Cathedral of the Assumption, Moscow
The 15th-century Cathedral of the Assumption. Photo by Roel Meurders.
Photo by Alan Cordova.
Photo by Rob Lee.
Fresco above the entrance. Photo by Brian Jeffery Beggerly.
Interior view. Photo by Alan Cordova.
Interior panorama. Photo by Alan Cordova.
The Cathedral of the Assumption or Cathedral of the Dormition (Uspensky Sobor (Успенский Собор) is one of several churches in Moscow's Kremlin. It was built between 1475 and 1479 AD by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti.
In the 14th century, Metropolitan Peter persuaded Ivan I (Ivan Kalita) that he should build a cathedral to the Holy Virgin in Moscow like the Cathedral of the Assumption in the capital city Vladimir. Construction of the cathedral began on August 4, 1326. In the following year, Moscow became the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal' principality, and later of all Rus.
By the end of the 15th century the old cathedral had become dilapidated, and in 1472 the Pskov architects Kryvtsov and Myshkin began construction of a new cathedral. Two years later, the building was nearing completion when it suddenly collapsed because of an earthquake — an extremely rare event in Moscow.
Ivan III then invited Aristotele Fioravanti, a celebrated architect and engineer from Bologna, Italy, to come to Moscow and entrusted him with the task of building the cathedral from scratch in the traditions of Russian architecture. The cathedral in Vladimir was once again taken as a model for the building, and so Fioravanti travelled to Vladimir in order to study Russian methods of building. He designed a light and spacious masterpiece that combined the spirit of the Renaissance with Russian traditions.
The foundation for the new cathedral was laid in 1475, and in 1479 the new cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Geronty. The interior was painted with frescoes and adorned with many holy images, including Our Lady of Vladimir and the Blachernitissa.
In 1547 the coronation of the first Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible, took place in this cathedral, while from 1721 it was the scene of the coronation of the Russian emperors. The ritual installation of metropolitans and patriarchs of the Orthodox Church also took place in this cathedral, and their tombs are also to be found here. The patriarchate was abolished by Peter the Great and only restored after February Revolution of 1917.
On November 21, 1917 the cathedral was the setting for the installation of Tikhon (Belavin), the Moscow metropolitan, as patriarch. Subsequently he was canonized. After the transfer of the Bolshevik government to Moscow services in the Kremlin cathedrals were prohibited. It was only with Lenin's special permission that the final Easter service was held in 1918. The final moments of this Easter service was the subject of an unfinished painting by Pavel Korin entitled Farewell to Rus.
According to legend, in the winter of 1941, when the Nazis had reached the threshold of Moscow, Joseph Stalin secretly ordered a service to be held in the Assumption Cathedral to pray for the country's salvation from the invading Germans. In 1990 the Assumption Cathedral was returned to the Church, although a museum still operates within it.
Map
Location map and satellite view of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Moscow. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Moscow Map or get our Google Earth download.
- The Cathedral of the Assumption - Kremlin Official Site
- Cathedral of the Dormition - Virtual Tourist, August 18, 2003
