Kinesham Cathedral. Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Assumption Cathedral in fact is an architectural ensemble of two cathedrals - the Trinity and the Assumption, the bell tower and the house of the priest. It is located on the high bank of the Volga, in the territory of the former Kineshma fortress. Compositionally, the ensemble is composed of developed squat volumes of churches located on the same axis (Assumption Cathedral in the east, Trinity Cathedral in the west) and interconnected by a laconic vertical bell tower. A simple and uniform two-story building accompanies these buildings. The mutual arrangement of the ensemble buildings and the neighborhoods of the surrounding buildings forms two areas: internal - enclosed, limited by the volume of churches, courtyards and a fence (a stone gatehouse replaces the south-western corner of the fence); and external - limited on three sides by the Trinity Church and city blocks. From the north side, the square opens onto Volzhsky Boulevard. The ensemble has a large scale, characteristic of the squares of the era of classicism. The architecture of the buildings has high artistic excellence, the natural features of the area have been perfectly used. The ensemble is clearly visible from the side of the river and dominates the surrounding buildings, being the main architectural attraction of Kineshma.

The emergence of the cathedral ensemble

The first building of the future cathedral complex was a summer brick cathedral in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The temple was built in the year at the expense of parishioners. The main contributor to its construction was the cathedral clerk, I. A. Popov. A slender bell tower was erected in the year, in the form of which Kostroma architectural traditions are clearly felt. At the beginning of the 19th century, a low vestibule was attached to the western facade of the Assumption Cathedral.

In the middle of the XIX century, the territory of the complex was surrounded by a stone fence with a wrought iron grate and three gates. In the year, two chapels were added to the Assumption Cathedral: the right side in the name of the Right Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and the left side in the name of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince Vladimir. In the year, the Assumption Cathedral was overhauled, a new iconostasis was made and the wall painting was renewed. In the year, apparently, the central part of the church was rebuilt. At the beginning of the century, two side aisles were added. The construction of domes on the roof of the cathedral dates to the same time, the proportions and nature of the architectural solution of which are typical of the eclectic trends of architecture of that era. Also, at the beginning of the 20th century, four more chapters on massive drums were erected on the single-domed Trinity Cathedral. A stone gatehouse appeared around those years.

Shame and restoration

The cathedrals were closed in the year and turned into garages, but in the year reopened. According to other sources, the Assumption Cathedral was closed from year to year: at that time it was looted, the marble iconostasis disappeared. In the year the cathedral ensemble was identified as a monument of religious architecture and put on the state register, and from the year it was under state protection as a monument of republican (federal) significance.

In the year, the Trinity Church was plundered and desecrated. Many ancient icons were burned in the Cathedral Square. Trinity Cathedral was closed a second time in the year. In the year the restoration was carried out in it - four drums destroyed earlier were restored and the dome of the central drum was blocked.

Meanwhile, the Assumption Cathedral continued to operate. From year to year, the parish council of the Assumption Cathedral restored and washed the central side chapel four times. The central dome was painted, and in the year the left and right aisles. Three carved iconostases were also made and gilded with the addition of sculpting on columns.

In the year on the territory of the ensemble, all wooden outbuildings were demolished and in their place, along the southern fence, two one-story brick buildings were built. Until a year in the Trinity Cathedral housed an art gallery, after which the temple and other buildings of the cathedral ensemble were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. The cathedral complex was named the Trinity Assumption Cathedral, which became the main cathedral of the Kineshma diocese formed in the year. The office was housed in a former cathedral gatehouse.

Temples, architecture

Assumption Cathedral

The summer brick cathedral in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a large cathedral-type church, the architecture of which, developing ancient Russian traditions, is characteristic of provincial architecture. The cathedral is a five-nave (originally three-nave), five-domed, six-pillared temple. In volumetric and spatial terms, this is a cubic double-decker quadrangle under a four-pitched roof, to which two late lowered chapels are adjacent on the sides. Each of the five naves ends with a semicircular apse in plan; the two apse apids are pushed west of the three high apse of the main altar. In front of the western facade, an elongated volume of the baptistery, completed by a rounded porch, is attached to the main entrance. The main volume of the temple is blocked by a system of closed and cylindrical vaults and domes with formwork, having a helmet-like shape outside and resting on cylindrical light drums cut by four (central - six) window openings. The ceiling system is supported by load-bearing walls and supporting pillars. The lateral naves are covered by a system of cylindrical arches and formwork, the apses by spherical half-halves.

