Uspenski Sobor

“Come, brothers! your heads you may bow,Before grand and most holy Moscow;Where the old altars of our land,Where shrines of saints, and ikons stand,Our inmost sanctuary.”—Borozdna.

HOLY Moscow, so reverently and affectionately regarded by the orthodox as the Mother of the Church, is to them more than a mere agglomeration of sacred shrines and ecclesiastical edifices. Neither the churches—though they are numerous and important enough to warrant the familiar appellation—nor yet the wonder-working, incorruptible remains and the miraculous ikons most endear Moscow to the true-believer—for there are such elsewhere which receive like humble homage. Holy Moscow comprises all that has served to nurse and sustain the faith amidst infidel aggression; the white-walled and golden-crowned city is symbolic of the lasting reward of heroic endeavour in the upward struggle of the race towards supremacy. Not indestructible itself, but its spirit undying; razed time after time only to appear again greater and more glorious than before, Moscow seems to the Russian not so much a part of the national entity personified in empire, as the very soul of his race; possessed, even as each individual, with strength to endure adversity and unfailing vigour to accomplish a predestined purpose. Traditionsof divine intervention; the finding and promulgation of Law; much that is miraculous and legendary as well as all that is credible in early national history the Russian associates with Moscow, and feels what the stranger cannot be made to perceive, may even fail to comprehend, for the outward and visible sign of the living spirit that actuates the Church is but faint and imperfect, even as performance is so often but an inadequate rendering of intention. Although the sanctity of Moscow may not be apparent to the unorthodox, the observer will expect some characteristics of motive to stand revealed in externals. But to the uninitiated the ritual of the Russian Church is bewildering, and the true significance of such symbols as are exhibited in ecclesiastical architecture and ornament is likely to be missed by over accentuating the importance of whatever may be unusual. For many, who are quite ignorant of its tenets and practice, the Eastern Church has an irresistible fascination; the danger is that these, on a first acquaintance will over-praise such details as they may appreciate and too hastily condemn others they may not rightly comprehend, and fail to arrive at a just conclusion by means of further study when no longer attracted by the novelty of the subject. To confine oneself to the consideration of externals is insufficient, being tantamount to the act of one who, absolutely ignorant of card games, endeavours to obtain an idea of the amusement derived from their play by careful examination of the accurate printing and careful finish of certain cards in the pack. On the other hand an attempt to convey by words alone an accurate idea of the full teaching of the Eastern Church is foredoomed to failure, and the most that can be done is to indicate the broad lines of the policy that has actuated it, and risk such errors as must accrue from possible mistranslations of meaning.

All Christian races treasure some legend as to the conversion of their forefathers by one of the Apostles. The Russians are no exception, and, in any event, the introduction of Christianity into their country took place in the heroic age.

“Novgorod, a city of great antiquity, having been founded by Rha, a grandson of Noah and son of Japhet, was visited by the Apostle St Andrew who wished to preach the gospel. The people would not listen to him, and having disrobed the saint threw him bound into a scalding bath. The saint distressed, and almost suffocated by the vapour, called out ‘ιδρωσα’ (I sweat), whence the name Russia. Other histories state that the conversion of the race took place some thousand years later, when, strange as it may appear, the Polyans were first called Russ, as some think from ‘ros,’ the old German name for ‘horse.’ There is a tradition that Vladimir the Great, having conquered fresh territory, became tired of his pagan gods and expressed a desire to embrace a newer faith. With the Christianity of Rome he would have nothing to do, for, he said, his relations in the west had embraced that, and yet were always at war and without good fortune. The Karaïm Jews of South Russia wished to convert him, but when he learned that they were exiled from the land of their fathers and had no country of their own, he refused, saying they were receiving the harvest of their sins and that he had no wish to cause his people to share their punishment. Then hearing that at Constantinople another religion was professed he sent delegates thither to observe and judge whether or not it would suit him. These Russians were astonished at the many lights in the temple; were moved by the singing and the stately procession of deacons, sub-deacons and others to and from the sacristy, and, particularly, at the humble manner in which the people prostrated themselves when the priests appeared. The ritual they did not understand and asked their guides what it all meant. ‘All that we have seen,’ they said, ‘is awful and majestic, but what seems to us supernatural is the young men who have white wings and dazzling robes, and cry “Holy! Holy! Holy!” in mid-air—this truly surprises us.’ ‘What?’ answered the guides, ‘do you not know that angels come down from heaven to our services?’ ‘You are right,’ said the Russians; ‘it is enough—more we do not wish to see; let us return to our country and tell of that which we have already seen.”

If the early chronicles may be trusted, the Bible was first translated into Slavic by Cyril and Methodius, two Greek monks of Byzantium, about the year 863, and so prior to the advent of the Norseman Rurik. In all probability, the faith was spread by proselytising clergy, in part helped by the devotion of the noble women of Byzantium who wedded with the savage Ros, and from the first was wholly independent of the civil power.

