From time immemorial, Russian princes considered Archangel Michael, who defeated Satan and guarding the gates of the Garden of Eden, the patron of his squads. Each time, going on a campaign, they served him a prayer service. That is why in the middle of the XIII century a wooden temple dedicated to him appeared in the capital, which became the forerunner of the present Arkhangelsk Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, which turned into the period of the XIV-XVIII centuries. to the royal and grand-tomb tombs. Let us turn to his story.
Wooden predecessor of the future cathedral
According to historians, a wooden church in honor of Archangel Michael appeared on the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin around 1248, during the reign of Alexander Nevsky’s brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Khorobrit, and was not intended for the burial of state rulers. This is evidenced by the fact that the ashes of Prince Mikhail himself, who died during the Lithuanian campaign, was buried not in Moscow, but in Vladimir. Only two representatives of the princely family were buried in this church. They became the nephew of Horobrit, Grand Duke Daniel and his son Yuri.
Votive Temple
This earliest church stood a little less than a hundred years, and in the 30s of the next century gave way to the first stone cathedral. It was erected in 1333 by order of the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow Ivan Kalita, who vowed to build it on the territory of the Kremlin, if the Lord saves Russia from hunger caused by crop failure.
Now it is difficult to judge how this structure looked, since its images were not preserved. But the description of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin of that time, which has come down to us among other historical documents, says that it was small and, apparently, a four-pillar. Subsequently, two new chapels were added to it.
Temple, a victim of lightning
Despite the fact that this temple was built of stone, his age was also short-lived. In the middle of the 15th century, during a terrible thunderstorm, lightning hit him, and although the fire that had begun was able to be extinguished in a timely manner, the walls were seriously damaged. The cracks formed in them increased with time, and by the end of the century, this second Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin threatened to collapse at any moment. To prevent misfortune, the Great Prince of Moscow, Ivan III, who ruled in those years, the grandfather of the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible, ordered to dismantle the emergency building and build a new cathedral in its place.
Who built the Arkhangelsk Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin?
It should be noted that the moment for the construction of the temple was very suitable. At that time, Moscow, actively growing, was decorated with new churches, monasteries and boyars' chambers, which caused an influx of foreign builders and architects, discharged mainly from Italy. Their monument can serve as the teeth of the Kremlin walls, made in the form of "swallow tails" and are a vivid example of the Lombard style.
So, for the construction of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the photos of which are presented in the article, an architect was invited from Milan, who went down in Russian history under the name Aleviz Fryazin Novy. It should not be surprising that the Italian architect had a Russian surname. In fact, the word Fryazin was a nickname that denoted in the jargon of that time hired craftsmen, written by the princes from abroad. It is characteristic that this is how the Italian was registered in the books of accounts for which he received a salary.
The solution to a complex architectural problem
It is known that even before the construction of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin began, Aleviz created projects for several secular buildings that customers liked very much. But it is one thing to build a residential or public building, and quite another is a religious building in which it is necessary to strictly adhere to established canons. The difficulty was that Ivan III wanted the temple to meet the requirements of European fashion and at the same time not go beyond the framework of the Orthodox tradition.
To the credit of master Aleviz, it should be said that he brilliantly coped with such a difficult task. His brainchild combines the strict geometry of the Italian Renaissance with the characteristic elements of Russian temple architecture. The five-domed cathedral erected by him has a traditional cross-domed system and semicircular arches in layout, which makes it similar to the tower style of ancient Russian churches.
In addition, in accordance with the requirements of the canon, a two-story porch and choirs were built inside, from which representatives of the princely family could observe the progress of the service. In the rest, the architecture of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin corresponds to the style that was then widespread in Western Europe and became the hallmark of the Renaissance.
Under the patronage of Vasily III
The start of construction work was preceded by a complete (and, according to some information, partial) dismantling of the former church, built by Ivan Kalita. Upon its completion, in October 1505, Ivan III laid the first stone with his own hand in the foundation of the future building, and, by a fateful combination of circumstances, he died a few days later, passing the reign to his son, who went down in Russian history under the title of Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III and became the father of the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He controlled the entire course of construction work, which lasted four years.
