Church of the Deposition of the Robe
.JPG)
The Church of the Deposition of the Robe or the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (of the Mother of God) ( Russian Церковь Ризоположения Пресвятой Богородицы ) is a Russian Orthodox church building in Moscow . It is located in the Moscow Kremlin on the Cathedral Square there, in the immediate vicinity of the three main cathedrals of the Kremlin ( Cathedral of the Dormition , Archangel Michael and the Annunciation Cathedral ). From the west and south sides, buildings of the Great Kremlin Palace ( Faceted Palace and Golden Tsar's Chamber with house churches) adjoin the Church of the Deposition of Robes.
history
The Church of the Deposition of Robes is dedicated to the Orthodox church festival of the laying down of the robes of Our Lady , which is celebrated annually on July 2nd. It had gained importance as the day of the miraculous smashing of ancient Russian pagans during their campaign against Constantinople in 860. The building of the Church of the Deposition of Robes in the Moscow Kremlin goes back to another historical event that Orthodox believers also associate with the day of the deposition of robes: When Moscow was invaded by Tatar troops in July 1451 and the Kremlin was able to withstand the first assault, the defenders of the fortress, despite exhaustion, prepared for another attack the next day. At dawn, however, the Muscovites were surprised to find that the enemy had now withdrawn. The Orthodox Muscovites ascribed to the Blessed Mother and her vestments, which were celebrated on the same day (July 2nd), presumably because of the internal political events in the Golden Horde.
Shortly afterwards, Grand Duke Vasily II had a church built in the Kremlin in memory of this event, which also corresponded to the tradition of the time of having houses of worship built in memory of historical victories. This first wooden church burned down in 1472. From 1484 to 1486, today's church laying down the robes was built, with a group of church builders from the city of Pskov being entrusted with the work . Almost at the same time, also by Pskov masters, the neighboring Cathedral of the Annunciation was built, which explains certain architectural similarities between the two churches.
From its inauguration until the middle of the 17th century, the Church of the Deposition of Robes, near which the apartments of the Russian Orthodox head of the church were located, served as the house church of the Metropolitan and, from 1589, when patriarchy was introduced in the Russian Orthodox Church, that of the Muscovites Patriarchs . When in 1656 the then Patriarch Nikon had the Patriarch's Palace, which still exists today, with the Twelve Apostles Church next to his court and the Church of the Deposition of the Robes, the latter was handed over as the house church to the Tsar’s court , which was then also located in the Moscow Kremlin. As a result, the structure of the Church of the Deposition of Robes was expanded and built directly onto the complex of the Tsar's Palace, especially the Golden Chamber of the Tsar. Because of this, the Church of the Deposition of Robes served primarily as a house church for the tsar's wives and daughters until the czar's court was moved to St. Petersburg .
Until well into the 20th century, the church had to be rebuilt or rebuilt several times , mainly due to frequent fires (most recently in 1812 during the attack by Napoléon ). Today it mainly serves as a museum. Every year on the holiday of the laying down of the robe (currently due to the postponement of the introduction of the Gregorian calendar on July 15), services are also held there.
architecture
The Church of the Deposition of Robes is much more modest than the neighboring cathedrals and is now surrounded by several larger buildings on almost all sides, so that it occupies a rather inconspicuous position on the Cathedral Square. As a monument to Pskov sacred architecture of the 15th century, the church has several peculiarities that distinguish it from other Moscow places of worship of that time. In contrast to the Annunciation Cathedral, which was also built by Pskov masters, the Church of the Deposition of Robes has only one central steeple , crowned by a dome, which is unusually shaped like a helmet (in contrast to the typical Russian " onion dome "). In other respects, too, the very slim shape of the church, not least due to the high basement, is characteristic of the church, which is not the case for the neighboring cathedrals. The rather simple and matter-of-fact facades of the church as well as its roof construction with the typical keel-arch and cone-shaped coconut ornaments , however, have in common with the Annunciation Cathedral.
The brick outer walls of the church are clad with white limestone , as was the case with other Moscow sacred buildings of the late Middle Ages . The main entrance, to which an external staircase leads, is on the south facade.
The artistic design of the interior of the Church of the Deposition of Robes, which essentially replicates the interior of the old wooden church, dates from the 1640s. According to the name of the house of God, motifs with diverse depictions of the Blessed Mother Mary in apocryphal scenes occupy a dominant position. The four-tier iconostasis contains, among other things, an icon called the Mother of God with the Infant ( Богоматерь с младенцем ), created around 1627 by the court icon painter Nasari Istomin Sawin. The wall and vault frescoes with depictions of Jesus and Mary as well as portraits of canonized Russian princes are also striking .
Behind the west facade of the church there is a gallery which today houses a permanent exhibition of products from Russian sacred wood carving and small sculptures from the 14th to 17th centuries. The exhibits, many of which are carved figures of saints, were brought here from various Russian cities and some come from churches and monasteries that were destroyed in the Soviet era .
See also
Web links
- Church of the Deposition of the Robe. In: Structurae
- Church of the Deposition of the Robe In: Kreml.ru (Kremlin official website, Russian)
Coordinates: 55 ° 45 ′ 2.9 ″ N , 37 ° 36 ′ 59.9 ″ E