathedral.

In the 17th century, two elegant porches with double tents were added to St. Basil's Cathedral, and a roof was erected over the outer gallery.

St. Basil's Cathedral - the idea

This choice of the architects is due to the fact that, according to the idea, St. Basil's Cathedral was supposed to symbolize paradise, the city of the Lord. The idea belonged to Metropolitan Macarius, and the architects tried to bring it to life. Epochs changed, and along with them, people’s ideas about what heaven should look like changed, and therefore the cathedral underwent changes. The main idea remained unchanged: St. Basil's Cathedral is a prototype of a heavenly paradise, a blossoming garden. It is decorated with grape leaves, beautiful flowers, plants that do not grow on the ground...

Total 78 photos

St. Basil's Cathedral occupies a special place not only among the masterpieces of world architecture, but also in the consciousness of any Russian person. This church on Red Square is the personification of the beauty of the Russian soul, its bottomless inner spiritual world, the innermost desire to find heaven and bliss, both on earth and in heaven. St. Basil's Cathedral is unconditionally recognized by all of us as one of the symbols of Russia and as one of its significant spiritual foundations. The architectural ensemble of Red Square is now simply unthinkable without this heavenly beauty embodied in stone. It’s scary to think, but according to one of the legends, the famous Lazar Kaganovich once suggested that Stalin demolish St. Basil’s Cathedral, effectively snatching it from the model of the reconstruction of Red Square, which was presented to the leader of the people for consideration. Lazarus! “Give us a place,” Stalin said briefly then...

St. Basil's Cathedral impresses you so much, it remains in your consciousness for a long time and continues to live in it for a long time, feeding the soul with the sensual immaterial energy of this earthly miracle. Being next to the temple, you can endlessly admire its unique living image, playing with all the facets of sublime and exquisite beauty from any angle. Many essays have been written about this temple, countless scientific research and, of course, an incalculable amount of material from independent researchers and simply lovers of Russian architecture and antiquity has been posted online.

I wanted to present to my reader about the Church of the Intercession on the Moat something different from the works of other authors, which, of course, in this context, is a difficult and, in many ways, impossible task. However, I will still try) As usual, there will be many of my photographs of this temple, from its most varied angles, in different time year - with the aim of revealing both the external sensual image of the cathedral and showing its amazing internal spaces, without seeing which it is impossible to absorb all this Beauty entirely. As it turned out, while I was in the temple itself, I managed, as often happens to me, to miss some views and details of its rich interior design, which, as usual, becomes clear during the preparation of specific material. Of course, these shortcomings will be filled in by me here as appropriate visual source material becomes available.

I am extremely interested in the period of construction of tented churches in Rus' and St. Basil's Cathedral occupies, among the miraculously surviving tented churches, its own special unique place, because the central architectural dominant of this masterpiece is the sublime tented church of the Intercession of the Virgin. This article will be one of several in a series of my future review articles about the period of tent construction in Rus'.

In the first part, according to tradition, we will try to absorb the wonderful and unique image of St. Basil's Cathedral, learn about its amazing and mysterious story, the spiritual basis of the history of its creation, about architectural features, and already in the second and third parts - we will examine and explore the church from the inside, because the main thing is a sensory complex impression, and exactly what we take out for ourselves and what remains as a result , with us for a long time, or even forever.

