Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. Intercession Cathedral

Main Cathedral on Red Square - St. Basil's Cathedral - a world-famous monument of Russian church architecture. Included in the register of world-class cultural heritage sites under the auspices of UNESCO. Its other name is Intercession Cathedral.

Another one is located on the corner of Nikolskaya Street, near the Mint. This temple has its own history. Moscow's cathedrals on Red Square were built in different times and each of them is interesting and famous in its own way.

Many Muscovites and guests of the capital believe that there are not two cathedrals on Red Square, but much more. This opinion is erroneous, since other masterpieces of Russian temple architecture, although they are visible from Red Square, are located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. Thus, the answer to the question of how many cathedrals are on Red Square is clear.

The center of Moscow is distinguished by an abundance of architectural monuments.

The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, photos of which are presented in this article, is located opposite the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, at the beginning of Vasilievsky Spusk. Nearby is a bronze memorial to Minin and Pozharsky, installed in 1818.

The Cathedral of the Intercession on Red Square is the largest group of tourists and individual visitors spend hours walking through the galleries. And if you ask a Japanese, French or Dane which cathedral on Red Square they liked best, they will, without hesitation, name the Cathedral of the Intercession. Muscovites will say the same.

The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square is an unsurpassed masterpiece of temple architecture of the mid-16th century, built in honor of the great event that occurred in Rus' in October 1552 - the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate. Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of such a church, “which cannot be similar.” This “church” became the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, which was built in six years, from 1555 to 1561. Later, several extensions of a religious nature were made.

Structure

Architects Barma and Postnik created a design for the cathedral, which consisted of a central pillar and eight side chapels, which they placed at the cardinal points, in accordance with the canons of church construction of that time:

• Central pillar - Intercession Holy Mother of God.
• To the east is the chapel of the Holy Trinity.
• To the west is the chapel “The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.”
• To the north-west is the chapel of “Gregory the Catholicos of Armenia”.
• To the southeast is the chapel of "Svirsky Alexander".
• To the southwest is the chapel of "Varlaam Khutynsky".
• To the northeast is the chapel of "John the Merciful".
• To the south is the chapel of "Nicholas the Wonderworker".
• To the north is the chapel of "Cyprian and Ustinya".

There are no basements in the cathedral; the foundation is a fundamental basement, the vaults of which rest on brick walls three meters thick. Until 1595, the basement of the Intercession Cathedral was used to store the royal treasury. In addition to gold, the most valuable icons were placed in the vaults.

The second floor of the temple consists of all the chapels and the central pillar of the Intercession of the Mother of God, surrounded by a gallery from which you can enter all rooms through arched entrances, as well as pass from one church to another.

Church of Svirsky Alexander

The chapel in the south-eastern direction was consecrated in the name of Alexander Svirsky, the reverend. On the day of his memory, in 1552, one of the decisive battles of the Kazan campaign took place - the defeat of the cavalry of Khan-Tsarevich Yapanchi.

The Church of Alexander Svirsky is one of four small chapels, consisting of a lower quadrangle with an octagon and a drum with windows. The chapel is crowned with a dome with a cross.

Church of Varlaam Khutynsky

The Church of Varlaam Khutynsky, the venerable one, was consecrated in his name. The quadrangle at the base turns into a low octagon and then into a domed top. The apse of the church is shifted towards the Royal Gate. Interior decoration includes a tyablo iconostasis with icons from the 16th century, among which the Novgorod icon “The Vision of Tarasius, the Sexton” stands out.

Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem

The western side chapel was consecrated in honor of the “Entry into Jerusalem” holiday. Big Church in the form of a two-tiered octagonal pillar, the transition from the third tier to the drum is carried out using an intermediate belt of kokoshniks arranged “end-to-end”.

The interior decoration is richly decorative, not devoid of solemnity. The iconostasis was inherited from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, previously located in the Moscow Kremlin. The four-tiered chapel structure is decorated with gilded overlays and carved rosewood details. The bottom row of icons tells about the Creation of the world.

Church of Gregory, Kotalikos of Armenia

The chapel facing north-west is consecrated in the name of the Enlightener of Armenia. Small Church, a quadrangle with a transition into a low octagon with three tiers of kokoshniks “back to back”, taken from the cross-domed style of cubic churches of the second half of the 15th century. The dome is of a peculiar shape, diamond-shaped protrusions are covered with a “mesh” of dark green stripes.

