The Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is an Orthodox church, a majestic monument of history and architecture, rising on Cathedral Square of the Kremlin Museum-Reserve.
The surviving cathedral of the early 16th century is located on the site of a wooden Moscow cathedral, also dedicated to St. Archangel Michael, from the mid-13th century and the stone church that replaced it from 1333.
The architect of the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin in Moscow is an Italian architect, known in Rus' as Aleviz the New. Construction of the temple took place from 1505 to 1508.
A little history
The temple, which has survived to this day, was erected on the site of a stone church, which, in turn, replaced the old wooden one. The ancestor of the Archangel Cathedral was a symbol of Rus''s victory over famine (caused by crop failure) and plague, which the great state had to face during the reign of Ivan Kalita. The latter, by the way, was subsequently buried in the temple. His deceased heirs were also laid here. This is how the tradition of burying princes and loved ones in the Archangel Cathedral arose.
Ivan III undertook the construction of the new temple. In 1505, on his instructions, a large-scale reconstruction of the Catholic Kremlin began. Grandiose changes also affected the royal tomb. The Italian Aleviz Novy undertook its construction. We admire the results of the latter’s work today. By the way, Ivan III himself, who turned to an overseas architect for help, was not able to see them. The ruler died before the completion of the Archangel Cathedral.
Necropolis
Burials were carried out according to strict rules. The Rurikovichs lie along the walls, the Romanovs - near the pillars in the center of the hall. A special tomb was built in the altar part for Ivan the Terrible and his sons. The bodies were placed under marble slabs, and sarcophagi with gravestone inscriptions were placed on top of them. Exceptions are made only for the relics of Tsarevich Demetrius, Holy Prince Mikhail of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor, who suffered martyrdom in the Horde. They rest in crayfish and are available for worship by believers. In 1928, the women's burials of the Romanov dynasty were moved from the destroyed Ascension Monastery to the basement crypt.
Divine services in the temple are held only on patronal holidays and memorial days on Radonitsa.
Architectural features of the building
At the base of the temple there are 6 pillars. The cathedral includes 5 asps and 5 chapters. The main building material of the architectural monument was brick, trimmed with white stone. Working on a unique structure, the author of the project was guided by the main features of the Russian style. At the same time, the architect did not abandon traditional Venetian decorations, in particular basilicas, typical of the Italian Renaissance. Capitals mounted on pilasters, reminiscent of leaves, shells, large and small round windows - all this became the highlight of the Archangel Cathedral and its external decoration.
Prayers to the Archangel Michael of God
First prayer to the Archangel of God Michael
Holy and great Archangel of God Michael, the inscrutable and all-essential Trinity, the first primate of the Angels, the guardian and guardian of the human race, crushing with his army the head of the proud star in heaven and always putting to shame his malice and treachery on earth!
We resort to you with faith and we pray to you with love: be an indestructible shield and a firm protector of the Holy Church and our Orthodox Fatherland, protecting them with your lightning sword from all enemies, visible and invisible. Be a wise mentor and companion to all Orthodox Christians, bringing to them from the Throne of the King of Kings enlightenment and strength, joy, peace and consolation. Be the leader and invincible companion of our Christ-loving army, crowning it with glory and victories over our adversaries, so that all who oppose us will know that God and His holy Angels are with us!
