Unlike Catholic churches, which were built in accordance with artistic style, dominating during construction, Orthodox churches were built in accordance with the symbols of Orthodoxy. Thus, each element of an Orthodox church carries some information about who the church is dedicated to, some features of Orthodoxy itself, and much more.

SYMBOLS OF THE TEMPLE

temple shape

• Temples in shape cross were built as a sign that the Cross of Christ is the Foundation of the Church, by the Cross humanity is delivered from the power of the devil, by the Cross the entrance to paradise is opened.
• Temples in shape circle, as a symbol of eternity, they speak of the infinity of the existence of the Church, its indestructibility.
• Temples in shape eight-pointed star symbolize Star of Bethlehem who led the Magi to the place where Christ was born. In this way, the church testifies to its role as a guide in human life.
• Temples in shape ship- the most ancient type of temples, figuratively expressing the idea that the Church, like a ship, saves believers from the disastrous waves of worldly navigation and leads them to the Kingdom of God.

• There were also mixed types temples, connecting the above-named forms.

Buildings of all Orthodox churches always end with domes that symbolize the spiritual sky. The domes are crowned with crosses, as a sign of the redemptive victory of Christ. Orthodox cross, erected above the temple, has an eight-pointed shape, sometimes at its base there is a crescent moon, which has many assigned to it symbolic meanings, one of which is the anchor of the Christian hope for salvation through faith in Christ. The eight ends of the Cross mean eight major periods in the history of mankind, where the eighth is life of the Future.

Number of domes

The different number of domes, or domes, at the temple building is determined by the one to whom they are dedicated.

• Single Temple: the dome marks the unity of God, the perfection of creation.
• Double Temple: two domes symbolize the two natures of the God-man Jesus Christ, two areas of creation (angelic and human).
• Three-domed temple: three domes symbolize the Holy Trinity.
• Four-domed temple: four domes symbolize the Four Gospels, the four cardinal directions.
• Five-domed temple: five domes, one of which rises above the others, symbolize Jesus Christ and the four evangelists.
• Seven-headed temple: seven domes symbolize seven Sacraments of the Church, seven Ecumenical Councils , the seven virtues.
• Nine Temple: nine domes symbolize nine orders of angels.
• Thirteen-headed temple: thirteen domes symbolize Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles.

The shape and color of the dome also have a symbolic meaning.

The helmet-shaped form symbolizes the spiritual warfare (struggle) that the Church is waging with the forces of evil.

bulb shape symbolizes the flame of a candle.

The unusual shape and bright coloring of the domes, as, for example, at the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, speaks of the beauty of Paradise.

Dome color

• Golden domes at churches dedicated to Christ and twelfth holidays
• Domes blue with stars testify that the temple is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• temples with green domes dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

TEMPLE DEVICE

The scheme of the building of an Orthodox church presented below reflects only the most general principles of temple construction, it reflects only the main architectural details inherent in many temple buildings, organically combined into a single whole. But with all the variety of temple buildings, the buildings themselves are immediately recognizable and can be classified according to the architectural styles to which they belong.

Absida- an altar ledge, as if attached to the temple, most often semicircular, but also polygonal in plan, it houses the altar.

Drum- a cylindrical or multifaceted upper part of the temple, over which a dome is built, ending with a cross.

light drum- a drum, the edges or cylindrical surface of which is cut through by window openings

Chapter- a dome with a drum and a cross crowning the temple building.

Zakomara- in Russian architecture, a semicircular or keeled completion of a part of the outer wall of a building; as a rule, repeats the outlines of the vault located behind it.

Cube- the main part of the temple.

Bulb - church chapter shaped like an onion.

Nave(French nef, from Latin navis - ship), an elongated room, part of the interior of a church building, limited on one or both longitudinal sides by a row of columns or pillars.

Porch- an open or closed porch in front of the entrance to the temple, elevated in relation to ground level.

Pilaster(shovel) - a constructive or decorative flat vertical protrusion on the wall surface, having a base and a capital.

Portal- architecturally designed entrance to the building.

marquee- a high four-, six- or octahedral pyramidal covering of a tower, temple or bell tower, widespread in the temple architecture of Russia until the 17th century.

Gable- completion of the facade of the building, portico, colonnade, fenced with roof slopes and a cornice at the base.

Apple- a ball at the end of the dome under the cross.

Tier- decreasing in height horizontal division of the volume of the building.