The iconostasis is varied, in the bottom row there are velvet shrouds and the crosses of Golgotha ​​are depicted on them. The interior of the church is full of "skinny" candles - wooden candlesticks, into which thin ones were inserted. On the walls there are display cases with vestments for priests, phelonions and surplices, embroidered with gold. In the center is a candilo decorated with enamel.

Church of Cyprian and Ustinha

Large church facing north. On the day of memory of Cyprian and Ustinya, the royal army stormed Kazan. An octagonal pillar with pediments passes through the tier of kokoshniks into a faceted drum. A dome composed of vertical lobes of blue and white, crowns the pillar. The interior decoration of the church consists of a carved iconostasis and numerous wall paintings with scenes from the lives of saints.

The church has been restored many times, the last renovation dates back to 2007. financial support came from JSC " Railways Russia".

Chapel of Nikola Velikoretsky

The chapel facing south was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, named Velikoretsky in honor of the icon found in Khlynov on the Velikaya River. The church is a two-tier octagonal pillar with pediments turning into a row of kokoshniks. Above the kokoshniks rises an octagon, topped with a head with Orthodox cross. painted, has wavy stripes of red and white.

Holy Trinity Church

Another large chapel of the Intercession Cathedral, facing east, was consecrated in the name of the Great Trinity. The two-tiered pillar of an octagonal configuration, framed by pointed pediments on the lower tier, surrounded by kokoshniks in the middle part and topped with an octagon with a dome, is the most colorful in the entire composition of St. Basil's Cathedral.

Chapel of the "Three Patriarchs"

The chapel facing east is consecrated in honor of the three patriarchs of Constantinople: John, Paul and Alexander. It is distinguished by a large five-tier iconostasis of the baroque type, with icons of the local series, Deesis, and life with stamps. The interior was restored in 2007.

St. Basil the Blessed

In 1588, the cathedral on Red Square was completed with northeast side. A chapel was added to the “Gregory of Armenian” pillar in honor of St. Basil the Blessed, who died in 1552, whose remains were buried right at the site where the cathedral was built.

The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, in addition to its architectural and historical value, also has sacred features in terms of cult burials. In 1589, John of Moscow was buried in the basement of the cathedral. In 1672, the relics of St. John the Blessed, the Wonderworker of Moscow, were buried in the Intercession Cathedral.

Kazan Cathedral on Red Square

In 1625, a wooden Temple of the Kazan Mother of God was built on Nikolskaya Street at the expense of the Moscow Prince Pozharsky. Nine years later, the Kazan Church burned down and the stone Kazan Cathedral was erected in its place. This time the construction of the temple was paid for by the king, and the new building was consecrated in 1636 by Patriarch Joasaph the First.

During the Stalinist reconstruction of Manezhnaya Square, the cathedral was demolished in 1936. The Temple of the Kazan Mother of God was recreated in the early nineties, on the initiative of the Moscow Society for the Protection of Cultural Monuments. Currently, the Kazan Cathedral, located on Red Square, is one of the most notable masterpieces of Moscow temple architecture.

St. Basil's Cathedral, or Intercession Cathedral Mother of God on the Moat, as its canonical full name sounds, was built on Red Square in 1555-1561. This cathedral is rightfully considered one of the main symbols not only of Moscow, but of all of Russia.

In the place where the cathedral now stands, in the 16th century there stood the stone Trinity Church, “which is on the Moat.” There really was a defensive ditch here, stretching along the entire Kremlin wall along Red Square. This ditch was filled in only in 1813. Now in its place is a Soviet necropolis and Mausoleum.

Ivan the Terrible, who personally led the army in the campaign to conquer the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms in 1552, vowed to build it in Moscow on Red Square in case of victory. grandiose temple in memory of this. While the war was going on, in honor of each major victory, a small wooden church was erected next to the Trinity Church in honor of the saint on whose day the victory was won. When the Russian army returned to Moscow in triumph, Ivan the Terrible made a decision on the site of the eight wooden churches put one large stone one - for centuries.

St. Basil's Cathedral (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address and website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The unusually beautiful St. Basil's Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the Moat, flaunting on Red Square, is one of the most famous architectural monuments of Moscow. At the sight of a multi-colored temple, the tops of which are one more beautiful than the other, foreigners gasp in admiration and grab their cameras, but compatriots proudly declare: yes, that’s what it is - majestic, elegant, standing even in the difficult Soviet times for all churches.

There is even a historical story regarding the last fact. Allegedly, when presenting a project for the reconstruction of Red Square to Stalin, Kaganovich swept away the model of the temple from the diagram, making way for demonstrations of workers, to which the Secretary General sternly replied: “Lazarus, put it in its place.” Whether it was so or not, the temple was one of the few that survived and was constantly restored throughout the second half of the 20th century.

