Category Archives: History. St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral - a monument to the end of the Time of Troubles in Rus'

The Bronnitsy cathedral complex is located in the very center of the town.

And the central place in the ensemble is occupied by the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and all the Ethereal Heavenly Powers. It has been standing here for 310 years...
Bronnitsy has been known since 1453. Then it was a large trading village of Bronniche (or Bronichi), a royal estate.

The origin of the name is not known for sure: perhaps armor masters (who made armor) once lived here. Or maybe there was a ford across the Moscow River (“brodnichi”). It is also possible that some kind of bloody battle took place at this place.

For the first time Bronnitsy - still a village - was mentioned in the will of the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich - Sofia Vitovtovna. According to the wishes of the princess, the village went to her grandson Yuri. And he already handed it over to the Borovsky Pafnutiev Monastery.

The village was conveniently located on trade routes and developed rapidly.

In 1782, Bronnitsy, as a result of the provincial reform of Catherine II, acquired the status of a county town. Moreover, a third of the residents of the county became palace peasants. In Bronnitsy, according to statistics of that time, there were, as in a large village, merchants, townspeople and other residents - 639 men, land under the village - 126 acres, arable land - 677 acres, hay fields - 52 acres, 8 acres of forest and 44 acres of “rest of the land”, of little use on the farm.

CITY CATHEDRAL

After all, traditionally the route of Russian squads to Kolomna ran through Bronnitsy. Here the fighters stopped for a rest, and, of course, they needed a temple for prayer before the battle. Therefore, it was decided to dedicate the cathedral to Archangel Michael, the Archangel of the Heavenly Host.

By the way, it was built with such high quality that for centuries it did not require repairs and has survived to this day practically unchanged.

True, the Archangel Church was cold. Therefore, by the middle of the 20th century, a separate warm church was erected in Bronnitsy, dedicating it to John the Merciful. The archives preserve the travel notes of geographer and historian Gerard Miller. In 1778, he drove through Bronnitsy and noted that “there are two stone churches in them: 1) St. Michael the Archangel, 2) St. John the Merciful with the chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.”

In the 30s of the 20th century, it became clear that the Church of St. John the Merciful, which stood next to the cathedral, was rapidly collapsing, despite all the attempts of the townspeople to maintain it in order.
And then local residents turned to Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Kolomna with a request to allow him to change the plan of the Bronnitsy church buildings and add “two warm chapels to the cold cathedral Michael the Archangel Church and to this new bell tower.”

JERUSALEM CHURCH

Residents were offered a project. But the church and bell tower declared in it turned out to be disproportionately large; they were dissonant with the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael.
Therefore, the residents of Bronnichi asked for another project, and among the townspeople who signed this document was, as is known, “Colonel and Cavalier Ivan Aleksandrovich son Fonvizin,” a man who did a lot for his native city: he opened a Lancaster school on his estate, purchased furniture for the district school ... So in the end, a second project appeared, the author of which was the Moscow architect A. M. Shestakov - a classic six-foot single-domed temple dedicated to the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, who saved people during the plague epidemic. It was supposed to have two chapels - St. Nicholas and St. John the Merciful.

Construction (with donations from local residents) began in 1840. It ended after six years, and then the merchant A. M. Kononov took up interior design. The church was consecrated in 1848. At the end of the 19th century, the temple was decorated with paintings made by the artist Rozanov.

Ascribed temples

Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem
Temple-Chapel of the Icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem

The rector of the temple is Archpriest Georgy Pishchulin

Address:
140170, Moscow region, Bronnitsy, st. Sovetskaya, 61

Michael the Archangel Cathedral is the oldest stone church in Nizhny Novgorod, dating back to the founding of the city: a wooden one was built in 1227, then it was rebuilt more than once. In its current form, it was built in 1631 and dedicated to Archangel Michael and the Nizhny Novgorod militia of 1612. The builders of the temple were L. Vozoulin and the outstanding master of Russian tent architecture A. Konstantinov. The ashes of the great Russian patriot Kuzma Minin rest in the cathedral. The current temple.