O Archangel of God, do not forsake us, through your help and intercession, who today glorify your holy name; Behold, even though we are many sinners, we do not want to perish in our iniquities, but rather turn to the Lord and be quickened by Him to do good deeds. Illuminate our minds with the light of God, so that we may understand that God’s will for us is good and perfect, and we will know everything that we should do and that we should despise and abandon. Strengthen our weak will and weak will with the grace of the Lord, so that, having established ourselves in the law of the Lord, we will cease to be dominated by earthly thoughts and the lusts of the flesh, and for the sake of the corruptible and the earthly, eternal and heavenly, we will not forget. For all of these, ask us from above for true repentance, unfeigned sorrow for God and contrition for our sins, so that we may complete the remaining number of days of our temporary life in erasing the evils we have committed. When the hour of our death and liberation from the bonds of this mortal body approaches, do not leave us, Archangel of God, defenseless against the spirits of evil in heaven; the usual barriers to the souls of mankind from rising to the heavenly, and, protected by you, we will without stumbling reach those glorious villages of paradise, where there is no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life, and we will be honored to see the Most Blessed Face of the All-Good Lord and Master of ours and give glory to Him, with the Father and the Holy One Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Second prayer to the Archangel of God Michael
O Saint Michael the Archangel, bright and formidable commander of the Heavenly King! Before the Last Judgment, weaken me to repent of my sins, deliver my soul from the net that catches me and bring me to the God who created me, who sits on the Cherubim, and pray diligently for her, and through your intercession I will send her to a place of rest.
Oh, formidable commander of the Heavenly Powers, representative of all at the Throne of the Lord Christ, guardian of the strong man and wise armorer, strong commander of the Heavenly King! Have mercy on me, a sinner who requires your intercession, save me from all visible and invisible enemies, and moreover, strengthen me from the horror of death and from the embarrassment of the devil, and grant me the honor of unashamedly presenting myself to our Creator at the hour of His terrible and righteous judgment. Oh, all-holy, great Michael the Archangel! Do not despise me, a sinner, who prays to you for your help and intercession in this world and in the future, but grant me there together with you to glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Troparion of the Council of the Archangel Michael and other ethereal Heavenly Powers
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Heavenly armies of the Archangels, we always pray to you, unworthy ones, and with your prayers protect us with the shelter of the wings of your immaterial glory, preserving us, falling diligently and crying out: deliver us from troubles, like the rulers of the Highest Powers.
Kontakion of the Council of the Archangel Michael and other ethereal Heavenly Powers
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Archangels of God, servants of the Divine glory, rulers of angels and human mentors, ask for what is useful to us and great mercy, like the Bodiless Archangels.
Interior of the cathedral
It is interesting that the interior of the Archangel Cathedral became luxurious only during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. It was he who commissioned the creation of the first painted iconostasis in the temple, however, it has not survived to this day. The renovation of the interior decoration of the church began in the 17th century. The main inspiration for the craftsmen were interesting facts from the biographies of the rulers buried in the temple.
Frescoes and unique paintings of the Archangel Cathedral today are considered one of its most attractive features. Such talents as Fyodor Zubkov, Guriy Nikitin, Yakov Kazanets and others worked on the interior design of the building. More than 60 images are dedicated to the kings and their relatives (on the walls of the cathedral you can see a portrait of Prince Vladimir, Nevsky, Bogolyubsky, Semyon the Proud and more). The great rulers who rest here are depicted in a prayerful pose. Each of the burials is supplemented with inscriptions indicating the names of the deceased and the names of their heavenly patrons.
The frescoes of the Archangel Cathedral are harmoniously complemented by unique temple icons, including the “Ustyug Annunciation”, the face of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk, and John the Baptist. They, according to historians and theologians, date back to the reign of King IY. However, their age is not as revered as the age of the image of Archangel Michael. The latter, according to some sources, was ordered by the widow of Dmitry Donskoy, Evdokia.
The icon was painted in honor of the successful completion of the Battle of Kulikovo. A number of experts suggest that Theophanes the Greek worked on the creation of the face together with his students. Before the icon came to the Archangel Cathedral, it was the main shrine of another temple, built under Ivan Kalita.
INTERESTING: Jesus Christ.
Along with ancient, especially valuable images, in the church you can see icons from the 18th century, including those that were commissioned by Fyodor Alekseevich. As for the iconostasis as a whole, it has survived to this day and was made by 60 craftsmen. Carved, four-level, it is crowned with the Crucifix and the face of the Mother of God, as well as the Great Bishop.