The decoration of the facades of the main volume is concise and traditional: smooth plastered walls, arched frieze, simple corner cornice; corners are decorated with pilasters. The surface of the light drums is smooth, undifferentiated. In the low attic there are arched niches in the place of the zakomar. The lateral facades of the quadruple are covered by aisles, and its rarely located high window openings are visible only on the western facade and on the main apses: in the lower tier they are everywhere rectangular, in the upper tier on the western facade - arched; all these openings are placed in rather deep arched niches. In the upper tier of the main apses are large octagonal windows. The apses of the aisles are treated with a board rust. The lower windows are arched, the upper ones are round, in ribbon platbands. The side facades of the chapels are characterized by the fragmentation of the composition and the dryness of the decor, characteristic of the eclectic period. The surface of the walls is strongly dissected by curly pilasters, columns, widths and other details. The narthex is made in the style of provincial classicism. In the western rounded part of the narthex are three wide arched doorways; the middle one is distinguished by a two-columned Tuscan portico with a gentle gable. The middle nave is wider than the nearest lateral, but already narrow; it is bounded on each side by four pillars (two square, the remaining octagonal). Between them and the walls are thrown arches, dividing the space of the temple into cells, covered with tray vaults. Altar apses have cylindrical arches turning into conchs. Above the narthex is a low box vault with formwork above the windows.

The interiors of the cathedral are painted with oil painting on biblical subjects. The wooden carved iconostasis, metal utensils, chandeliers and other furniture of the beginning of the century have survived. In all the chapels of the Assumption Cathedral, holy thrones and altars of artwork are arranged. The floors are tiled, ornamented. The brick has dimensions of 30x15x7.5 cm.

Trinity Cathedral

Winter brick cathedral in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity is a large monumental building, cruciform in plan, solved in the forms of late classicism. The cathedral is a square quadrangle under a low four-pitched roof, completed with a large central light drum and four late false ones at the corners; all of them are crowned with gently sloping domes. In the east, a semicircular apse of a slightly lower height adjoins the quadrangle; four-columned porticoes of the Doric order are located on the side walls. In the west, a similar portico is slightly extended due to a small porch and rises on the podium, to which there are six steps.

Strict, smoothly plastered facades are crowned with the entablature of a Doric order. In the altar apse it is the end, in the porticoes - the base for the gables, and on the four - for the high attic. Arched windows are placed in shallow niches of the same shape. The cornice of the central drum includes a frieze decorated with thin stepped brackets. The drum windows, similar to the foursome, are completed by archivolts, resting on imposts, and are united by a profiled draft passing at the level of imposts.

The inner space of the cathedral is four pillar. The central drum is supported by supporting arches and sails. The altar is covered with conch, the corner compartments with cross vaults, the arms of the cross have flat ceilings. The inner and outer surfaces of the walls are plastered.

Oil painting on the arches, supporting arches and in the lunettes of the sleeves was made in the middle of the XIX century, on the dome, drum and in sails - at the end of the same century. All painting was renewed at the beginning of the century. The style of the original paintings, sustained in muted warm colors (brownish, dark red and pinkish), can be defined as a transition from classicism to an academic manner. This is manifested in a confident, but soft drawing, where sometimes a full-face turn of the figure is combined with the profile of the face; in multi-figured, often quite deep compositions. Painting in a dome in cold whitewashed colors is made in the spirit of late academism. The dome shows the Lord of hosts, in the piers of the drum are the apostles and selected saints, in the lower part of the drum are four compositions on biblical subjects, in the sails are evangelists. Gospel events are written on the slopes of the vaults, in the sleeves of the cross (excluding the eastern slopes of the northern and southern arms, which depict the archangel Michael and the plot “Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The lunettes at the ends of the sleeves are decorated with murals. On the slopes of the supporting arches are grisaille figures of archangels. All compositions enclosed in lush pseudo-baroque frames with cartouches., over which another two fours rise, crowned by a vase-shaped head and a high spire. The walls of the lower tier are covered with a plank rust, converging into an arched fan volumes (on the north and south facades) and niches (on the west and east). Two pilasters are placed on the sides of the arches and one on the west flanks of the facades. In the subsequent tiers, three-quarter columns of the Tuscan order were used in the decoration: on the facades of the second and third tiers - these are four-columned porticoes, in the fourth - two-columned portions. Similar columns on the corners of the tiers - in the Baroque style - complicate the plasticity of the volumes. In the second tier, the porticoes are completed with triangular gables, in the fourth the role of the figured gables is played by the frames of the lucarnes. The inner space of the first tier of the bell tower is elongated along the north-south axis. In the thickness of the western wall there is an intra-wall staircase, and a shaft is arranged in the opposite wall.

Gatehouse

A small one-story building, the architecture of which is characteristic of the eclectic period. The brick walls are whitewashed over the masonry. The rectangular volume is completed by a gable roof with an original perspective gable-gable; at its apex is a large rectangular elevation. In the gap of the crowning cornice there is a cross laid out in brick. At the corners of the facades - wide envelope blades. Thin traction passes at the base of the windows - small, with beam bridges - in simple frame platbands.