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is an outstanding example of ancient Russian and European defensive architecture, one of the first stone Kremlins in Rus', designed for the use of artillery. It was erected in 1500-1511. and from the point of view of architecture, history, archeology and urban planning it is a particularly valuable object. On the territory of the Kremlin there are 15 historical and cultural monuments, 8 of which are of federal significance: St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral, inside of which is the grave of Kuzma Minin; Governor's Palace; house of the vice-governor; House of Soviets; Arsenal; Building of public places; Obelisk in honor of the leaders of the people's militia, Minin and Pozharsky. In the Nizhny Novgorod province, at that time part of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, by order of the Grand Duke 1212-1216. and 1218-1238 Several churches were erected by Yuri Vsevolodovich. In 1225, the white stone Spassky Cathedral with zooanthropomorphic decoration was built, which stood until the 1670s, was dismantled and rebuilt.

One of the most ancient surviving monuments is St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral. In its place, when the city was founded in 1221, a wooden church was built, which already in 1227-1229. was replaced by a stone building. The white stone church also had zoo-anthropomorphic decor. In 1359, it was completely rebuilt and played the role of a church in the mansions of the Grand Duke. Therefore, grand princes were buried in it for a long time. The approximate places of their burials are marked with inscriptions in niches on the western side of the church. Fragments dating back to that time found under the floor and next to the Archangel Cathedral during archaeological excavations in 1960 do not provide a complete picture of the previous building. Archaeologists discovered the plan of an ancient cathedral, built in the 13th-14th centuries; in terms of the configuration of the walls and dimensions, it almost exactly corresponded to the plan of the currently existing building. A later structure was shifted to the west, and thus the foundations of the altar of the ancient temple of the 13th century were outside the walls of the 17th century building. For better preservation, the ancient rubble masonry along the entire former perimeter is covered with new masonry protruding from the ground. The remains of old foundations found inside the premises are partially covered by a brick floor, restored to the 17th-century floor level. In specially left recesses corresponding to the level of the more ancient floor of the 14th century, parts of the uncovered areas are visible. The floor covering was made of square ceramic tiles with a pattern of six-pointed stars, applied with white plaster over a red background of baked clay. In terms of material and design, such a floor has no analogues either in Russian or in any other medieval architecture.

Damir Khairetdinov, candidate of historical sciences, in his article “Who founded Nizhny Novgorod? or Long live the ideologists!” writes: “In 1960, during the restoration of the cathedral building, a completely unexpected discovery of the remains of a floor with an ornament of six-pointed stars filled with plaster was discovered. Despite the fact that these tiles were attributed to the 14th century, it is quite obvious that such drawings were not at that time could have arisen in a Christian Orthodox church. It turns out that they existed here even before the creation of the temple. These patterns are characteristic of only two types of culture: Jewish and Muslim. Obviously, Jewish culture could not penetrate these lands in these centuries. Masonic religious buildings, and Masonic symbols are often present in Christian churches in a camouflaged form, however, this culture became widespread in Russia only starting from the 18th century. In the history of Islamic architecture, six-pointed stars are a frequent and widespread ornament.

“The original stone temple was much lower than the modern one. It had one dome, which was supported by four square pillars. The bases of these pillars can be seen inside the cathedral, around them are laid sections of the floor, surrounding its preserved fragments and repeating the tiles of the ancient pavement found here in a completely decomposed form. Individual tiles that could have been restored are presented on display in the cathedral itself and in the museum. The rich decoration of the walls of the 13th-century temple is confirmed by the valuable archaeological find of a lion's head carved from stone. During the sack of N. Novgorod by the Tatars in 1377 and 1378, the cathedral burned down and partially collapsed. , after which it stood in ruins for a long time. Only in 1628-1631, during the period of restoration of the country after the difficult events of the beginning of the century, Patriarch Filaret Nikitich, who returned from Polish captivity in 1625, took N. Novgorod under his personal patronage. Soon, by order of the tsar and at the expense of the state treasury, it was revived by apprentice stone workers Lavrentiy Semyonov, son Vozoulin and stepson Antipas. On April 23, 1628, work began. During their course, Lavrentiy died (buried in the graveyard of the Pechersky Monastery). The construction was completed by Antip alone, who after the death of his stepfather took a patronymic nickname on behalf of his own father - Antipa became Konstantin's son. During construction, the dimensions and plan of the old building were observed, but the design and appearance were completely changed; in essence, a completely new tented temple was built with three vestibules, with a bell tower over the southern entrance. At the beginning of the 17th century. our country was going through difficult years of foreign intervention. It was then, in 1612, that K. Minin and D. Pozharsky organized a people’s militia that expelled the invaders. In memory of this victory, a cathedral dedicated to Archangel Michael, a saint who is considered the patron saint of warriors, was restored from ruins. Now the cathedral, in accordance with its memorial purpose as a monument to the victory of the Nizhny Novgorod militia, was completed with a majestic tent extending upward, covering the single space of the temple.