Belfry, belfries, bells

Bell tower- a tower with an open tier (ringing tier) for bells. It was placed next to the temple or included in its composition. Pillar-like and tent-shaped belfries are known in medieval Russian architecture, along with belfries of wall-like, pillar-like and ward types.
Pillar-shaped and hipped bell towers are single-tiered and multi-tiered, as well as square, octagonal or round in plan.
Pillar-shaped bell towers, in addition, are divided into large and small. Large bell towers are 40-50 meters high and stand separately from the temple building. Small pillar-shaped bell towers are usually part of the temple complex. The variants of small bell towers known now differ in their location: either above the western entrance to the church, or above the gallery in the northwestern corner. Unlike free-standing pillar-shaped bell towers, small ones usually had only one tier of open chime arches, and the lower tier was decorated with architraved windows.

The most common type of bell tower is the classic single-tier octagonal hipped bell tower. This type of bell towers became especially widespread in the 17th century, when hipped bell towers were almost an integral part of the Central Russian landscape. Occasionally, multi-tiered hipped bell towers were built, although the second tier, located above the main ringing tier, as a rule, did not have bells and played a decorative role.

Under the influence of Western European culture, baroque and classical multi-tiered bell towers began to appear in Russian monastic, temple and urban architectural ensembles. One of the most famous bell towers of the 18th century was the large bell tower of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where four more tiers of ringing were erected on the massive first tier.

Before the advent of bell towers ancient church for bells, belfries were built in the form of a wall with through openings or in the form of a belfry-gallery (ward belfry).

Belfry- this is a structure built on the wall of the temple or installed next to it with openings for hanging bells. Types of belfries: wall-shaped - in the form of a wall with openings; pillar-shaped - tower structures with a multifaceted base with openings for bells in the upper tier; ward type - rectangular, with a covered vaulted arcade, with supports along the perimeter of the walls.

Information taken from the site

Mastering new technologies, a person changes the space around him, at the same time modernizing the material attributes of religion - the buildings of churches and temples. Such changes also affect the Orthodox environment, where the question of “modernization” is increasingly raised. church tradition construction of temples. Catholics, on the contrary, are trying to take control of this process - not so long ago, the Vatican officially stated: "Modern Catholic churches resemble museums and are built more to receive an award for design than to serve the Lord ...". The works of Western architects are indeed often awarded in various professional competitions and prizes, some of them later become widely known and become architectural symbols of cities.

We present to you photos of modern temples built with elements of modernism and the “style of the future” - high-tech.

(Total 21 photos)

1. Protestant "Crystal" Cathedral (Crystal Cathedral) in Garden Grove, Orange County, California, USA. This is the most famous example of high-tech style, which involves straight lines in design and glass with metal as the main material. The temple is built from 10,000 rectangular glass blocks held together with silicone adhesive, and its construction, according to the architects, is as reliable as possible.

2. The church can accommodate up to 2900 parishioners at a time. The organ located inside the “Crystal” Cathedral is truly wonderful. Operated from five keyboards, this is one of the largest organs in the world.

3. In many ways similar to the "Crystal" Cathedral, the Church of Light from the Light (eng. Cathedral of Christ the Light) is a Catholic church in the city of Oakland, USA. The church is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Auckland, as well as the first Christian cathedral in the United States built in the 21st century. The temple is widely discussed in the American press - because of the significant construction costs, as well as because of the surrounding garden, which is dedicated to the victims of sexual abuse by the clergy.

4. The interior of the Church of Light from Light.

5. Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, more commonly referred to simply as the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, is the main Catholic church in Liverpool, UK. The building is a prime example architecture of the second half of the 20th century. Serves as the chair of the Archbishop of Liverpool and also acts as a parish church.

6. Amazes the imagination of both believers and atheists interior with cutting-edge lighting.

7. The Church of the Holy Cross in Denmark impresses with the geometry of the building in a minimalist style and its location - almost in the middle of the field.

8. Built in the late 90s, the Catholic church in the city of Evry (France) is called the Cathedral of the Resurrection. Pay attention to the floral decor in the form of green bushes located on the roof of the building.

9. The Church of the Merciful God the Father in Rome is a major social center of the Italian capital. This futuristic building is specially located in one of the sleeping areas in order to “revive” it architecturally. As building material precast concrete was used.