Angelic ranks
The ranks of angels come in three hierarchies. The highest is the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. Closest to the Holy Trinity are the six-winged Seraphim (translated as “Flaming, Fiery”). Middle – Dominance, Strength and Power. The lowest - the Beginnings, Archangels and Angels.
All ranks of heavenly powers are called angels. Angel means "messenger". This reflects their purpose - to convey God’s will to people, to be protectors and teachers of people. Archangel Michael stands above all nine ranks and is therefore called the archangel.
We also know the names of other archangels: Gabriel (“the power of God”), Raphael (“the healing of God”), Uriel (“the light of God”), Selaphiel (“the prayer book of God”), Jehudiel (“the one who glorifies God”), Barachiel (“ blessing of God"), Jeremiel ("exaltation to God").
Note to tourists
To get to the Archangel Cathedral, just get off at the Arbatskaya, or Borovitskaya, or Alexandrovsky Sad metro stations. The latter option is preferable, since tourists will find ticket offices nearby where they can purchase tickets to visit the Kremlin architectural complex. Their approximate cost is 500 rubles. Students and pensioners can count on discounts; children under 16 years of age have the right to free visits to the temple-tomb.
WE RECOMMEND: Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. About names and angels. Day of the Archangel Michael.
“No one like God” - this expressed all the knowledge of the great Archangel of his God. He does not describe Him, he does not explain Him - he stands up and testifies. This is his involvement in the radiance of the Divine, and this is the extent to which he reveals this radiance and opens the way to the mystery of the Lord with his word and the name that expresses his entire incomprehensible experience of the incomprehensible God.
There is a place in the book of Revelation where the seer John tells us that when the time comes and we will all be in the Kingdom of God, then everyone will receive a mysterious name, which only God who gives it knows, and the one who receives it will know it. This name seems to contain the whole secret of a person; this name says everything about him; No one can know this name except God and the one who receives it, because it defines that unique, unique relationship that exists between God and His creation - each and only creature for Him.
We bear the names of saints who lived and fulfilled their calling on earth; we are dedicated to them, just as churches are dedicated to this or that saint; and we should ponder both the meaning of his name and the personality of the saint, which is accessible to us from his life. After all, he is not only our prayer book, intercessor and defender, but to some extent also an image of what we could be. It is impossible to repeat anyone’s life, but it is possible to learn from the life of this or that person, a saint or even a sinner, to live more worthy of oneself and more worthy of God.
And today we celebrate the honor and memory of Archangel Michael, surrounded by the Angels of the Lord. Angels are messengers; An angel is someone whom the Lord can send on a mission and who will completely and completely fulfill it. It may seem strange that we call a whole group of the Lord's creatures by a name that denotes their office, their service, as if there was nothing else about them. And in fact this is so, and this is their holiness: purified, shining with God’s light, according to the word of Gregory Palamas and our liturgical books, they are second lights, reflections of the eternal light of the Divine. They do not have that opacity, that darkness that allows us to be called by a name, and this name is the definition of our place in the face of God and our place in the Lord’s creation. They are the second lights. What does this mean?
This means that some divine light flows through them unhindered, freely, like a wide river; but not just like through an empty chute, not just like through a lifeless glass, but the way the light flows, sparkles, shines, and multiplies, when it falls on a precious stone, reaches his heart and from there shoots out to the sides with an answering radiance, illuminating, and sometimes blinding with its beauty.
This is an image of true holiness, and in this respect they are truly Angels, because we recognize them, experience them only as the radiance of Divine light, a radiance not diminished, not darkened, but an increased and joyful radiance, bringing life - and the essence of their being and the essence of their holiness remains a mystery between them and God, Who knows the depths of His creation...