Cathedral of the Archangel Michael at the beginning of the 17th century. Probably only partially preserved and not used. This is what the scribe's book says about it: “The Cathedral Church of the Archangel Michael is stone, dilapidated, collapsed and there have been no services in it for a long time.” In 1672, a chapel was added to it from the south, which was subsequently distorted by alterations and is now dismantled as it violated the unity of the original composition and lost its historical value. The building was heavily damaged by fires in 1704 and 1715, and the cathedral lost its ancient iconostasis. For a number of years the building stood empty and only in 1732 was it renovated and decorated again. Major renovation work was carried out in 1795, 1845 and 1909-1910. In 1962-1963, the cathedral was restored and the ashes of K. Minin were transferred to it, which now rests under a modest slab in the north-western corner of the temple, overshadowed by the banners of the Nizhny Novgorod militias organized during the liberation wars of 1612, 1812, 1856, 1877. In addition, the Nizhny Novgorod princes of the 15th century are buried in the cathedral - Vasily Semenovich Kirdyapa, who died in 1404, Ivan Vasilyevich - in 1416, and the last Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod, who still bore this title, Vasily Yuryevich, who died in 1450, as well as members of their families. Their burial places are unknown, and their names are noted only by inscriptions in the arcosolia on the west side of the cathedral. At the southern wall there is a stone plaque-tombstone of the children of one of the Nizhny Novgorod governors of the 18th century - Drutsky.

From an architectural point of view, St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral has several interesting features. Its prayer hall is united by a single space with a bell tower and has a two-tent asymmetrical composition. The plan of the cathedral is archaic - a rectangle with three porches according to the cardinal points and a three-part altar. In the construction of the composition of the building, the modularity of the construction is revealed: the starting value is the thickness of the rear wall (162 cm = 3/4 stone fathom) - a quadrangle, equal to 8x8, its height is 7x, the radius of the outer wall of the central apse is 2x, etc. The rear porch was shifted to the north and the main entrance portal was shifted from the central axis, the northern porch acquired a trapezoidal plan, which made it possible to balance the bell superstructure in the overall composition, and make the internal entrance to it more gentle. The modularity in the construction of the composition of the temple speaks of the continuity of the Vladimir-Suzdal architectural school. In the cathedrals of Vladimir and Suzdal, the thickness of the rear wall also served as the initial module.

The Archangel Cathedral is a wonderful temple, as one of the oldest in the city in its original construction, contemporary with its foundation. In 1221 St. Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich, having founded Nizhny Novgorod, built the first wooden church in the name of St. Archangel Michael. In 1227, the same prince, instead of a wooden church, built a stone one, which, since the establishment of the Grand Duke's throne in Nizhny Novgorod (1350), became the court church of the Nizhny Novgorod princes. But since this church had already become significantly dilapidated by that time, the second one led. Prince of Nizhny Novgorod Andrei Konstantinovich built a new stone one in the same place in 1359, the walls of which have been preserved to this day.

During its long existence, the Archangel Cathedral, suffering repeatedly from enemy attacks and fires, by the beginning of the 17th century. reached such a situation that a major renewal was required, which was done in 1624-31. under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich at the expense of the royal treasury. During this restoration, the appearance of the temple was somewhat changed: the vaults in it were dismantled and instead of them, a stone hipped roof was built on the old walls, which has survived to this day. In 1672, a chapel in the name of St. was added to the cathedral. evang. John the Theologian, in whose name there was a throne in a warm wooden church that stood next to this cathedral and burned down around the middle of the 17th century.