10. Halgrimskirja - Lutheran church in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. It is the fourth tallest building in the entire country. The church was designed in 1937 by the architect Goodjone Samuelson and took 38 years to build. Although the building was created long before the start of high-tech expansion into the world of architecture, in our opinion, general form temple and its unusual shape make it a very interesting example of modernism. The church is located in the very center of Reykjavik, visible from any part of the city, and its upper part is also used as a viewing platform. The temple has become one of the main attractions of the capital.

11. In the center of French Strasbourg, a modern cathedral is being built, which has so far only a “working” name Folder (folder). Consisting of a series of pleated arches, the building will look very original as a venue for Catholic ceremonies, such as weddings.

12. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of St. Joseph was built in Chicago (USA) in 1956. It is known throughout the world for its 13 golden domes, which symbolize Jesus himself and the 12 apostles.

13. Church "Santo Volto" in Turin (Italy). The design of the new church complex is part of a program of transformation provided in the 1995 Turin master plan.

14. St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco is quite an avant-garde building, but local architects call it "a reasonable conservative option."

15. Minimalist Church of Light was built in 1989 by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando in a quiet residential area in suburban Osaka, Japan. The inner space of the Church of Light is visually divided by rays of light coming from a cross-shaped hole in one of the walls of the building.

16. In the center of Los Angeles is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The church serves a common archdiocese of over 5 million Catholics. It is in this temple that the archbishop conducts the main liturgies.

17. Church of Harissa in the Lebanese capital - Beirut. It consists of 2 parts: a fifteen-ton bronze statue of the Holy Virgin Mary, located at an altitude of 650 meters above sea level, is made in the Byzantine style. Inside the statue is a small chapel.

18. The second part of the Harissa Church is a futuristic glass and concrete cathedral. This complex is a real Christian symbol in a somewhat unusual setting. It is also called "The Banner of Christianity in the Middle East".

19. The building, unusual in form, materials and general concept, is the relatively recently built Catholic Church of Santa Monica. The temple is located an hour from Madrid (Spain).

20. The interior of the Church of Santa Monica.

21. At the end of our review - a completely unconventional Trinity Church in the traditional and conservative capital of Austria - Vienna. The Church of the Holy Trinity (German: Kirche Zur Heiligsten Dreifaltigkeit) in Vienna, better known as the Votruba Temple, is located on Mount St. Georgenberg (Sankt Georgenberg). Built in 1974, the Temple belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. Due to the complete inconsistency with traditional church forms, the construction of the building, of course, met with significant resistance from local residents.

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Some of these temples were built several centuries ago, others are the creations of modern architects. Some ideas took decades and even centuries to implement. Others took only a few years. All these buildings have one thing in common - their architecture is unique, and this attracts millions of people, regardless of beliefs.

website brings you some of the most architecturally remarkable places of worship from around the world.

Milan Cathedral, Italy

Holy Trinity Church, Antarctica

The Russian Orthodox Church was built in Russia in the 1990s and then transported to a Russian station in Antarctica. This is one of 7 churches on its territory.

Taktsang Lhakhang, Bhutan

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, United Arab Emirates

Church of Hallgrimskirkja, Iceland

The Lutheran Church in Reykjavik is the fourth tallest building in Iceland. It is located in the center of Reykjavik and is visible from any part of the city.

Temple of All Religions, Kazan, Russia

This unique building miraculously combines christian cross, muslim crescent, star of david and chinese dome. True, no rituals are performed here, because this is not a functioning temple, but simply a building that looks like a residential building inside. In total, the project provides for domes and other iconic elements of religious buildings of 16 world religions, including disappeared civilizations.

Lotus Temple, India

For the people of India, the lotus symbolizes purity and peace. This is one of the most visited buildings in the world.

Kul-Sharif Mosque, Kazan, Russia

The designers of the new mosque tried to recreate main mosque Kazan Khanate, destroyed in 1552 by the troops of Ivan the Terrible.

Cathedral of Las Lajas, Colombia

The neo-Gothic cathedral is built directly on a 30-meter arched bridge connecting the two sides of a deep gorge. The temple is taken care of by two Franciscan communities: one is Colombian, the other is Ecuadorian. Thus, the Cathedral of Las Lajas became the key to peace and union between the two South American peoples.

Kamppi Chapel of Silence, Finland

It is intended for solitude and meetings. Services are not held in the chapel. Here you can hide from the hustle and bustle, enjoy peace in one of the busiest places in the capital and meditate in an ecologically clean space. because of appearance and materials, the chapel of silence is often called the "sauna of the spirit."