History and modernity

The Intercession Cathedral was built in 1565-1561. by decree of Ivan the Terrible, who vowed to build a church in memory of this event in the event of the successful capture of Kazan. The temple consists of nine churches on one foundation and a bell tower. At first glance, it can be difficult to understand the structure of the temple, but once you imagine that you are looking at it from above (or actually look at the temple from this angle on our live map), everything immediately becomes clear. The main pillar-shaped church in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God with a tent topped with a small dome is surrounded on four sides by axial churches, between which four more smaller ones are built. The tented bell tower was built later, in the 1670s.

Today the cathedral is both a temple and a branch of the Historical Museum at the same time. In 1990, services were resumed. Architecture, external decorative decoration, monumental painting, frescoes, rare monuments of Russian icon painting - all this makes the cathedral unique in its beauty and significance as a temple in Russia. In 2011, the cathedral turned 450 years old; throughout the summer, anniversary events were held to mark memorable date chapels that were previously inaccessible to the public were opened, and a new exhibition was arranged.

St. Basil's Cathedral

Information

Address: Red Square, 2.

Opening hours: excursions are held daily from 11:00 - 16:00.

Entrance: 250 RUB. Prices on the page are for October 2018.

The central church of the Cathedral is not accessible for inspection due to restoration work.

The temple has many different names. The most famous of them are:

St. Basil's Cathedral, Intercession Cathedral, Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God on the Moat, Intercession Church, Trinity Church.

Until the 17th century, the Church of the Intercession was most often called the Trinity Church, because originally on this site stood the Trinity wooden church on the moat - dating back to the mid-16th century. In fact, it stood on a hill - next to the moat that surrounded the medieval Kremlin and was filled in in the 19th century.

It was built by order of Ivan the Terrible, in honor of the victory of the Russian army over the Kazan Khanate. (then the Khanate was part of the Golden Horde)

By the way, many historians claim that Ivan the Terrible was a merciless and evil tyrant. Can a tyrant order the construction of a cathedral to express his gratitude? heavenly patrons? I don’t want to speculate and focus attention... We still won’t know the truth. But I believe more that Ivan was an adequate guy, and he created more.

Why the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God

Everything is very logical. All historical information refer to the day when the Russian army successfully stormed the walls of Kazan. Featured everywhere exact date On October 1, 1552, on this day in Rus' the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God was celebrated. I didn't have to think long about the name.

Why St. Basil's Cathedral

And here everything is very logical and simple - in honor of St. Basil. But few people are “familiar” with the personality of the latter. And in general, why Blessed, why Foolish (not to be confused with ugly).

So: in the old days, eccentrics who rejected worldly values ​​were considered holy fools. An ascetic lifestyle and a little madness are the main features of all holy fools. And one of the synonyms for “holy fool” was the word “blessed.” In Old Slavonic, those who did good deeds were considered blessed, and in a broad sense, blessed is anyone who sees God in heaven. For me, the blessed one is the one who is happy. And in Christianity, the blessed one is a special face of saints.

There is an interesting story about St. Basil.

Saint Blessed Basil, the Moscow wonderworker, was born in December 1468 on the porch of the Yelokhovsky Church near Moscow. His parents were simple people and sent their son to study shoemaking. During the teaching of the Blessed One, his master had to witness one amazing incident when he realized that his student was not like everyone else.

One merchant brought bread to Moscow on barges and went into the workshop to order boots, asking them to make them so that he would not wear them out in a year. Blessed Vasily shed tears: “We will sew you such that you will not wear them out.” The merchant did not attach any importance to the eccentric’s tears, paid and left. The master immediately asked the student why he was crying. Then the student explained that the customer would not put on the boots because he would soon die. A few days later the prophecy came true.

At the age of 16, the saint came to Moscow and began the thorny feat of foolishness. In the scorching summer heat and biting bitter frost, he walked naked and barefoot along the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: he would knock over a tray of rolls of bread, or spill a jug of kvass. Angry merchants beat the Blessed One, but he joyfully accepted the beatings and thanked God for them. And then it was discovered that the kalachi were poorly baked, and the kvass was completely unusable. The veneration of Blessed Basil quickly grew: he was recognized as a holy fool, a man of God, a denouncer of untruth.

Here's another case.