Of persecution there was little; Kiev furnished one Vœrœger martyr, and, as elsewhere among heathen, the Christian religion appears to have been readily embraced. Before the Kremlin was raised, before Moscow was, the church was represented on the banks of the Moskva by the little wooden chapel “spass na Boru.” Ivan Kalita was one of the first to recognise the usefulness of the church as an adjunct to civil and military power; he made priests not only welcome in Moscow but all important there. How the reigning princes caused the church in Moscow to rival in authority that of Kiev and, later, to attain supremacy throughout Russia, has already been stated. Of equal importance to the work initiated by any Tsar were the services of St Sergius, founder of the great monastery at Troitsa, which at one time possessed immense tracts of land and owned more than 100,000 serfs. Sergius was born at Great Rostov, and in his youth passed some time near Moscow, and later, having a dozen disciples and the aid of the Patriarch of Constantinople, helped greatly the colonisation of Russia by sending out monks trained at Troitsa. He lived the life of a hermit, and even when abbot did his full share of the menial labour. A commonly seen picture represents him as an old man seated on a rough bench sharing his piece of bread with a bear. Then came St Peter, an apostle sent from Macedonia, who, as a sign “passed through the fire” uninjured; after converting many he settled at Kiev andwas of great assistance to George Danielovich in raising the clerical status of Moscow, and to his “incorruptible remains” many miracles are attributed. A large number of relics assigned to him are still preserved in the Uspenski Sobor and the sacristy of the Patriarchs. Next in importance to Moscow was Alexis, the Metropolitan, afterwards canonised. From the earliest times, the clergy, living the life of the people and not that of the military caste, had great influence with citizens and peasants: many times the church has raised the spirit of the nation when oppressed by foreign invaders. It spurred on Ivan III. to overthrow the Mongol rule, and stirred up the people to repulse the Poles and secure national independence. One source of its power has been the use of the vernacular in all services; the church most certainly during the centuries of Tartar dominion also preserved the Slavic tongue from foreign dialects. The clergy have always held it their chief duty to pass on to their successors their faith as they received it. Schism is not tolerated; the slightest modification of ritual is forbidden. The Metropolitans of Moscow were long able to preserve the independence of the church against the encroachments of the reigning princes; Ivan the Terrible’s chief plaint against the clergy was that they exercised their privilege of forbidding the execution of those whom he had condemned to death. Boris Godunov gave Moscow a Patriarch, and added to the power of the church by appointing seven of the clergy to seats in the States Council. When, in 1615, the Tsar Michael met his father, the Patriarch Philaret, on the banks of the Pressenaia (near the Drogomilov Bridge) both bowed low and remained long recumbent, unwilling that either should consider the head of the church superior or inferior to the head of the state. From that time until Philaret’s death in 1639 father and sonpractically ruled conjointly. Nikon was scarce content to be the equal of his sovereign, and ranked the church above the state: he fell. Peter the Great scornfully suppressed the Patriarchate, but did not arrogate to himself the powers of the head of the church, substituting a synod to be elected from the hierarchy he himself appointed. So it remains to the present day, the reigning monarch having no right, from his position, to interfere in spiritual affairs, yet still controlling the administration of church law.

In matters of belief the Eastern church nearly approaches the Anglican, the main divergence is that whereas the Anglican and Roman churches agree that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, the Eastern Church holds that it proceeds from the Father only. The bible may be read; the church may interpret its teaching, “for the traditions of the church have been maintained uncorrupted through the influence of the Holy Spirit.” God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, “perfectly equal in nature and dignity,” may alone be worshipped; but homage may be paid to the Virgin Mary, and reverence shown to the saints, to ikons and to relics. That this may not be abused, bishops at their consecration are requested to promise that “honour shall be shown to God only, not to the sacred ikons, and that no false miracle shall be ascribed to them.... Themoshior incorruptible remains which are so greatly venerated, are the corpses of those long dead, whose burial-place has been forgotten and is made known by a supernatural manifestation. These remains must not be subject to the ordinary process of decay, and may possess such virtue as to miraculously cure the sick—which is the quality usually attributed to them.”

The ecclesiastical architecture of Moscow, or of Russia, is not so complex as it appears to be at first sight; originally the place for Christian worship was but a square log-hut; add an apse at the east end, cover the building with a dome roof supporting a cross to indicate its sacred character, and the external structure of the primitive church is complete. Instead of a dome roof it was found easier, as larger buildings becamenecessary, to cover with the dome only the centre of the church, which was still further elevated to make more prominent the dome and cross denoting the purpose of the building. Three apses, symbolic of the Trinity, took the place of one; five and seven are sometimes found. When the idea of the original whole dome roof was expressed by four small domes arranged around the higher central one, the model became the permanent type from which all other forms have been elaborated. The primitive type is best exemplified in the church of St Michael within the Chudov monastery, but the cathedrals of the Assumption and of the Archangels, on the Sobornia Ploshchad of the Kremlin, will serve equally well to illustrate the permanent form. The origin and development of the bulbous dome, as well as the size, position and number of secondary domes, may be traced by comparing the various old churches in South Russia, and those of wood, formerly or at present existing in “wooden” Russia. For this purpose a convenient series of framed drawings is to be found on stands in Roomβof the Historical Museum. They confirm what has already been stated in the preceding chapter, concerning the origin of Russian architecture, and show that the number of domes—some churches have seventeen, if not more—is immaterial, since all should be so arranged as to increase the importance of the central one. Those in which all are equal in size and height—as the roof over the chapels of the Terem—are quite exceptional. The chief modification arose from the necessity of preserving the structure and its valued contents from the great cold of the winter and the excessive moisture of the summer. To overcome the first difficulty the church was surrounded with a gallery; to obviate the second the floor of the church raised to a higher storey; when the two were combined as inmany churches of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, some elaboration of proaulion andKriltsowas natural. The best specimens of this class are the churches of St Nicholas of the Great Cross on the Ilyinka, and of the Assumption on the Pokrovka; the ordinary design is that of the porches and approach to Vasili Blajenni, and of the Blagovieshchenski Sobor before the ground was raised to its present level.

The belfry, a somewhat late comer to the Russian church, was usually a separate building adjacent to, but not a component part of, the church itself. When masonry superseded wood, the old designs were for the most part retained: so possibly the only other important point of general application is the subsequent employment of the tapering spire—and its modifications of superposed arches, etc.—to support the dome and cross, instead of the cylindrical shaft peculiar to Russian architecture, which last was evidently derived from round towers of very remote origin. The windows are small and unimportant—often mere oblong slits in the wall—and, though the accepted form admits of little modification towards the elaboration of elegance and grace in the design, and the decoration is limited by the ecclesiastical objection to carved figures—and climatic conditions which preclude the employment of projecting mouldings and all fine work in high relief—the brilliant colouring and mural decorations of plane surfaces convey an impression of richness, which, combined with the absence of the usual and conspicuousness of strange decorations, magnify the whole, in many instances, into the resemblance of whatever the imagination may picture as most ornate and brilliant.

