Product Description
Christ the Saviour Cathedral (Храм Христа Спасителя в Москве). Rostov miniature enamel painting in its original oak frame. Image is 4½"x2½" and overall dimensions are 5½"x 7". Excellent condition. 1 only.
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, located near the Moskva river just west of the Kremlin, is the third tallest Eastern Orthodox structure in the world. Several centuries ago, around 1817, construction was begun under Tsar Alexander I, after the defeat of Napoleon. The intent was to honor all those who fought in the conflict, as well as to build the largest cathedral (and the largest building) in the world. Alexander's son, Nicholas I, eventually changed both the site and the scope of the project. He commissioned an architect by the name of Konstantin Thon to create a design modeled after the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Finally, in 1860, some of the best Russian painters, including Kramskoi, Surikov, Vereshchagin (and others) began to enhance the interior, a process which took another 20 years. It was completed by Alexander III, and was consecrated on the very day he was crowned (May 26, 1883). A year earlier, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture had debuted there. After 1917, when the site of the Cathedral was chosen by the Soviet government for a monument to socialism (to be known as the Palace of the Soviets), Stalin had the original cathedral demolished. But, his project failed due to a lack of money, flooding from the nearby Moskva River, and the outbreak of WWII. The foundation hole remained full of water, and under Nikita Khrushchev, was transformed into the world's largest public swimming pool.
In the year 2000, the Cathedral was rebuilt and consecrated on the Transfiguration Day. In the same year, the cathedral was the venue for the canonization of the Romanovs. In 2007, the Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) was signed there.