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, Slovenia

The church is located on the only island in all of Slovenia. To get inside, you need to swim across the lake in a boat and climb 99 steps.

Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, USA

The unique design of the chapel is a classic example of modernist architecture. The magnificent interior combines several different areas of worship under one roof, including Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist chapels. Each of them has its own distinctive symbolism, ammunition and its own exit.

Paoai Church, Philippines

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Australia

St. Patrick's Cathedral is the tallest and largest church in Australia.

Church of the Transfiguration, Kizhi, Russia

The church was built in the traditions of Russian carpentry, that is, without nails. It is crowned with 22 domes, and its height is 37 meters.

Green Church, Argentina

The most ordinary Catholic church became famous thanks to the rich, lively ivy decor that turned the facade into an allusion to the Biblical Garden of Gethsemane.

Andrew's Church, Ukraine

The church is located on a steep hill, offering a beautiful view of Kyiv. According to legend, it was built on the site where St. Andrew the First-Called set up a cross. This is just one of the many legends that shrouded St. Andrew's Church.

California Mormon Temple, USA

The huge building is made in a dazzling white color. And such color solution it is no coincidence, because White color traditionally perceived as a symbol of purity and purity. Inside the Mormon Temple itself, tourists and simply curious people are not allowed; only members of the community can enter the premises of the sacred building.

Crystal Mosque, Malaysia

It is located on an artificial island. The mosque is made of steel and glass, so it seems that it is crystal.

Cathedrals, temples, palaces! Beautiful architecture of churches and temples!

Beautiful architecture of churches and temples!

"Church of St. Prince Igor Chernigov in Peredelkino."

Church of the Transfiguration in Peredelkino

Nicholas the Wonderworker Mozhaisky

Shorin's country estate in the city of Gorokhovets, Vladimir Region. It was built in 1902. Now this house is a folk art center.

St. Vladimir's Cathedral.

The idea of ​​​​creating the Vladimir Cathedral in honor of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir belongs to Metropolitan Filaret Amfiteatrov. The work was entrusted to Alexander Beretti, the cathedral was laid on the day of St. Vladimir on July 15, 1862, in 1882 the construction was completed by architect Vladimir Nikolaev.

Glory to the monument of the outstanding cultural significance St. Vladimir's Cathedral received mainly thanks to its unique murals of outstanding artists: V. M. Vasnetsov, M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov, P. A. Svedomsky and V. A. Kotarbinsky under the general supervision of Professor A. V. Prakhov . the main role in the creation of the temple painting belongs to V. M. Vasnetsov. The solemn consecration of the Vladimir Cathedral took place on August 20, 1896 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

Novodevichy Convent.

Temple them. St. Cyril and St. Methodius"

Orthodox church in Byala Podlaska, Poland. It was built in the period 1985-1989.

The Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel (Archangel Cathedral) in the Kremlin was the tomb of the great princes and Russian tsars. In the old days it was called "St. Michael on the square. In all likelihood, the first wooden Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin arose on the site of the current one during the short reign of Alexander Nevsky's brother Mikhail Khorobrit in 1247-1248. According to legend, it was the second church in Moscow. Khorobrit himself, who died in 1248 in a skirmish with the Lithuanians, was buried in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. And the Moscow temple of the guardian of the heavenly gates of the Archangel Michael was destined to become the princely tomb of the Moscow princes. There is evidence that the nephew of Mikhail Khorobrit, the founder of the dynasty of Moscow princes Daniel, was buried near the southern wall of this cathedral. Daniil's son Yuri was buried in the same cathedral.
In 1333, another son of Daniil of Moscow, Ivan Kalita, built a new stone church according to his vow, in gratitude for the deliverance of Russia from hunger. The existing cathedral was built in 1505-1508. under the guidance of the Italian architect Aleviz the New on the site of the old cathedral of the XIV century and consecrated on November 8, 1508 by Metropolitan Simon.
The temple is five-domed, six-pillared, five-apse, eight-aisled with a narrow room separated from it by a wall in the western part (on the second tier - choirs intended for women royal family). Built of brick, decorated with white stone. In the processing of the walls, motifs of the architecture of the Italian Renaissance were widely used (order pilasters with vegetable capitals, "shells" in zakomara, multi-profile cornices). Initially, the domes of the temple were covered with black-glazed tiles, the walls were probably painted red, and the details were white. The interior contains murals from 1652-66 (Fyodor Zubov, Yakov Kazanets, Stepan Ryazanets, Iosif Vladimirov and others; restored in 1953-55) , carved wooden gilded iconostasis of the XVII-XIX centuries. (height 13 m) with icons of the 15th-17th centuries, a chandelier of the 17th century.The cathedral contains frescoes from the 15th-16th centuries, as well as a wooden iconostasis with icons from the 17th-19th centuries. The murals of the 16th century were knocked down and painted again in 1652-1666 according to the old copybooks by the icon painters of the Armory (Yakov Kazanets, Stepan Ryazanets, Joseph Vladimirov).