In essentials the interior arrangements of all the churches are similar: east of the pillars that support the central dome, the church is divided by the ikonostas—a development of the rood-screen—whichseparates the officiating priests from the worshippers. In old churches seats were placed round the walls and stalls provided for persons of high rank, but for long it has been customary for the congregation to stand during the services. Behind the ikonostas is the sanctuary; there females may not enter, nor any male if physically imperfect; it is disclosed to the worshippers during the celebration of Mass by opening the “Royal Doors” in the centre of the ikonostas. There are in all churches sacred ikons, having the place of honour on the ikonostas; decorative and illustrative pictures are placed there also, and the same—as frescoes, or otherwise—around the central columns and along the walls of the church. Usually the north wall is appointed for those pertaining to the saint to whom the church is dedicated; the south wall to the seven councils, the west to other sacred subjects. Although the ikonostas is the equivalent of the rood-screen in the old English churches, it is not only always a fixture, but sometimes a solid partition of masonry, being really that barrier which shuts off the Holy of Holies, that may be entered by the consecrated priests alone, from the rest of the temple. It is always decorated, but the high ikonostas, having five, or even seven, tiers of pictures is a development later than the fifteenth century. The “Royal Doors” must have representations of the Annunciation and the four Evangelists, since through this entrance came the glad tidings of the Eucharist; right and left of the doors the Saviour and the Madonna; also, usually, Adam, as the first fallen, and the Penitent Thief as the first redeemed; above, the Trinity; Abraham entertaining the three angels and John the Baptist most frequently figure on the screen, and, on the pillars facing the entrance, the Publican and Pharisee as symbolic of an all inclusive congregation of worshippers.

In the Sanctuary is a tabernacle or Sinai, upon the altar, and over it a baldachino on which the cross is laid horizontally—or nearly so. In the apse behind

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY AND FLIGHTCHURCH OF THE NATIVITY AND FLIGHT

the altar is thethronosor seat of the head of the church, with other seats for priests on both sides; the choir is a raised dais before the ikonostas.

The Russian cross has eight points. To the Latin cross are added the titulus, and a lower diagonal crosspiece which is assumed to be a rest for the feet.Post hoc, propter hoc, and that this rest slants is said to be due to the fact that Christ was lame; others think thatits purpose is merely to give the idea of perspective of the hill Golgotha on which the cross was placed, and others as indicating the earthquake, whilst those versed in mystic symbolism will recognise a totally distinct signification.[B]To these last too, the accepted explanations of the crescent from which the cross rises will be insufficient. It was common in Russia prior to the Mongol occupation, so is not the result of placing crosses upon mosques, or intended to denote the subjugation of Mahommedanism to Christianity. More probable is the explanation, that in ancient pictures the Virgin is shown standing upon the crescent, and the cross was later placed by the Russian ecclesiastics to denote that the cross issues from the Mother of God. Maxim, the Greek, in the sixteenth century, declared that the crescent represented Upsilon, the initial ofὑφος, and so is emblematical of the uplifting of the cross; but if its application as a sign of Christian dogma is open to various constructions, all will at once recognise the sign as one of the most ancient and general of mystic symbols.

[B]The Russian cross is derived from the old eastern form of the Greek letterxi.

The ecclesiastical art of Russia is of a different nature to that of any school of the west. The ikons, or sacred pictures, must be exact copies of the originals, thus the practice supports Gibbon’s contention that the religious value of a sacred image depends for its efficacy upon its resemblance to the original.[C]In Moscow there are several pictures of the Saviour “not made with hands,” being in that respect, and that only, similar to the Veronica and the miraculous image of Edessa. They are not alike, and their origin is notknown, but it is conjectured that the initialsΟ τ Η, on the nimbus, have been wrongly interpreted as the initials ofot, otsa, Nebesnavo, which means “From Our Father on High” instead ofOn, Otets, Nash—“He is Our Father.” The Greek characters were little known in Russia, and one of the pictures has this legend in GreekΟ.Ω.Ν.In the same connection it is worth noting that our I.H.S. is a misreading into Latin ofΙΗΕ, the Greek contraction ofΙΗΕΣοὑς, where the long e was mistaken for a capital H, and the dash above it developed into a cross. The ordinary ikons are restricted to fixed types; the artist therefore has never needed to create, only to reproduce. There are no Russian Madonnas, all are replicas of pictures brought from Greece or Byzantium; “the ikon painter knows but one costume, for all places and all times it changeth not; tradition fixes the form of the head, the pose, the proportion, the attitudes and the attributes.” Most are produced by monks and probationers who follow the instructions given in a tenth century MS. by Dionysius of Mount Athos. Rigorously it is only the features of the saint that must be exactly reproduced; in practice it is customary to cover all but the face and hands with thin metal—gold, silver, or gilt, and to ornament the setting lavishly. In the seventeenth century, the golden age of Muscovite ecclesiasticism, there were several branches of ikon painting, not differing sufficiently to warrant the appellation of “schools.” These were known as the Imperial or Court style; the Village, the Strogonov, and the Monastic. Novgorod would have the faces yellow; the Strogonov insisted upon dark green—an introduction from Byzantium, and sometimes known as Khorsunski. Black virgins are not unknown—the result of time upon impure pigments; those with three small scratches on the face are copies of the Iberian Mother of God, a twelfth century ikonof the Virgin. Graven images are not allowed in the Russian Church, being held to be a violation of the second commandment. The only exception is that of St Nicholas. Holy Statues were abolished by order of the Patriarch Philaret, and when these were removed from the churches all went well until hands were laid upon one of the representatives of the patron Saint; no force could stir that; where, by extraordinary means, the statue was broken from the pedestal, the image of the saint reappeared. This is the only figure seen in high relief, and is usually made with the model of a church in his hand. The popularity of the saint may be estimated from the fact, that at one time there were as many as 118 churches in Moscow dedicated to St Nicholas.

[C]“By a slow though inevitable progression the honours of the original were transferred to the image; the merit and effect of a copy depends upon its resemblance with the original.”—Gibbon,—Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter xlix.

