One of the main properties of God is His omnipresence, so pray Orthodox Christian you can do it anywhere, anywhere.

But there are places of the exclusive presence of God, where the Lord is in a special, gracious way. Such places are called temples of God or churches.

The symbolism of the temple explains to believers the essence of the temple as the beginning of the future Kingdom of Heaven, puts before them the image of this Kingdom, using visible architectural forms and means of pictorial decoration in order to make the image of the invisible, heavenly, divine accessible to our senses.

Architecture is not able to adequately recreate the heavenly prototype, if only because only some holy people during earthly life were awarded a vision of the Heavenly Kingdom, the image of which, according to their explanations, cannot be expressed in any words. For most people, this is a mystery that is only slightly revealed in Holy Scripture and Church Tradition. The Temple is also an image of the Universal Church, its basic principles and structure. In the Creed the Church is called “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.”

In some way, these features of the Church can be reflected in temple architecture.

A temple is a consecrated building in which believers praise God, thank Him for the blessings they have received and pray to Him for their needs. The central, most often the most majestic churches, in which clergy from other nearby churches gather for common ceremonial services, are called cathedrals, or simply cathedrals.

According to subordination and location, temples are divided into:

Stauropegial- churches under the direct control of His Holiness the Patriarch and the Synod.

Cathedral- are the main churches for the ruling bishops of a particular diocese.

Parish— churches in which services are held for local parishes (a parish is a community of Orthodox Christians consisting of clergy and laity united at a church).

Cemetery- located either on the territory of cemeteries or in close proximity to them. A special feature of cemetery churches is that funeral services are constantly performed here. The duty of local clergy is to perform lithiums and memorial services for those buried in the cemetery at the request of relatives. The temple building has its own architectural appearance, established over centuries, with its deep symbolism.

European classification architectural styles.

About the main architectural styles:

Architecture ancient world
• Egypt
• Mesopotamia, etc.
Antique architecture
• Greek
• Roman
Medieval architecture
• Byzantine
• Romanskaya
• Gothic
Architecture of the New Age
• Renaissance
• Baroque and Rococo
• Classicism and Empire
• Eclecticism or Historicism
• Art Nouveau, also known as Art Nouveau, Art Nouveau, Secession, etc.
Architecture of modern times
• Constructivism
• Art Deco
• Modernism or International Style
• High tech
• Postmodernism
• Variety of modern styles

In fact, there are practically no pure styles in architecture; they all exist simultaneously, complementing and enriching each other. Styles do not mechanically replace one another, they do not become obsolete, do not appear out of nowhere and do not disappear without a trace. In any architectural style there is something of the previous and future style. When attributing a building to a certain architectural style, we must understand that this is a conditional characteristic, since each work of architecture is unique and inimitable in its own way.

In order to attribute a building to a specific style, we need to select the main, in our opinion, feature. It is clear that such a classification will always be approximate and imprecise. Medieval Russian architecture does not fit into the European classification in any way. Let's move on to Russian temple architecture.

Rus' accepted from Byzantium the established Orthodox religion, which already had various types of temples. The lack of a tradition of stone construction in Rus' did not allow us to take the complex capital system of the domed Byzantine basilica as a basis. The four- and six-pillar cross-domed type of provincial Byzantine church became the model for Russian churches.

