December 30, 2020
Today we visit “The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat.”
Say what?
We know it as St. Basil’s Cathedral.
Theotokos has a complex meaning. First of all, it refers to a cloak or shroud, but it also means protection or intercession. Therefore, translating, or perhaps explaining, the official name is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Veil of our Lady on the Moat.
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A mid-17th century icon from Ukraine, showing Mary with a broad protective cloak spread out over her children. |
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| The small green dome on the left is over the cathedral of St. Vasily. |
A detour: in the Cyrillic alphabet what looks like the English “B” is a “V” and the English letter “b” is a Russian “B” – so we say Basil, the Russians say Vasily. I learned that rather quickly the day I traveled by myself from Samara to Moscow to meet Bonnie. The church in Samara had booked me a room at the Beta Complex of the Izmailovo Hotel. I saw the “B” and went in. As you learned at the beginning of this paragraph that was actually a “V” and I was in the Vega Complex, and completely lost. Finally someone figured out where I was supposed to be, led me back to the correct building – there are actually 5 – and all was well.
Another detour: I quickly learned that if you are in a room with 4 Russians they will tell you 5 ways to say the same thing. And even if you think you have it correct, you don’t: the word “babushka” means “scarf” or “grandmother,” but if you change the accent slightly, it becomes a dirty word (and don’t ask me what, I’m too polite to say). Oh, and the name of Tsar mentioned above is pronounced by Russians as E-von, not I-van.
But back to St. Basil’s.
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| Red Square in the winter. Looks a little like Garrett County Maryland. |
The cathedral has ten domes (each one corresponding to a different church) and is shaped like the flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, a design that has no parallel in Russian architecture. The church acquired its present-day vivid colors in several stages from the 1680s to 1848.
As part of the program of state atheism, the church was confiscated from the Russian Orthodox community as part of the Soviet Union’s antireligious campaigns and operated as a division of the State Historical Museum from 1928 to 1997. Weekly Orthodox Christian services were restored in 1991 with the fall of Soviet Communism.
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In this panorama, the Kremlin is to the left (the Savior tower with the clock is tallest tower) and the GUM department store (Главный универсальный магазин – Main Universal Store) is to the right. |
The identity of St. Basil’s architect is unknown, but research suggests an architect known to the period: Postnik Yakovlev. Legend says that Ivan blinded the architect so that he could not re-create the masterpiece elsewhere, but Yakovlev later participated in the construction of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow as well as in building the walls and towers of the Kazan Kremlin. But it is an interesting story and you don’t earn the nickname “Terrible” without doing some, well, terrible things.
I was blessed to make 14 trips to Russia and we went to Red Square each time, but St. Basil’s was not open to see inside like it is today. Only once did I get to go inside, and we saw one of the small cathedrals that was being restored. Here is a video I found on YouTube, made in 2012, that takes you inside the Cathedral.
And for you Lego fans, here is an incredible build of St. Basil's. The construction is from scratch, not a kit. Nearly 72,000 pieces are in the build, and it took over 320 hours for brickmaster Mark Curnow to create this masterpiece for the 2016 “Wonders of the World Show.”
Before we leave downtown Moscow, let’s travel 15 kilometers (7 stops on the Moscow Metro Арбатско-Покровская Line to the Преображенская stop) to the Izmailovo flea market (and a little video I made). It is the largest flea market in the world.
“First price, Mister. Not last price. What’s your price, Mister?”
👉 Next year we’ll visit some more monuments and historical places.
👉 Today’s close is from “Daily in Your Presence,” with Rebecca Barlow Jordan.
From the Father’s Heart
My child, eternal life begins not just when you step across death’s threshold, but rather, the moment you let Me step into your heart forever. I am eternal life. I am your forever hope. When your physical body finally says goodbye, and you walk into your new heavenly body, you will experience in full measure the taste of joy you had while on earth. No more sorrow, no more tears. If you know Me, you have eternal life.
A Grateful Response
Some say life begins at forty, while others believe eighteen is the magic age. Some senior citizens will argue for sixty-five! But real life, eternal life, began for me the moment You entered my heart years ago. Lord, You are eternal life. You are my home forever.
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