The rites of the Russian Church are complex, and to the unorthodox, perplexing. The celebrant by the minute observance of minor details gives to every act a symbolic meaning, and to even the least significant of them some dogma of the church is attached. The service is in Slavonic, of which the ordinary people do not understand the letter, but can follow the general meaning; it is impressive apart from its significance, and is intended so to be. It commences with a call to worship—thevozglass—singing of psalms; a series of prayers—ektenia—for the welfare of the church, intoned; the evangels or epistles also intoned; “choral and part-singing of unequalled harmony and richness; prayers; consecration of the elements; administration of the sacrament, which the priest takes every service, and the congregation at will, but at least once yearly; thanksgiving, and the parting benediction; chanting and incense-burning are frequent throughout, and asperging is practised at the commencement and termination. For the greater part of the time the “Royal doors” are closed: the deacons remain before theikonostas, but now and again some enter the Sanctuary for a short time. From time to time priests and acolytes pass to and fro among the congregation, incensing all the sacred ikons in turn. The voice of the officiating priest is raised within, and is answered in deep tones by the deacons without. Now from some unnoticed corner comes a clear ringing chant from many voices, from another a deep single voice is heard intoning the epistle, or evangel, of the day; then suddenly the Royal doors fly open and a glimpse is obtained of the celebrant through thick rolling clouds of incense; the people prostrate themselves and the doors close.” Later the priest emerges and the service has concluded—to the unorthodox stranger of any creed it has been almost meaningless.

The history of Moscow is so intermingled with that of the Russian Church, and the cathedrals of the Kremlin and private chapels of the palace the scene of so many notable events, that the reader will not need a recountal of the stories concerning the historical characters who have made them famous. Here it will suffice if the minor details to be examined are enumerated, and the tale of the struggle between orthodoxy and dissent succinctly related.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, formerly known as that of the Patriarchs, originated with the Metropolitan Peter, who said to Ivan “Kalita,” “If thou wishest that my old age be graced with peace, content, and fulness, thou wilt raise on this site a grand temple to our Holy Mother of God, then shalt thou likewise be happy, become the most illustrious of the princes of our age, and thy race powerful throughout the earth.” So in 1326 Ivan erected a fine wooden church, which, in 1472, when the wood buildings were being replaced

USPENSKI SOBOR, THE IKONOSTASUSPENSKI SOBOR, THE IKONOSTAS

by those of stone, was taken down and an attempt made by Russian artisans to build its equal in brick. Before this work was complete the walls fell, and Aristotle of Bologna, who had been entrusted with the removal of the Campanile there, and the repair of the leaning tower of Cento, was ordered to construct the cathedral anew. Aristotle taught the Muscovites how to make largerand harder bricks than the pantiles to which they were accustomed; how to turn an arch and make vaulted roofs. He took as his model for this cathedral the church of the Virgin in Vladimir and used the white stone of Kolomna hewn into rectangular blocks which he fastened together with iron cramps.

Structure.—The foundations are 15 feet below the surface, but the floor of the cathedral was originally seven or more feet lower than at present: height to cupola 128 feet. The walls were strengthened in 1626 after the injury done by the Poles; in 1684 the domes were covered with gilded copper, and the mural decorations restored after the fire of All Saint’s day, 1737, and the French occupation, but otherwise the edifice, is practically as completed in 1497.The South Porchis closed by the Golden Gates of Korsoun, which were carried from that town to Suzdal, and thence to Moscow—they are actually of coppered iron gilt, divided into twenty compartments exhibiting scenes from biblical history, and below Apollo, Plato, and mythological figures. Before them the Grand Princes of Muscovy were invested with the authority of the Khan by his bashkak during the centuries of the Mongol supremacy. The Royal entrance is by the western doors; the public entrance by those on the north side.The interioris remarkable for its ikonostas and ikons. The screen is of masonry and descends 10 feet below the surface; it is adorned with frescoes, which may be inspected only when the sacred ikons are removed for that special purpose. The upper range has been recently restored to its condition prior to the French invasion, when the old one was stripped of all its precious metal; the great silver chandelier of 2940 lbs., made in England in 1630, was put in the casting-pot and scales suspended from its place; horses were stabled in the chapel, and tethered to the coffins of the metropolitans. Not content with robbing the sanctuary of its precious metals the French deliberately placed the mannikins from the old suits of armour in the Orujenni Palata as idols in conspicuous positions about the church. The chandeliers are of silver—some 900 lbs. of which in the one from the central cupola is that recovered by the Cossacks from the retreating French: some five tons of precious metal are in the present ikonostas.The ikonsinclude the most prized Mary of Vladimir attributed to St Luke, which was brought from Tsar Grad—Constantinople—to Kief, taken by Andrew Bogoloobski to Vladimir and brought to Moscow on the Tartar invasion. It is regarded as miraculous, having saved the city from Tamerlane, and on subsequent occasions. Tsars and people alike in past generations have regarded this picture as their Palladium. Of its artistic merits it would be idle to write; black with age and discoloured by the accidents incidental to preservation in an oft burned city, it is as represented in the frontispiece. Completely enveloped, but hands and face, in precious metal and handsome garniture, it exhibits a richness of decoration few articles ofvertucan equal; the gems alone being valued at upwards of £100,000, and the great emerald itself at £10,000. The next ikon of importance is that of the Holy Virgin of Jerusalem, which, according to tradition, was the work of the apostles. Taken to Constantinople in the fifth century and to Kherson in the tenth, it came thence to Moscow—but others say, it is but a copy, the original having disappeared during the French occupation. On the right of the royal doors is the image of our Saviour in the golden chasuble, painted by the Greek emperor Manuel, and brought from Novgorod the Great in 1478. By its side is an ikon with most brilliant colouring representing the Assumption, which is said to be the work of the metropolitan Peter, the founder of the church; but if it be not his handicraft is still a remarkable specimen of the ikon painter’s art in Russia of the fourteenth century. These, with others, are all on the lower tier. On the tiers above are usually placed: highest, the Madonna and the Infant Jesus, the fathers of the church in pre-mosaic days, portraits of persons mentioned in Genesis; on the second stage, the prophets from Moses to Jesus Christ; on the third, incidents in the life of the Saviour illustrative of church feasts; on the fourth, portraits of the saints of the orthodox church; on the fifth, the sacred ikons.Other picturesin the cathedral include portraits of the patriarchs and saints; many frescoes on a gold ground are ranged around the four pillars that support the central cupola; and, on the walls, the martyrdoms of orthodox saints are depicted. A bas-relief, supposed to represent St George slaying the dragon, has been identified by Sneguirev as once part of a triumphal arch the Christians erected in Rome to Constantine the Great.The Sanctuaryhas a tabernacle of precious metal (17 lbs. gold and 17 lbs. silver) on the grand altar, which contains the Host and formerly also held a number of important statepapers which were transferred to St Petersburg in 1880. Also a large Bible of Natalia Naryshkin set with gems worth several thousand pounds.The Chapel of Sts. Peter and Paulis before the most northern apse, with the tomb of St Peter immediately on the right when entering; just beyond it is that of the metropolitan St Theognitus; on the left are sacred relics: (a) the “Holy Coat” or a portion of the “tunic” worn by the Saviour; (b) a nail of the true cross; (c) the right hand of St Andrew the Apostle; (d) the head of St Gregory the theologian; and (e) the head of St John Chrysostom. The shrines were profaned by Tokhtamysh, and ransacked by the French. Here in olden times the rulers of the principalities in vassalage to Moscow embraced the cross and swore fealty, and here the metropolitans were appointed to their office.The Chapel of St Dmitriof Thessalonica, called “The Peaceable.” is on the south side of the sanctuary. It contains the oldest tomb in Moscow, that of Yuri, brother of Ivan “Kalita,” and it was in this Chapel that Yuri Glinski, brother of Ivan the Terrible’s mother, was slain.The Chapel of the Virgin Maryis reached by a flight of steps near the south apse, for it is situated under the southern cupola. There the patriarchs were elected. In its sanctuary are: (a) Copy of the gospels, printed in Moscow and presented to the boy-Tsars, Ivan and Peter, with beautiful initials and rich binding, the work of foreign artisans in the palace; (b) an illuminated psalter of the fifteenth century; (c) an illuminated MS. of the gospels by Russian scribes, 1664; (d) a cross of cypress wood, enclosing a piece of the true cross; (e) cross of the Emperor Constantine; (f) Jasper vases which were ornamented with the Latin cross—they were brought from Novgorod, having belonged to the old monastery there, by Ivan. IV.; (g) a sacramental chalice, which was presented to Monomachus by Alexis Cominus, and is used to the present day for the Holy Oil with which the Tsars are anointed at their coronation.The Tombsof the Patriarchs are ranged along the western wall; that of Jonas is on the north-west, and near the ikonostas is the shrine of St Philip, murdered in Tver by Maluta Skutarov to please Ivan IV.The Thronesor stalls of the Tsar and Tsaritsa are situated, the first between the south column and the south wall, the second just before the north column; the large stall in front of the south column is for the Patriarch, and dates from the days of Philaret only. The canopy in the south-western corner isfor the “Holy Coat” sent by the Shah Abbas, but this is usually kept in the altar of the north chapel.It is pretty generally known that the Uspenski Sobor is the State Cathedral; that in it the Tsars of Russia must be crowned; there, too, several have been married, foreign princes have renounced their faith and accepted the orthodox religion prior to marriage with the Royal princesses, and there Peter the Great caused his son Alexis to repudiate his right to succeed to the throne: actually it is the mausoleum of the Patriarchs and heads of the Orthodox Church.