Subsequently, the fires that occurred in the Kremlin in 1704 and 1711 and a particularly great fire in 1715 caused so much damage to this cathedral that it was closed for worship. The Archangel Cathedral remained in this state until the 1930s. XVIII century was not renewed through the efforts of the Nizhny Novgorod vice-governor Volynsky, who installed a new, still existing iconostasis in it and supplied it with the necessary utensils, after which the cathedral was consecrated on March 18, 1732. In 1795, the chapel of the cathedral was also restored by another vice-governor. Governor Prince Dolgoruky, and, at his request, the throne in the side-chapel was consecrated not only in the name of the Evang. John, and also in the name of St. Prince George, founder of Nizhny Novgorod.

During the period of independence of the Nizhny Novgorod Grand Duchy (1350-92), the Archangel Cathedral was a court church, and with the loss of this independence, it became the tomb of some descendants of the first prince Konstantin Vasilyevich. Buried here are: Constantine's great-grandson Prince Vasily, son of Simeon Kirdyapa, who died in Nizhny Novgorod in 1404; his son Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Gorbaty-Suzdal; Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, son of Vasily Kirdyapa and great-grandson of Konstantin Vasilyevich; Prince Vasily Yuryevich, nephew of Ivan Vasilyevich Kirdyapa. In addition, princes known only by name are buried here: Peter, Zinovy, Zosima, Jonah (the latter were both monks) and Princess Irina.

Of the ancient icons in the cathedral, the following are remarkable: the appearance of the Archangel Michael to Joshua near Jericho, the icon dates back to the 14th century according to the original letter; Kiev-Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God; Rev. Mary of Egypt; St. Nicholas of Myra and the Resurrection of Christ with an image around the suffering of the Savior. Their ancient saints things in the cathedral are preserved: a small shroud, embroidered with gold and silks on white satin; altar cross with particles of the relics of various saints, attached by boyar Golovin.

M. Dobrovolsky “Brief description of Nizhny Novgorod churches, monasteries and chapels”, Nizhny Novgorod. Printing house of the Provincial Board 1895

In 1221, the Vladimir prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, forced to defend the borders of his principality from the Mokshans, Volga Bulgars and Mari, founded a fortress at the confluence of the Oka and Volga - Novgorod Nizovskaya. At the same time, he erected a wooden temple on the territory of the fortress with a very characteristic “courageous” dedication - to Michael the Archangel (interestingly, by the way, not to St. George the Victorious; perhaps this was reflected in the modesty of the prince, who had as his heavenly patron the Grand Martyr George). A few years later, in 1227, instead of a wooden church, a stone one was built with the same dedication to the Archangel Michael. In the past, many researchers were in no hurry to take this date on faith, since it was not contained anywhere except in the Nizhny Novgorod chronicler, whose reliability was in doubt. However, excavations carried out on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin in the middle of the twentieth century (led by N. N. Voronin) confirmed the antiquity of the temple. Archaeologists found fragments of white stone decoration and foundations that eloquently testified that the original Archangel Cathedral belonged to the Vladimir-Suzdal school of architecture. Moreover, the location of the foundations made it possible to judge its appearance: it was, according to Voronin’s reconstruction, three-apsed, with three porches and “almost six pillars” (the eastern pair of pillars formed part of the eastern wall). Until the 14th century, we no longer have any information about the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael. Probably, at this time, which was extremely difficult for Ancient Rus', there was neither the strength nor the means to maintain it. But in 1350 the city became the capital of the independent Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal principality. The new status was obligatory, and in 1359 the Nizhny Novgorod chronicler reports that “Prince Andrei Konstantinovich in Nizhny Novgorod built a stone church of the Holy Archangel Michael, near his courtyard.” There is reason to believe that this cathedral did not stand for long.