Church architecture: First of all, it should be determined right away - church architecture differs significantly from civil architecture, both in style and in functionality. The most significant symbolic meanings are hidden in the church; it has other tasks and structural elements. A church-type building cannot be erected solely based on spatial and stylistic considerations. Using the example of civil architecture, we can trace how people arranged their living areas, but church architecture depicts man’s thorny path to God over many centuries. However, historically temple architecture did not differ too much in secularism - often only in a more pronounced exterior, as well as in orientation to the outside; but in general, its stylistic canons fit within the framework of the dominant style, and sometimes determined the direction of its development. Today, church architecture is gradually becoming the object of careful study; even standards and norms for church projects are emerging. Based on these standards, modern temples imply division into cathedrals, parish churches, monasteries, as well as monument churches, tomb churches, house churches and at institutions. In addition, church buildings are divided into types according to capacity, predominant building material and according to the principles of space-planning design. Church architecture is also classified according to the type of location; in cities, churches are often divided into intra-block churches (in residential areas), located in a transport hub (most often in a square or on a large street), and cultural and spiritual complexes (on the territory of a monastery or some other parish complex) Modern church building includes some features: - lack of reserved territory for the construction of churches - the need to build a significant number of churches and temples, including regions of new development - lack of funding - construction, for the most part, not of individual churches, but of a number of temple complexes Today , for the construction of a temple, a modern architect must take into account and comply with the basic standardized rules, namely: the orientation of the church along the east-west axis with the altar facing east, the indispensable crowning of the temple with a cross, the separation of the altar from the part of the temple where the worshipers are located. Architecture, first of all, is a reflection of the spirit modern society in the outside of the building. The ideological thinking of our society does not have a concretely established framework for its worldview, or rather, it is very motley, which is reflected in the architecture of the temple. It is difficult to talk about any styles of church architecture, because style is, first of all, what demonstrates itself in various types art and develops according to strict canons, but some stylistic trends can be identified. Most of new churches are made in retro styles, in particular, Old Russian, while in wooden churches the style is used in its pure form (as an example - the Church of Metropolitan Alexy in Medvedkovo), and in stone ones - with modern trends (St. George Church on Poklonnaya Hill). Some churches are close to the style of Russian art at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (for example, the funeral chapel of the Danilov Monastery). Some churches were built in the classicist style (the Church of Boris and Gleb on Arbat Square). In addition, Western modernism is becoming popular in church architecture, and some architects are trying to create something completely new. All this may well exist, but taking into account several factors. First of all, when borrowing techniques and elements from the past, you should not mindlessly copy them, because each historical style assumed a certain ideology of its time. Any style taken must be modernized and adapted to the conditions of the current period. Secondly, in this case we cannot talk about the universalization of architecture. The temple has a special social purpose, therefore its functionality is built on the basis of a symbolic system developed over thousands of years, which shows the biblical concept of existence and the universe. That is why the temple must be designed in accordance with clear church canons, because every church is the receptacle of the Holy Spirit himself.

Classicism was a new direction in art, established on state level. In church architecture, on the one hand, he demanded strict adherence to the language of forms and spatial-compositional solutions, on the other hand, he did not exclude a certain freedom of creative pursuits, which was widely used by Russian masters. This, ultimately, despite all the opposition of classicism to Russian traditions, led to the creation of majestic and uniquely beautiful monuments that enriched both Russian and world culture.

The formation of classicism in Russia began under Catherine II.

Being a pragmatic person, the empress in the first years of her reign demonstrated particular piety and reverence for church traditions. She, just like Elizaveta Petrovna, went on foot to the Holy Trinity Lavra, went to Kyiv to worship the saints of Pechersk, fasted and received communion with all her court staff. All this played a significant role in strengthening the personal authority of the empress, and “thanks to the constant tension of thought, she became an exceptional person in the Russian society of her time.”

Catherine II sought, following Peter I, to reshape Russian traditions according to European patterns

The architecture and art of this time were influenced by many various factors, which lay essentially outside their boundaries, but led to fundamental changes - the replacement of “Elizabethan Baroque” with classicism. First of all, it is necessary to point out Catherine’s deep hostility towards her predecessor on the throne: everything that was sweet and dear to one was not accepted and condemned by the other. The decisive reason that influenced the replacement of the general imperial baroque style with classicism was the desire of Catherine II to reshape, following in the footsteps of Peter I, Russian cultural and social traditions according to European models and patterns.

The temples founded in both capitals under Elizaveta Petrovna were completed in the Baroque style, but with the introduction of obvious elements of the new state direction in art into their appearance. The Russian imperial court accepted classicism as a system of international artistic culture, within the framework of which from now on domestic culture was to exist and develop. Thus, half a century later, the initiatives and ideas of Peter I in the field of architecture and art find their real embodiment.

However, it should be noted that our Fatherland also originally had European cultural roots: “The ancient tradition came to Rus' through Byzantium, which had already carried out its creative implementation in the Christian spirit - rethinking.” Our culture has always been part of the world, primarily European, Christian culture. A special part, but not closed, not isolated. The entire history of Russian architecture clearly demonstrates that there has never been “cultural loneliness.” Each era presented contemporaries with new architectural buildings, erected using not only technical innovations, but also stylistic and visual elements borrowed from outside. This can be proven by Moscow monuments of the late 15th - early 16th centuries, and examples of Moscow Baroque, and St. Petersburg buildings from the time of Peter I.

For the European self-awareness of that time, the very concept of “tradition” became something archaic

During the reign of Catherine II, for the first time (even if we do not forget about Peter’s innovations), church architecture was completely under the influence of consistent state pressure aimed at reorienting to Western secular models. For the European self-awareness of that time, the very concept of “tradition” became something archaic. It was the desire to consign to oblivion the philosophy of continuity of Russian tradition in architecture and art that became main feature the time when European classicism came to Russia.

In Europe, a return to culture Ancient Greece and Rome in the 18th century becomes a fundamentally new large-scale phenomenon that soon covered all Western countries. But if for them classicism (“neoclassicism”) was nothing more than a return to their own roots in creative quests, then for Russia it became an innovation, especially in church architecture. However, we note that the foundation of the tradition has still been preserved. So, what remains is the three-part construction of the temple, inherited from Byzantium.