The South Porchis closed by the Golden Gates of Korsoun, which were carried from that town to Suzdal, and thence to Moscow—they are actually of coppered iron gilt, divided into twenty compartments exhibiting scenes from biblical history, and below Apollo, Plato, and mythological figures. Before them the Grand Princes of Muscovy were invested with the authority of the Khan by his bashkak during the centuries of the Mongol supremacy. The Royal entrance is by the western doors; the public entrance by those on the north side.

The interioris remarkable for its ikonostas and ikons. The screen is of masonry and descends 10 feet below the surface; it is adorned with frescoes, which may be inspected only when the sacred ikons are removed for that special purpose. The upper range has been recently restored to its condition prior to the French invasion, when the old one was stripped of all its precious metal; the great silver chandelier of 2940 lbs., made in England in 1630, was put in the casting-pot and scales suspended from its place; horses were stabled in the chapel, and tethered to the coffins of the metropolitans. Not content with robbing the sanctuary of its precious metals the French deliberately placed the mannikins from the old suits of armour in the Orujenni Palata as idols in conspicuous positions about the church. The chandeliers are of silver—some 900 lbs. of which in the one from the central cupola is that recovered by the Cossacks from the retreating French: some five tons of precious metal are in the present ikonostas.

The ikonsinclude the most prized Mary of Vladimir attributed to St Luke, which was brought from Tsar Grad—Constantinople—to Kief, taken by Andrew Bogoloobski to Vladimir and brought to Moscow on the Tartar invasion. It is regarded as miraculous, having saved the city from Tamerlane, and on subsequent occasions. Tsars and people alike in past generations have regarded this picture as their Palladium. Of its artistic merits it would be idle to write; black with age and discoloured by the accidents incidental to preservation in an oft burned city, it is as represented in the frontispiece. Completely enveloped, but hands and face, in precious metal and handsome garniture, it exhibits a richness of decoration few articles ofvertucan equal; the gems alone being valued at upwards of £100,000, and the great emerald itself at £10,000. The next ikon of importance is that of the Holy Virgin of Jerusalem, which, according to tradition, was the work of the apostles. Taken to Constantinople in the fifth century and to Kherson in the tenth, it came thence to Moscow—but others say, it is but a copy, the original having disappeared during the French occupation. On the right of the royal doors is the image of our Saviour in the golden chasuble, painted by the Greek emperor Manuel, and brought from Novgorod the Great in 1478. By its side is an ikon with most brilliant colouring representing the Assumption, which is said to be the work of the metropolitan Peter, the founder of the church; but if it be not his handicraft is still a remarkable specimen of the ikon painter’s art in Russia of the fourteenth century. These, with others, are all on the lower tier. On the tiers above are usually placed: highest, the Madonna and the Infant Jesus, the fathers of the church in pre-mosaic days, portraits of persons mentioned in Genesis; on the second stage, the prophets from Moses to Jesus Christ; on the third, incidents in the life of the Saviour illustrative of church feasts; on the fourth, portraits of the saints of the orthodox church; on the fifth, the sacred ikons.

Other picturesin the cathedral include portraits of the patriarchs and saints; many frescoes on a gold ground are ranged around the four pillars that support the central cupola; and, on the walls, the martyrdoms of orthodox saints are depicted. A bas-relief, supposed to represent St George slaying the dragon, has been identified by Sneguirev as once part of a triumphal arch the Christians erected in Rome to Constantine the Great.