In 1377 and 1378, Nizhny Novgorod was ravaged by the Tatars, and the cathedral could not help but attract their attention. This assumption is confirmed by archaeologists who, during excavations in the cathedral, discovered traces of a fire in the 14th century layer. And almost from that very time, the Archangel Cathedral stood in ruins, although it was still considered a princely temple and was the burial place of representatives of the princely family. The following reliable news about the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael dates back to the “Romanov” era. Scribe books (1621-1622) report: “The Cathedral Church of the Archangel Michael is stone, dilapidated, collapsed, and there have been no services in it for a long time.” The Archangel Michael parish, however, existed, but its liturgical life took place in the wooden Church of St. John the Theologian (apparently warm) built next door. In 1628-1631, the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was restored (essentially, rebuilt) using government funds - in memory of the fact that it was in Nizhny Novgorod and on the initiative of Nizhny Novgorod citizens that the Second Militia gathered. And here the question arises - why not build the cathedral, “as it was”? Yes, of course, having stood in ruins for several centuries, it may no longer have had the “primordial clarity of forms,” but something remained. However, the temple received a tent-roofed finish. And this - as many authors who wrote about the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin rightly pointed out - emphasized its status as a temple-monument. History has fortunately preserved the names of the builders of the new St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral for us. These were stone mason apprentice Lavrentiy Vozoulin and his stepson Antipas. And the craftsmen were already so loved by the people of Nizhny Novgorod that after the construction of the Kremlin Cathedral they had to stay in Nizhny, building churches in the Pechersky Monastery. By the way, it is from the letter of the Pechersk Archimandrite Raphael that we learn some details about the construction of the cathedral: “...In Nizhny Novy Gorod, the cathedral stone church of the Archangel Michael was completely finished, and the cathedral church was made by your State apprentices Lavrentiy Vozoulin and his stepson Ontip and with him of that church work there were forty people masons from Nizhny Novgorod and that church stone work was completely finished... order the Sovereigns... to send his State apprentice Ontip Lavrentiev's stepson Vozoulin and the Nizhny Novgorod and Balakhon masons and brickmakers who made with him the cathedral church of the Archangel Michael to the Pechersk monastery and order the Sovereigns to use the residual lime and stone and timber and all sorts of iron gear to do the church work that remains in the cathedral churches of the Archangel Michael. .."

From the very beginning, St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral was conceived as a national shrine, a monument of particular significance for Nizhny Novgorod. This status allowed it to live for several centuries without significant changes, although the reasons for them - primarily fires - presented themselves with sad frequency. The cathedral suffered seriously from fires in 1704, 1711 and 1715. In 1795, renovations followed, affecting mainly the interiors. In particular, it is known that it was at this time that the cathedral was painted in alfresco. The paintings existed in the cathedral for exactly half a century, until the next “renovation”. In the 19th century, monumental church painting as a genre experienced an era of decline, and the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was again painted “in a new way.” The painting was done on canvas pasted on the walls; Its subjects were partly sacred (Archangel Michael defeats the serpent), partly historical (the battle of Prince George Vsevolodovich with the Mordovians, the founding of Novgorod of Nizovsky). In addition, it was during this period that the floor of the cathedral was covered with cast iron slabs, the iconostasis was gilded and the choir was built in the form of a balcony stretching along the western wall. Another fifty years passed before they began to repair the cathedral again. Then a quadrangular tower was built between the bell tower and the church tent, the entrance to which was made within the walls of the church itself; In the old days, an observation deck was built from the tower. The next renovation was timed to coincide with the opening of the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896. Then they decided “... To make the cold main temple of the cathedral warm.” Insufficient funds (the cathedral did not have its own parish, its vital functions were provided by the city) did not allow everything planned to be realized during the renovation of 1895-1896. And the strengthening of the walls was left until better times. “The best times” again turned out to be associated with a significant historical event in which Nizhny Novgorod was “involved” - the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. By 1913, it was necessary to bring the shrine into splendid appearance, but now this was not done as easily as fifty years ago. The Imperial Archaeological Commission vigilantly ensured that no repairs were carried out without its knowledge. Indeed, the new renovation was more like a restoration than all the others. For example, the master roofer, according to the contract, had to cover the dome so that “the removed tiles, after cleaning them from mold and washing them, could be used again.” That's what the master did.

During the Soviet era, most of the “cult” monuments of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin were destroyed. The only temple left here was St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral. But service there also ceased in 1928. An archive was set up within its walls, and the walls were hidden behind shelves. Only after the transfer of the temple to the museum-reserve did it become possible to completely restore it. In the early 1960s, archaeological research was carried out under the leadership of N. N. Voronin. And the restoration work was headed by the architect-restorer S. L. Agafonov. It was during this period that the cathedral's "visual return" to the 1630s took place. Later alterations and additions were removed (in particular, the St. John the Theologian chapel, erected in the 1670s, was dismantled). This was the most large-scale and fruitful restoration ever carried out on the monument. Then, already at the end of the 1980s, the domes of the temple and the bell tower received a new tiled covering and new crosses. And soon the cathedral was returned to the diocese, and a new chapter in its history began.

