The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, on the northern bank of the
Moskva River
The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...
, a few hundred metres southwest of
the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
. With an overall height of , it is the third
tallest Orthodox Christian church building in the world, after the
People's Salvation Cathedral
The People's Salvation Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Mântuirii Neamului), also known as the National Cathedral ( ro, Catedrala Națională, link=no), is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest to serve as the patriarchal cathe ...
in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia.
The current church is the second to stand on this site. The original church, built during the 19th century, took more than 40 years to build, and was the scene of the 1882 world premiere of the ''
1812 Overture
''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon ...
'' composed by
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
. It was destroyed in 1931 on the order of the
Soviet Politburo
The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (, abbreviated: ), or Politburo ( rus, Политбюро, p=pəlʲɪtbʲʊˈro) was the highest policy-making authority within the Communist Party of the ...
. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal
Palace of the Soviets
The Palace of the Soviets (russian: Дворец Советов, ''Dvorets Sovetov'') was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The main function of the p ...
to house the country's legislature, the
Supreme Soviet of the USSR
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
. Construction started in 1937 but was halted in 1941 when
Germany invaded the Soviet Union during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Its steel frame was disassembled the following year, and the palace was never built. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the current church was rebuilt on the site between 1995 and 2000.
Original cathedral
Construction
When
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
retreated from Moscow, Tsar
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
signed a
manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
on 25 December 1812 declaring his intention to build a cathedral in honor of
Christ the Saviour "to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her" and as a memorial to the sacrifices of the Russian people. It took some time for work on the projected cathedral to get started. The first finished architectural project, by
Aleksandr Lavrentyevich Vitberg
Karl Magnus Vitberg (26 January 1787 — 24 January 1855) was a Russian Neoclassical architect of Swedish stock.
Biography
Vitberg was born in Saint Petersburg. As a young man he was a member of Alexander Labzin's Masonic lodge, the "Dying Sphi ...
, was endorsed by
the Tsar in 1817. It was a flamboyant
Neoclassical design full of
Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ism.
![1852 XXC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/1852_XXC.jpg)
Construction work was begun on the
Sparrow Hills
Sparrow Hills (russian: Воробьёвы го́ры, ), formerly known as Lenin Hills (, ) between 1935 and 1999, is a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River and one of the highest points in Moscow, reaching a height of above the river ...
, the highest point in Moscow, but the site proved unstable. In the meantime Alexander I was succeeded by his brother
Nicholas I. Profoundly Orthodox and patriotic, the new Tsar disliked the Neoclassicism and Freemasonry of the design selected by his predecessor. He commissioned his favorite architect
Konstantin Thon
Konstantin Andreyevich Thon, also spelled Ton (russian: Константи́н Андре́евич Тон; October 26, 1794 – January 25, 1881) was an official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. His major works includ ...
to create a new design, taking as his model
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
in the
Ottoman capital
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
(present day
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
). Thon's
Russian Revival
The Russian Revival style (historiographical names are: ''Russian style'', russian: русский стиль, ''Pseudo-Russian style'', russian: псевдорусский стиль, ''Neo-Russian style'', russian: нео-русский стил ...
design was approved in 1832. A new site closer to the
Moscow Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
was chosen by the Tsar in 1837. A convent and church on the site had to be relocated, so the cornerstone of the new church was not laid until 1839.
The cathedral took many decades to build; the scaffolding was not taken down until 1860. Its painting was overseen by
Evgraf Sorokin, and thereafter some of the best Russian painters (
Ivan Kramskoi
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (russian: Ива́н Никола́евич Крамско́й; June 8 (O.S. May 27), 1837, Ostrogozhsk – April 6 (O.S. March 24), 1887, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian painter and art critic. He was an intellectual l ...
,
Vasily Surikov
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (Russian: Василий Иванович Суриков; 24 January 1848 – 19 March 1916) was a Russian Realist history painter. Many of his works have become familiar to the general public through their use as illus ...
,
V. P. Vereshchagin) continued to embellish the interior for another twenty years. The giant
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
of the cathedral was gilded using the new technique of gold
electroplating
Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current. The part to be ...
, replacing the older and insecure technique of
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
gilding
Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...
.
[The history of galvanoplating in Russia](_blank)
Although
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's ''
1812 Overture
''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon ...
'' was written with the building's completion in mind, it had its world premiere in a tent outside the unfinished church in August 1882. The cathedral was consecrated on 26 May 1883, the day before
Alexander III was crowned.