Fence with gate

The fencing shook raised to a tall brick and plastered base. Square pillars are crowned with low tents with concave faces. The metal grate is a vertically placed rods-peaks connected by volute-like curls (along the embankment - rings), panels are placed in the basement and at the base of the pillars. Two gates (facing the Sovetskaya Square and the embankment - Volzhsky Boulevard) are a simple arched structure, the bearing pillars of which are decorated with shallow arched and rectangular niches. The main gate, oriented to Sovetskaya Street, was solved in the form of massive rectangular pylons cut by arched openings of gates (the gates and gates were not preserved). Arches supplemented by archivolt

• http://russian-church.ru/viewpage.php?cat\u003divanovo&page\u003d211

• http://kinsobor.blogspot.ru/p/c.html (material partially used)

  Trinity Cathedral

At the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries, a suburban residence of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Ivanovich (1505 - 1533) was erected in the new Alexander settlement. Pokrovsky Cathedral, the third largest after the Assumption and Arkhangelsk Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, became the center for the construction of the Grand Ducal court. The date of its consecration is recorded in the liturgical collection of the first half of the 16th century. the library of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius: “On the summer of 7022 (1513) December 11, the Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin is sacred in the new village in Oleksandrovsky, then the Great Prince entered the courtyard.”

The architecture of the temple is determined by the orientation of the masters of Vasily III to the main shrine of the nearby Trinity – Sergius Monastery - the church in the name of the Holy Trinity. The brickwork of the walls, arches and the head of the Intercession Cathedral effectively contrasts with the white-stone masonry of the four-pillar columns, portals, architectural decor and entrance cases, a white-stone basement with a bypass gallery. The compositional features and ornaments decorating the temple carvings provide a wonderful example of the combination of Italian decor and early Moscow white stone carvings of the early 15th century.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Swedish diplomat Peter Petreus de Erlesund described the appearance of the Intercession Church in such a way: “Its stones are painted in different colors so that one is black, the other is white and silver plated, the third is yellow and gilded; on each is drawn a cross. All this presents a beautiful view for passing road people. ”

The interior decoration of the temple was made in the XVI century, colorful, diverse in its narrative plots frescoes, as well as royal trophies - the gates of the 14th century brought from Novgorod and Tver Cathedrals, installed in the western and southern portals. The original iconostasis of the cathedral was a stone altar barrier with frescoes. On top of it were troubles with icons of the Deesis ranks. The stone throne was overlaid with silver plated copper plates, the carved canopy above it was gilded.

The main throne of the cathedral was originally consecrated in the name of the Protection of the Mother of God. In the northern part of the open white-stone gallery, a chapel was built in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, in the southern - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Under the altar, in a white stone basement, there was a crypt for burials.

The clergy of the Intercession Cathedral in the 17th century were a protopop, 2 priests, a deacon, 2 sexton, 3 watchmen and a mallow. All of them received from the royal treasury a cash annual salary. With a diploma of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from 1672 he was issued in the Alexandrov settlement from the circular courtyard “without Moscow red tape”. In addition, priests received a salary of grain (rye and oats), and for the holidays - cloth for clothes. Incense, church wine, candle wax, flour for baking prosphora came from the royal orders to the cathedral. The rector of the cathedral, who had a rare high rank of archpriest at that time, was senior over the priests of all the surrounding villages.

Prayers to God in the Intercession Church were offered during visits to the Alexandrov settlement by its creator, Grand Duke Vasily III Ioannovich. Tsar John IV Vasilievich was an assiduous pilgrim of the cathedral from December 1564 to December 1581. In 1645, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich prayed in the Intercession Cathedral, as a gift he left a gilded chalice and a large silver censer. In 1671 Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich came.

Tsar Theodor Alekseevich (1676-1682), who visited the Assumption girl’s monastery every year in 1676-81, was in Pokrovsky Cathedral on November 29, 1676, on September 30, 1680 he listened to the all-night vigil on the patronal feast of the Intercession, and prayed for the Liturgy on October 1 in the Nikolsky aisle .

By 1682, the parish Pokrovsky Cathedral passed into the jurisdiction of the Assumption Monastery, and probably at the same time was re-consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity. The priest’s salary was received by the monastery’s confessor, since then the monastery priests and deacons served in the church, and the prosphorite was no longer needed, since the nuns baked from now on.

In September 1687, when Tsar Pyotr Alekseevich arrived at the monastery, a new five-tier iconostasis was erected in the Trinity Cathedral by Moscow tsar’s masters, which also retained some of the 16th-century icons. Before him in 1696, 6 silver lamps with gilded ornaments and the 7th elevating lamp, donated by Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich to commemorate his grandmother, Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna, were flooded.