At first glance, St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral is a typical monument of “its time”, i.e. XVII century. In front of us is a rather massive figure of eight, placed on a quadrangle and topped with a tent. However, taking a closer look at the cathedral, we will discover in its appearance some features that are not characteristic of its “peers”. For example, the vestibules attached to it on three sides (they were erected, as a study of the masonry shows, simultaneously with the quadrangle) have more common features with the Vladimir-Suzdal monuments of the 13th century than with the buildings of the 17th century. It is obvious that they were incorporated into the composition of the building “as a memory of the temple that originally stood here.” The southern vestibule is somewhat larger than the western and northern ones, since it is intended to serve as the basis for the bell tower. The western porch, in turn, also has an important feature: it is not located in the center of the western façade of the main quadrangle, but is noticeably shifted to the north. In this way, the architect sought to give visual balance to the asymmetrical composition of the cathedral. Each face of the quadrangle of the St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral is completed with a row of three large semicircular kokoshniks. The sides of the octagon have the same finish, but the kokoshniks in this case are smaller. The modest design of the equally high altar apses includes only half-columns at the junction of the semicircles and a wide cornice under the conchs. The compact volume of the bell tower is completed with a small tent, “shading” in the presence of the tent crowning the main octagon. A kind of turret is visible between the bell tower and the tent. It was said about her in old sources that she served as a “watch.” But it is precisely this purpose that the “turret”, in its location, is ideally alien to. Relatively low, it is also “fenced off” from the Volga (that is, from the space behind which it was most necessary to “monitor”) by the temple tent. The base of the cathedral is made of white stone, on which stand brick walls. The quadrangle has an almost square shape in plan (length 10.7 m, width 10.5 m). The height of the cathedral is 34 meters.

The interior of the Archangel Cathedral, with its rapidly rising space, fully corresponds in image to its external volume. Inside the building, slightly above the arches supporting the diagonal edges of the octagon, along its entire perimeter there is a series of arches, the extension of which supports the octagon narrowed in this way. This narrowing is so insignificant in relation to the span of the tent that the construction of the arched row should only have divided the internal spaces of the temple. The tent has a round light hole at the top with a diameter of only 66 cm. The drum standing above it has narrow windows; The small size of the openings and windows makes them suitable not so much for lighting as for ventilation of the temple. Indeed, the inside of the cathedral is quite dark, but in combination with the tombstone of Kuzma Minin and the inscriptions about the burials of princes in arconsolia, some “gloominess” is appropriate.

The temple received its modern “filling” already in the 2000s, when a simple tyablo iconostasis was installed in it (this is the iconostasis that is most suitable here; a magnificent baroque frame would not correspond to the austere, partly “crypt-like” interior). The walls of the temple are whitewashed from the inside. This does not exclude the possibility of decorating them someday in the future with painting, however, the approach here should be as careful as possible: nothing is better (especially since the white walls still “brighten” the interior to a certain extent) than the artless, artisanal painting from which the cathedral I've already suffered enough in the past. In a special place in the Archangel Michael Cathedral there is an icon of its founder - Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich, who suffered a martyr's death in a battle with the Tatars and was glorified by the Church. The icon is installed at the left choir and contains a particle of the prince’s relics. There are other icons in the Archangel Cathedral that are closely connected with the history of Nizhny Novgorod. One of these icons is the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which has been loved by Nizhny Novgorod residents since 1612, when it was in the camp of the Second Militia. All these icons are of modern writing.

From the magazine "Orthodox Temples. Travel to Holy Places." Issue No. 103, 2014

The Archangel Cathedral is the most ancient temple in Nizhny Novgorod. This is a small structure, with a tent-shaped stone top, which ends in one chapter covered with green tiles. It is crowned with a large iron slotted cross. This temple was originally built by St. Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich in 1221 from wood.

Then, in 1227, it was rebuilt in stone. Moreover, Prince Yuri called it a cathedral. In 1350, Konstantin Vasilyevich transferred his throne from Suzdal to Nizhny Novgorod. There he built the main shrine of the Nizovskaya land - the cathedral church of the Transfiguration, and he turned the Archangel Cathedral into his court church. Under Constantine's son, Andrei, the church was rebuilt in 1359.

