Trips and Tales (Part 26)
On the beaten track. Moscow must-sees. No end in sight…
Cathedral Roundup
I don’t follow any organised religion, but I do love the stonework. There’s something intriguing, even haunting, about this tangible connection to the past, embodied in an edifice still very much alive and in use in modern times. You’ve got to wonder at the lives, beliefs and experiences of the people who passed through these places and spaces – and the history and events they must have witnessed.
Comparing notes, it seems odd that the local church just across the way from where I grew up surpasses some of the oldest structures that Moscow has to offer in the age stakes: a still-functioning building dating back to the early 1300s, and not rebuilt since. However, whereas our notable medieval town was to have its wings clipped by the Black Death in the mid 1300s, reducing the population to nearly one-tenth of its former number and leaving only a remnant of a village right up to the present time, Moscow’s glories (architectural and otherwise) were still to come. Funny how things work out. What if…? and all that.
So anyway, for those on the cathedral trail, either spiritually or architecturally, here’s the first part of a roundup, with notes, of the must-sees…
Cathedral of the Annunciation
Located in the Kremlin, the current structure is a rebuild from the 16th century carried out at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, who ordered extra domed chapels to be constructed around the existing building and surmounted with gilding. The square, white stone body with gold-domed towers is a popular style for Moscow’s cathedrals.
Four strikes and you’re out! Or so the powerful Orthodox Church decided, when Ivan married for the fourth time. Literally out, in fact: the church wouldn’t let him inside. He could still attend service, but had to stand beneath a specially constructed porch.
In general, Tsars and Grand Dukes could arrive at the cathedral stealthily by means of passages from the Royal family’s private quarters. The cathedral was used by the elite as a location for celebrating important family days and dates.
From 1918, after it received artillery damage during the revolution, the cathedral’s role as a place of worship and celebration was abandoned. Today it remains a museum. Venture inside for remarkable examples of iconography – and a floor made of jasper.
Cathedral of the Archangel
The name refers to Archangel Michael, to whom there are several cathedrals dedicated across Russia, reflecting his status as the patron saint of Moscow’s 14th century rulers. Also located within the Kremlin and a 16th century rebuild, the building merges traditional Russian and Renaissance architectural styles in its square, white, multi-domed, ornamented form.
Inside, behold the total iconic overload of an interior covered in painted figures from the Christian Orthodoxy, from Creation to Judgement Day: the battle of Archangel Michael against the forces of Satan, the victory of Gideon over the Midian people… And still more ornate, Renaissance-influenced stonework.
The main official uses for the cathedral were: the celebration of Russian war victories (not particularly in the true spirit of Christianity then), and the interment of the Tsarist and noble elite. As with many religious edifices, the Cathedral was closed after the Revolution, but reopened (in 1955) as a museum.
More Cathedrals next time…
Next time: On the Trail of the Onion
Investigating the origins and significance of the ubiquitous “onion dome”.
[Photo by Bernt Rostad]