I do not have an architectural education and I do not consider myself an independent expert in this field, but the field of art and creativity in the field of Orthodox architecture is extremely inspiring and interesting to me. Therefore, when talking about the architectural features of the cathedral, we will use third party sources- as they say, we will not reinvent the wheel where it has already been invented a long time ago and everything is professionally and meticulously described and explained in detail. So, I will not try to be original in this sense. To separate an academic text about the history and architecture of the cathedral, I will highlight my impressions and considerations in italics.
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So, the cathedral was built in 1555-1561 by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate, which happened precisely on the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - in early October 1552. There are several versions about the creators of the cathedral. According to one version, the architect was the famous Pskov master Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma.
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According to another, widely known version, Barma and Postnik are two different architects, both participating in the construction. But this version is now outdated. According to the third version, the cathedral was built by an unknown Western European master (presumably an Italian, as before - a significant part of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin), hence such a unique style, combining the traditions of both Russian architecture and European architecture of the Renaissance, but this version is still I never found any clear documentary evidence.
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We have a more emotional detailed report, so I allowed myself to add to my story the warm feeling of the flower beds laid out on Red Square last summer...)
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According to Moscow legends, the architects of the cathedral (Barma and Postnik) were blinded by order of Ivan the Terrible so that they could no longer build a second temple of similar beauty. However, if the author of the cathedral is Postnik, then he could not have been blinded, since for several years after the construction of the cathedral he participated in the creation of the Kazan Kremlin.
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The temple itself symbolizes Heavenly Jerusalem, but the meaning of the color scheme of the domes remains to this day an unsolved mystery. Even in the last century, the writer Chaev suggested that the color of the domes of the temple can be explained by the dream of Blessed Andrew the Fool (of Constantinople), a holy ascetic with whom, according to Church Tradition, the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God is associated. He dreamed of Heavenly Jerusalem, and there “there were many gardens, in them there were tall trees, swaying with their tops... Some of the trees bloomed, others were decorated with golden foliage, others had various fruits of indescribable beauty.”
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Initially, the cathedral was painted to resemble brick. Later it was repainted; researchers discovered the remains of drawings depicting false windows and kokoshniks, as well as memorial inscriptions made with paint.
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In 1588, St. Basil's Church was added to the temple, for the construction of which arched openings were laid in the northeastern part of the cathedral. Architecturally, the church was an independent temple with a separate entrance. At the end of the 16th century, figurative domes of the cathedral appeared - to replace the original covering, which burned down during another fire. In the second half of the 17th century appearance The cathedral underwent significant changes - the open gallery-promenade surrounding the upper churches was covered with a vault, and porches decorated with tents were erected above the white stone stairs.
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The external and internal galleries, platforms and parapets of the porches were painted with grass patterns. These renovations were completed by 1683, and information about them was included in the inscriptions on the ceramic tiles that decorated the façade of the cathedral.
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Architecture of St. Basil's Cathedral

No matter how complex the design of the temple may seem, it is actually very logical. In the center of the composition is the main tent-roofed Church of the Intercession, around which are placed eight other pillar-shaped churches with domed tops. In plan, the cathedral forms an eight-pointed star. Large churches are located at the corners of the diamond. A rhombus inscribed in a square is the structure of the temple. Eight pointed star Christian symbolism carries a deep meaning - it symbolizes the whole Christian Church, which is a guiding star in a person’s life to the Heavenly Jerusalem.
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Another aspect to consider architectural features the temple as a whole can be reduced to a simple consideration of its architectural forms. All elements of the complex, including the central one, the Intercession Cathedral itself, and large and small churches correspond different types church architecture. But their interaction is based on several compositional elements. This is a combination of an octagon on a quadrangle, or two octagons of different diameters. The central part is two octagons on a quadrangle, crowned by a tent structure. Two octagons topped with a dome - this is how one can describe the architecture of large churches. Small churches - an octagon on a quadrangle, topped with a dome over a round drum. Although the lower part of small churches, their quadrangles, is very difficult to see, they are hidden behind the external decor - kokoshniks.
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Along the entire perimeter of the temple is decorated with kokoshniks, they are located in different ways, different sizes, but they perform one function - they smooth out the transition from fours to eights. The cathedral was built on the principle of increasing height - the central tent is twice as high as large churches, large churches are twice as high as small ones.
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Another feature of the temple makes it completely different from others - the lack of symmetry in the decor and size of large and small churches. But the whole cathedral leaves an impression of composure and balance. Whoever was the author of the council, its idea is the implementation of both political and religious meaning was embodied in its architectural forms flawlessly. Similarity and difference, unification and separation - the combination of these mutually exclusive elements became the main theme in the architecture of the cathedral and the fundamental idea of ​​its design.
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The height of the temple is 65 meters. The cathedral consists of churches, the thrones of which were consecrated in honor of the holidays that fell on the days of the decisive battles for Kazan:

Trinity.

In honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (in honor of his Velikoretskaya icon from Vyatka).

Entry into Jerusalem.

In honor of the martyrs Adrian and Natalia (originally - in honor of the holy martyrs Cyprian and Justina - October 2).

Saints John the Merciful (until XVIII - in honor of Saints Paul, Alexander and John of Constantinople - November 6).

All these eight churches (four axial, four smaller ones between them) are crowned with onion domes and grouped around the ninth pillar-shaped church rising above them in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God, completed with a tent with a small dome. All nine churches are united by a common base, a bypass (originally open) gallery and internal vaulted passages.
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In 1588, a tenth chapel was added to the cathedral from the northeast, consecrated in honor of St. Basil the Blessed (1469-1552), whose relics were located on the site where the cathedral was built. The name of this chapel gave the cathedral a second, everyday name. Adjacent to the chapel of St. Basil's is the chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which Blessed John of Moscow was buried in 1589 (at first the chapel was consecrated in honor of the Placing of the Robe, but in 1680 it was reconsecrated as the Nativity of the Theotokos). In 1672, the discovery of the relics of St. John the Blessed took place there, and in 1916 it was reconsecrated in the name of Blessed John, the Moscow wonderworker.
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A tented bell tower was built in the 1670s.
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There are only eleven domes, of which nine are above the temple (according to the number of thrones):

Intercession of the Virgin Mary (center),

Holy Trinity (east),

Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (west),

Gregory of Armenia (northwest),

Alexander Svirsky (southeast),

Varlaam Khutynsky (southwest),

John the Merciful (formerly John, Paul and Alexander of Constantinople) (northeast),

Nicholas the Wonderworker of Velikoretsky (south),

Adrian and Natalia (formerly Cyprian and Justina) (north).

Two more domes are located above St. Basil's chapel and above the bell tower.
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The cathedral has been restored several times. In the 17th century, asymmetrical extensions were added, tents over the porches, intricate decorative processing domes (originally they were gold), ornamental paintings outside and inside (originally the cathedral itself was white).

FIRST LEVEL

Podklet (1st floor)

There are no basement spaces in the Intercession Cathedral. Churches and galleries are built on a single foundation - a basement, consisting of several rooms. Durable brick walls the basement (up to 3 m thick) is covered with vaults. The height of these rooms is about 6.5 m.

On the plan of the first level, the rooms in the basement are indicated in black. In color - the churches of the second level of the cathedral.
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The design of the northern basement is unique for the 16th century. Its long box vault has no supporting pillars. The walls are cut through with narrow openings - vents. Together with "breathable" building material- brick - they provide a special indoor microclimate at any time of the year.
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Previously, the basement premises were inaccessible to parishioners. The deep niches in it were used as storage. They were closed with doors, the hinges of which have now been preserved. Until 1595, the royal treasury was hidden in the basement. Wealthy townspeople also brought their property here.

One entered the basement from the upper central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady via an internal white stone staircase. Only particularly trusted persons knew about her. Later this narrow passage was blocked. However, during the restoration process of the 1930s. a secret staircase has been discovered. We'll see her again.
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In the basement there are icons of the Intercession Cathedral. The oldest of them is the icon of St. St. Basil's at the end of the 16th century, written specifically for the Intercession Cathedral. Also on display are two 17th-century icons. - “Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and “Our Lady of the Sign”. The icon “Our Lady of the Sign” is a replica of the façade icon located on the eastern wall of the cathedral. Written in the 1780s. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. The icon was located above the entrance to the chapel of St. Basil the Blessed.