During the reign of Dimitri Konstantinovich during the Tatar invasion of Nizhny Novgorod, it, like many other Nizhny Novgorod churches, was robbed and burned. Then it was revived again, and it stood there until 1620. And this year, by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the cathedral was repaired, since it was beginning to collapse due to the fires that took place in the Kremlin.

Patriarch Filaret Nikitich, returning from Polish captivity, took Nizhny Novgorod under his protection in 1625. Two years later, a royal decree came to the city on the construction of a new stone St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral at the expense of the state treasury. The temple was supposed to become a monument to the people's militia of K. Minin and D. Pozharsky, to which the Romanov family owed their exaltation and prosperity.

A year later, in the spring of 1628, the architects Lavrentiy Semenov, son Vozoulin, and stepson Antipas arrived in the city. Work began in April. During these works Lavrentiy died. He was buried in the graveyard of the Pechersky Monastery. Antip completed the construction alone. After the death of his stepfather, he took a patronymic nickname on behalf of his own father - he became Antipas Konstantin's son.

Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in 1672, a chapel was built in the name of St. Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. The extension was erected over the very place where, during the plague that occurred in 1658, the priests of the Archangel Cathedral buried the dead. In 1704, a fire raged throughout the Kremlin, devastating the Archangel Cathedral. Temple service ceased for twenty-eight years.

Only in 1732, thanks to the initiative of the Nizhny Novgorod vice-governor, Brigadier Ivan Mikhailovich Volynsky, and the care of the clergy of this temple, it was renewed. That same year, on March 18, the temple was consecrated. At that time, an iconostasis was built in the temple, which still exists today. Prince Vasily Ivanovich Dolgoruky wished to honor the memory of the founder of Nizhny Novgorod and the Cathedral of St. Archangel. Grand Duke Yuri, whose descendant he considered himself.

To this end, in 1795, he asked Bishop Paul II of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas to allow him to decorate the chapel at his own expense, and that this chapel be dedicated as St. Evangelist John, and St. Prince Yuri. The prince received consent to this request.

The chapel was finished the same year. After the formation of the fourth training carabinieri regiment from the cantonist battalion in the city, the Archangel Cathedral was transformed into a regimental church. The cathedral was further repaired in 1845. Then the walls inside the main church were decorated with images painted on canvas, and the tent was covered with blue paint and painted with stars. The iconostases of both altars were gilded.

Features of the temple.

Inside, the main temple, like all ancient churches, is somewhat gloomy. But this elevates the beauty of the iconostasis and more favorably shows the wall paintings of the Nizhny Novgorod artist Zheleznov. On the south wall is written St. Yuri, when he appeared with his warriors on the rocky banks of the Oka and Volga and was amazed by the beauty of the area. Here he imagined that he would build a new city and a holy temple here. The temple is depicted as a vision.

The altar in this temple is slightly lower than the walls and comes out of them with three semicircular projections. This is the similarity of the temple with the Moscow Assumption Cathedral and the former Nizhny Novgorod Preobrazhensky Cathedral. Low and narrow windows, no more than five inches wide, have iron bars and shutters. Attached to the cathedral on the south side is a low chapel with a small bell tower, which ends in a small stone dome with a cross. The cross, judging by the crescent, which is located in its lower part, belongs to the time of Tatar rule.

A passage was made into the quadrangular tower, between the bell tower and the church tent, within the walls of the church itself. During enemy raids in ancient times, the surroundings of the city were observed from this tower. You can see stone sarcophagi in the temple. They are located behind both choirs. The sarcophagi are surrounded by ancient iron bars.

Buried under them are Vasily Yuryevich, the last Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod, who received Nizhny Novgorod as an independent possession from Dimitri Shemyaki in 1446, his son John, who owned Nizhny Novgorod and Suzdal as a sworn of the sovereign of Moscow, and Vasily Simeonovich Kirdyapa, grandson of Dimitri Konstantinovich, is also buried here , who died in 1403, Ivan Vasilyevich, who abandoned Nizhny Novgorod in 1448 in favor of Vasily the Dark, as well as princes Peter, Zinovy, Zosima and Jonah (the last two were monks) and Princess Irina.

The ashes of K. Minin are also buried in the cathedral. The Archangel Cathedral received letters of grant from various sovereigns. Among them is a letter from Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich and Tsars John IV, Vasily Shuisky in 1606 and Mikhail Fedorovich in 1613. The plan of the cathedral is a rectangle with three porches on the cardinal points and a three-part altar.