Once, a merchant decided to build a stone church on Pokrovka in Moscow, but its vaults collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the Blessed One for advice, and he sent him to Kyiv: “Find poor John there, he will give you advice on how to complete the church.” Arriving in Kyiv, the merchant found John, who was sitting in a poor hut and rocking an empty cradle. “Who are you rocking?” - asked the merchant. “Dear mother, I pay the unpaid debt for my birth and upbringing.” Then the merchant only remembered his mother, whom he had kicked out of the house, and it became clear to him why he could not finish building the church. Returning to Moscow, he returned his mother home, asked her forgiveness and completed the church.

Preaching mercy, the Blessed One helped first of all those who were ashamed to ask for alms, and yet needed help more than others. There was a case when he gave rich royal gifts to a foreign merchant, who was left without everything and, although he had not eaten anything for three days, could not ask for help, since he was wearing good clothes.

The Blessed One severely condemned those who gave alms for selfish purposes, not out of compassion for poverty and misfortune, but in hope the easy way attract God's blessing to your affairs.

For the sake of saving his neighbors, Blessed Basil also visited taverns, where he tried to see the grain of goodness even in the most degraded people, to reinforce them with affection, and to encourage them. Many noticed that when the Blessed One passed by a house in which they were madly having fun and drinking, he hugged the corners of that house with tears. They asked the holy fool what this meant, and he answered:

“Sorrowful angels stand at the house and lament over the sins of people, and with tears I begged them to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.”

In 1547 he predicted the great fire of Moscow; prayer extinguished the fire in Novgorod; once reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible that during the Divine service he was busy thinking about building a palace on the Sparrow Hills.

He constantly exposed lies and hypocrisy. Contemporaries noted that this was almost the only person whom Tsar Ivan the Terrible was afraid of. Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible honored and feared the Blessed One, “as a seer of human hearts and thoughts.” When, shortly before his death, Vasily fell into a serious illness, the Tsar himself visited him with Tsarina Anastasia.

Saint Basil died on August 2, 1552 (sometimes the year 1551 is also mentioned). Ivan the Terrible and the boyars carried his coffin, and Metropolitan Macarius performed the burial.

The description of the saint’s appearance retains characteristic details: “all naked, with a staff in his hand.” The veneration of Blessed Basil has always been so strong that the Trinity Church and the attached Church of the Intercession are still called the Church of St. Basil.

Key dates

In 1552 On Red Square, near the protective moat, in the place where the wooden Trinity Church previously stood, and the most revered Russian holy fool, St. Basil the Blessed, was buried, construction began on a new stone church.

In 1588 by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich ( Grand Duke Moskovsky, the third son of Ivan the Terrible), a chapel of St. Basil's was built in the Intercession Church, where his relics were placed in a silver shrine, and the cathedral was often called the St. Basil's Cathedral.

Another version is a legend

Intercession Church erected in 1555-1561 by Russian architects Barma and Postnik Yakovlev (or perhaps it was the same master - Ivan Yakovlevich Barma).

There is a well-known legend that, having seen the temple, Ivan the Terrible ordered the craftsmen to be blinded so that they could not build such a miracle anywhere else. As if when the king asked whether the master could build another equally beautiful temple or an even better one, he answered defiantly: “I can!” - and angered the king. "You're lying!" - cried the Terrible and ordered to deprive both eyes so that this temple would remain the only one.

Popular rumor spread the rumor that Ivan the Terrible supposedly built this temple in honor of his father, Grand Duke Vasily III: “People will remember me even without churches for a thousand years, but I want my parent to be remembered.” That’s why the temple is supposedly called St. Basil’s.

The uniqueness of the architectural composition of the cathedral and its symbolism.

The design of the Intercession Cathedral is based on the apocalyptic symbolism of the Heavenly Jerusalem. The eight chapters, located around the central ninth tent, form a geometric figure in plan from two squares combined at an angle of 45 degrees, in which it is easy to see an eight-pointed star.

The number 8 symbolizes the day of the Resurrection of Christ, which according to the Hebrew calendar was the eighth day, and the coming Kingdom of Heaven - the Kingdom of the “eighth century” (or “eighth kingdom”), which will come after the Second Coming of Christ - after the end of earthly history associated with the apocalyptic number 7.

The square expresses the firmness and constancy of faith and is a cosmic symbol of the Universe: its four equal sides mean the four cardinal directions, the four winds of the Universe, the four ends of the cross, the four canonical Gospels, the four evangelist apostles, the four equilateral walls of Heavenly Jerusalem. The combined squares symbolize the preaching of the Gospels to the four cardinal directions, that is, to the whole world.

The eight-pointed star - a reminder of the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the infant Christ, the Savior of the world - symbolizes the entire Christian Church as a guiding star in human life to the Heavenly Jerusalem.

