SOME OF MOSCOW'S CHURCHES

                            Russian Orthodox Churches

            Several times during out Moscow visit we passed by Christ our Savior Cathedral. The largest church in Moscow was started in 1839 after the war of 1812, but took 44 years and the reign of four czars to complete. The city’s first electric lights were installed in front of the church. Stalin destroyed the church in 1931 and it became a city swimming pool. In 1944 the pool was covered and in 1995, financed with private monies, construction began on the present church. After four years the exterior was finished and two years later the interior was done. The mosaics inside are beautiful. The church has five domes with a large central and four angular turrets containing 14 bells. The church is so big that the main cathedral in the Kremlin could fit inside it.

            The white limestone Assumption Cathedral’s exterior dates to 1475. Five gilded cupolas sparkle atop narrow drums. The cathedral has stood for centuries as a Russian national shrine. Patriarchs have been anointed and czars  crowned before the altar. Ivan the Terrible’s custom-made coronation throne is housed within. Napoleon used the cathedral as a horse stable and its icons for fire wood. The bell tower, holding 23 bells, reaches 264 feet toward the sky.

            Archangel Michael Cathedral built in 1505-1508 has five domes. Sarcophagi dominate the interior and the remains of every Russian up to Peter the Great rest here.

            The churches are all Russian Orthodox and it was at the nine-domed Annunciation Church that we learned a lot about the Orthodox Church. People attending church services stand, with the exception of the royal or patron box, as there are no chairs, pews or benches. Frescos cover the walls, ceiling, columns leaving nary a square inch of free space! The frescoes in this church date to the 15^th century and were restored in the 17^th century. The frescoes tell the story of the bible for the illiterate.

            The altar is hidden behind the iconostasis which covers the entire front wall of the sanctuary. Icons are religious paintings that are usually painted on wood or sometimes canvas. An ornate door in the center of the iconostasis opens to the altar. The second icon on the right of the door is of the saint from whom the church derives its name. The rows of icons are always an uneven number with five being the most common. The bottom row is representative of the local area, the second row represents the Diesis, the third row the feast and festival, the fourth row the prophets, and the fifth row the fathers of the church. Each icon is framed with a large ornate gold molding making for a glittering wall. Russian Orthodox churches normally do not have statuary, angels etc as they are considered pagan.