"Orekhovo-Zuevo - Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

Palace of Alexei Mikhailovich in the village of Kolomenskoye

The ancient village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow stood out among other patrimonial possessions of Russian sovereigns - grand ducal and royal country residences were located here. The most famous among them is the wooden palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (reigned 1645-1676)
The son of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich, having ascended the throne, repeatedly rebuilt and gradually expanded his father's residence near Moscow, which was associated with the growth of his family. He often visited Kolomenskoye, engaged in falconry in its vicinity and held official ceremonies here.
In the 1660s Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich conceived large-scale changes to the Kolomna residence. The solemn ceremony of laying the foundation of the new palace, which began with a prayer service, took place on May 2-3, 1667. The palace was built from wood according to the drawings, the work was carried out by an artel of carpenters under the leadership of the head of the archery Ivan Mikhailov and the carpenter's head Semyon Petrov. From the winter of 1667 to the spring of 1668, carvings were made, in 1668 the doors were upholstered and paints were prepared for painting the palace, and in the summer season of 1669 the main icon and painting works were completed. In the spring and summer of 1670 blacksmiths, carved iron craftsmen and locksmiths were already working in the palace. Having inspected the palace, the tsar ordered the addition of picturesque images, which was done in 1670-1671. The sovereign closely followed the progress of the work, during the entire construction he often came to Kolomenskoye and stayed there for a day. The final completion of the work took place in the autumn of 1673. In the winter of 1672/1673, the palace was consecrated by Patriarch Pitirim; At the ceremony, Hieromonk Simeon of Polotsk delivered a “Greeting” to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
The Kolomna Palace had an asymmetrical layout and consisted of independent and different-sized cells, the size and design of which corresponded to the hierarchical traditions of the family way of life. The cages were connected by passages and passages. The complex was divided into two halves: the male part, which included the chambers of the tsar and the princes and the front entrance, and the female part, consisting of the chambers of the queen and the princesses. In total, the palace had 26 towers of different heights - from two to four floors. The main living quarters were the rooms on the second floor. In total, there were 270 chambers in the palace, which were illuminated by 3000 windows. When decorating the Kolomna Palace, for the first time in Russian wooden architecture, carved architraves and planking imitating stone were used. In the solution of facades and interiors, the principle of symmetry was actively applied.
As a result of large-scale work in Kolomenskoye, a complex complex was created that shook the imagination of both contemporaries and people of the “enlightened” 18th century. The palace was highly decorative: the facades were decorated with intricate architraves, multi-colored carved details, figured compositions and had an elegant look.
In 1672-1675. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his family regularly traveled to Kolomenskoye; diplomatic receptions were often held in the palace. The new sovereign Fedor Alekseevich (reigned 1676-1682) carried out the reconstruction of the palace. On May 8, 1681, the carpenter Semyon Dementiev, a peasant of the boyar P.V. Sheremetev, instead of a dilapidated trough, began the construction of a huge Dining Chamber. The final appearance of this building was then captured in various engravings and paintings.
All subsequent rulers of Russia fell in love with the Kolomna Palace. In 1682-1696. it was visited by Tsars Peter and Ivan, as well as Princess Sofya Alekseevna. Much more often than others, Peter and his mother, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, were here. Under Peter I, a new foundation was laid under the palace.
Throughout the XVIII century. The palace gradually decayed and collapsed despite all attempts to save it. In 1767, by decree of Empress Catherine II, the dismantling of the palace began, which continued until about 1770. During the dismantling, detailed plans of the palace were drawn up, which, together with the inventories of the 18th century. and visual materials give a fairly complete picture of this remarkable monument of Russian architecture of the 17th century.
Now the palace has been recreated in a new place according to old drawings and images.

