Cathedral of Christ the Savior
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URL: http://www.travelallrussia.com/christ-the-savior/
The
cathedral of Christ the Saviour is one of the biggest Orthodox
churches in the world. It was erected as a sign of gratefulness to
the God for his protection during the critical period in Russian
history, Napoleon invasion of 1812. When the last soldier of a 600
thousand Napoleon's army fled from the Russian land, the Emperor
Alexander I ordered to build a cathedral to thank God and to
commemorate the braveness and patriotism of Russian people. But the
work had to be stopped and continued only after Alexander I death
in a new place. All in all it was being built for about 44 years.
When it was finished in 1883, it quickly became the center of
Russian spiritual life.
But on December 5th 1931 a horrible act of vandalism happened. The Bolsheviks demolished the great and stateful heart of Russian Orthodoxy which didn't fit into the Procrustean bed of the communists' ideology. That turned out to be a hard task, because the Cathedral stood several explosions. In the end it fell down, confirming the old nun's prediction that everything that would be built on this place, wouldn't stand longer than 50 years… Her another prediction was that on the place where the cathedral stood would be a dirty puddle. Well, many years later the Bolsheviks built a swimming pool in the huge crater left after the explosion, the new moment commemorating abusing and neglecting of the glory and history of the Motherland.
After the fall of Communists regime, in 1992 a construction fun for resurrection of the Cathedral was initiated. Due to the money raised by ordinary citizens the construction was finished in 2000 on the Transfiguration Day (August 19th). Made of white marble and granite with glittering golden domes, reconstructed by old drawings and pictures, the cathedral once again became one the most impressive ecclesiastical buildings in Moscow. It was considered as a symbol of revival after long years of communist atheism and spiritual degradation. 'The miracle of the resurrection of the Cathedral required several years of concentrated, selfless and loving labor. The Cathedral now glorifies Christ and helps our long-suffering people return to their spiritual roots - the Holy Faith of their ancestors…', addressed the people the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexey.
The most difficult task was to decorate the interior. A special committee was established on the basis of the Moscow Academy of Arts, and the best painters and sculptors of the time managed to recreate the initial style of the Cathedral's interior in a very short time. The interior paintings depict scenes from the Bible and life of the Jesus Christ. Indeed, it looks impressive in a building which has room for about 10 thousand people inside. Once again the Cathedral acquired its previous appearance and beauty and even during a short visit there you will feel why this Cathedral is so important for Russian people and why it attracts thousands of people from all over Russia and the worlds.