In September 1700, the throne was consecrated in the former St. Nicholas chapel in honor of the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver (abolished in 1870).

By the beginning of the 18th century, the gallery surrounding the cathedral was closed, combining the two western white-stone chambers in one building, which housed a rich sacristy and a monastery library with a collection of manuscripts, documents and old printed books.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. In Trinity Cathedral, large repairs were repeatedly carried out. At the expense of the merchant Zubov in Sergievsky chapel in 1852 a new carved gilded iconostasis was installed, and by 1889, in the same style, at the expense of the Alexander merchants of the Pervushins, a five-tier in the central church, with the old icons preserved. In the years 1887-89. under the guidance of archaeologist G.D. Filimonova artist-painter A.D. Belousov cleaned the altar paintings and 6 frescoes on pillars from the three-layer recording with oil paints, and well-preserved towels were opened on the lower part of the walls.

In the spring of 1922, many precious salaries, vestments, and crowns were removed from the commission by the commission to seize church property, and the most valuable items were donated to the local museum. In January 1923, the Trinity Cathedral was taken from the monastery and transferred to the museum, which was used as a warehouse for storing requisitioned church valuables from the churches and monasteries of Alexander County, and since 1931 - as an anti-religious department.

In May 1923, during the restoration, the architect P.D. Baranovsky removed from the Trinity Cathedral 4 later chapters (1824-25). In 1926, the gilding was removed from the iconostases, and soon the iconostasis of the cathedral was also dismantled.

In 1927, several candle holders and icon lamps were stolen from homeless children from Trinity Cathedral. In subsequent years, the most valuable icons and salaries, church utensils, manuscripts, tiles were exported to the funds of the State Historical Museum (Moscow) and the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum (Suzdal).

At the relentless requests of believers in 1946, the authorities allowed the resumption of worship in the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery. On August 24 (the feast day of St. Cornelius), it was leased to the parish community and for many years became the only functioning church in the area.

In these difficult years for the church, the clergy in it were educated, high spiritual life pastors: Archpriests Peter Uspensky, Nikolai Kharyuzov, Leonid Rozanov, Andrei Borodachev, Professor Archpriest Andrei Sergeenko, Protodeacon Sergei Zenziveev and others. Almost all of them suffered suffering for their faith: prisons and camps, humiliation and oppression. Among the parishioners of the temple there were surviving nuns who sang on the choir, served at the altar.

The lost iconostasis was replaced by a new one, made in the style of late classicism, from the church of the village of Pokrova. In the late 1940s, under the leadership of architects P.S. Polonsky and N.V. Sibiryakova significantly dilapidated church on the means of the parish was renovated. Two side porches were removed, a blind area was made around the temple with water drainage, underlays were restored, the dome was repaired and water heating was installed. In the 1980s, the Vladimir Restoration Workshop carried out trial clearing of the frescoes of the 16th century, and also updated the fresco painting of the domed part, the northern and western walls of the main volume.

With the opening of the monastery on January 1, 1992, Trinity Cathedral resumed divine services according to the monastery charter and reading of the indestructible psalter. In May 1995, the found relics of the Monk Cornelius († 1681) were placed in the cathedral, before which prayers began to be served. For two decades, the monastery has undergone extensive repair and restoration work, the restoration of unique frescoes has been completed. In 2010, the five-tier fishing iconostasis was recreated.

The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was founded by decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and consecrated only after 26 years. The cathedral is the largest temple in the Lavra and the most popular among tourists. In summer, festive services are held here, musical performances of the Lavra Choir are held.

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius

Orthodox monastery of the Trinity, founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh in the 14th century, for several centuries has been considered the largest center of spiritual Orthodoxy and the most revered Russian shrine.

In the 17th century, the monastery withstood the many-month siege of the Polish-Lithuanian army (15 thousand soldiers). The defenders of the monastery in the amount of 3 thousand people withstood the siege, thanks not only to their courage, but also to the miraculous appearance of Sergius of Radonezh.

Since 1744, the monastery was renamed with honor with respect to the Lavra, other monasteries and hermitages, spiritually connected with it, gradually began to be built around it. In 1814, after a fire in Moscow, the Theological Academy, which is the oldest university in Russia, moved here.

From 1920 to 1945, the Lavra was closed, and the Historical and Art Museum and living quarters were temporarily located on its territory, then its revival began in 1946.

Construction history

The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is called the monument church due to the fact that its construction marked the triumphal fall of the Kazan Khanate. The construction of the temple was carried out for 26 years and was completed only in 1585. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Dionysius, while the king and his wife were present.