Latently, unconsciously, new architectural elements were intertwined with original national ones. Let us pay attention: Russian wooden temple architecture in its construction striving for vertical forms. This was due to the use of the main building material- wood, logs. And such a basic architectural module as a column, so beloved by classicism, provided a visual (albeit somewhat conditional) parallel with the external elements of national wooden architecture.

Nevertheless, classicism significantly changed many things - not only in the appearance of churches, but also in the entire architectural environment.

Traditional Russian cities occupied huge areas due to extremely sparse buildings, which harmoniously included a natural landscape with gardens, vegetable gardens and even forest areas. All this gave the city, with its ornate interweaving of streets, alleys and dead ends, a unique flavor. At the same time, it was the temples that always acted as town-planning dominants, by which it was possible to distinguish main part cities.

The general redevelopment of Russian cities, carried out in accordance with European urban planning guidelines, rationalized the space; at the same time, the existing stone temples gradually disappeared among new buildings, as a result of which they lost their dominant sound in the urban environment. As a result, the main guidelines of the socio-cultural space in which a person’s life attitudes were formed have shifted. Temples and church buildings remained, as before, as the dominant architectural structures only in rural areas.

Temple construction in Moscow during the reign of Catherine II was insignificant: mainly repair work was carried out on dilapidated buildings. In St. Petersburg, construction was still underway.

Soon after the coronation, Empress Catherine II began choosing a design for the new main cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery - by that time the temple had been dismantled due to dilapidation. IN Trinity Cathedral (1776-1790) Alexander Nevsky Lavra the philosophical ideas of European classical buildings were embodied as fully as possible. In addition, after the consecration of the cathedral, paintings by European artists were placed inside it. biblical themes what gave everything interior decoration solemn and strict, but at the same time a palace look.

One of the few churches founded under Catherine II in St. Petersburg was (the third in a row). But of the elements of the new style in this cathedral, perhaps, there was only one thing - decorating the walls with marble. Such architectural ideas could not fully satisfy Catherine’s tastes, so construction moved extremely slowly: by the time Paul I ascended the throne, the temple had only been completed to the vaults.

The emergence of new church architecture in the classical style was accompanied by almost universal reconstruction - in favor of the ideas of classicism - of already existing churches. This is the first time in the history of Russian church building that something like this has happened on such a large scale. First of all, the alterations everywhere affected the roof coverings of churches, which were replaced with a simple hipped roof, which, naturally, radically changed the entire architectural sound of the buildings. Old windows were cut out and new ones were cut, the architectural decoration of the platbands was removed, additional porticoes with columns were added, the facades were decorated with monumental paintings done in oil painting on canvas. There are dozens of similar examples; Among the historically significant monuments that underwent restructuring, we will name the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir, as well as the Trinity Cathedral, the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit and the Church of St. Nikon of Radonezh in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. As historian E.E. points out. Golubinsky, during the time of Catherine II, all the fortress towers of the monastery were also rebuilt in a Western style, which changed the entire appearance of the ancient monastery almost beyond recognition. Such innovations did not enrich its overall appearance; it was a striking example of the inorganic addition of structures of one time to significant architectural elements of another.

Artificial “grafting” of the ideas of classicism affected, in one way or another, almost all ancient Russian monuments. The wholesale reconstruction of churches became a demonstration of the indiscriminate and inappropriate absorption of national architectural ideas and images into the European tradition: what was original almost dissolved into oblivion, however, the new did not look at all organic or even aesthetically pleasing on ancient buildings.

The interior space of a traditional Russian church with its twilight and frescoes created conditions for prayerful repentance and sacred standing before God. And chipping away old windows and cutting through new windows created a different, rarefied air space in the interiors of ancient temples. In such a space, the fresco paintings, which consisted of large spots of color and reproduced symbols, the reading of which did not require examination and admiration, but called for prayerful deepening and spiritual peace, ceased to be properly perceived. The ancient practice of fresco painting itself became inappropriate with a new interpretation of sacred space. Previously, frescoes filled the entire temple, consistently telling about gospel events or events in the life of the Church. The ideas of the classicist decoration of the temple implied a fundamentally different initial task. Common space the interior walls were freed from images as much as possible. Stories on various biblical themes were presented in the form of compositions not connected into a single narrative; they were “hung as separate canvases on the walls,” and each image was mounted in a decorative pictorial frame.

