Regarded as one of the most beautifu I monuments to the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Basil's has come to represent Moscow and Russia to the outside world. Commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to celebrate the capture of the Mongol stronghold of Kazan in 1552, the cathedral was completed in 1561. It is reputed to have been designed by the architect Postnik Yakovlev. According to legend, Ivan was so amazed at the beauty of Yakovlev's work that he had him blinded so that he could never design anything as exquisite again. The church was officially called the Cathedral of the Intercession, because the final siege of Kazan began on the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin. However, it is more usually known as St. Basil's after the "holy fool," Basil the Blessed, whose remains are interred in the cathedral's ninth chapel.

Structure of the day_St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

one of the most beautifuI monuments to the Russian Orthodox Church...

Image source :http://famouswonders.com/

Regarded as one of the most beautifu I monuments to the Russian Orthodox Church, St. Basil's has come to represent Moscow and Russia to the outside world. Commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to celebrate the capture of the Mongol stronghold of Kazan in 1552, the cathedral was completed in 1561. It is reputed to have been designed by the architect Postnik Yakovlev. According to legend, Ivan was so amazed at the beauty of Yakovlev's work that he had him blinded so that he could never design anything as exquisite again. The church was officially called the Cathedral of the Intercession, because the final siege of Kazan began on the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin. However, it is more usually known as St. Basil's after the "holy fool," Basil the Blessed, whose remains are interred in the cathedral's ninth chapel.

CATHEDRAL DESIGN

S t Basi I' s Cathedral consists of nine churches dedicated to different saints. Each of these, with the exception of the Central Chapel of the Intercession, symbolizes the eight assaults on Kazan and is topped by a multicolored dome. All of the churches are uniquely decorated and different in size from each other, giving the structure an all-around balance. The building is designed to be viewed from every angle, hence the absence of a single main fa<;ade In pi an, the eight churches form an eight-pointed star. The tour larger domes form the endpoints of an imaginary cross with the Central Chapel in the middle, and the smaller churches between the larger ones.

Image source: http://s.inyourpocket.com/

GALLERY

Running around the outside of the Central Chapel, the gallery connects it to the other eight chapels. It was roofed over at the end of the 17th century and the walls and ceilings were decor a ted with floral tiles in the late 18th century

Chapel of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem

This chapel was used as a ceremonial entrance during the annual P aim Sunday procession. On this day, the patriarch rode from the Kremlin to St. Basil's on a horse disguised to look like a donkey.

Image source : http://guyssquared.com/

MININ AND POZHARSKIY STATUE

A bronze by Ivan Martos depicts two heroes from the Time ofTroubles (159&-1613): the butcher Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitriy Pozharskiy. The men raised a volunteer force to fight the invading Poles and, in 1612, led their army to victory when they drove them out of the Kremlin. The statue was erected in 1B 1B in the center of Red Square. It was moved to its present position, in front of St. Basil's, during the Soviet era.

IMAGE SOURCE : http://thor1.tempoholidays.com/

ICON PAIN11NG IN RUSSIA

The Russian Orthodox Church uses icons for both worship and teaching and there are strict rules for creating each image. lconography is a symbolic art, expressing in line and col or the theological teaching of the Church.lcons are thought to be imbued with power from the saint they depict and are often invoked for protection during wartime. The first icons were brought to Russia from Byzantium. Kiev, today the capital of Ukraine, was Russia's main iconpainting center until the Mongols conquered it in 1240. The Moscow school was founded in the I ate 15th century when Ivan the Terrible decreed that artists must I ive in the Kremlin. The great icon painters Dionysius and Andrey Rublev were members of this renowned school.

Image source : http://holeinthedonut.com

Chapel of St. Cyprian

This is one of eight main chapels commemorating the campaigns of Ivan the Terrible against the town of Kazan, to the east of Moscow. It is dedicated to St. Cyprian, whose feast is on October 2, the day after the I ast attack.

RED SQUARE

St Basil's Cathedral is located in Red Square in the heart of Moscow. The name of the square is derived from the Russian word kfasnw, which originally meant "beautiful" but later came to denote "red."

BASIL, THE "HOLY FOOL"

Born in 1464 into a peasant family in the village of Yel okhovoe, Basil worked as an apprentice to a shoemaker. His ski II at divining the future soon became apparent and at the age of 16 he left for Moscow There he undertook the ascetic challenge of walking the city's streets barefoot, educating Muscovites in piety. Although he was often derided and beaten for his sermonizing, his fortune changed in 154 7, when he foresaw the fire of Moscow and was credited with preventing it from destroying the entire city. On Basil's death, at the age of 88, Czar Ivan the Terrible carried his body to the cathedral for buriaL He was canonized in 1579.

The Warrior

ilmu untuk di bagi.... jangan pelit akan ilmu

St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow City, Russia