ARCHANGEL CATHEDRAL IN MOSCOW
Cathedral of the Archangel in Moscow
Archangel Michael, the leader of the Heavenly host, was honored in Russia as patron of princes; that is why in princes’ residence cities they tried to erect a temple in honor of Archangel Michael by all means. Moscow was no exception. As early as in XII century, on the site of today’s cathedral of the Archangel a wooden church of Archangel Michael stood. The first whitestone temple of Archangel Michael was built by Ivan Kalita in 1333 in memory of deliverance from a plague. In this very temple Ivan Kalita was later buried in 1340. Since that time the cathedral of the Archangel became a sepulcher for all Moscow princes and kings and only at the time of Peter the Great yielded its function of the state necropolis to Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg.
The original Archangel Cathedral painted in 1399 by Theophanes the Greek was because of its oldness dissembled in 1505 for construction of a new temple. Restoration of the Archangel Cathedral was commissioned to an Italian, who came to Moscow, known in Russia under the name of Aleviz Noviy or Aleviz Fryazin.
Aleviz (the full name is unknown; according to one hypothesis it was a Venetian sculptor and architect Alevisio Lamberti da Montagnano) arrived to Moscow through the Crimea in 1504 from Venice. He was accompanied by Russian ambassador Larev and deacon Kocharov. Because of Lithuanian-Russian war, the travelers could not go through Lithuania and had to head first for Moldavia and then the Crimea. They were detained here by Khan Mengli Giray, for whom “Architect Aleviz” built the Demir-Hapur Iron Gates in the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchisaray. In a recommendation letter as of 1504 addressed to Ivan III Khan Mengli Giray attests “Architect Aleviz as an exceedingly good master, unlike other masters; a really great master.”
In Moscow Aleviz after his arrival on November 10, 1504, began to be called Aleviz the New. The thing was another Italian Aleviz – Aloisio da Kaskarcano also known as Aleviz Fryazin the Milanese had already worked there – an engineer from Milan who participated in building of the Moscow Kremlin. Aleviz the New built in Moscow 11 stone churches but only the Cathedral of the Archangel of them remained. The others either did not remain or at a later time were rebuilt beyond recognition.
For Aleviz adjusting the Renaissance motifs to the form of the building absolutely beyond his former knowledge was a very hard task. The five domed six-pillar Archangel Cathedral completed in 1509 became one of the most decorated buildings of the Moscow Kremlin. It is the second biggest Kremlin Cathedral. It is based upon old Russian art tradition but this solemn and decorated temple at the same time reminds of a two-storied palace building of the Venice Palazzo type. One of the new techniques applied by Aleviz was whitestone shells in the arch gables of the Cathedral – this element was later widespread in Russia. In particular, the builders of the Novodevichy monastery and the Assumption Cathedral in Dmitrov near Moscow applied it.
Several researchers of later times note that confusion of architectural principles of different origin to some extent harmed the completion of the general appearance of the Archangel Cathedral; nevertheless, this exquisite temple won the Muscovites’ hearts to such an extent that for almost a century served as a pattern for other church and secular buildings. Many elements of the Archangel Cathedral were used at the building of the Faceted Chamber, the Good News Cathedral and the old residence palace in the Kremlin. The doorways of the temple are richly decorated with plant ornaments. Originally the cathedral was surrounded by an open arch gallery, and arch gables were decorated with sharp-edged whitestone little pyramids. The gallery, as it seems, was dissembled in XVII century.
In the Cathedral’s interior it is quite dark. In this darkness 46 massive stone tombs of the Moscow princes and kings starting from Ivan Kalita and ending with Ivan Alexeevich, Peter the Great’s brother, rise. The exception is prince Daniel Alexandrovich buried in Daniel Monastery and prince Yuri Danilovich, Kalita’s brother, buried in the Assumption Cathedral as well as Boris Godunov. His remains were thrown out in 1606 by pseudo-Dmitry and brought to the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra. The tomb of an army commander M. V.
Skopin-Shuisky is also here. Emperor Peter II who died in 1730 in Moscow of chickenpox is also buried here. The relics of saint martyrs prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor assassinated in the Horde in 1246 also rest here. Pyotr Ibragimovich, the prince of Kazan, and Tatar’s prince Alexander Safagirayevich, queen Sumbeka’s son are buried in the Archangel Cathedral; it is a visible evidence of the fact that, as Russian spiritual writer A. N. Muraviev put it, “not by tortures and fire applied one day to princes of Chernigov, Tver and Ryazan tortured in the Horde for the faith of their ancestors but by the humble light of the evangelical truth Sacred Russia called its arch enemies from the darkness of paganism into the gracious kingdom of Christ.”
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