The interiors of churches were “corrected” to suit classicism, and the relationship between paintings, natural light and liturgical rites was disrupted

In fact, the complex relationship between fresco paintings, natural light and liturgical rites was disrupted. The interiors of the temples, “corrected” to the ideas of classicism and decorated with paintings done in oil technique and sometimes, unfortunately, not of the highest artistic level, began to loosely resemble the hall spaces of European buildings. Today, most of the temple interiors have been restored to their original fresco paintings, which were preserved under later records. Of the few that have survived to this day from that time, the paintings of the Great Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery, completed in 1775, look most fully and harmoniously taking into account the originality of the sacred space. And this is actually an isolated example.

The new churches, built in the classicist style, were characterized by clarity of composition, conciseness of volumes, perfect harmony of proportions within the classical canon, fine drawing of details, rationality and ergonomics. But churches in the Byzantine traditions, which became national after centuries, largely have all the characteristic features listed above.

After the death of Empress Catherine II, she ascended the throne in 1796 The only son Pavel Petrovich. The new emperor's policy towards the Church can be described as lenient. During the Pavlovian period, there was virtually no temple construction in the capital. It is worth paying attention to this fact. By the time of Paul's accession to the throne, the third Cathedral in the name of St. Isaac of Dalmatia has been under construction for 28 years. Paul ordered the marble prepared for its decoration to be taken out and used in the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle. However, it was apparently indecent to completely consign the construction of the cathedral, founded by Peter I, to oblivion, and Paul ordered it to be completed as quickly as possible with a minimum of funds, which required a change in the original plans, which is why the construction of the cathedral was again delayed, and it was consecrated only in 1802.

The only large-scale temple-building undertaking of the reign of Paul I was Cathedral in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in St. Petersburg: in 1800, the project of the young talented architect A.N. was approved. Voronikhin.

A rather unusual innovation within the framework of classicism was the church in the name of Life-Giving Trinity (1785-1790) near St. Petersburg, or rather, its bell tower in the form of a tetrahedral pyramid, which is why the people began to call this temple "Kulich and Easter". Also unique in its artistic design temple-monument in honor Miraculous Image Savior(1813-1823, Kazan), built already under Alexander I, this church, erected in memory of the soldiers who fell during the capture of Kazan in 1552, has the shape of a truncated pyramid, where each side is decorated with a portico. However, the “non-singularity” of the given examples is evidenced by interesting architectural solutions of a later time, for example St. Nicholas temple of pyramidal type in Sevastopol(1857-1870). Thus, the essentially foreign ideas of ancient Egyptian architecture, actually alien to Russian culture, gradually acquired a new artistic meaning.

After the coup d'etat on March 12, 1801, the Russian throne was occupied by the son of Paul I, Alexander. In relation to the Church, the emperor pursued basically the same policy as Catherine II. But he would greatly O He carried out construction on a larger scale, including church construction, and not only in St. Petersburg, embodying new architectural ideas and projects. The ideas of classicism flourished like never before.

On August 27, 1801, Alexander I was present at the foundation stone in St. Petersburg, and ten years later he already prayed during the consecration of this truly unique structure, which became one of the most beautiful buildings not only in Russia, but also in Europe.

Of course, Russian classicism in all its manifestations was oriented towards European culture, but a political factor intervened in artistic life, weakening classicism in Russia - Patriotic War 1812-1814. After the Napoleonic invasion, the destruction of cities, the mockery of churches and shrines, and above all the Moscow Kremlin, the very image of European civilization faded and was no longer perceived by many of our ancestors with the same reverence. Political guidelines have changed - and the architecture and art of the High Empire era received a new vector of development associated with the glorification of the heroism of the Russian army, the patriotic valor of the people and the autocracy.

The series of St. Petersburg buildings of the late classicism period is completed by the construction of two churches designed by V.P. Stasova - Preobrazhensky(1825-1829) and Troitsky(1828-1835). Both of these church buildings were founded under new socio-political conditions and significantly changed tastes. In these churches, the author seemed to be trying to give a new interpretation to the forms and philosophical ideas of classicism through a return to the traditional Russian five-domed structure.

Stasov tried to combine classicism with tradition: porticoes and columns with Russian five-domed architecture

According to established opinion, the construction St. Isaac's Cathedral according to the project of O. Montferrand (1817-1858; already the fourth in a row), the era of classicism in Russia actually ends. The author was faced with the same problem that V.P. tried to solve. Stasov: to embody the traditional Russian five-domed structure in a building that is classical in spirit. For St. Isaac's Cathedral, majestic multi-figure bronze reliefs, sculptures, unique entrance doors, columns. All these works are creations of the best masters. St. Isaac's Cathedral is an expression of the official understanding of Orthodoxy at that time.

As for the Mother See, in the first quarter of the XIX century in Moscow, church building was insignificant, which is understandable: according to the state commission, in Moscow in 1812, 6,496 houses out of 9,151 and 122 churches out of 329 were destroyed. Large-scale construction and restoration work began immediately after liberation from Napoleonic troops.