The majestic cathedral is located in the center of the Lavra. It was built in the Byzantine style on the model of the cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin (architect A. Fioravanti from Italy), but the walls were built of bricks (2.25 m thick). The builders in the construction of the temple turned to Russian traditions and made 6 pylons with a rectangular cross section. The Assumption Cathedral in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is crowned with 5 domes, the central one is golden, dedicated to the Savior, the other four are blue, with stars, are dedicated to the Virgin.

Which is typical for the architecture of the cities of the Golden Ring was used in the construction of the cathedral. Earlier from the west an open porch was attached to the cathedral, then it was replaced in the 18th century. on the porch, painted according to the instructions of Metropolitan Plato.

The interior of the temple

The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and, especially, its interior space amaze with its huge size and bright light coming through the window openings. Huge pylons (3x3 m) support with five reels.

The naves and walls of the facades in the center are wider than the rest. At the back of the iconostasis are choirs with a 3-tier gallery.

For almost 100 years there has been an unwritten Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The year 1684 became significant in its history: an artel of 25 icon painters was hired with the money of Archbishop Moses Ryazansky under the supervision of master D. Plekhanov. In one summer, they painted walls, pillars and a vault with frescoes on biblical themes, which to this day have been practically preserved intact. Moses Ryazansky was solemnly buried in the walls of the Assumption Cathedral next to other archbishops.

The wall paintings are light airy frescoes in blue, lilac, blue and violet tones. On the north and south walls in four rows are depicted gospel stories (Mother of God, and on the west - scenes of the Last Judgment with a large number of figures and details.

Monumental paintings depicting the noble princes (Alexander Nevsky, Vladimir Kiev, Tsarevich Dmitry and others), martyrs and saints in full growth are located on all 6 pillars that support the vaults. Religious frescoes are also on window slopes and arches. Inside the temple looks unrealistically high and solemn.

The interior of the cathedral also preserved cast chandeliers of the 17th century, made of bronze by the masters of the Moscow Armory as a gift to the monastery from the Yanov family.

The main altar has 2 chapels:

• the great martyr patronizing tsar Fyodor Ioannovich;
• boris Godunov’s wife, Martyr Irina.

A later chapel - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - was built in the 17th century. during the defense of the monastery from the invasion of Polish-Lithuanian soldiers.

Shrines of the Assumption Cathedral

On the south side of the cathedral on the pedestal is the tomb of Sergius of Radonezh, in which he was buried (1392), and then after 30 years his relics were discovered in it. In the 16th century, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, a silver crayfish was made, which now stands in the Trinity Cathedral. In the years when the relics lay in the coffin, the pilgrims who came to the cathedral necessarily applied themselves to it and tried to bite off a piece of it to carry with them. For several years, one of the walls began to collapse, and it had to be strengthened with metal brackets, as well as enclose the coffin in a glass sarcophagus.

The Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the burial place of the crowned persons and famous Orthodox figures. The tombstones of Queen Maria Vladimirovna and Queen Evdokia, as well as archbishops (Moses Ryazansky, Augustine of Moscow, who raised the spirits of soldiers in 1812) and Metropolitan of Moscow Makarii (who wrote books on theology) were installed inside the cathedral.

Many tourists come now to bow to the relics of St. Innocent, the Orthodox bishop of Kamchatka and America, considered the patron saint of all students of foreign languages, and the Monk Maxim the Greek.

In the warmer months, services and liturgies are held in the church.

Burial of the Godunov family

To the left of the entrance to the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the tomb of Godunov. It was built in the 18th century in the form of a stone tent (on the site of the former refectory narthex), which is adjacent to the cathedral wall. Inside it are the tombs of Boris Godunov and his wife Maria and son Fedor (they were killed by order of the self-appointed Tsar Dmitry, and the bodies were brought here in 1606) and the beautiful daughter Xenia (deceased nun in 1622).

At the opening of the grave in 1940, they got their things that were very well preserved: Fedor’s silk shirt, Tsarevna’s shoes (things are now exhibited in the museum), but the burial itself was ruined, because the skulls were thrown out.

Crypt Cathedral

The crypt of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is located under the cathedral itself, and the entrance to it is on the south side. It was built in the 19th century. for the burial of Metropolitan Sergius and Leontius, at the same time chapels with an altar were consecrated here. Already in the 20th century. two more chapels are being built here, in the center - the tomb of 2 patriarchs - Alexy I (1970) and Pimen (1990). Inside the crypt, the windows of the church vestments and personal items, photos.

The crypt is open for free access by visitors, prayers are held in it, the consecrated oil is distributed.

Iconostasis

The very first iconostasis of the cathedral was destroyed, now another is put in its place.

The iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra consists of 5 tiers with icon frames in gold or carving, twined with vines and contains 76 icons, mainly of the late 17th century.