The inner sanctum of the church (
naos) was ringed by a two-floor gallery, its walls inlaid with rare sorts of marble, granite, and other stones. The ground floor of the gallery was a memorial dedicated to the Russian victory over
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. The walls displayed more than of
Carrara
Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, west-northwest o ...
bianca marble plaques listing major commanders, regiments, and battles of the
Patriotic War of 1812
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...
(with the lists of awards and casualties appended). The second floor of the gallery was occupied by church choirs.
Demolition
![Christ saviour explosion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Christ_saviour_explosion.jpg)
Following the 1917
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, the USSR's official
state atheism
State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically li ...
resulted in the
1921-1928 anti-religious campaign, during which many "church institution
at
helocal, diocesan or national level were systematically destroyed." Following the death of
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
in 1924,
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
leader
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
chose the prominent site of the cathedral as the proposed site for a monument to socialism known as the
Palace of the Soviets
The Palace of the Soviets (russian: Дворец Советов, ''Dvorets Sovetov'') was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The main function of the p ...
. It was to have modernistic,
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
ed tiers to support a gigantic statue of Lenin perched on top of a dome with his arm raised in the air.
The government plans for economic development in Russia during the 1930s required more funds than were available at the time. In searching for additional sources of revenue and funding, government agencies saw monetary value in religious and historical monuments that had not yet been destroyed or otherwise repurposed for government use. On 24 February 1930, the economic department of the OGPU sent a letter to the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee asking to remove the golden domes of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral. The letter noted that the dome of the church contained over 20 tons of gold of "excellent quality", and that the cathedral represented an "unnecessary luxury for the Soviet Union, and the withdrawal of the gold would make a great contribution to the industrialization of the country." The People's Commissariat of Finance did not object to this proposal.
On 13 July 1931, a meeting of the
Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union
The All-Union Central Executive Committee (russian: Всесоюзный Центральный исполнительный комитет, Vsesoyuznyy Tsentral'nyy ispolnitel'nyy komitet) was the most authoritative governing body of the USSR d ...
was held under the chairmanship of
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Ива́нович Кали́нин ; 3 June 1946), known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych", was a Soviet politician and Old Bolshevik revolutionary. He served as head of st ...
. The meeting decided to build the palace on the territory of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour: “The place for the construction of the Palace of Soviets to choose the area of the Cathedral of Christ in the mountains. Moscow with the demolition of the church itself and the necessary expansion of the area." This decision was prepared at a meeting of the
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states.
Names
The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
of the
All-Union Communist Party (b) on 5 June 1931. 11 days later, the resolution of the Committee for Cult Affairs under the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was adopted:
In view of the allotment of the site on which the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is located, for the construction of the Palace of Soviets, the said temple should be liquidated and demolished. Instruct the Presidium of the Moscow Oblast Executive Committee to liquidate (close) the church within ten days ... The petition of the OGPU
The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the intelligence and state security service and secret police of the Soviet Union f ...
economic department for gold washing and the petition for the construction of the Palace of Soviets for the transfer of building material to be submitted to the secretariat of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
For several months, urgent work was carried out to dismantle the temple building, the remains of which it was eventually decided would be blown up. On 5 December 1931, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was dynamited and reduced to rubble. It took more than a year to clear the debris from the site. The construction of the Palace of Soviets was ultimately halted due to a lack of funds, problems with flooding from the nearby
Moskva River
The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...
, and the outbreak of World War II. Some of the marble from the walls and benches of the cathedral was used in nearby
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...
stations. The
original
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...
marble
high relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s were preserved and are now on display at the
Donskoy Monastery
Donskoy Monastery (russian: Донско́й монасты́рь) is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan (title), Khan Ğazı II Giray, Kazy-G ...
. For many decades, these reliefs were the only reminders of one of the largest Orthodox churches ever built. The flooded foundation hole remained on the site, but in 1958 under
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
, it was transformed into the world's largest open air swimming pool, named
Moskva Pool
The Moskva Pool (Moscow Pool) was, for a time, the world's largest open air swimming pool.
It was built in Moscow in 1958 on the foundation of the abandoned Palace of the Soviets, to the designs of Moscow architect Dmitry Chechulin. Constructio ...
.
Rebuilt cathedral
![Moscow July 2011-34a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Moscow_July_2011-34a.jpg)
In February 1990, the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
received permission from the Soviet government to rebuild the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. A temporary cornerstone was laid by the end of the year. The architect
Aleksey Denisov was called upon to design a replica, but was soon fired from the project because of disagreements with the mayor's office. When construction was well under way, he was replaced by
Zurab Tsereteli
Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli ( ka, ზურაბ კონსტანტინეს ძე წერეთელი, russian: Зураб Константинович Церетели; born 4 January 1934) is a Georgian-Russian painter, sc ...