A special place in Moscow architecture was to be occupied by the impressive building of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Sparrow Hills, erected in honor of the victory over the French. In its architectural design it was a traditional building in the classicist style. However, in 1826, the construction of the temple, which began in 1817, was stopped by decree of Emperor Nicholas I: for nine years, not even the foundation was built, although a lot of money was spent. They never returned to the idea of ​​building on Vorobyovy Gory.

It is important to emphasize that following classical models in the church architecture of the ancient Russian capital had certain specifics: “Moscow architecture of mature classicism was characterized, in comparison with St. Petersburg, by greater softness and warmth in the interpretation of classical forms.”

In general, the Alexander era in culture is characterized by serious internal contradictions. During this period, there was a kind of collision of two directions - the ongoing classicism and the emerging Russian Renaissance. The heterogeneity of ideas, styles, and searches, in our opinion, is one of characteristic features architecture and fine arts of Russia at that time.

As we see, classicism in Russia went through all stages of its development: from a restrained early “invasion” into traditional temple buildings, when it was intertwined with “Elizabethan Baroque,” ​​to establishing itself with an almost declarative rejection of any non-classical images, after which its gradual decline began , which manifested itself primarily in the church architecture of the province, where it turned into increasingly mediocre and uniform forms. Classicism, transformed at a later time into the Empire style, was aimed at glorifying the state power of the victorious country.

Despite all the contradictions in the process of adapting the ideas of classicism to, so to speak, “Russian conditions,” there were - and this must be emphasized - positive aspects. Russian masters, having mastered the ideological, artistic, technical and engineering fundamentals and techniques in the shortest possible time classical architecture, created samples equal to their European counterparts, which significantly advanced Russian art, including the church, go ahead. And such magnificent churches as Kazan and St. Isaac's have become truly world masterpieces. And it is quite appropriate to talk about the era of classicism in Russia as “Russian classicism” - a unique and inimitable phenomenon of world culture as a whole.

(The ending follows.)

The end of persecution in the 4th century and the adoption of Christianity in the Roman Empire as the state religion led to a new stage in the development of temple architecture. The external and then spiritual division of the Roman Empire into the Western - Roman and Eastern - Byzantine, also influenced the development of church art. In the Western Church, the basilica became the most widespread.

In the Eastern Church in the V-VIII centuries. The Byzantine style developed in the construction of churches and in all church art and worship. Here the foundations of spiritual and external life Church, since then called Orthodox.

Types of Orthodox churches

Temples in the Orthodox Church were built by several types, but each temple symbolically corresponded to church doctrine.

1. Temples in the form cross were built as a sign that the Cross of Christ is the foundation of the Church, through the Cross humanity was delivered from the power of the devil, through the Cross the entrance to Paradise, lost by our ancestors, was opened.

2. Temples in the form circle(a circle that has neither beginning nor end, symbolizes eternity) speaks of the infinity of the existence of the Church, its indestructibility in the world according to the word of Christ

3. Temples in the form eight-pointed star symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, which led the Magi to the place where Christ was born. Thus, the Church of God testifies to its role as a guide to the life of the Future Age. The period of the earthly history of mankind was counted in seven large periods - centuries, and the eighth is eternity in the Kingdom of God, the life of the next century.

4. Temple in the form ship. Temples in the shape of a ship are the most ancient type of temples, figuratively expressing the idea that the Church, like a ship, saves believers from the disastrous waves of everyday sailing and leads them to the Kingdom of God.

5. Temples mixed types : By appearance cross-shaped, and inside, in the center of the cross, round, or rectangular in external shape, and inside, in the middle part, round.

Diagram of a temple in the shape of a circle

Diagram of the temple in the form of a ship

Cross type. Church of the Ascension outside the Serpukhov Gate. Moscow

Diagram of a temple built in the shape of a cross

Cross type. Church of Barbara on Varvarka. Moscow.

Cross shape. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Rotunda. Smolensk Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra

Diagram of a temple in the shape of a circle

Rotunda. Church of Metropolitan Peter of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery

Rotunda. Church of All Who Sorrow Joy on Ordynka. Moscow

Diagrams of a temple in the shape of an eight-pointed star

Ship type. Church of St. Dmitry on Spilled Blood in Uglich

Diagram of the temple in the form of a ship

Ship type. Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills. Moscow

Byzantine temple architecture

In the Eastern Church in the V-VIII centuries. has developed Byzantine style in the construction of temples and in all church art and worship. Here the foundations of the spiritual and external life of the Church, which has since been called Orthodox, were laid.