The proportionality of all parts of the building, the reliability of the structures, the upward direction, the lapidary nature of the architectural and artistic decoration - all this suggests that the architect who erected it was distinguished by great skill and professionalism. St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral is a tented memorial church, rare in the history of Russian architecture. In it, the prayer hall is combined into a single space with a bell tower; the cathedral has a two-tented asymmetrical composition.

You can admire Orthodox churches in almost every city in Russia. And here is one of the most ancient temples - St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral. Nizhny Novgorod is a beautiful ancient Russian city, which was founded by Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich in 1221. The cathedral became the tomb of the Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod princes. The temple is operational today, services are held every day - morning at 8.00 and evening at 17.00, the rest of the time it is open for excursions.

A little history

Since the creation of the city, the cathedral in all its glory has been located in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, built between 1500 and 1518. In all of history, no one has been able to conquer it. Residents of the city under its walls, led by Prince Dimitry Pozharsky and his council Kuzma Minin, raised funds and organized the people's militia of 1611 against the Polish invaders who captured Moscow. The city has become an important trading hub in Russia since 1817. In Soviet times, it was renamed Gorky (in honor of the writer M. Gorky). During the Great Patriotic War, it was subjected to massive bombings, since it supplied the front with military equipment and ammunition most of all.

How the Archangel Michael Cathedral was built (Nizhny Novgorod)

The history of the temple goes back several centuries. At first it was a wooden building in honor of the commander of the Heavenly forces, Archangel Michael, who in Rus' was considered the patron saint of the Russian army. It was consecrated in 1221, but four years later, in 1227, a white-stone, four-pillar and three-apse white-stone cathedral, in which there were three vestibules, was built on the same foundation.

The cathedral building was rebuilt again in 1359, and three centuries later, by order of the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, new construction resumed. It was erected on an ancient foundation in memory of the Nizhny Novgorod militia. The cathedral was completely ready in 1631, and it has survived to this day.

After the coronation, almost every representative of the Romanov royal dynasty came to Minin’s grave, because they believed that they owed their accession to him and Pozharsky, and if they had not saved Moscow then, their ancestor Mikhail Romanov would not have received the royal throne.

Great Architects

The Archangel Michael Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod) was created under the leadership of the architects Lavrentiy Semenovich Vozoulin, his stepson Antipas, and in a style quite rare for Russia, which was called tent-roofed. Its height reached 39 meters, and the shape of the structure resembled an obelisk monument with a tetrahedral volume, the walls were crowned with three decorative vaults - kokoshniks. Directly on top of the edges, called zakomar, a tent of edges with a long drum and a small dome was erected. The windows of the cathedral are slit-shaped. The bell tower and domes still retain ancient crosses and their scaly robes made of figured tiles. The cathedral has fairly good acoustics, thanks to clay jugs - voice boxes (they were specially built into the thickness of the walls).

Test time

During a fire in the Kremlin that broke out in 1704, the Archangel Cathedral was completely damaged, and services were restored only in March 1732, and it was consecrated again by Archbishop Pitirim.

During the Soviet years, the cathedral was closed, the building was turned into a branch of the historical museum. In 1962, the tomb of Minin was brought into the building, which was taken from the destroyed Transfiguration Church.

St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod), photographs of which are presented above, in 2008 the square was decorated with a monument to Bishop Simon of Suzdal and Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich. On February 17, for the grand opening and festive liturgy, which was served by many people and guests, Archbishop Georgy of Nizhny Novgorod consecrated the monument.

In February 2006, President V. Putin visited the Archangel Michael Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod). In the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, he laid flowers at the cathedral tomb, where the ashes of Minin Kuzma now rest.

St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod, Avtozavodsky district)

In mid-spring 2009, Nizhny Novgorod deputies donated nine bells to the cathedral, of which the largest - the Lawyer - weighed 530 kg, and it began to decorate the belfry. Icon with a particle of the relics of St. Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich is the main shrine of the ancient cathedral.

In September 2009, the Archangel Michael Cathedral (Nizhny Novgorod) was visited by Patriarch Kirill, who performed a funeral litany, honored the memory of Kuzma Minin and presented it with the name “Kazan”.