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THE ARCHANGEL CATHEDRAL
IN MOSCOW KREMLIN
 According to the legend, back in
the 13-th century a wooden church of Archangel used to stand on Borovitsky
Hill of the Kremlin. It was not by chance that the churches which served as
burial places of grand princes were dedicated to Archangel Michael. He
was revered in Russia as the patron of soldiers. Under Prince Ivan Kalita, in
1333, a new white- stone cathedral was erected on the same site. Moscow Prince
Ivan Kalita was the first to be buried here.
By the beginning of the 16-th
century Moscow rulers were no longer satisfied by the modest-looking church.
In 1505-1508, under Grand Prince Ivan III, a new cathedral was built on its site by
the Italian architect Alevisio Novi in the style of traditional Russian
architecture.
The Venetian master included
some features of Renaissance architecture in this fine , five-domed cathedral.
The facades of the building are decorated with pilasters completed with
Corinthian capitals and are separated from each other by decorative arches.The
gables of each section of the façade are semicircular (zakomari) and carved in
white stone to resemble sea-shells. The portals are richly carved.
The original murals haven’t
preserved till nowadays. The present frescoes were painted in the
17-th century by artists gathered
from all over Russia under the supervision of master painters from the Armoury.
They are like a bright carpet of cheerful colours. Some paintings are devoted
to the life and deeds of Archangel Michael , some are associated with the
historical events of the epoch of tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. Battle scenes in
the frescoes are associated with the century-long struggle of Rus against the
Mongol-Tartar Yoke.
It is noteworthy that over sixty
concrete historical personalities are portrayed on the lower tier of the walls
and on pillars. This is a sort of a portrait gallery of Moscow Princes
beginning with Grand Prince Vladimir. On one of the columns there is a
painting of the outstanding 13-th century statesman and warrior, Alexander
Nevsky.
The first iconostasis of the
cathedral hasn’t preserved till nowadays. In 1681, a new four-tier one was
made. The decoration of gilded woodcarving is executed in Moscow baroque
style.
The oldest icon in the cathedral
is the icon “Archangel Michael and his life”, the outstanding work of an
unknown master in the late 14-th century. The features of an ideal warrior are
embodied in his image of the patron of Russian soldiers.
The Archangel cathedral served
as a burial place for the Russian princes’ and tsars’ families. They were buried
here until 1700. The graves are under the floor of the cathedral. There are 46
tombs with white-stone epitaphs giving the names and dates of the deceased.
Among them are the tomb of Ivan Kalita who died in1340, Dmitry Donskoy, the
great prince and soldier, Ivan III (the Great), Ivan IV (The Terrible) and his
sons.
The Archangel cathedral which
houses the Kremlin’s historical necropolis, is a fine example of medieval
décor and indeed a unique museum.
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