Temples in the Orthodox Church were built in different ways, but each temple symbolically corresponded to church doctrine. In all types of temples, the altar was certainly separated from the rest of the temple; temples continued to be two - and more often three-part. The dominant feature in Byzantine temple architecture remained a rectangular temple with a rounded projection of altar apses extended to the east, with a figured roof, with a vaulted ceiling inside, which was supported by a system of arches with columns, or pillars, with a high domed space, which resembles the internal view of the temple in the catacombs.

Only in the middle of the dome, where the source of natural light was located in the catacombs, did they begin to depict the True Light that came into the world - the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, the similarity between Byzantine churches and catacomb churches is only the most general, since the above-ground churches of the Orthodox Church are distinguished by their incomparable splendor and greater external and internal detail.

Sometimes they have several spherical domes topped with crosses. Orthodox church certainly crowned with a cross on the dome or on all domes, if there are several of them, as a sign of victory and as evidence that the Church, like all creation, chosen for salvation, enters the Kingdom of God thanks to the Redemptive Feat of Christ the Savior. By the time of the Baptism of Rus', a type of cross-domed church was emerging in Byzantium, which unites in synthesis the achievements of all previous directions in the development of Orthodox architecture.

Byzantine temple

Plan of a Byzantine temple

Cathedral of St. Stamp in Venice

Byzantine temple

Cross-domed temple in Istanbul

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Italy

Plan of a Byzantine temple

Cathedral of St. Stamp in Venice

Temple of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (Istanbul)

Interior of the Church of St. Sofia in Constantinople

Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Tithe). Kyiv

Cross-domed churches of Ancient Rus'

The architectural type of Christian church, formed in Byzantium and in the countries of the Christian East in the V-VIII centuries. It became dominant in the architecture of Byzantium from the 9th century and was adopted by Christian countries of the Orthodox confession as the main form of the temple. Such famous Russian churches as the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral, St. Sophia of Novgorod, Vladimir Assumption Cathedral were deliberately built in the likeness of the Constantinople St. Sophia Cathedral.

Old Russian architecture is mainly represented by church buildings, among which cross-domed churches occupy a dominant position. Not all variants of this type became widespread in Rus', but buildings from different periods and different cities and principalities of Ancient Rus' form their own original interpretations of the cross-domed temple.

The architectural design of the cross-domed church lacks the easily visible visibility that was characteristic of basilicas. Such architecture contributed to the transformation of the consciousness of ancient Russian man, elevating him to an in-depth contemplation of the universe.

While preserving the general and basic architectural features of Byzantine churches, Russian churches have much that is original and unique. Several distinctive architectural styles have developed in Orthodox Russia. Among them, the style that stands out most is the one closest to Byzantine. This Toclassical type of white stone rectangular temple , or even basically square, but with the addition of an altar part with semicircular apses, with one or more domes on a figured roof. The spherical Byzantine shape of the dome covering was replaced by a helmet-shaped one.

In the middle part of small churches there are four pillars that support the roof and symbolize the four evangelists, the four cardinal directions. In the central part of the cathedral church there may be twelve or more pillars. At the same time, the pillars with the intersecting space between them form the signs of the Cross and help divide the temple into its symbolic parts.

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and his successor, Prince Yaroslav the Wise, sought to organically include Rus' into the universal organism of Christianity. The churches they erected served this purpose, placing believers before the perfect Sophia image of the Church. Already the first Russian churches spiritually testify to the connection between earth and heaven in Christ, to the Theanthropic nature of the Church.

St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod

Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir

Cross-domed Church of John the Baptist. Kerch. 10th century

St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod

Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Church of the Transfiguration in Veliky Novgorod

Russian wooden architecture

IN XV-XVII centuries In Russia, a significantly different style of building temples developed from the Byzantine one.

Elongated rectangular, but certainly with semicircular apses to the east, one-story and two-story churches with winter and summer churches appear, sometimes white stone, more often brick with covered porches and covered arched galleries - walkways around all walls, with gable, hipped and figured roofs, on which they flaunt one or several highly raised domes in the form of domes, or bulbs.

The walls of the temple are decorated with elegant decoration and windows with beautiful stone carvings or tiled frames. Next to the temple or together with the temple, a high tented bell tower with a cross at the top is erected above its porch.

Russian wooden architecture acquired a special style. The properties of wood as a building material determined the features of this style. It is difficult to create a smoothly shaped dome from rectangular boards and beams. Therefore, in wooden churches, instead of it there is a pointed tent. Moreover, the appearance of a tent began to be given to the church as a whole. This is how wooden temples appeared to the world in the form of a huge pointed wooden cone. Sometimes the roof of the temple was arranged in the form of many cone-shaped wooden domes with crosses rising upward (for example, the famous temple at the Kizhi churchyard).

Church of the Intercession (1764) O. Kizhi.