Church of St. Basil the Blessed

The lower church was added to the cathedral in 1588 over the burial of St. Basil in the church cemetery. A stylized inscription on the wall tells about the construction of this church after the canonization of the saint by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. The temple is cubic in shape, covered with a cross vault and crowned with a small light drum with a dome. The roof of the church is made in the same style as the domes of the upper churches of the cathedral.

We can see the quadrangle of this church and the lowest level dome, green with crimson spikes, and, in fact, its chapels in the foreground in the photo below.
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Access to St. Basil's Cathedral itself begins precisely from St. Basil's Cathedral, which is located on the first level, unlike all the other churches of the cathedral...
There are a lot of people here on holidays, as you can see.
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Sacristy

In 1680, another church in the name of St. Theodosius the Virgin was added to the cathedral above St. Basil's Church. It was two-story (on the basement). The top was made in the form of an octagon with a head on a narrow drum.

Already in 1783, the octagon was dismantled and the church was turned into a sacristy (storage for vestments and liturgical utensils) at the Church of St. Basil the Blessed. Hilferding's painting, painted in 1770, is the only image of the Church of St. Theodosius the Virgin before its reconstruction. Currently, the sacristy has partially retained its purpose: it hosts exhibitions of things from the cathedral’s funds, that is, the very things that were once stored there.

A tour of the exhibition of St. Basil's Cathedral begins with the entrance through the small northern porch into the building of the former cathedral sacristy (on the left - in the photo below).
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But this photo was taken just from the entrance to the Museum of St. Basil's Cathedral.
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We will get to the museum later, but for now I suggest you carefully examine St. Basil’s Cathedral in detail and from different angles.

SECOND LEVEL

Galleries and porches

An external bypass gallery runs along the perimeter of the cathedral around all the churches. Initially it was open. In the middle of the 19th century, the glass gallery became part of the cathedral's interior. Arched entrance openings lead from the external gallery to the platforms between the churches and connect it with internal passages.
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The central Church of the Intercession of Our Lady is surrounded by an internal bypass gallery. Its vaults hide the upper parts of the churches. In the second half of the 17th century. the gallery was painted with floral patterns. Later, narrative oil paintings appeared in the cathedral, which were updated several times. Tempera painting is currently unveiled in the gallery. Oil paintings from the 19th century have been preserved on the eastern section of the gallery. - images of saints in combination with floral patterns.

This is a large northern porch - through it the exit of tourists visiting the museum and churches of the cathedral is already carried out.
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Actually, these are the views you can take from him...
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Previously, daylight penetrated into the gallery from windows located above the passages in the walkway. Today it is illuminated by mica lanterns from the 17th century, which were previously used during religious processions. The multi-domed tops of the outrigger lanterns resemble the exquisite silhouette of a cathedral. We'll also look at the lanterns a little later.
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This is the western side of the cathedral. Now we will go around it counterclockwise. Some of the photos you see were taken intentionally with high geometric distortions in order to capture, if possible, the entire façade of the cathedral.
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Two galleries unite the chapels of the cathedral into a single ensemble. Narrow internal passages and wide platforms create the impression of a “city of churches”. After passing through the labyrinth of the internal gallery, you can get to the porch areas of the cathedral. Their vaults are “carpets of flowers,” the intricacies of which fascinate and attract the attention of visitors.
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Now we are on the south side of St. Basil's Cathedral. The area in front of the cathedral is quite spacious. Relatively recently, archaeological excavations were carried out in this place. Their results can be seen right there - stone cannonballs and ancient cannons were found...

One of the most interesting and beautiful sights of the Russian capital is St. Basil's Cathedral (photo below), also known as the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, built in the 16th century by order of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. Almost every person in the country knows that it is located on Red Square, but not everyone knows the history of its construction and the legends associated with it. But it will still not be enough to learn only about the cathedral. The saint, in whose honor the chapel was built, and later the temple itself began to be called, bore the name St. Basil the Blessed. The story of his life, deeds and death is no less interesting than the story of the construction of the cathedral.