The Sanctuaryhas a tabernacle of precious metal (17 lbs. gold and 17 lbs. silver) on the grand altar, which contains the Host and formerly also held a number of important statepapers which were transferred to St Petersburg in 1880. Also a large Bible of Natalia Naryshkin set with gems worth several thousand pounds.

The Chapel of Sts. Peter and Paulis before the most northern apse, with the tomb of St Peter immediately on the right when entering; just beyond it is that of the metropolitan St Theognitus; on the left are sacred relics: (a) the “Holy Coat” or a portion of the “tunic” worn by the Saviour; (b) a nail of the true cross; (c) the right hand of St Andrew the Apostle; (d) the head of St Gregory the theologian; and (e) the head of St John Chrysostom. The shrines were profaned by Tokhtamysh, and ransacked by the French. Here in olden times the rulers of the principalities in vassalage to Moscow embraced the cross and swore fealty, and here the metropolitans were appointed to their office.

The Chapel of St Dmitriof Thessalonica, called “The Peaceable.” is on the south side of the sanctuary. It contains the oldest tomb in Moscow, that of Yuri, brother of Ivan “Kalita,” and it was in this Chapel that Yuri Glinski, brother of Ivan the Terrible’s mother, was slain.

The Chapel of the Virgin Maryis reached by a flight of steps near the south apse, for it is situated under the southern cupola. There the patriarchs were elected. In its sanctuary are: (a) Copy of the gospels, printed in Moscow and presented to the boy-Tsars, Ivan and Peter, with beautiful initials and rich binding, the work of foreign artisans in the palace; (b) an illuminated psalter of the fifteenth century; (c) an illuminated MS. of the gospels by Russian scribes, 1664; (d) a cross of cypress wood, enclosing a piece of the true cross; (e) cross of the Emperor Constantine; (f) Jasper vases which were ornamented with the Latin cross—they were brought from Novgorod, having belonged to the old monastery there, by Ivan. IV.; (g) a sacramental chalice, which was presented to Monomachus by Alexis Cominus, and is used to the present day for the Holy Oil with which the Tsars are anointed at their coronation.

The Tombsof the Patriarchs are ranged along the western wall; that of Jonas is on the north-west, and near the ikonostas is the shrine of St Philip, murdered in Tver by Maluta Skutarov to please Ivan IV.

The Thronesor stalls of the Tsar and Tsaritsa are situated, the first between the south column and the south wall, the second just before the north column; the large stall in front of the south column is for the Patriarch, and dates from the days of Philaret only. The canopy in the south-western corner isfor the “Holy Coat” sent by the Shah Abbas, but this is usually kept in the altar of the north chapel.

It is pretty generally known that the Uspenski Sobor is the State Cathedral; that in it the Tsars of Russia must be crowned; there, too, several have been married, foreign princes have renounced their faith and accepted the orthodox religion prior to marriage with the Royal princesses, and there Peter the Great caused his son Alexis to repudiate his right to succeed to the throne: actually it is the mausoleum of the Patriarchs and heads of the Orthodox Church.

There is nothing in its architecture that demands comment, the external mural pictures are common place, and from the artistic standpoint the work that merits closest attention and highest praise is the open scroll, bent and hammered metal on the lattices of the different shrines, and almost equally good is much of the chiselled, moulded and other decorative metal work on the ikonostas. It is a typical church, richer in precious metal, sacred ikons and holy relics than other churches in Moscow; it is the pious wish of the guardians of the other churches to make theirs even as is this.

The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael is of even plainer appearance than the Uspenski; its south wall has been propped by a common buttress which, pierced for the lancet windows, gives that side much the appearance of a fortress. Its history is similar to that of the other cathedrals; the first wooden church on the site was erected in the twelfth century. Ivan “Kalita” built it anew as the place of sepulture for himself and his descendants. Ivan III. demolished that church and employed the Italian Aleviso to construct the present edifice, consecrated in 1500. It has suffered severely at different times, especially during the French occupation, when an attempt was made to destroy it by exploding a large quantity of spirit the French broughtwithin for the purpose, but this served only to scatter the tombs, wreck the interior and spring the south wall. The church contains the remains of the princes and all the Tsars of Moscow. The petitions of the people laid upon the tombs of the Tsars were taken and read by Peter I. himself. Most of the religious ceremonies peculiar to this church relate to masses for the dead, and homage paid to the memory of ancestors. It has the usual rectangular form, the four central columns, the five cupolas, which the people think always dedicated to the Saviour and the four evangelists. The chapel on the west side is a later addition—the sole remaining one of four, which existed in the seventeenth century. On the south side is a small chamber which was theizba, or Palace of Justice, and below it are vaulted arches which extend almost the whole length of the Kremlin; the original paving is now some 12 feet below the level of the squares adjoining. Here the Tsar’s gift of money was scattered at his coronation. The most noteworthy objects in the church are: the ikonostas, high, brilliant and sparkling with gems; the excellent metal-work of the shrines; the mural paintings—portraits of the Tsars whose tombs are below, and the richly worked palls over the tombs.