Chapel of Alexander Nevsky

Chapel of Alexander Nevsky was built in 1892. architect Pozdeev N.I. It is distinguished by the perfection of brickwork and elegant decor. Yaroslavl.
Andrew's Cathedral - active Orthodox Cathedral on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg, standing at the intersection of Bolshoy Prospekt and the 6th line, an architectural monument of the 18th century. In 1729, the laying of a wooden church built between 1729 and 1731 by the architect J. Trezzini took place. In 1744 St. Andrew's Church was renamed into a cathedral. In 1761, the wooden St. Andrew's Cathedral burned to the ground as a result of a lightning strike.

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in the village of Nelazskoe. Built in 1696.

Church of the All-Merciful Savior in Kuskovo - the former home church of the Sheremetev family, also known as the Church of the Origin of the Honest Trees Life-Giving Cross Lord's. Currently, it is part of the architectural and artistic ensemble of the Kuskovo estate. For the first time, Kuskovo is mentioned in the annals of the 16th century and already as the possession of the Sheremetevs, whose family was one of the most noble in Russia. The first house wooden church has been known since 1624; the boyar court and the yards of serfs were also located here. Around the same time, in 1646, Fyodor Ivanovich Sheremetyev built a large tented Assumption Church in the neighboring village of Veshnyakovo. Western Europe. According to legend, the Pope gave him a golden cross with a particle of the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross. This shrine passed by will to his son, Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetyev. Pyotr Borisovich, having inherited the Kuskovo estate after the death of his father, decided to reconstruct it so that it could amaze everyone with luxury and wealth. Construction began in 1737 with the erection of a new church. The main and only throne of the church was consecrated in honor of the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Since the time of construction, the church has not been rebuilt and has come down to our time in its original form. It is considered one of the rare architectural monuments of Moscow in the "Annensky baroque" style, that is, the baroque architectural style of the era of Anna Ioannovna].

In 1919 the estate received the status of the State Museum. The building of the church was converted into a museum ancillary premises. The Church of the All-Merciful Savior was restored and re-consecrated in 1991.

The Old Russian Resurrection Cathedral was built on the site of a former wooden church, as can be seen from the description of the city of Staraya Russa. The original foundation of this church dates back to a distant time. It was before the Swedish ruin of the city of Staraya Russa, which was in 1611-1617, and during the ruin it was left safe and sound. It is not known when and by whom it was built, it is only known that after the destruction (1611) by the Swedes of the Boriso-Glebsky Cathedral, built by Novgorod newcomers merchants in 1403 and located near the Peter and Paul Church, on the north side, it was instead of the cathedral. The wooden Cathedral Church of the Intercession, due to dilapidation, was dismantled and in its place, on the right bank of the Polist River and at the mouth of the Pererytitsa River, the church warden Moses Somrov built the current stone Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ with limits on the north side in the name of Intercession Holy Mother of God, and from the south in the name of the Nativity of John the Baptist. The construction of the cathedral began in 1692 and was completed in 1696. The aisles were consecrated to the reign of Peter the Great (Pokrovskaya on October 8, 1697. The Church of the Resurrection of Christ was consecrated on July 1, 1708).

The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl was built in 1165. historical sources its construction is associated with the victorious campaign of the Vladimir regiments against the Volga Bulgaria in 1164. In this campaign, the young prince Izyaslav died. In memory of these events, Andrei Bogolyubsky founded the Pokrovsky Church. According to some reports, the defeated Volga Bulgars themselves delivered the white stone for the construction of the church as an indemnity. The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl is a masterpiece of world architecture. She is called the "white swan" of Russian architecture, a beauty, compared with a bride. This small, elegant building was built on a small hill, on a riverside meadow, where the Nerl flows into the Klyazma. In all of Russian architecture, which has created so many unsurpassed masterpieces, there is probably no monument more lyrical. This amazingly harmonious white-stone temple, organically merging with the surrounding landscape, is called a poem imprinted in stone.

Kronstadt. Naval Cathedral.

Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Cathedral Cathedral of Christ the Savior (Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ) in Moscow - the Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church not far from the Kremlin on the left bank of the Moskva River.
The original temple was erected in gratitude for the salvation of Russia from the Napoleonic invasion. It was designed by the architect Konstantin Ton. The construction lasted almost 44 years: the temple was founded on September 23, 1839, and consecrated on May 26, 1883.
On December 5, 1931, the temple building was destroyed. It was rebuilt on the same site in 1994-1997.