Versions about the creators

(its photo adorns many postcards for tourists) was erected between 1555 and 1561 in memory of the capture of the fortress city of Kazan by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich. There are many versions of who was the true creator of this architectural monument. Let's consider only three main options. The first of them is the architect Postnik Yakovlev, who bore the nickname Barma. This was a well-known Pskov master at that time. The second option is Barma and Postnik. These are two architects who participated in the construction of this temple. And the third - the cathedral was erected by some unknown Western European master, presumably from Italy.

In favor latest version This is evidenced by the fact that most of the Kremlin buildings were built by immigrants from this country. The unique style in which St. Basil's Cathedral was created (photos perfectly demonstrate it) harmoniously combines the traditions of Russian and European architecture. But it’s worth noting right away that this version has absolutely no documentary evidence.

There is also a legend according to which all the architects who worked on the temple project were deprived of their sight by order of Ivan the Terrible - with the aim that they would never be able to build anything similar again. But there is one problem. If the author of the temple is still Postnik Yakovlev, then there is no way he could have been blinded. Just a few years later, he also worked on the creation of the Kremlin in Kazan.

Temple structure

The cathedral has only ten domes: nine of them are located above the main building, and one is above the bell tower. It consists of eight temples. Their thrones were consecrated only in honor of those holidays on whose days the decisive battles for Kazan took place. All eight churches are located around the tallest ninth, which has a pillar-shaped structure. It was built in honor of the veil of the Mother of God and ends with a tent with a small dome. The remaining domes of St. Basil's look traditional at first glance. They have a bulbous shape, but differ from each other in their design. All nine temples stand on a common foundation and are connected to each other by vaulted internal passages and a bypass gallery, which in the original version was open.

In 1558, a chapel was added to the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God, which was consecrated in honor of St. Basil. It was erected on the spot where the relics of this saint were previously located. His name also gave the cathedral its second name. About 20 years later, the temple acquired its own tented bell tower.

First floor - basement

It must be said that St. Basil's Cathedral (the photos, of course, do not show this) does not have a basement. All its constituent churches stand on one foundation, called the basement. It is a structure with fairly thick (up to 3 m) walls, divided into several rooms, the height of which is more than 6 m.

The northern basement has, one might say, a unique design for the 16th century. Its vault is made in the form of a box without supporting pillars, despite the fact that it is long. In the walls of this room there are narrow openings called vents. Thanks to them, a special microclimate is created here, which remains unchanged throughout the year.

Once upon a time, all the basement rooms were inaccessible to parishioners. These deep recesses in the form of niches were used as storage. Previously, they were closed with doors. But now all that remains are loops. Until 1595, the royal treasury and the most valuable property of wealthy townspeople were kept in the basement.

To get to these previously secret rooms of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, one had to walk along a white stone staircase inside the walls, which only initiates knew about. Later, as unnecessary, this move was laid down and forgotten about, but in the 30s of the last century it was accidentally discovered.

Chapel organized in honor of St. Basil the Blessed

It is a cubic-shaped church. It is covered with a cross vault with a small light drum topped with a dome. The covering of this temple itself is made in the same style as the upper churches of the cathedral. There is a stylized inscription on the wall here. She reports that St. Basil's Church was built in 1588 directly above the burial of the saint immediately after his canonization by order of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.

In 1929, the temple was closed for worship. Only at the end of the last century was its decorative decoration finally restored. The memory of St. Basil is revered on August 15. It was this date of 1997 that was the starting date for the resumption of services in his church. Nowadays, above the saint’s burial itself there is a shrine with his relics, decorated with fine carvings. This Moscow shrine is the most revered among parishioners and guests of the temple.

Church decoration

It must be admitted that it is impossible in one article to reproduce in words all the beauties for which St. Basil's Cathedral is famous. Describing them would take more than one week, and possibly months. Let us dwell only on the details of the decoration of the church, consecrated in honor of this particular saint.

