Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral Vladimir 2016-06-23 6403

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

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 ...

Vladimir, Russia Vladimir (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, east of Moscow. It is served by a railway and the M7 motorway (Russia), M7 motorway. Populat ...

. It 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 Russia through the 13th century. It is part of a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.

History

The

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 ...

was commissioned by the

Grand Prince of Vladimir The Prince of Vladimir, from 1186 Grand Prince of Vladimir (), also translated as Grand Duke of Vladimir, was the title of the monarch of Vladimir-Suzdal. The title was passed to the prince of Moscow in 1389. Overview The monarch of Vladimir-Su ...

, Andrew the Pious (), in his capital, Vladimir, and dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God ( Virgin Mary), whom Andrew promoted as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of his lands. Originally erected between 1158 and 1160, the cathedral, with six pillars and five domes, was expanded from 1185 to 1189 to reflect the augmented prestige of Vladimir. At , it remained the largest Russian church for several hundred years. Andrew the Pious, Vsevolod the Big Nest () and other rulers of

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 ...

were interred in the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

of this church. Unlike many other churches, the cathedral survived to some extent the great devastation and fire of Vladimir in 1238, when the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

hordes of

Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...

captured the city. The exterior walls of the church are covered with elaborate carvings. The interior was painted in the 12th century and then repainted by

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev (, ; ) was a Russian artist considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 29 January. Ear ...

and Daniil Chernyi in 1408. The Dormition Cathedral served as a model for Aristotele Fioravanti when he designed the eponymous cathedral in 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 ...

in 1475 to 1479. A lofty

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church (building), church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many ...

, combining genuine Russian, Gothic and Neoclassical influences, was erected nearby in 1810.

References

External links

Tourism portal of the Vladimir region, Russia
* {{Coord, 56, 07, 38.59, N, 40, 24, 32.10, E, type:landmark_region:RU, display=title Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Russia Churches in Vladimir Oblast Buildings and structures in Vladimir, Russia 12th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Reserve Medieval Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Russia Church buildings with domes Burial sites of the Rurik dynasty Burial sites of Russian noble families Buildings and structures completed in 1189 Churches completed in the 1180s 12th-century churches in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Vladimir Oblast Dormition of the Mother of God