Trips and Tales (Part 27)
On the beaten track. Moscow must-sees. (I won’t quit if you don’t…)
Cathedral Roundup (Part 2)
As if hacking through the theological undergrowth, I’m pressing on down the cathedral trail. Do you have to be of a certain faith to appreciate them? Well, surely not: each edifice says something about the extent of what can be achieved when a broad cross section of humanity works as a coordinated whole – rather than spending their time throwing rocks at one another.
It’s a bit of a paradox, then, that the resultant structures should be at the core of something so divisive: organised religion. Ironic, given that one of the main concepts of “faith” is to unite… Don’t get me started. Can’t you just imagine, as nowadays the various devotees go on hurling their rocks at those on other sides of a national/international pantheon, their respective deities slapping hands to foreheads and exclaiming: “No, I didn’t mean that!” . Hey ho: “progress”. Anyway, don’t mind me: I’m just looking at the masonry.
And what splendid masonry it is too – often rebuilt and restored in a noticeable trend to undo “what the Soviets did” and make things right again.
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
The elegant, white-bodied and onion-domed exterior belies the dramatic and traumatic history of this notable cathedral. It’s an architectural hybrid, referencing Byzantine and European Renaissance architecture, and topped with classic, gilded Russian onion-domes. The interior is remarkable for its elaborate decorative and figurative murals, and the astounding heroic-scale reliefs.
Alexander I commissioned the original design as thanks for divine deliverance following the defeat of Napoleon. Construction commenced in 1817 on Moscow’s highest point (Sparrow Hills), though this location was to prove unsound. A succession to the throne by Nicholas I and a redesign brought the project closer to the Kremlin and the Moscow River, forcing the relocation of the Alekseevsky Convent and an associated church in the process. Construction on this second site commenced in 1839 and was completed in 1860, its consecration following tardily in 1883.
The cathedral was subsequently demolished in 1931 by the Communists to make way for the Palace of the Soviets, a project never to be completed due to flooding, funding issues and the onset of the Second World War. The site was then converted into the giant Moskva Pool: yes, a swimming pool – you couldn’t make this up. Following a joint effort by Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and the Orthodox Church, reconstruction began in 1994, and was completed in 2000, with the last Tsar and family elevated as saints in a ceremony there the same year. Currently visitors can only see the cathedral as part of an organized tour.
Saint Basil’s Cathedral
Correctly titled: The Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. Theotokos is the Greek title for the Virgin Mary and translates as: “the one who gives birth to God”, “God bearer” or (imprecisely) “Mother of God”. The informal “Basil” references Vasily the Blessed, a “Fool for Christ” who is interred on-site.
I featured this cathedral in TAT#22 as part of the Red Square section. No point in repeating here what I said there. Basically, we’re dealing with an amazing and unique structure, a living interpretation of the splendour of the Heavenly New Jerusalem. Apparently.
In addition, the interior contains 11 “Sanctuaries” in the form of columns, groined vaultings and a central tented church, each dedicated to holy figures and important events of Orthodoxy. Paradoxically, they also commemorate historical battles and assaults too, bringing to mind the military dedications in the Cathedral of the Archangel. Well, looking at the history of Christianity, it’s not really a surprise, unfortunately…
Next time: Trips and Tales (Part 28)
The roundup of Moscow’s cathedrals continues, with the Cathedral of the Dormition.
[Photo by ˙Cаvin 〄]