The ikonostasis of five stages; the sacred ikons are: (a) The Virgin “Beneficent,” brought to Moscow by the Tsaritsa Sophia Vitovtovna; (b) the Virgin of Tikhvin, the ikon of the Tsaritsa Maria Nagoi, mother of the murdered Tsarevich, Dmitri; (c) St Basil the Great, near the south wall; (d) St Simeon Stylite.The tombsof forty-seven princes of the line of Rurik lie upon the floor: though not arranged in chronological order, no difficulty will be found in recognising any one of them. Only one Emperor, Peter II., grandson of Peter the Great, is buried here; those of the Tsars Michael and Alexis Romanof are on the right hand near the first pillar, surrounded by those of their sons and grandsons. Near is the tomb of the murdered Dmitri, whose portrait in gold is hung on the pillar over the coffin.The silver candelabra before it was presented by the inhabitants of Uglitch where he was murdered when but six years old. Vasili, the blind, is buried near the ikonostas; and by his side lies Ivan III., the maker of middle Moscow and uniter of the Russian-lands. Near the first pillar on the left is the tomb of Alexander, Tsar of Kazan: near the second pillar, the Tsarevich Peter, son of Ibrahim, and grandson of Mamotiakov, once Tsar of Kazan. The remains of Ivan the Terrible are near the high altar, a testimony of the forgiving temperament of prelates of the orthodox church. The tomb is covered with a black pall, indicating that he had been received into the church as a monk before his death. Horsey states that persons passing his tomb uttered a prayer that he might never rise again: to this day, twice yearly, a special mass is celebrated invoking forgiveness for that “burden of sins voluntary or involuntary known to themselves or to themselves unknown” committed on earth by those whose bodies are buried within the church. In a side chapel, dedicated to the martyred Tsar, are the remains of Michael Skopin Shooiski, the popular military hero of the “Times of Trouble,” and a bronze shrine covers the remains of Chernigof and his boyard Theodore, martyred by the Tartars.The decorationsare mural pictures, dry frescoes of portraits of the Tsars, the best that of Vasili II. habited as a monk: also illustrations of the Last Judgment, the “Symbol of Faith,” and miracles of the Archangel Michael, which represent Russian pictorial art of the seventeenth century.The sacristycontains some very beautiful sacerdotal robes presented to officiating priests on state occasions; the gems on the richersakkosbeing exceptionally beautiful. There is also an ornate copy of the gospels brought from Novgorod in 1125; it has picturesque portraits of the evangelists, and characteristic illuminated initials; the golden filigree work on the cover is excellent. A psalter of 1594 has elegant marginal decorations. There were also rich crosses of gold and silver—the one that belonged to Ivan IV. with large pearls, best worth examination—reliquaries, and a curious gold chalice some 7 lbs. weight. Many will be more interested in the fine needle and jewelry work on the elaborated palls of which the church has a great many exquisite specimens.The relicsare not numerous: those which formally belonged to the Tsar Alexis are within a reliquary of the cross above mentioned: and a drop of the blood of John the Baptist is shown under a crystal in one of the ikons.

The tombsof forty-seven princes of the line of Rurik lie upon the floor: though not arranged in chronological order, no difficulty will be found in recognising any one of them. Only one Emperor, Peter II., grandson of Peter the Great, is buried here; those of the Tsars Michael and Alexis Romanof are on the right hand near the first pillar, surrounded by those of their sons and grandsons. Near is the tomb of the murdered Dmitri, whose portrait in gold is hung on the pillar over the coffin.The silver candelabra before it was presented by the inhabitants of Uglitch where he was murdered when but six years old. Vasili, the blind, is buried near the ikonostas; and by his side lies Ivan III., the maker of middle Moscow and uniter of the Russian-lands. Near the first pillar on the left is the tomb of Alexander, Tsar of Kazan: near the second pillar, the Tsarevich Peter, son of Ibrahim, and grandson of Mamotiakov, once Tsar of Kazan. The remains of Ivan the Terrible are near the high altar, a testimony of the forgiving temperament of prelates of the orthodox church. The tomb is covered with a black pall, indicating that he had been received into the church as a monk before his death. Horsey states that persons passing his tomb uttered a prayer that he might never rise again: to this day, twice yearly, a special mass is celebrated invoking forgiveness for that “burden of sins voluntary or involuntary known to themselves or to themselves unknown” committed on earth by those whose bodies are buried within the church. In a side chapel, dedicated to the martyred Tsar, are the remains of Michael Skopin Shooiski, the popular military hero of the “Times of Trouble,” and a bronze shrine covers the remains of Chernigof and his boyard Theodore, martyred by the Tartars.

The decorationsare mural pictures, dry frescoes of portraits of the Tsars, the best that of Vasili II. habited as a monk: also illustrations of the Last Judgment, the “Symbol of Faith,” and miracles of the Archangel Michael, which represent Russian pictorial art of the seventeenth century.

The sacristycontains some very beautiful sacerdotal robes presented to officiating priests on state occasions; the gems on the richersakkosbeing exceptionally beautiful. There is also an ornate copy of the gospels brought from Novgorod in 1125; it has picturesque portraits of the evangelists, and characteristic illuminated initials; the golden filigree work on the cover is excellent. A psalter of 1594 has elegant marginal decorations. There were also rich crosses of gold and silver—the one that belonged to Ivan IV. with large pearls, best worth examination—reliquaries, and a curious gold chalice some 7 lbs. weight. Many will be more interested in the fine needle and jewelry work on the elaborated palls of which the church has a great many exquisite specimens.

The relicsare not numerous: those which formally belonged to the Tsar Alexis are within a reliquary of the cross above mentioned: and a drop of the blood of John the Baptist is shown under a crystal in one of the ikons.

BLAGOVIESHCHENSKI SOBORBLAGOVIESHCHENSKI SOBOR

The Cathedral of the Annunciation is of a more elaborate and picturesque style than either the Uspenski or the Archangelski, which, in part, may be attributed to the fact that it is more intimately connected with the Royal Palaces than they are. Reached directly by the palace terrace, it is the complement of the Krasnœ Kriltso, and was used for the baptism of the royal children, the confessions of the Tsars, and religious ceremonies of a semi-state character. Its earlier designationswere, among others, the “Church of the Grand-Ducal Court,” “Church of the Tsarian Vestibule,” and “Church of the Tsarian Treasury,” which clearly indicate the court uses for which it has been employed. It has nine cupolas; the roof of pointed vaults rising tier above tier is most characteristic of Muscovite architecture, and the entrance is by a flight of steps communicating with a covered gallery which surrounds the church, see page 178. Its early history is that of the others; first, a wooden church erected by Andrew in 1291, rebuilt in 1397; in 1409 the walls decorated with pictures by Rublev; in part demolished by Ivan III., who built again from the first floor up, and, completed in 1482, painted during the reign of Vasili Ivanovich; damaged by the fire of 1547 Ivan IV. restored it, and furnished cupolas covered with the gold he seized at Novgorod. The Poles in 1610 and the French in 1812 both spoiled it, but the last only partially, the fact that most of its treasures had been taken away to Vologda probably misleading them so that they did not make a thorough search for the valuables left within. During its recent restoration the architect found that earlier decorations existed beneath the outer coverings of plaster and paint; they were carefully uncovered and remain exposed.