Her oil painting was timed just in time for the 350th anniversary of the start of construction of the cathedral. St. Basil is depicted on the southern and northern walls. Pictures from his life represent episodes about the miracle of the fur coat and salvation at sea. Below them, on the lower tier, is an ancient Russian ornament made of towels. In addition, on the south side of the church hangs a large icon, the drawing of which is made on a metal surface. This masterpiece was painted in 1904.

The western wall is decorated with a temple image of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The upper tier contains images of saints who patronize the royal house. These are the martyr Irene, John the Baptist, and Fyodor Stratilates.

The sails of the vault are occupied by the image of the Evangelists, the crosshairs are occupied by the Savior Not Made by Hands, John the Baptist and the Mother of God, the drum is decorated with figures of the forefathers, and the dome is decorated with the Savior Almighty.

As for the iconostasis, it was made according to the design of A. M. Pavlinov in 1895, and the painting of the icons was supervised by the famous Moscow restorer and icon painter Osip Chirikov. His original autograph is preserved on one of the icons. In addition, the iconostasis also has more ancient images. The first is the icon of Our Lady of Smolensk, dating back to the 16th century, and the second is the image of St. Basil, where he is depicted against the backdrop of Red Square and the Kremlin. The latter dates back to the 18th century.

Bell tower

In the middle of the 17th century, the previously built belfry was in terrible condition. Therefore, they decided to replace it with a bell tower in the 80s of the same century. By the way, it still stands. The base for the bell tower is a tall and massive quadrangle. A more elegant and openwork octagon was erected on top of it, made in the form of an open area, which is fenced with eight pillars, and they, in turn, are connected at the top by arched spans.

The bell tower is topped with an octagonal rather high tent with ribs decorated with multi-colored tiles with blue, white, brown and yellow glaze. Its edges are covered with green figured tiles and small windows, which, when the bells ring, can significantly enhance their sound. At the very top of the tent there is a small onion dome with a gilded cross. Inside the platform, as well as in the arched openings, bells are suspended, which were cast back in the 17th-19th centuries by famous Russian craftsmen.

Museum

The Intercession Cathedral in 1918 was recognized Soviet power historical monument architecture not only national, but also international importance and taken under state protection. It was then that it began to be considered a museum. Its first caretaker was John Kuznetsov (archpriest). It must be said that after the revolution, the temple was, without exaggeration, in a very dire situation: almost all the windows were broken, the roof was full of holes, and in winter there were snowdrifts right inside the premises.

Five years later, it was decided to create a historical and architectural complex on the basis of the cathedral. Its first head was E.I. Silin, a researcher at the Moscow historical museum. Already on May 21, the first visitors inspected the temple. From that time on, work began to complete the fund.

The museum, called the Intercession Cathedral, became a branch of the Historical Museum in 1928. A year later, the temple was officially closed for worship and all the bells were removed. In the 30s of the last century, rumors spread that they planned to demolish it. But he was still lucky enough to avoid such a fate. Despite the fact that construction has been going on here for almost a century, the temple is always open to Muscovites and guests of the capital. For all this time, the museum was closed only once, when the Great Patriotic War was going on.

After the end of the war, all measures were immediately taken to restore the cathedral, so by the day of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the capital, the museum was open again. He gained wide fame back in the days Soviet Union. It should be noted that the museum was well known not only in the USSR, but also in many other countries. Since 1991, the temple has been in use as Orthodox Church, and the State Historical Museum. After a long break, worship services have finally resumed here.

Childhood of a saint

Future Moscow miracle worker Blessed Basil born at the very end of 1468. According to legend, this happened right on the porch of the Elokhovsky Temple, erected in honor of Vladimir icon Holy Mother of God. His parents were ordinary people. When he grew up, he was sent to study shoemaking. Over time, his mentor began to notice that Vasily was not like all the other children.

An example of his originality is the following case: once a merchant brought bread to Moscow and, seeing the workshop, went to order boots for himself. At the same time, he asked that he could not wear off the shoes for a year. Hearing these words, Blessed Basil began to cry and promised that the merchant would not even have time to wear down these boots. When the master, who did not understand anything, asked the boy why he thought so, the child explained to his teacher that the customer would not be able to put on the boots, as he would soon die. This prophecy came true just a few days later.