The five-row iconostasis is crowned by the Crucifixion with the forthcoming Mother of God and the Apostle John the Theologian, framed by carved patterns with sunflowers, roses and grapes. Carving is also present on the frame of the iconostasis, the columns of the altar in the form of interweaving branches of the vine, and on the friezes - outlandish flowers. All carvings depict "Gardens of Eden." At the top of the Cross are images of cherubs, and the entire royal crown crowns.

Many of the icons were made with the participation of the famous icon painter, one of the most famous is The Last Supper (1685), which is now in the monastery’s museum.

All the icons and carved decorative elements over the past centuries have been updated several times, which is confirmed by the samples of restorers (all icons have 3-4 layers). The last time the icons were updated was in 1986-1988. due to their emergency condition. At the same time, the original 16th century icon of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was discovered, which appeared after the removal of two layers of later icons drawn from above.

Mosaic icons

Inside the cathedral are two icons of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, made of mosaics:

• The First Martyr Jacob Stephen, who until 1931 was in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
•   (according to one version, it was brought from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, according to another, from the chapel near the Kazan station in Moscow).

Our Lady of Kazan has a special meaning for all Russian people. In the fate of the cathedral, she also played a role and helped to withstand the siege of the monastery by Polish-Lithuanian troops in the 17th century. The liberation of Moscow in August 1612 also occurred with her blessing. This icon, donated by the Cossacks, was carried at the head of the army by Prince Pozharsky.

Restoration of the cathedral

The risk of a possible collapse of the temple wall appeared in the middle of the 19th century. after the liquidation of the Pisarevsky pond due to the destructive effect of groundwater, when cracks began to go along the wall. But the work to save the cathedral began only in the 20th century.

One of the first restorations during the years of Soviet power began in 1940 and lasted until 1967: the frescoes were washed from dirt and glue, the basement damaged by dampness was repaired, window openings were restored. Among the specialists who restored the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the architect V.I. Baldin (he participated initially from 1938 (as a student) and to 1997). Restoration of the monuments of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius has become a matter of his life.

Assumption Cathedral - 21st century

On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the Mother Superior of the Russian land, large-scale restoration work was carried out (2012-2016), including cleaning of icons and restoration of carved details of the iconostasis, which allowed us to revive the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in all its splendor. The photo posted above clearly confirms this.

Priest Dimitry Grudoglo in the late 1990s, he was the founder of an Orthodox school in Kineshma. Then, almost 20 years ago, the young active priest, who came to the city from Yuryevets, was approached by believers, and with their help he set about restoring several churches at once. Restoration continues to this day. Now father Dimitri is the foreman of the Trinity Cathedral of the Assumption Cathedral, and also the father of six children, each of whom is talented in his own way.

On a sunny summer morning, Father Demetrius is already in the cathedral. In the hands of a cell phone that does not stop even for a minute, a calm, friendly smile on his face. The priest in the church a long time ago, from the early morning: he orders repairs, gives instructions to the workers. His wife, mother Nadezhda, also helps him. And in the small house next to the temple, one of the youngest daughters, Lera, is working. She learns to bake prosphora.

- This is a very difficult task, and there are few specialists who would know how to bake prosphora well: for the whole Kineshma there are only two people. Therefore, I would very much like Lera to learn this craft, ”says Father Demetrius.

The house has a cool twilight, which happens in the heat in rooms with small windows. It smells sweet of dough. On baking sheets, carefully covered with white cloth, already made prosphora fit. And on the large table, Lera helps the senior servant to print drawings on small round pieces of dough, reminiscent of coins. Then these mugs will be placed on prosphora, which fit next to under the cloth, and baked in the oven. Get neat “mushrooms”.

While we are waiting for Lera to free, we are talking with mother Nadezhda in the shade of the trees near the temple.

“We didn’t even know that we were supposed to have a medal,” she says. - Social protection asked to draw up some documents for the award, well, we have issued and forgot. And when the news came that they would reward us, they were completely at a loss. At first I did not even believe that Putin himself signed the decree. Today they called from social security, said that the rewarding will take place on July 8 - on the Day of Peter and Fevronia. Of course, we are very pleased, but it is so unexpected ...

The Grudoglo family house is located on the outskirts of the city, it takes about 10 minutes to get from the temple there.

“At least I’ll have lunch at home,” says Father Demetrius. - And sometimes sometimes there is no time for lunch. Now we are engaged in the restoration of the cathedral. Previously, it had an art gallery, in the 1990s it moved, and the building was never repaired. Finally, hands reached. The ancient painting was preserved there, it is a pity to lose it.

And the phone rings again. The father gives orders, selects building materials, makes appointments and reschedules meetings. Work is in full swing even in his absence.

At the gates of the priest’s house we are met by little Anyuta in a colorful sundress. She has not yet gone to school, and her main hobby, according to the priest, is shopping. And now, busily wondering who wants the lemonade, and, having received the money, she gladly goes to the nearest store.

