Yelokhovo Cathedral

The Epiphany Cathedral Jelochowo (Russian Богоявленский собор в Елохове ) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow. It was completed in its present form in 1845 and served from 1938 to 1991 as the main cathedral of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The cathedral is located in the east of Moscow center in the district Basmanny, near the metro station Baumanskaya.

History

The first church on the site of the present cathedral was built in 1687. At that time it belonged to the village Jelochowo in the Moscow area, which until now is eponymous for the church, although the toponym as such no longer exists. This village was known primarily by the fact that there was, born about 1469 Basil the Blessed, a famous ancient Russian saints. The church was originally built of wood. The name " Epiphany Church ," she added since 1712. 1731 was the old wooden church replaced by a stone building with a bell tower. This lasted for more than 100 years and is mainly characterized known that there the later poet Alexander Pushkin was baptized in June 1799.

1837 Finally, the building was demolished partly from 1731, and it began the construction of a new cathedral. It was designed by relatively unknown late neoclassical architect Jewgraf Tyurin ( 1796-1872 ). The construction lasted essentially until 1845. The inauguration was held by the Moscow Metropolitan Filaret in October 1853.

Other major reconstruction work on the cathedral there was in 1889, when a new refectory new murals was to the Church grown, and 1912, when inside incurred and the iconostasis was gilded.

A special role was the Epiphany Cathedral held during the Soviet era. Since 1933 was located in their vicinity, the residence of the Metropolitans and later Patriarch Sergius I. Since the located slightly outside the city center cathedral was also spared as one of the few Moscow sacred buildings of the systematic destruction by the Bolshevik rulers, they took over from the year 1938 onwards the site of a few years earlier blasted Christ the Savior Cathedral, the function of the main temple of the Moscow Patriarchate. This also meant that the head of the Epiphany Cathedral was the respective Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and took place in their annually celebrated by the Patriarch solemn worship and cross processions of the most important Orthodox holidays.

This particular position had the cathedral also due to that it was not revealed during the Soviet era, in contrast to many other surviving church buildings to decay. In the 1970s and 1980s there was a further thorough renovation of the temple. Thus, the iconostasis was restored and enlarged the inner space around the altar and beyond installed an elaborate air conditioning.

1991 lost the Epiphany Cathedral its status as the Patriarchal Church of the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. With the completion of the reconstruction of the Christ the Savior Cathedral in 2000 this was granted the status, and since then the main Orthodox church ceremonies are performed there.

Architecture

According to the traditions for larger Russian Orthodox churches is the central part of the Epiphany Cathedral of five of domes -winning church towers, four of which is smaller by a large central tower as the four evangelists are arranged around Jesus. From the west side, a bell tower of four storeys is grown. Is the refectory between him and the central part. The main entrance to the cathedral, to recognize a high arched portal is to find in the central part.

The paintings inside the church on the walls and directly under the main dome on subjects with known Russian saints (among Basil the Blessed, Sergius of Radonezh, Alexander Nevsky ) and dar. from the Gospel The 18 meter high iconostasis is located on the eastern wall. She was executed in the current form the end of the 19th century whose extensive ornaments were kept in the traditions of Russian woodcarving.

In the cathedral the relics of canonized Metropolitan Alexius rest. The Patriarch Sergius I found here also his last resting place, as well as the December 5, died in 2008, Alexius II, who became known as the first Russian Orthodox Patriarch after the collapse of the Soviet Union.