But their personal holiness is revealed to us especially by the separate name by which each of them is named. Some of these names entered the Holy Scriptures, were revealed to the experience of the Church and show us what their special holiness is. The Archangel of the Heavenly Powers, to whom many among us here and many in the Russian country are dedicated, is named Michael. "Michael" is a Hebrew word, and it means "No one like God"; and this word expresses the entire stand of the great Archangel, when Dennitsa rebelled against God, wanting to establish himself in some, at least created, isolation and independence, and when the great Archangel Michael stood up and uttered this one word, which determined everything for him: “No one like God,” and established him in such a relationship with God that he became the keeper of the gates of heaven. “No one like God” - this expressed all the knowledge of the great Archangel of his God. He does not describe Him, he does not explain Him - he stands up and testifies. This is his involvement in the radiance of the Divine, and this is the extent to which he reveals this radiance and opens the way to the mystery of the Lord with his word and the name that expresses his entire incomprehensible experience of the incomprehensible God.
On the icons, Archangel Michael is depicted in armor, with a flaming sword in his hand. He tramples the dragon, which signifies evil; The Archangel stands at the gates of heaven, not allowing those who are not ready to enter this holy and sacred place; and he is also depicted on those gates of the iconostasis through which the clergy exits the altar: a priest with the Gospel, at the Great Entrance, or a deacon at the litany; and these are the gates through which, in the liturgical, liturgical order, no one enters the Holy of Holies, the altar.
Another Archangel, Gabriel, whose name means “Fortress of God,” is depicted on the gate through which the deacon enters back into the altar during the service. Gabriel is the one who announces to us that the door is open for us to enter again into the presence of God; that the power of God has been demonstrated, that God has overcome and we are saved. From the Evangelist Luke we know that Archangel Gabriel brought Zechariah the news of the birth of John the Baptist, and he also announced to the Virgin Mary that She had found grace from God and would give birth to the Savior to the world; That’s why we see him on icons with an olive branch in his hands - a sign of God’s reconciliation with the world.
We read about Archangel Raphael in the book of Tobit, how he accompanied his son Tobias and healed Tobit and his daughter-in-law, and his name means “Healing of God”; and the Holy Scripture tells us about other Archangels and Angels; and the faith of the Church, Christian experience tell us about Guardian Angels.
About the day of remembrance of the saint whose name we bear, we say that this is “the day of our Angel.” And in a sense, in the sense of our dedication to the saint, this is true; but with different holy people - as well as with the ordinary people around us - our communication develops in different ways: some are closer to us personally, through prayer and through their life, which we would like to imitate; others we admire as if from afar. Our relationship with the Guardian Angel is completely different: we are entrusted to him, and he is our Guardian, as if we turn to him, whether we remember him at all or not - like our mother and father, with whom we have an indestructible connection, no matter what we think, no matter how we act towards them, no matter how we behave...
And one more thing: one person on earth was called the messenger and Angel of the church faith: this is the Baptist John, and about him we read words exactly similar to what I just said about Angels. The beginning of the Gospel of Mark says about him: He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness... He is a voice, he is only the sound of the Lord’s voice, he is an Angel, because God Himself speaks through him, and he himself says about himself that he needs to diminish in order to the image of the Lord stood before people in full measure.
This is the way on earth; we must diminish, diminish, gradually lose what seems so precious, but in fact is the condensation of our visible nature. We must gradually become transparent in order to become, as it were, invisible - just as a precious stone is invisible and is revealed only by the light that, striking it, illuminates everything around. Then we seem to lose something of our temporary being, but only in order to acquire the inalienable knowledge of God, the only one that each of us who calls himself “I” can have and which he can reveal to all others, because each of us experiences God in a unique and unique way. Our path is from earth to Heaven, from our heavy incarnation into enlightenment and transparency... The angel on earth is the unfalse witness - John the Baptist, who is on the way, and the One Whom the Holy Scripture calls the “Great Council Angel” - God who came in the flesh.
These are the images, those thoughts, those thoughts from our veneration of the Angels, from our love for them, from our communication with them in prayer and their intercession for us, which can help us find the path of our own soul from earth to Heaven, from our own darkness to perfect enlightenment. Through the prayers of the holy Angels and Archangels, may the Lord grant us, having renounced ourselves, by free will, by love for God, to begin to diminish until God Himself shines forth in full measure in each of us. Amen.
