The Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The Tomb of the Russian Tsars

The Archangel Cathedral is one of seven unique monuments of history and culture that surrounds the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin. Churches dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the leader of the heavenly host, patronizing the Moscow princes in their earthly deeds, were erected on this site since the reign of Alexander Nevsky. The Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin acquired a modern look at the beginning of the 16th century. (1505-1508). Build the temple, like other buildings of the Cathedral Square, invited an architect from Venice called Aleviz Novy. Archangel Cathedral in Moscow - five-domed building, built of bricks. The Italian architect tried to give his creation different from neighboring temples appearance, so abundantly used Renaissance decor of white stone to handle the facades of the cathedral.

The temple, dedicated to the holy Archangel Michael, has a special ritual purpose: it serves as the oldest burial vault of the Moscow princes. It is here that all the Russian rulers who died before the foundation of St. Petersburg were buried. The exception was Boris Godunov, whose ashes were thrown out of the cathedral in 1605 on the orders of False Dmitry I, and later reburied in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Emperor Peter II is another autocrat, constituting an exception. The grave of this sovereign, who died at the age of 15, is here, and not in the cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.

The Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin holds 54 burials. When Ivan the Terrible died, contemporaries decided that such an odious sovereign deserved a separate burial place, that's why the ashes of John IV and the ashes of the two sons of the autocrat rest in the deaconess (vestry) of the Archangel Cathedral. The tomb of the monarch is one of the most interesting places worthy of attention in the temple. The grave of John IV of Grozny was a clear confirmation of the fact that rumor rarely corresponds to the real state of things - the researchers talked about the venereal diseases of the tsar, but in the opened tomb there was found a skeleton that was not affected by "bad" diseases, but impregnated with mercury - an instrument of poisoning.

Tsarevich Dmitry, who died under unclear circumstances, is also buried in the church. Whether he himself fell into a knife in an epileptic fit , whether he was stabbed or not - he can only guess. The secret of the Tsarevich's death was known to Boris Godunov, but he did not tell the world.

From the inside, the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is decorated with a 13-meter gilded wooden iconostasis with icons dating from the 15th-17th centuries, and a 17th century panicad. Under Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, the walls of the cathedral were covered with fresco paintings, for the creation of which dozens of painters were invited. Since then, the walls of the Orthodox church are adorned with scenes about the struggle of Michael the Archangel with Satanail, the fallen angel, as well as scenes of military battles. Russian monarchs, before going on military campaigns, came to the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and performed a rite of worship to their ancestors, asking them for spiritual strength to win.

In the Soviet era, service in the temples of the Kremlin was banned. The Orthodox Church returned them only in 1990. Solemn celebrations are held in the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin on the patronal feasts, but all the rest of the time they serve as museums.