Epiphany Cathedral at Jelochowo
The Epiphany Cathedral at Jelochowo ( Russian Богоявленский собор в Елохове ) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow . It was completed in its current form in 1845 and served as the main cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate from 1938 to 1991 .
The cathedral is located in the east of central Moscow in the Basmanny district , near the Baumanskaya metro station .
history
The first church on the site of the current cathedral was built in 1687. At that time it belonged to the village of Jelochowo in the Moscow area, which is still eponymous for the church today, although the toponym as such no longer exists. This village was best known for the fact that Basil the Blessed , a well-known Old Russian saint, was born there around 1469 . Originally the church was made of wood. It had been called " Epiphany Church" since 1712. In 1731 the old wooden church was replaced by a stone building with a bell tower . This lasted a good 100 years and is best known for the fact that the future poet Alexander Pushkin was baptized there in June 1799 .
Finally, in 1837, the 1731 building was partially demolished and construction of a new cathedral began. It was designed by the relatively unknown late classicism architect Yevgraf Tyurin (1796–1872). The construction lasted essentially until 1845. The inauguration took place in October 1853 by the Moscow Metropolitan Philaret.
There were other major renovations to the cathedral in 1889, when a new refectory was added to the church , and in 1912, when new wall paintings were created inside and the iconostasis was gilded.
The Epiphany Cathedral played a special role during the Soviet era . Since 1933, the residence of the metropolitan and later Patriarch Sergius I has been in its vicinity . Since the cathedral, which is located just outside the city center, was also one of the few Moscow sacred buildings to be spared the systematic destruction by the Bolshevik rulers, it took over from 1938 The place of the Christ the Savior Cathedral, which had been blown up a few years earlier, functions as the main church of the Moscow Patriarchy. This also meant that the head of the Epiphany Cathedral was the respective patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia and that the solemn services and cross processions celebrated by the patriarch on the important Orthodox holidays were held there every year .
The cathedral also owed this special position that it was not abandoned to decay during Soviet times, in contrast to many other preserved church buildings. Another thorough renovation of the church took place in the 1970s and 1980s. The iconostasis was restored, the interior space around the altar was expanded and an elaborate air conditioning system was installed.
In 1991 the Epiphany Cathedral lost its status as a patriarchal church to the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin . With the completion of the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2000, it was given the status, and since then the most important Orthodox church celebrations have been carried out there.
architecture
According to the traditions for larger Russian Orthodox churches, the central part of the Epiphany Cathedral consists of five domed church towers, four of which are smaller around the central large tower, like the four evangelists around Jesus . A four-storey bell tower is built on the west side . Between it and the central part is the refectory . The main entrance of the cathedral, recognizable by a high arched portal, can be found in the central part.
The paintings inside the church on the walls and directly under the main dome depict motifs with famous Russian saints (including Basil the Blessed , Sergius of Radonezh , Alexander Nevsky ) and from the Gospel. The 18-meter-high iconostasis is on the eastern wall. It was executed in its current form at the end of the 19th century, the extensive ornaments of which were kept in the traditions of Russian wood carving.
The relics of the canonized Metropolitan Alexius rest in the cathedral . Patriarch Sergius I also found his final resting place here, as did Alexius II , who died on December 5, 2008 and who became known as the first Russian Orthodox patriarch after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
See also
Web links
- Cathedral website (Russian)
- Description on ortho-rus.ru (Russian)
- On the history of the cathedral (Russian)
Coordinates: 55 ° 46 ′ 21.7 " N , 37 ° 40 ′ 29.6" E