Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Archangel Cathedral or Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel is an Orthodox church and one of the oldest churches of the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. The five-domed, majestic structure is known in the Christian world as the final resting place of representatives of the Rurikovich princely dynasty, including the founder of the cathedral, Ivan Kalita.

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History of Archangel Cathedral

According to chronicle sources, the Archangel Cathedral was laid in 1333 by Ivan Kalita. According to one version, the modest stone building was erected in gratitude to the higher powers for the deliverance of Russia from famine in a bad harvest year, but the resulting structure was so liked by the great prince that he willed himself to be buried within its walls.

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With the easy hand of the ruler Archangel Cathedral for almost 180 years became a family tomb, where they began to bring the deceased representatives of the ruling elite. In a relatively short period of time, numerous tombs of princely kin so crowded the interior of the church that already under Ivan III the building had to be dismantled in order to erect in its place a more massive and spacious structure.

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Interesting fact: part of the interior painting of the first Archangel Cathedral was done by the legendary icon painter Theophanes the Greek.

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The construction of the new cathedral was entrusted to the Italian architect Aleviz the New, who presented his architectural brainchild in 1508. True, by that time Ivan III himself had managed to leave the “earthly abode”, so his son – Basil III – had to accept the work. Less than a century and a half later, the Archangel Cathedral changed its appearance again: the ancient wall paintings began to crumble, threatening to disappear completely. By order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the remains of the frescoes were knocked down, having made copies of the original drawings, but the restoration work itself was delayed. As a result, it was possible to finish the painting of the temple only by 1666.

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In 1733 the church was badly damaged in the Trinity fire, and for two whole years there were restoration works. Subsequently, the temple ensemble lost its galleries, and the central dome of the Archangel Cathedral, which previously had a helmet-shaped form, turned into a “bulb.”

After the capture of Moscow by Napoleon, the French left a lot of legacy in the temple, setting up a camp kitchen in its altar. And when retreating, the brave guardsmen took with them the precious frames removed from the icons. As a result, of all the churches of Cathedral Square, affected by the French invasion, Archangel Cathedral was the first to be put in order.

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In 1918, the church was declared a cultural monument, closing it for reconstruction, which dragged on until the 50s of the last century. By the way, despite the fact that access to the church premises opened immediately after the war, the first service in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin was held only in 1991.

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Architecture

The architectural style of the Archangel Cathedral can be called typical of the Orthodox cross-domed temples of the pre-Mongol period. In the six-columned five-apsid building closely intertwined motifs of the Italian Renaissance and architectural traditions of Byzantium. For example, the western facade of the cathedral, thanks to the arched windows, reminds the exterior of Venetian palaces. The traditionally Russian decorations include zakomars (niches) located around the perimeter of the upper part of the facade. However, Aleviz Novy also managed to leave his “autograph” here, giving the zakomars the shape of sea shells, which is not quite usual for temple architecture of that time.

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The walls of the building are divided into so-called strands (portals). Separating sections of the wall pilasters (decorative columns) crowned with acroteria, decorated with intricate plant ornament. If researchers are to be believed, each of the pilasters has its own original pattern, which is not repeated anywhere else.

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Originally, the Archangel Cathedral was painted in red, with which the white bas-reliefs contrasted spectacularly. Today, the walls of the temple have a uniform white color.

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Interiors

The interior of the cathedral is rather cramped, as most of the space is taken up by pillars placed on pedestals, which delimit the structure into aisles and tombs. The original frescoes that decorated the church in the era of Ivan III have not survived, so today parishioners can observe on the walls only their skillful copies, however, also quite ancient. In total, 92 artists worked on the creation of a single wall canvas, which were carefully selected by the famous icon painter of the XVII century, the author of the Spas Nerukotvornogo – Simon Ushakov.

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The pictorial subjects in the temple are arranged in two tiers. The upper, sub-dome part of the Archangel Cathedral is occupied by images of prophets and heavenly forces, the church vaults are decorated with episodes from the life of the Savior, just below are images of the apostles, warrior-martyrs and the patron saint of the temple – Archangel Michael.

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One of the main Orthodox shrines of the cathedral is a four-tier iconostasis. The authors of almost all the images placed on it are unknown, and only the icon of the Crucifixion has preserved the name of its creator, who turned out to be a disciple of Simon Ushakov – Mikhail Milyutin. Another shrine and the pride of the temple is the icon “Michael the Archangel with a hagiography”. According to legend, this image was created by order of Dmitry Donskoy’s widow, Princess Evdokia.

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The vault of the Archangel Cathedral

In the interior of the Archangel Cathedral there are 45 tombstones, under which rest the remains of 56 representatives of the princely family. By the way, it was in the tomb of this temple was once buried the son of Ivan the Terrible, killed by his irascible parent, as well as his little brother – Tsarevich Dmitry, twice miraculously “resurrected” during the Troubles. Some representatives of the Romanov dynasty also found their shelter here, in particular: tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich, as well as both brothers of Peter the Great. The “great reformer” himself was laid to rest in St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, where all representatives of the reigning family were later buried.

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At the northern wall of the Archangel Cathedral there is a casket with the relics of Prince Michael of Chernigov, enlisted by the Orthodox Church as a saint for refusing to submit to the will of the Golden Horde Khan Batyi and brutally killed for this. At one time the church housed the tomb of Boris Godunov, but during the Troubles the remains of the former autocrat were moved to the Varsonofiev Monastery.

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How to get there

Today the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin has the status of a museum, and services are held only twice a year: on the Throne Feast and Radonitsa. You can get to one of the oldest temples of the capital with an organized excursion, including a tour of the main sights of the Cathedral Square. It is convenient to get here by metro (stations “Alexandrovsky Sad”, “Lenin Library”, “Borovitskaya”), or by bus (routes № 144, M1, M2, M3, M6, H1, H2).

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