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THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. DEMETRIUS
 The cathedral of St. Demetrius
(1194-1197) was the palace church of Grand Prince Vsevolod III of Vladimir.
Vsevolod’s baptismal name was Demetrius. The church was dedicated to
Vsevolod’s patron saint, Demetrius.
The cathedral originally looked
different. It was surrounded by palace buildings with which it was connected
by several staircase towers and passages.
The cathedral of St. Demetrius
is single-domed. Its white stone facades are divided into three sections by
slender pilasters which run up to the semi-circular gables called
zakomari. Above the gables there is the mighty helmet-shaped dome
topped with a lacy openwork cross with a half-moon and a weather vane shaped
like a dove.
The deliberate monumentality of
the cathedral was in keeping with the age: Vsevolod III’s reign was the period
when The Vladimir – Suzdal Principality reached its height. As the author of
The Lay of Igor’s Host so expressively put it, Vsevolod’s warriors could
“splash the Volga dry with their oar and drain the Don by drinking it in their
helmets”. The cathedral embodies the idea of the all powerful autocrat.
You can spend a long time
examining the stone carving of lions, centaurs, leopards and intricate
ornaments on the walls. It is so fascinating . We will mention a few scenes
only.
Over the right-hand window of
the southern façade is the sculptural composition of Alexander the Great
ascending into heaven, based on the popular medieval novel Alexandria about
the life and deeds of Alexander. In those days this scene was regarded as a
symbol of princely might. The idea of extolling the prince-autocrat is
expressed on the northern façade where we see Vsevolod himself surrounded by
his sons who are kneeling before him.
There are some very interesting
reliefs on the western wall showing the labours of Hercules, the mythological
Greek hero.
In the centre of all three
facades we find the same composition of King David which was connected in
medieval art with the extolling of earthly beauty.
We can get an idea of the wall
painting in the cathedral from the details of the Last Judgement (the 12-th
c.). The profound psychological treatment of the figures, the complex and
varied poses of the apostles and the skillful modeling of the robes show
this to be the work of a great master. Judging by certain stylistic
features, the wall-painting was executed by Greek masters assisted by talented Vladimir
pupils.
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