The entrance is by the northern porch within the railed-off Sobornia Ploshchad; among the first mural paintings on the right are portraits of the ancient philosophers, Aristotle, Plato, Ptolemy, Socrates, Thucydides, Zeno, and others, with lengthy quotations from their writings on tablets they support; beyond, representations of the Saviour and the apostles, these pictures dating from 1771, the year of the great plague. The side posts of the doorways, richly carved, are of early sixteenth century native work—and some of the best specimens now extant. The interiorof the church is small, and looks even smaller than it really is owing to an elevated tribune, or gallery, against the west wall, which served for members of the Tsar’s family to participate in the services without being exposed to public view, the Tsar himself being on the ground floor, opposite the ikonostas. The parquet is of Jasper mosaic, a present from the Shah to Alexis. Concerning it, an enthusiastic, travelled native author remarks: “It is a facsimile of a mosaic in St Mark’s, Venice; the only difference being that whereas the floor of St Mark’s is uneven, to represent the ripples of the sea and symbolise that Venice rules on the foaming waves, this is quite regular and uniform, emblematic of the vast steppes of which Moscow is the sovereign.”[D]

[D]This church has the further distinction of being the first supplied with a public clock, which was placed there by Lazarus Serbin, in the seventeenth century. About the south porch the last public discussions were held with dissenters led by the able Pafnuty.

Even more interesting are the old mural paintings, pre-Raphælite in point of time and in theargotof the studio “more than pre-Raphælite” in style. The subjects are biblical: the adventures of Jonah; the mysterious visions recorded in the Apocalypse; the punishment of the damned; the glories of Paradise, with much else that is curious. They are already the joy of a “school” and the admiration of Russian antiquaries. Though crude, unreal, and not a little absurd now, in the long ago, among the uncultured people to whom they were first presented, they cannot have failed to impress beholders powerfully, notwithstanding that their influence upon the art of the time was infinitesimal.

The columns are square, from them hang the chains and jewelled crosses worn by former princes. The ikonostas is of five stages, separated by rails of brass and bronze columns—the precious metals with which it was formerly covered were looted by the French. The more remarkable ikons are (a) one of the Saviour’s agony—a typical specimen of Byzantine work in the fourteenth century; (b) the richly decorated Holy Mother of God, known as the Donski Virgin, because carried by Dmitri at Kulikovo; the ikon only was saved, in 1812, the frame was mistaken by the French for copper and has been repaired; the ornaments are modern, except the eighteen portraits of saints on the margin, which are foreign.Near the altar are the two crosses of Korsun. There are four chapels on the higher storey; they are quite independent of the church with separate entrances from the gallery. That dedicated to St George is quite modern, but that of the Virgin has one of the most primitive rood-screens to be found in Moscow; on it the ikons are set round with great flat bands of silver; like that of the Saviour, and that of the archangel Gabriel, it quite escaped pillage in 1812. The sacristy—in a small building on the south side—is peculiarly rich in relics, a complete collection of sacred remains brought from Constantinople in 1328. It includes bones of different saints—contained in thirty-two silver and gilt caskets; a reliquary with the sponge used at the Crucifixion of Christ; a portion of the rod with which He was beaten; some drops of His blood; spikes from the crown of thorns; an eight pointed cross, of the wood of the “true cross,” and a fragment of the stone that was rolled away from before the Saviour’s tomb. To them must be added a great number of Russian Tsarian and ecclesiastical antiquities collected in Russia.

Near the altar are the two crosses of Korsun. There are four chapels on the higher storey; they are quite independent of the church with separate entrances from the gallery. That dedicated to St George is quite modern, but that of the Virgin has one of the most primitive rood-screens to be found in Moscow; on it the ikons are set round with great flat bands of silver; like that of the Saviour, and that of the archangel Gabriel, it quite escaped pillage in 1812. The sacristy—in a small building on the south side—is peculiarly rich in relics, a complete collection of sacred remains brought from Constantinople in 1328. It includes bones of different saints—contained in thirty-two silver and gilt caskets; a reliquary with the sponge used at the Crucifixion of Christ; a portion of the rod with which He was beaten; some drops of His blood; spikes from the crown of thorns; an eight pointed cross, of the wood of the “true cross,” and a fragment of the stone that was rolled away from before the Saviour’s tomb. To them must be added a great number of Russian Tsarian and ecclesiastical antiquities collected in Russia.

The church of the Transfiguration, known colloquially as Spass na Boru, St Saviour’s in the Forest, is supposed to be on the site of the first building ever raised on the Kremlin hill—that of the skeet of the hermit who inhabited it prior to the tenth century. The first stone church there dates from 1330; restored in 1380, and rebuilt in 1527, and again restored in 1529, 1554, 1737, and 1856. Still much of its architectural primitiveness has been preserved, but it is typical of a church with monastery attached, as once the case (see page 29). There are now no externalmural paintings, but those inside are curious; the small, low belfry is very quaint and the bells now hung there are old foreign bells—among the first brought to Moscow. The central chapel, that of the Transfiguration, is the oldest, the “Royal Doors” are of primitive type. Its sacristy is poor: the relics are those of St Stephen the apostle to the Permians, and some fragments of bones and vestments found during the alterations in the present century. It is best seen in the early morning, a service is held daily, and the church is much visited by those about to marry, for, according to tradition, Sts Yuri, Samon and Aviva, to whom its side chapels are dedicated, are patrons of those whose love affairs do not run smooth. On the higher storey is the chapel of St Stephen the Permian.

The Church of the Twelve Apostles and Sacristy of the Patriarchs is on the site of a fifteenth century church on the north side of the Uspenski Sobor. It was built by Nikon and is still used in connection with the synod. It is on the second storey, and above it is the Chapel of St Philip—the private chapel of the Patriarchs after Nikon. In the rooms adjoining are kept the Holy vessels, most valuable church plate, and relics of the patriarchs and the Church. Many are contained in the cases arranged round the walls, the others may be inspected on application to one of the attendants—who will expectadin rubl na chaiu—or to those much interested will be shown by the Sacristan, who will explain their use and relate their history. A complete catalogue may be had, but the best account is that of the learned antiquarian, Sabas, Bishop of Mojaisk, whose book is known to all interested in the lore of the Eastern Church; a French translation of it has beenpublished in which the author’s name is spelled “Savva.” Among the more interesting articles of art workmanship are the panagies or jewelled crosses worn by the Patriarchs and others after consecration to their high office.

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