, who introduced several controversial innovations. For instance, the original marble high reliefs along the walls were replaced by modern bronze ones, which have few, if any, parallels in
Russian church architecture
Russian churches often have various recurrent elements in their architecture. The onion dome is for example a recurrent and important element in the architecture of Russian churches. Often Russian churches have also multi-colored filigree ornament ...
.
A construction fund was initiated in 1992 and funds began to pour in from citizens in the autumn of 1994, and about one million Muscovites donated money for the project. In this year the Moskva Pool was demolished and the cathedral reconstruction commenced. The lower church was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
to the Saviour's Transfiguration in 1997, and the completed Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was consecrated on the
Transfiguration Day, 19 August 2000.
![Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour_in_Moscow_06.JPG)
Below the new church is a large hall for church assemblies. The cathedral square is graced by several chapels, designed in the same style as the cathedral. A footbridge across the river from
Bersenevskaya embankment was constructed between 21 June 2003 and 3 September 2004 (
photo
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now crea ...
). On the slope of the hill to the right of the cathedral are
the monumental statues of Alexander II and
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
.
Significant events
In 2000, the cathedral was the venue for the
Canonization of the Romanovs
The canonization of the Romanovs (also called "glorification" in the Russian Orthodox Church) was the elevation to sainthood of the last Imperial Family of Russia – Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children Olga, Tat ...
when the last Tsar Nicholas II and his family were
glorified as saints. On 17 May 2007, the
Act of Canonical Communion between the
Moscow Patriarchate
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
of the Russian Orthodox Church and the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was signed there. The ROCOR had been separate since the 1920s. The full restoration of
communion with the Moscow Patriarchate was celebrated by a
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...
at which the
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (russian: Патриарх Московский и всея Руси, translit=Patriarkh Moskovskij i vseja Rusi), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the Bishop of Mo ...
,
Alexius II and the First Hierarch of ROCOR,
Metropolitan Laurus
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a ...
, concelebrated the
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...
for the first time in history.
The first Russian president
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
, who died of heart failure on 23 April 2007, lay in state in the cathedral prior to his burial in
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
.
In 2009 the cathedral was visited by Metropolitan
Jonah (Paffhausen)
Metropolitan Jonah (born James Paffhausen, Jr.; October 20, 1959) is a retired American Eastern Orthodox bishop who served as the primate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) with the title ''The Most Blessed Archbishop of Washington, Metropo ...
, former primate of the
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...
, who celebrated the Liturgy with
Patriarch Kirill I. Metropolitan Jonah later described the event, saying that even with a congregation of approximately 2,500, the vast church was only half full. About 16 bishops attended the ordination of a new bishop that day.
Russian feminist punk rock group
Pussy Riot
Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...
staged a
guerrilla performance in the cathedral in February 2012 in protest against the Russian Orthodox Church's support for
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
.
Three members were jailed for
hooliganism
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
.
See also
*
List of churches in Moscow
*
List of large Orthodox cathedrals
This is a list of the largest Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox church buildings in the world, based on area and capacity. Any Eastern Orthodox church building that has a capacity of 3,000 people or more, can be added to this page. Entries ...
*
List of tallest domes
This is a list of the tallest domes in the world. The dome can be measured by various criteria. There are different types of domes. Many of the tallest domes have a Roof lantern, lantern. Strictly speaking, the lantern is not part of the dome, b ...
*
USSR anti-religious campaign (1928–1941)
The USSR anti-religious campaign of 1928–1941 was a new phase of anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union following the anti-religious campaign of 1921–1928. The campaign began in 1929, with the drafting of new legislation that severely ...
References
External links
Travel2moscow.com – Official Moscow Guide*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140502230053/http://www.thomashoisington.com/pdfs/Moscows_Cathedral_Kirichenko.pdf Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow by Evgenia Kirichenkobr>
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow: A Russian AllegoryChurches Around the World Archive360° Virtual Tourof the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
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19th-century Russian Orthodox church buildings
Byzantine Revival architecture in Russia
Russian Revival architecture
Cathedrals in Moscow
Churches completed in 1883
Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Russia
Demolished churches in the Soviet Union
World Heritage Tentative List
1883 establishments in the Russian Empire
Buildings and structures demolished in 1931
Rebuilt churches in Russia
20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings
Churches completed in 2000
Church buildings with domes
Cultural heritage monuments in Moscow