Recognition of holiness

When Vasily turned 16 years old, he moved to Moscow. This is where it started thorny path as a holy fool. According to eyewitnesses, Blessed Basil walked the streets of the capital barefoot and practically naked all year round, regardless of whether there was a bitter biting frost or a scorching summer heat.

Not only his actions, but also his actions were considered strange. For example, when passing by market stalls, he could spill a vessel filled with kvass, or knock over a counter with kalachi. For this, St. Basil the Blessed was often beaten by angry merchants. Strange as it may sound, he always gladly accepted beatings and even thanked God for them. But as it turned out later, the spilled kvass was unusable, and the rolls were poorly baked. Over time, he was recognized not only as an exposer of untruth, but as a man of God and a holy fool.

Here is another incident from the life of a saint. Once a merchant decided to build a stone church in Moscow, on Pokrovka. But for some reason its vaults collapsed three times. He came to St. Basil to ask for advice on this matter. But he sent him to Kyiv, to poor John. Upon arrival in the city, the merchant found the person he needed in a poor house. John sat and rocked the cradle, in which there was no one. The merchant asked him who he was pumping after all. He answered him that he was lulling his mother to sleep for his birth and upbringing. Only then did the merchant remember his mother, whom he had once kicked out of the house. It immediately became clear to him why he was unable to complete the church. Returning to Moscow, the merchant found his mother, asked her forgiveness and took her home. After that, he easily managed to complete the church.

Acts of a miracle worker

Blessed Basil always preached mercy towards others and helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, while needing help more than others. In this regard, there is a description of one case when he gave all the royal things presented to him to a visiting foreign merchant, who, by chance, lost absolutely everything. The merchant had not eaten anything for several days, but could not ask for help, since he was wearing expensive clothes.

St. Basil always strictly condemned those who gave alms based on selfish motives, and not out of compassion for poverty and misfortune. For the sake of saving his neighbors, he even went into taverns, where he consoled and tried to encourage the most degraded people, seeing grains of kindness in them. He purified his soul so much with prayers and great deeds that the gift of foresight was revealed to him. In 1547, the Blessed One was able to predict the great fire that happened in Moscow, and with his prayer he extinguished the flames in Novgorod. Also, his contemporaries claimed that Vasily once reproached Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible himself, since during a service he was thinking about building his palace on the Sparrow Hills.

The saint died on August 2, 1557. The then Moscow Metropolitan Macarius and his clergy performed the burial of Vasily. He was buried near the Trinity Church, where in 1555 they began to build the Intercession Church in memory of the conquest of the Kazan Khanate. 31 years later, on August 2, this saint was glorified by the Council, headed by Patriarch Job.

Contemporaries described him in approximately the same way, and always mentioned three features: he was extremely thin, wore a minimum of clothing, and always had a staff in his hand. This is exactly how St. Basil appears before us. Photos of icons and paintings with his image are presented in this article.

The veneration of this holy wonderworker among the people was so great that the Intercession Cathedral began to be called by his name. By the way, his chains are still preserved in the Theological Academy of the capital. Anyone who wants to admire a beautiful monument of medieval architecture can find it at the address: St. Basil's Cathedral.

In 1561, one of the most famous churches Russia - Intercession Cathedral, or, as it is otherwise called, St. Basil's Cathedral. The portal "Culture.RF" remembered Interesting Facts from the history of its creation.

Temple-monument

The Intercession Cathedral is not just a church, but a temple-monument erected in honor of the annexation of the Kazan Khanate to the Russian state. The main battle, in which Russian troops were victorious, took place on the day of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the temple was consecrated in honor of this Christian holiday. The cathedral consists of separate churches, each of which is also consecrated in honor of the holidays on which the decisive battles for Kazan took place - Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and others.