Assumption Cathedral in Kemi. 1711

Church of St. Nicholas. Moscow

Church of the Transfiguration (1714) Kizhi Island

Chapel in honor of the Three Saints. Kizhi Island.

Stone tented churches

The forms of wooden temples influenced stone (brick) construction.

They began to build intricate stone tented churches that resembled huge towers (pillars). The highest achievement of stone hipped architecture is rightfully considered the Intercession Cathedral in Moscow, better known as St. Basil's Cathedral, a complex, intricate, multi-decorated structure of the 16th century.

The basic plan of the cathedral is cruciform. The cross consists of four main churches located around the middle one, the fifth. The middle church is square, the four side ones are octagonal. The cathedral has nine temples in the form of cone-shaped pillars, together making up one huge colorful tent.

Tents in Russian architecture did not last long: in the middle of the 17th century. Church authorities prohibited the construction of tented churches, since they were sharply different from the traditional one-domed and five-domed rectangular (ship) churches.

Tent architecture of the 16th-17th centuries, which finds its origins in traditional Russian wooden architecture, is a unique direction of Russian architecture, which has no analogues in the art of other countries and peoples.

Stone tented Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the village of Gorodnya.

St Basil's Church

Temple "Quench My Sorrows" Saratov

Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye

At the lecture “How to be surprised by Moscow: architecture in detail,” organized by Level One, the architectural historian spoke about significant stages development of Moscow architecture of the 14th-20th centuries, and also taught how to accurately determine the style and time of construction by “telling” details.

Moscow churches of the 12th-14th centuries: the time of the capital's first ambitions

Moscow was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. But stone buildings on the territory of the Moscow principality appeared only a century and a half later, and not in the city itself, but on the outskirts.

St. Nicholas Church in the village of Kamenskoye, Naro-Fominsk district

Reached to this day St. Nicholas Church in the village of Kamenskoye, Naro-Fominsk district. This church is very simple, even primitive, in architectural terms. The decoration includes a perspective portal with a keel-shaped arch (such an arch with a “tongue of flame” will become a purely Moscow architectural feature for centuries).

Church of the Assumption on Gorodok in Zvenigorod

Built at the end of the 14th century Church of the Assumption on Gorodok in Zvenigorod. He is only a few decades older than Nikolsky, but before us is a much more mature work. We see the same perspective portal and keeled arch, but columns and an ornamental belt appear, as well as narrow windows and tiers.

Where did the columns come from? Of course, from antiquity. Have Moscow architects gone on a creative trip to the Peloponnese? Obviously not. They were inspired by the architecture of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, which was the center of pre-Mongol Rus'. During the heyday of the principality, Vladimir-Suzdal architects managed to achieve perfection in understanding the ancient heritage.

One of the peaks of white stone architecture of that time has survived to this day - this Church of the Intercession on the Nerl. Here we see reinterpreted antique elements - columns, ornamental belt, plinth, cornice in a very harmonious design.

Moscow masters at the end of the 14th century were guided by the architecture of the Vladimir land (especially since in terms of statehood Moscow was supposed to become its successor), but not yet very skillfully.

XV-XVI centuries: Italians in Russia

Assumption Cathedral

The main buildings of this time were the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin. Assumption Cathedral– the last one, built in the “Old Moscow” style with its inherent asceticism. It was built by an Italian, who was given instructions to “make it like in Vladimir,” explains Dmitry Bezzubtsev.

Cathedral of the Archangel

And here Cathedral of the Archangel, decorated with Venetian shells, is reminiscent of the European Renaissance. It is richly decorated, and this decor is done very skillfully - you can feel the hand of an Italian. In general, according to Dmitry, this is “ new level awareness" for Moscow architecture.

Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khoroshev

Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khoroshev, once built on the estate of Boris Godunov, is another monument of this time. Presumably it was built according to the design of the Russian architect Fyodor Kon, but the Italian influence is felt - the laws of symmetry are observed here perfectly.

17th century: irrational pattern making

In the 17th century, Italians no longer built in Russia. Domestic masters are completely updating the architectural language. The main distinctive features of the new style, which is called patterning, are irrationality and picturesqueness. This is “the juiciest thing that has been created by Moscow architecture,” comments Dmitry Bezzubtsev.

Examples of such buildings can be found in the very center of Moscow - this is a bright Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki And Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Putinki(it became white in our time, but was originally painted).

If you look closely at these temples, you can see a huge variety of architectural details scattered throughout the building in a whimsical and asymmetrical manner. Look, for example, at how the windows of the St. Nicholas Church are made: all the platbands are of different shapes (but almost everyone has a reference to the Moscow keel shape), the windows are located at different distances relative to the edge of the walls and each other (this is called “staggered windows”), in some places the platband “ crawls" onto the cornice. The structure as a whole is asymmetrical: the refectory is attached to the main volume of the temple randomly, the bell tower is offset from the central axis.