The house of the Grudoglo family is small but cozy. On the ground floor there are common rooms: an entrance hall, a kitchen, a living room with a piano, which are played by the daughters Katya and Lera (they attend music and art schools), and the parents' bedroom. On the second - children's rooms.

“The eldest son is already 22, he is a designer,” says mother Nadezhda, showing the house and inviting me to Alexey’s room. Landscapes painted by him are hung everywhere, and a huge old icon is standing against the wall, with which the paint has peeled off a little. - He not only paints, but also restores icons, paints temples. He worked in Jerusalem for 3 months, but returned home - he really missed his homeland. Now he is on a business trip. The whole family gathers with us only on weekends, and when guests come.

The family moved to this house 6 years ago, and this, according to my mother, was already the 11th move. We had to live in different ways, including in the two-room apartment of the mother of the father, the nun Vasilisa. Then Grudoglo already had five children. We slept on the floor and even in the kitchen. But now those days, both children and adults remember with a smile. Mother Vasilisa, as well as the elderly nanny Irina Vasilyevna, are members of a large family, they are always honored and respected.

- We have this: if I am at home, I - for the main thing. If I’m not there, the main one is mother, if she is not there, then the main one is from the eldest, sometimes even older children, ”explains Father Dimitri.

“Yes, in our family the throne is passing,” son Ivan jokes, peering into the kitchen. In the morning he is going to go to school to find out the results of the recently passed exam, but he is persuaded to have lunch first.

Before lunch, the whole family must pray. Today is a lean day, and so the fish instead of meat is on the menu. As for the rest, dinner is held as in an ordinary large family - with jokes, funny stories.

- Tell us how the story of your family began, how did you meet?

“They introduced us,” the father replies. - In Russia there used to be such a tradition - to introduce future spouses, and I really like it. Until our time, the custom, of course, did not reach, but our family has developed just like that. I had a good friend, a priest, a friend of my father, who once invited me to go to Nizhny Novgorod to choose a bride.

- So you were already set up for marriage?

- Of course. I was 26 years old, I was finishing seminary, and already knew that I would become either a monk or a priest, but for the last position I had to get married. Hope was from a believing family, she graduated from college. We met, became friends, corresponded, as we lived in different cities. Six months later, I proposed to her. But it sounded not “Be my wife”, but “Are you ready to become a mother?” She agreed. And since then, for many years, it has been carrying out this difficult "service". The priest's family, especially now, is for everyone a kind of family model. They treat us friendly, but always with increased attention. In the family of the priest and mother should be an example, and the father, and even from the children expect something unbelievable. When at school you explain that our children are ordinary, they can fool around and grab bad grades, like nodding, but still the title “priest’s son” or “priest’s daughter” leaves its mark on their attitude to them.

- And what, in your opinion, is the most difficult thing in raising children?

- I think there is nothing complicated. I need love. And then everything will work out. After all, even the easiest work may seem difficult if you do not love it, ”the father replies.

- In terms of housekeeping, it is most difficult for me to distribute the responsibilities of children, - mother picks up. - I was taught from childhood not to sit idle, so now I try to do everything myself, and this is wrong, because much can be delegated to adult children, and there will be more benefit. And there are a lot of cases in a large family, you understand. There are three washings a day ...

Little Anyuta comes running from the store. On the way back, the elder brother Petya helped her bring heavy lemonade. The kitchen is filled with a cheerful hubbub. Lemonade is poured into glasses. The older boys are about to go swimming, the girls sit down at the piano.

“Our summer days are filled with leisure,” says mother. - In winter, there are many things: there is study, and sports (we love skiing very much), and homework. We get up early, go to bed early too. And in the summer we have more rest. It’s a pity that the girls have never been to the sea. Going to rest eight, as you know, is very expensive, and the priest cannot always find time. But this year, the price of tickets to Simferopol has already been asked. I really hope that it will turn out.

The telephone of Father Demetrius, who was silent for lunch, again begins to ring more and more often. Father is going back to the temple. His working day will last until late at night. Lera also goes with him, who will continue to bake prosphora. In the evening, the whole family will meet again at the table to have dinner and tell each other how the day went.

Creature Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra  closely connected with the name of Ivan the Terrible. The temple was built on the model of the eponymous cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, but as a result it turned out to be larger in size. Some historians, local historians suggest that such a similarity emphasized the unity of state and patriarchal power. The external beauty of the five-domed temple attracts attention and creates an irresistible desire to look inside.