A huge construction project in record time

Initially, a wooden Trinity Church stood on the site of the cathedral. Temples were erected around it during the campaigns against Kazan - they celebrated the loud victories of the Russian army. When Kazan finally fell, Metropolitan Macarius suggested that Ivan the Terrible rebuild the architectural ensemble in stone. He wanted to surround the central temple with seven churches, but for the sake of symmetry the number was increased to eight. Thus, 9 independent churches and a belfry were built on one foundation; they were connected by vaulted passages. Outside, the churches were surrounded by an open gallery, which was called a walkway - it was a kind of church porch. Each temple was crowned with its own dome with a unique design and original drum decoration. The 65-meter-high structure, grandiose at the time, was built in just six years - from 1555 to 1561. Until 1600 it was the tallest building in Moscow.

Temple in honor of the soothsayer

Although the official name of the cathedral is the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat, everyone knows it as St. Basil's Cathedral. According to legend, the famous Moscow miracle worker collected money for the construction of the temple, and then was buried near its walls. The holy fool St. Basil the Blessed walked the streets of Moscow barefoot, almost without clothes, almost all year, preaching mercy and help to others. There were also legends about his prophetic gift: they say he predicted the Moscow fire of 1547. The son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich, ordered the construction of a church dedicated to St. Basil the Blessed. It became part of the Intercession Cathedral. The church was the only temple that was always open - all year round, day and night. Later, by its name, parishioners began to call the cathedral St. Basil's Cathedral.

Louis Bichebois. Lithograph "St. Basil's Church"

Vitaly Grafov. Moscow wonderworker Blessed Basil. 2005

The royal treasury and lectern at Lobnoye Mesto

The cathedral has no basements. Instead, they built a common foundation - a vaulted basement without supporting pillars. They were ventilated through special narrow openings - vents. Initially, the premises were used as a warehouse - the royal treasury and the valuables of some wealthy Moscow families were kept there. Later, the narrow entrance to the basement was blocked - it was found only during the restoration of the 1930s.

With its colossal external dimensions, inside the Intercession Cathedral is quite small. Perhaps because it was originally built as a memorial monument. In winter, the cathedral was completely closed, as it was not heated. When services began to be held in the church, especially on major church holidays, very few people could fit inside. Then the lectern was moved to the Place of Execution, and the cathedral seemed to serve as a huge altar.

Russian architect or European master

It is still not known for certain who built St. Basil's Cathedral. Researchers have several options. One of them, the cathedral, was erected by the ancient Russian architects Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Barma. According to another version, Yakovlev and Barma were actually one person. The third option says that the author of the cathedral was a foreign architect. After all, the composition of St. Basil's Cathedral has no analogues in ancient Russian architecture, but prototypes of the building can be found in Western European art.

Whoever the architect was, there are sad legends about his future fate. According to them, when Ivan the Terrible saw the temple, he was struck by its beauty and ordered the architect to be blinded so that he would never repeat his majestic construction anywhere. Another legend says that the foreign builder was executed altogether - for the same reason.

Iconostasis with a turn

The iconostasis for St. Basil's Cathedral was created in 1895 according to the design of the architect Andrei Pavlinov. This is the so-called iconostasis with a turn - it is so large for a small temple that it continues on the side walls. It is decorated with ancient icons - the 16th-century Our Lady of Smolensk and the image of St. Basil, painted in the 18th century.

The temple is also decorated with paintings - they were created on the walls of the building in different years. Here St. Basil and the Mother of God are depicted; the main dome is decorated with the face of the Savior Almighty.

Iconostasis in St. Basil's Cathedral. 2016. Photo: Vladimir d'Ar

“Lazarus, put him in his place!”

The cathedral was almost destroyed several times. During the Patriotic War of 1812, French stables were located here, and after that the temple was going to be blown up. Already in Soviet time Stalin's associate Lazar Kaganovich proposed dismantling the cathedral so that there would be more space for parades and demonstrations on Red Square. He even created a model of the square, and the temple building was easily removed from it. But Stalin, seeing the architectural model, said: “Lazarus, put it in its place!”