It was Vasily III who owned the idea of making the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin the tomb of Russian tsars. He issued a corresponding decree in 1508, when the construction was nearing completion. It is characteristic that until the twentieth century only men were buried in the cathedral, while representatives of the royal family found eternal rest in the walls of the Kremlin church of the Ascension of Our Lady. Only after it was blown up by the Bolsheviks, all the female remains were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral.
Cathedral, which became the tomb of the kings
Today, under the shadow of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, 54 male burials are located. Before St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia in 1712, bishops' funeral services were held near each of them on the anniversary of the assumption. With a few exceptions, all Russian rulers from Ivan Kalita to their brother and co-ruler of Peter the Great, Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich, found eternal peace here. Here, in 1730, the ashes of the 15-year-old Tsar Peter II, who died of smallpox, were placed. Despite the fact that by that time the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the new capital had become the burial place of the kings, an exception was made for him, fearing the spread of infection.
Among the Russian rulers of those centuries whose remains were not among the burials of the Archangel Cathedral, there are only two - the Grand Duke of Moscow Daniil Alexandrovich (1261-1303), buried in the Danilov Monastery, and Tsar Boris Godunov (1552-1605). His ashes were thrown out of the cathedral by False Dmitry, and later reburied in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
The mystery of the death of Ivan the Terrible
Among the most illustrious historical figures associated with the history of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin is Tsar Ivan the Terrible. During his lifetime, he repeatedly endowed him with rich gifts, and at the end of the day he wished for himself and his two sons to allocate special places for burial. Fulfilling the will of the sovereign, after his death, his body was placed in the southern part of the altar - the so-called deacon, where it is customary to hold sacred objects such as the gospel, crosses, donors, etc.
Among the interesting facts about the Arkhangelsk Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin are the studies of the outstanding Soviet anthropologist M.M. Gerasimov, who in 1963 opened the grave of Ivan the Terrible and, based on a study of the skull, was able to recreate the portrait of the deceased monarch. It is curious that in the bones of the king and his wife Martha, whose remains are also in the cathedral, he found a high content of mercury, indicating that they were systematically poisoned, and the bloodsucker king did not die by his own death. Such a hypothesis was put forward earlier, but in this case it was given scientific confirmation.
Restoration and restoration work carried out in the XIX century
Over the past two centuries, the Archangel Cathedral was repeatedly renovated and was subject to restoration. Usually this was due to its natural wear and tear, which is an inevitable consequence of centuries past, but sometimes extraordinary circumstances also became a cause. So, in 1812, the French captured Moscow arranged a military kitchen on the altar of the cathedral. From the smoke of bonfires and steam rising from the boilers, the iconostasis and part of the wall painting were seriously damaged. After the expulsion of these European barbarians, large-scale restoration work had to be carried out. At the same time, part of the columns included in the decoration of the lower tier was replaced, and the unique carving of the iconostasis was restored.
What did the 20th century bring to the cathedral?
A large amount of work on the improvement and restoration of the cathedral was carried out in 1913, when the centenary of the Royal Romanovs' House was celebrated. To celebrations, organized on the occasion of such a significant date, a marble canopy was erected over the tomb of the founder of the dynasty - Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. It was made according to sketches made personally by the Grand Duke Pyotr Nikolayevich - grandson of Emperor Nicholas I.
Once again, significant damage was inflicted on the cathedral in 1917, when after the October armed coup he was under the fire of artillery, shelling the Kremlin. Soon after this, the services in it ceased, and for a long time the doors of the temple remained locked. Only in 1929 they were opened to bring tombs with the remains of women belonging to the dynasties of the Rurikovich and Romanovs into the underlining (lower floor). As mentioned above, this happened after the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin was blown up, where they were until then.
Rebirth from Nothingness
In 1955, a museum was opened in the premises of the cathedral, where services have not been held for a long time, which made it possible to carry out some restoration work and save it from further destruction. This status remained with him until the fall of the communist regime, which marked the beginning of the return of the Church of property that was illegally taken from her.
Among other shrines, the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin returned to her bosom, the address of which is extremely simple and known to all residents of the capital. It consists of only two words: Moscow, the Kremlin. From then on, spiritual life was resumed in it, interrupted for almost eight centuries.