Religiou sights in Russia
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Novodevichy Convent
The Novodevichy Convent was founded in 1524 to celebrate the taking of Smolensk from Lithuania, an important step in Moscow’s conquest of the old Kyivan Rus lands. From early on, noblewomen would retire to the convent, some more willingly than others.
Novodevichy was rebuilt by Peter the Great’s half-sister Sofia, who used it as a second residence when she ruled Russia as regent in the 1680s. By this time the convent was a major landowner: it had 36 villages and about 10,000 serfs around Russia. When Peter was 17, he deposed Sofia and confined her to Novodevichy; in 1698 she was imprisoned here for life after being implicated in the Streltsy rebellion. (Legend has it th…
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B
Trinity Cathedral
The Trinity Cathedral boasts stunning blue cupolas emblazoned with golden stars. Slow but careful restoration of this cathedral has been underway for several years. In 2006, a fire that started in the scaffolding caused the 83m-high central cupola to collapse – it was a major setback to reconstruction efforts. Nonetheless, the renovation continues, and the smaller renovated cupolas act as a shining example of what is to come. Construction of this vast cathedral began in 1828, according to a design by Vasily Stasov. The cathedral was consecrated in 1835 and functioned as the chapel for the Izmailovsky Guards, who were garrisoned next door. In honour of the Russian victory …
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C
Intercession Convent
This convent was founded in 1364, originally as a place of exile for the unwanted wives of tsars. Among them was Solomonia Saburova, first wife of Vasily III, who was sent here in the 1520s because of her supposed infertility. The story goes that she finally became pregnant too late to avoid being divorced. A baby boy was born in Suzdal. Fearing he would be seen as a dangerous rival to any sons produced by Vasily’s new wife, Solomonia secretly had him adopted, pretended he had died and staged a mock burial. This was probably just as well for the boy since Vasily’s second wife did indeed produce a son – Ivan the Terrible. The legend received dramatic corroboration in 1934 …
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D
Church of the Assumption
When Tsarevich Nikolai (later Nicholas II, the last Romanov tsar) was attacked by a Japanese fanatic while on a tour of Asia in 1891, he sustained a serious blow to the head but miraculously survived. The customs officers of St Petersburg’s docklands gathered money and constructed a bell tower in thanks for the survival of the heir to the throne. The church was sanctified in 1899, and the imperial family would annually come here to attend a service of thanksgiving for Nicholas’ deliverance. The church was shut from 1935 to 1991. Restoration is ongoing since then, with fantastic results. The impressive portico and shimmering golden domes are particularly (and incongruously…
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E
Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour
The interior of this marvellous 1743 cathedral, which has been beautifully restored and repainted both outside and in, is one of the most gilded in the city. The grand gates bear the imperial double-headed eagle in vast golden busts, reflecting the fact that the cathedral was built on the site where the Preobrazhensky Guards (the monarch’s personal protection unit) had their headquarters. Architect Vasily Stasov rebuilt the cathedral from 1827 to 1829 in the neoclassical style. It is dedicated to the victory over the Turks in 1828–29; note the captured Turkish guns in the gate surrounding the cathedral.
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Church of St John the Baptist
This extraordinary building has one of the most striking exteriors in the city – its Byzantine façade is totally incongruous with the rest of the street, although few people seem to notice it, hemmed in on both sides by other terraced buildings on ul Nekrasova. The church once had the whole building, but currently it shares the premises with a hospital. Go past the waiting patients to the 2nd floor where you can see the small church and chat with the charming nuns who look after it.
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Kazan Cathedral
The great colonnaded arms of the Kazan Cathedral reach out towards Nevsky. Built between 1801 and 1811, its design, by Andrei Voronikhin, a former serf, was influenced by St Peter’s in Rome. His original plan was to build a second, mirror version of the cathedral opposite. This highly atmospheric church is well worth entering but be aware that it is a working cathedral, so please show some respect for the local customs.
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St Lazarus Church
The St Lazarus Church at Alexander Nevsky Monastery is a crypt dating to 1761. It contains the graves of Count Sheremetyev and his serf-actress wife, as well as a few other statesmen, nobles, artists and intellectuals.
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