The Cathedral of the Dormition (), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

church dedicated to the

Dormition of the Theotokos The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the '' Theotokos'' ("Mother ...

. It is located on the north side of Cathedral Square of the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where a narrow alley separates the north from the Patriarch's Palace with the Twelve Apostles Church. Separately in the southwest, also separated by a narrow passage from the church, stands the Palace of Facets. The cathedral is regarded as the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of Muscovite Russia. The cathedral was originally constructed using stone in 1326 under Ivan I. The cathedral was rebuilt between 1475 and 1479 at the behest of the grand prince Ivan III to a design by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti. From 1547 to 1896 the coronation of Russian monarchs took place here. In addition, the cathedral is the burial place for most of the Moscow Metropolitans and

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

s of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

; it also serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums.

History

Early history

Archaeological investigations in 1968 indicated that the site of the present cathedral was a medieval burial ground, supporting the hypothesis that a wooden church existed on the site in the 12th century. This was replaced by a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

structure built around 1326, which has been mentioned in historical records. Moscow July 2011-3a

In the 14th century,

Metropolitan Peter Metropolitan Peter may refer to: *Peter of Moscow (died 1326), metropolitan of Kiev *Petro Mohyla (1596–1647), metropolitan of Kiev and Ecumenical Patriarch *Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (1813–1851), metropolitan of Cetinje and ruler of Montenegr ...

persuaded Ivan I (Ivan Kalita) that he should build a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

to the Theotokos (

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

) in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

like the Cathedral of the Dormition in the capital city Vladimir. Construction of the cathedral began on August 4, 1326, and the cathedral was finished and

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on August 4, 1327. At that time Moscow became the capital of the

Vladimir-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

principality. Moscow Kremlin AssumptionCathedral Reconstruction Zagraevsky

By the end of the 15th century the old cathedral had become dilapidated, and in 1472 the Moscow architects Kryvtsov and Myshkin began construction of a new cathedral. Two years later, in May 1474, the building was nearing completion when it collapsed due to earthquake.

Present structure

Following the disaster, Ivan III then invited Aristotele Fioravanti, a celebrated architect and engineer from

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, to come to Moscow and entrusted him with the task of designing the cathedral from scratch in the traditions of Russian architecture. The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was once again taken as a model for the building, and so Fioravanti travelled to Vladimir in order to study Russian methods of building. He designed a light and spacious masterpiece that combined the spirit of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

with Russian traditions. The foundation for the new cathedral was laid in 1475, and in 1479 the new cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Geronty. The interior was painted with

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es and adorned with many

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s, including the Theotokos of Vladimir and Blachernitissa. The design of the new church, with its five domes (symbolic of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

) proved immensely popular, and was taken as a template for numerous other churches throughout Russia. In 1547, the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of the first Russian

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

, took place in this cathedral. From 1721 it was the scene of the coronation of the Russian emperors. The ritual installation of metropolitans and patriarchs of the

also took place in this cathedral, and their tombs are to be found here. The cathedral suffered from many disasters in its history, including fires in 1518, 1547, 1682, and 1737,''Seeing the Sights in Eighteenth century Russia: the Moscow Kremlin'', Lindsey Hughes, Eighteenth century Russia: society, culture, economy: Wittenberg 2004, ed. Roger P. Bartlett, Gabriela Lehmann-Carli, (LIT Verlag Munster, 2007), 320. and looting under the armies of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

during the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

in 1612. During the French occupation of Russia, it was looted and used as a horse stable. It was thoroughly restored in 1894-1895 and from 1910 to 1918. On November 21, 1917, the cathedral was the setting for the installation of Tikhon (Bellavin), the Metropolitan of Moscow, as the first patriarch of the restored Patriarchate of Moscow. However, following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the new

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

government closed all churches in the Moscow Kremlin, and converted the cathedral into a museum. By special permission from

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, the last Pascha (Easter service) was held in 1918. The final moment of this Paschal service was the subject of an unfinished painting by Pavel Korin entitled ''Farewell to Rus''. Most of the church treasures were transferred to the Kremlin Armory, or were sold overseas. The building was repaired in 1949/50, 1960 and 1978. In 1990, the Dormition Cathedral was returned to the church for periodic religious services, shortly before the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. It was restored to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991.

Architecture

Dormition Cathedral is a tremendous six-pillared building with five apses and five domes. It was modeled after the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, in that it made extensive use of limestone masonry on a high limestone base, and was laid out as a three

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

church with a vaulted cross-dome. It is built of well-trimmed white-stone blocks. However, Fioravanti did not use

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

vaults as was common in Russian architecture, but introduced groin vaults and transverse arches. For the upper portion of the building, he used specially-made

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

s, larger than the standard Russian size, which reduced weight and allowed for more slender arch supports. Thus, the easternmost pair of columns in front of the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

s are typically Russian in the use of massive rectangular open piers, whereas the remaining four are simpler Corinthian columns. The slim shape of these columns contributes significantly to the light, spacious effect of the interior. Inside, the church decoration is dominated by its

painting. The huge

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

dates from 1547, but its two highest tiers are later additions from 1626 and 1653/1654 under Patriarch Nikon. In addition to its liturgical function, the iconostasis also served as a sort of trophy wall, in that Russian Tsars would add the most important icons from cities they had conquered to their collection. One of the oldest, ''icons with the bust of Saint George'' dates from the 12th century and was transferred to Moscow by Tsar Ivan IV on the conquest of the city of Veliky Novgorod in 1561. However, one of the most important icons of the Russian Orthodox Church, the '' Theotokos of Vladimir'' kept at the cathedral from 1395 to 1919 is now at the Tretyakov Gallery. Near the south entrance to the cathedral is the Monomach Throne of Ivan IV (1551).

In the arts

The plaza in front of the cathedral is the setting for the famous Coronation Scene in Mussorgsky's opera '' Boris Godunov''. File:Kremlvariousflickr08.jpg, Royal Procession door of the cathedral File:Moscow July 2011-3d.jpg, Northern portal File:Iconostas uspenskiy.JPG, Portion of the

Iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

and Holy Doors of Uspensky Cathedral File:Raka phillip.jpg,

Reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

of Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow File:Russia-Moscow-Kremlin Museums Exhibitions-12.jpg, Inside the

of the cathedral File:Uspenskii sobor v Moskve (1856) - Ivan Mikhailovich Snegirev.jpg, Ivan Mikhailovich Snegirev: Dormition Cathedral, Moscow (1856)

Notes

References

*Klein, Mina. ''The Kremlin: Citadel of History''. Macmillan Publishing Company (1973). *Tropkin, Alexander. ''The Moscow Kremlin: history of Russia's unique monument''. Publishing House "Russkaya Zhizn" (1980). ASIN: B0010XM7BQ

External links

Official Home Page

Satellite photo of the Cathedral of the Dormition

History of the cathedral, sights nearby, Moscow guide

3D-model ″Dormition Cathedral, Moscow Kremlin″ for the ″3D Buildings″ layer inside Google Earth
{{Kremlin Buildings and structures completed in 1479 Churches completed in the 1470s 15th-century establishments in Russia 15th-century Russian Orthodox church buildings Coronation church buildings Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Russia Cathedrals in Moscow Moscow Kremlin Church buildings with domes Russian Orthodox churches in Moscow Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow Dormition of the Mother of God Metropolis of Moscow and all Rus'