As if in contrast to the powerful volumes of the Resurrection Monastery, unknown masters created an elegant in proportion, surprisingly well-proportioned church: an elegant hipped bell tower, a refectory, a central five-domed cube of the temple elongated upwards, small one-domed aisles from the north and south.

All photos and descriptions for them are taken from here http://fotki.yandex.ru/tag/%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA% D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B0/?p=0&how=week

http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/gorodilowskaya-galya/view/707894/?page=12

> Sacred architecture of temples

● Why temples, churches, etc. buildings are considered sacred?

● Why, when entering old churches, we often feel some kind of special pleasant atmosphere, or, as they say now, positive energy?

● Why do temple architectures tend to use strictly defined architectural forms and proportions? Why can't any building become a sacred building?

At I have long been interested in the answers to these and other questions. A with recently As an architect, I became very interested in sacred architecture. I felt an inner need to broaden my focus and start designing temples. But I understood that the design of sacred buildings is not at all the same as the design of private houses: it is not enough to have only knowledge of building codes and rules and to have an artistic taste. The design of sacred buildings requires specific knowledge that cannot be found in the public domain, as well as a certain level of personality development.

Take a look at the picture below: it shows 3 different temples built in different countries, at different times and in different religious traditions. Do you find in them some general patterns?

There is indeed something in common in the architecture of these three temples, and this common lies in their very foundation, in their essence.. The purpose of the temple is to connect man with God. And in properly built temples, this connection is established automatically. The space of the temple is filled with Divine energy, which is perceived by the person entering it. Due to what is this happening? This is what I want to talk about now.

To understand everything, it is better to start the story from afar. You must have heard about quantum physics and wave-particle duality. Physicists of our time have discovered what the wise men of antiquity spoke about: the materiality, the tangibility of everything that exists in this world, is illusory. The world around us turned out to be much more complex than it is imagined by materialists. Everything that surrounds us is vibration, energy. Each object vibrates at a certain frequency, radiates energy that has the qualities corresponding to it. It follows that all the qualities of visible objects (color, shape, proportions, texture, texture, temperature, etc.) are a set of certain energies radiated in space, with which we are in contact.

(For those who are not at all familiar with these theories, and who would like to know more about it, I can advise you to read the book "The Tao of Physics" (Fridtjof Capra).

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The architects of the past knew much more about the world around us, they knew the laws "subtle" energy and knew how to use them. They say that in ancient society, in order to become an architect, it was necessary to study for 15-20 years under the guidance of experienced craftsmen, and the status of an architect was even higher than that of a priest. Our ancestors built buildings (temples) whose architecture made it possible to connect a person with Divine energy. The temples built by them, made up of certain shapes, certain sizes and proportions, are the "conductors" of the Divine (heavenly, cosmic) energy to our "earthly" world. Temples can be said to "link Heaven to Earth".

Look at the drawing on the left: it shows the mechanism underlying the "transformation" of energy from "heavenly" to "earthly". In this image, you will probably guess the forms that make up an Orthodox church: at the base there is a quadrangle (cube), on it is an octahedron (octahedron), on it there is a dome with a ball on top. Any form (or form in volume) is not just a form, but a certain energy that has its inherent qualities. Only with our "material" vision we see it as a form.

This ball at the top of the temple - a dot - a symbol Absolute , containing in itself ALL that is, everything that can be, from which everything comes. The cube at the base is a symbol of the "earthly" world, a symbol of the human body - it corresponds to the number "4" and sacred symbol - square (in volume - a cube). And between them - the intermediate links necessary to connect the "heavenly and the earthly" - this is an octahedron and a circle. In the figure below you can see, trace how this transformation of energy occurs:

The flow of energy in temples also works in the opposite direction - it raises our prayers to God.

The "finer" the energy, the more powerful it is, and you need to handle it very consciously and carefully. The space of the temple is filled with very strong energy, so one cannot live in temples - the energy is so strong that human body can't perceive it long time. For this reason, the temple architecture is strictly sacred, it is not suitable for housing construction.

If you look at the temples of different religions (see the picture with three temples), you can see that they use the same principle that I have just described. What does it say? It is possible that behind the visible external differences lies an internal unity religions.

The example given here of the use of sacred forms is not the only one known to mankind. There are many sacred symbols that have their own energy, which are also used in architecture (and not only in it) to achieve certain goals.

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