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Putinki

We see the same in Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Putinki. Here it is interesting to pay attention to the joints of different parts of the building, which literally “crawl” into each other, to the fact that the external architecture does not reflect the internal structure of the building.

Resurrection (Iveron) Gate

An example of a more aristocratic, orderly pattern can be found on Red Square - these are recreated in the 90s of the 20th century Resurrection (Iveron) Gate. The shapes and decor characteristic of the 17th century are arranged neatly and symmetrically.

Verkhospassky Cathedral in the Kremlin

One more example - Verkhospassky Cathedral in the Kremlin. Its elegant domes are clearly visible from the Alexander Garden.

18th century: Naryshkinsky and simply baroque

In the 18th century, Moscow architecture again looked to the West. The connecting link between the architecture of old patriarchal Moscow and the new style of St. Petersburg, built in the Western European spirit - Peter's Baroque - was the Naryshkin style.

Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary in Fili

The most famous examples of Naryshkin baroque are Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary in Fili, Spassky Church in the village of Ubory, Odintsovo district.

Spassky Church in the village of Ubory, Odintsovo district

The peculiarity of Naryshkin's style is the mixture of contradictory trends and currents. On the one hand, we see the features of European Baroque and Mannerism, echoes of Gothic, Renaissance, Romanticism, on the other – the traditions of Russian wooden architecture and ancient Russian stone architecture.

In Bolshoi Kharitonyevsky Lane - interesting monument civil architecture of the Naryshkin baroque. It recently became available to the public as a museum.

But genuine, high-class baroque, similar to that What can be found in St. Petersburg is almost non-existent in Moscow. One feels that at this time Moscow is a province. However, on Red Square itself we can admire house of the provincial government, on Staraya Basmannaya - Temple of the Martyr Nikita.

In general, baroque is “an excellent student who is trying to pretend to be a poor student,” jokes Dmitry Bezzubtsev. This style is based on the order, that is, the laws of symmetry and order, but its distinctive features are “broken” arches and pediments, free curves, whimsical, excessive decor.

XVIII-XIX centuries: the era of urban estates and imperial empire

First city hospital

Classicism flourished in Moscow and lasted a long time - about 800 architectural monuments in this style are still preserved. The nobility especially often built classicist urban estates. Classicism is based on simple geometric shapes, order, and order. He “stops having complexes about empty space,” says Dmitry Bezzubtsev, showing the building First city hospital.

Indeed, only the central portal here is decorated, the rest of the walls are practically empty. Temples were also built in the classicist style; example – .

Manege

The most “elegant” version of classicism is the Empire style. Empire-style buildings were created for his empire by Napoleon Bonaparte. After the victory over Napoleon, Russia “conquered” his style. To achieve the impression of elation, solemnity, top part buildings were enlarged. For example, near the building Manege the pediment is greatly enlarged. Also distinguishing feature style - military, primarily antique, symbolism in decoration.

The end of the 19th century: a time of eclecticism

From the 19th century, styles begin to blur, and this becomes especially noticeable towards the end of the century. For example, a real “collection of quotes”. We can see keeled arches, Romanesque “hanging” columns, a composition that echoes St. Isaac’s Cathedral (a large central dome and four bell towers), and so on.

Or a building Historical Museum: There are many quotes from the era of pattern making, but the symmetry of the building and the simple size indicate that this is not the 17th century.

Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent

A Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent– a combination of neo-archaic with motifs of Novgorod architecture and modernism.

– neoclassicism: we see a portal typical of classicism, but the colonnade runs along the entire facade, the size of the building indicates technical capabilities, unimaginable in the period of true classicism.

Early 20th century: cozy modern

Many mansions were built in the Art Nouveau style in Moscow. The principle of “from the inside out”, characteristic of Art Nouveau, came in handy in the construction of private houses: first they planned the number and location of rooms, then they came up with the outer shell. The architect becomes an artist: he can draw, for example, his own window shape.

Ryabushinsky Mansion

New materials are actively used - for example, metal, decorative plaster, tiles (“Eclecticism shyly covered up metal structures,” notes Bezzubtsev), and a new interpretation of wood. A magnificent example of Art Nouveau - Ryabushinsky mansion.

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Moscow has something to be proud of. After the Italian influence, Russian architecture was able to come up with a new full-fledged language - patterning. To catch up with world architecture and create buildings in the best traditions of European classicism. Then renounce tradition and offer cozy modernity. Finally, discover the avant-garde and influence the appearance of cities around the world. But this will be a separate conversation.

Have you read the article Temples of Moscow: 7 architectural details. Read also.