The eight-pointed star is also a symbol of the Most Holy Theotokos - the Lady of the Church and the Queen of Heaven: in Orthodox iconography, the Mother of God is depicted in a maforia (veil) with three eight-pointed stars on her shoulders and on her forehead as a sign of Her Eternal Virginity - before, during and after the Nativity of Christ.

The throne in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God is located in the central tented church, which unites the remaining chapters, as if gathering them around itself. This symbolizes the primacy, protection and intercession of the Mother of God over the Church of Christ and over the entire Russian land. In Russian temple construction, a tent symbolizes a canopy (canopy), which from ancient times was erected over a sacred place as a sign of its God-protectedness and holiness.

Tallest building in Moscow

The Intercession Cathedral on Red Square became the tallest building in Moscow (its height is 60 meters) and remained so until the end of the 16th century, when under Boris Godunov the bell tower of the Church of St. John the Ladder, 81 meters high, was built.

For all its external majestic splendor, the Intercession Cathedral inside is quite modest in size. During the service, a very small number of people could fit inside, so during large church holidays Moscow residents and clergy gathered on Red Square.

In 1737 During a huge fire, St. Basil's Cathedral suffered greatly and had to be restored. When wooden churches were removed from Red Square to prevent fires, fifteen altars of the demolished wooden churches were moved under its vaults, and the altar in the name of the three patriarchs of Constantinople was renamed in the name of John the Merciful. The throne of Cyprian and Ustinia was also renamed, it began to bear the name of Saints Adrian and Natalia. In total, at that time the cathedral had 11 chapels.

In the second half of the 18th century, during the reign of Catherine II, the Intercession Cathedral was reconstructed once again. 16 small domes around the main towers were demolished, and the hipped bell tower was connected to the building of the cathedral itself. It was then that the cathedral became as colorful as we know it now.

Another legend tells that Napoleon, during the days of the occupation of Moscow by his troops, wanted to transport the temple building to Paris, and when it turned out that this was technically impossible, he ordered the cathedral to be blown up along with the Kremlin. And then, when the fuses of the explosives were already lit, it was as if rain came and extinguished them.

Years of the Great October Revolution brought many trials to the temple.

In September 1918 The rector of the cathedral, Archpriest John Vostorgov, was shot. And the property of the temple was confiscated. The bells were removed and sent for melting down, the temple itself was closed, but not destroyed.

In the thirties of the 20th century Kaganovich, who was drawing up a plan for the general reconstruction of Moscow in the spirit of the “proletarian capital,” made a proposal to demolish the Intercession Cathedral. To make room for parades and demonstrations, which were held on the fairly compact Red Square. And here it is worth telling about another legend.

They say that when Kaganovich made a model of Red Square with a removable Model of the Intercession Cathedral and brought it to show Stalin, he began to show how columns move along Red Square and how the cathedral interferes with them. “And if only he - r-time!..” - saying this, he removed the temple from the square in one motion. Stalin looked, thought and slowly uttered the famous phrase: “Lazarus! Put it in its place!..”

One way or another, the temple survived. The architect P.D. also played a big role in this. Baranovsky is a true devotee and enthusiast for the preservation of Russian culture. He was ordered to prepare the temple for demolition, but he categorically refused to do this, after which he sent a rather harsh telegram to the top. What actually happened after this is unknown, but Stalin canceled the demolition of the temple, and Baranovsky received several years in prison.

Back in 1929, the Intercession Cathedral began to be used as a branch of the State historical museum, you can visit it now. The exhibition includes samples of bladed weapons and firearms, armor from the 16th-17th centuries; in the tower-churches you can see a collection of ancient Russian icons from the 15th-17th centuries, artistic sewing, fabric samples, and metal crafts. In the 70s, another reconstruction of the temple was carried out, during which a spiral staircase, which leads current museum visitors to the central temple.

On my own behalf, I will also add that to be in Moscow and not come to the walls of the Temple is ignorance in its purest form. Despite the abundance of ubiquitous tourists, it is worth a lot to stand a little near the majestic walls, think about the meaning of life, and enjoy the stunning architecture, which has no analogues in the world (remember the above-mentioned legend).

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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 (photos, of course, do not show this) does not have 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 upper churches 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 “Our Lady of Smolensk”, relating to XVI 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.

Belfry

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 was recognized by the Soviet authorities in 1918 historical monument architecture of not only national but also international significance and is 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 disastrous 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

The future Moscow wonderworker Blessed Basil was 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 began 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.