History of the Assumption Cathedral

In the Russian state, it so happened, in almost all Russian cities large churches were erected in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they were considered the dominant cathedrals. Ivan the Terrible considered it unfair that in the holy of holies - the place of worship and development of the Russian Orthodox Church, there is no such church. That is why the construction of an important facility on the territory of the Lavra was of state importance. Unfortunately, the name of the architect and the exact timing of the construction of the cathedral are unknown. However, according to scientists, the laying of the first stone took place in 1554. This event was not ignored by the entire royal family. According to historians, Ivan the Terrible had the idea that he would build the main cathedral in the monastery. However, his plans were not destined to come true. Construction dragged on for a long 26 years. The king never managed to see the majestic cathedral crowned with five bells during his lifetime.
Initial view Assumption Cathedral  it was changed. These changes were associated with various historical events. In particular, in the XVIII century, the central dome was covered with pure gold leaf. After about 100 years, it was trimmed with gilded copper, and the four extreme domes were painted blue and decorated with stars in the color of gold. It is worth noting that in this way domes were decorated in many churches dedicated to the Virgin. It is this kind of five-domed cathedral that is preserved to this day. Inside, wall painting did not appear immediately, but only in 1684. The inner walls were painted by the master of the Yaroslavl icon painting workshop Dmitry Plekhanov. The iconostasis was updated and supplemented with icons several times.
In the middle of the XIX century there was a risk of collapse of part of the cathedral: after carrying out work to eliminate the Pisarevsky pond, which was nearby, groundwater began to destroy soil, and cracks went along the wall. Restoration work begun in the 1940s lasted more than 20 years. During this time, it was possible to clean the frescoes, restore the original appearance to the painted coating, on the lower tier - restore the window openings, save the cracked walls of the cathedral on the basement from destruction.

Architectural features

The cathedral is a five-domed and five-apse building made of brick. The walls are very massive, their thickness is more than 2 meters.   They are decorated with kokoshniks, supported by massive blades protruding almost a meter, as well as decorative arches. The modesty and simplicity of the decor allow you to draw attention to the bright blue domes decorated with gold stars.
An open porch, which lasted until the end of the 18th century, was attached to the wall of the cathedral from the western side. Then a porch decorated with paintings appeared here.
To the left of the main entrance to the cathedral is the tomb of the Godunov family, built in 1782. It is a stone tent adjacent to the wall of the cathedral. Inside the small building are the tombs of Boris and Maria Godunov, as well as their son Fedor and daughter Olga.

The interior of the cathedral

Inside Assumption Cathedral  unusual. The vaults of the temple are mounted on six pylons, having a rectangular shape in cross section. Window openings are quite large. This allows you to saturate a huge room with sunlight.
Few people know that the cathedral has 4 thrones. This is because three of them are hidden in the main altar: the side chapels were planned during the construction of the temple, erected in honor of the great martyrs Fedor Stratilat and Irina. The chapel in honor of St. Nicholas appeared later, when people died from scurvy in the Trinity Monastery. There is a legend that it was Nicholas the Wonderworker who helped stop the terrible epidemic at the beginning of the 17th century.
The original iconostasis of the cathedral has not been preserved; in its place now there is a large carved iconostasis with five tiers. The icons that it contains are painted at different times. The oldest are the peers of the temple. Today the iconostasis has more than 75 icons.
The walls and pillars of the cathedral are decorated with fresco paintings. All the murals look amazingly concise and bright. The plots that formed the basis are completely different. This is the gospel theme, “The Last Judgment”, Ecumenical Councils, images of images of Radonezh miracle workers, some Russian saints of princely origin.
Inside the domes there is also a painting that fits very organically into the general appearance of the wall painting. From the central dome the parishioners are as if Christ the Almighty is really looking, the image looks so real! The small domes depict the Lord of hosts, the Mother of God, John the Baptist and Jesus the Blessing. Dome drums are painted with the images of prophets and forefathers.
Inside the cathedral there are 5 tombstones hiding the burial places of two archbishops - Ryazan Moses and Moscow Augustine, Metropolitan of Moscow Makarii. Two more stone slabs are the tombs of Queen Levonia Maria and her daughter Evdokia.

Shrines of the Assumption Cathedral

The Assumption Cathedral preserves the most valuable shrines: one of them is the wooden cancer of St. Sergius of Radonezh. It was in her that the body of the Saint was originally buried. The preserved part of the coffin is located near the southern wall of the temple, a glass sarcophagus was built specifically for the shrine.
No less valuable are two chandeliers made in the 17th century by craftsmen of the Moscow Armory. They are made of bronze cast and minted.
Thousands of tourists go to Assumption Cathedralto bow to the holy relics of the Monk Maxim the Greek and St. Innocent, who are here.
The Assumption Cathedral is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful temples on the territory of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Its huge bright blue domes immediately attract attention and give rise to a strong desire to come closer and go inside. Inside the temple is no less beautiful, so you need to take this opportunity and enjoy the combination of beauty, grandeur and simplicity.