The Archangel (St. Michael the Archangel) Cathedral is an Orthodox church in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin that remains active to this day. It is considered the oldest church in Nizhny Novgorod by the site of its founding: according to tradition, the city's founder, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, personally ordered it to be laid on the very spot where it still stands. The wooden church was rebuilt several times following raids, wars, and fires, and the present stone structure dates to 1632. As early as 1227, the wooden church had been rebuilt in stone; the work was most likely carried out by the same stonemasons who had built the churches of Suzdal, Vladimir, and Yuryev-Polsky.[1][2] The monument is an outstanding example of tent-roof architecture and ranks among the most significant historic landmarks of Nizhny Novgorod.

History and Architecture

The stone building was erected in 1632 during the final decades when the construction of tent-roofed churches was still permitted: in the second half of the 17th century, Patriarch Nikon banned this type of ecclesiastical structure in an effort to return church architecture to Greek models. The decree authorizing the construction of the new St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral at the expense of the royal treasury was issued to Nizhny Novgorod in December 1627; the following spring, master stonemasons Lavrentiy Semyonovich Vozoulin and his stepson Antipa arrived, and construction began in April 1628 and was completed by 1631.[1] Because the existing tent-roofed churches were not demolished wholesale, the cathedral survived and was restored and renovated in the 18th century.[2] According to the cathedral's restorer S. L. Agafonov, the 17th-century stone tent-roofed church was built as a monument to the victory of the People's Militia of 1611–1612 — the cathedral is dedicated to Archangel Michael, the patron of the Russian military; excavations in 1960 revealed beneath the building foundations dating to the 13th–14th centuries and a 14th-century ceramic floor with no close parallels. After the Mongol-Tatar invasion, when Nizhny Novgorod became the capital of the independent Nizhny Novgorod–Suzdal Principality, the dilapidated cathedral was rebuilt anew in 1359.[1][3]

The cathedral's principal ornament is the central load-bearing tent, remarkable for its lightness and elegance. A distinctive architectural feature of the building is the integration of the bell tower and the church into a single volume: the bell-ringer could observe the progress of the service through an arched passage and prepare to ring the bells in good time.[2] Nikon's prohibition did not extend to bell towers, and so many Russian tent-roofed bell towers were built even after the church reform.[2]

The cathedral's interior is adorned with an iconostasis and fresco paintings. One of the frescoes depicts the holy Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich with a vision of the future city, in whose silhouette the cathedral itself is recognizable.[2]

Historic Burials

The cathedral served as the burial place of the princes of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod — many of them are interred here.[2][3][3] In the 20th century, the remains of Kuzma Minin — a native of Nizhny Novgorod and one of the leaders of the People's Militia of 1612 — were transferred to the cathedral. Nearly all members of the Romanov dynasty visited his tomb after their coronations, believing that it was Minin and Prince Pozharsky to whom they owed their accession to the throne. Patriarch Filaret — father of the reigning Mikhail Fyodorovich — upon returning from Polish captivity, established personal patronage over Nizhny Novgorod in 1625, which largely determined the special attention the Romanov dynasty paid to this church.[1][2]

Restoration and current state

During the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, large-scale restoration work at the cathedral was carried out under the direction of Svyatoslav Leonidovich Agafonov (1911–2002) — Honored Architect of the Russian Federation, State Prize laureate, and honorary member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences. In addition to the Cathedral of the Archangel, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, the Rozhdestvenskaya (Stroganovskaya) Church, and the chambers of Nizhny Novgorod's monasteries were all restored under his direction.[3]

The cathedral is an active church: services are held daily. During Bright Week — the week following Easter — the bell tower is open to all visitors free of charge.[2] Since 2000, Vladimir Nikolaevich Gofman has served as the cathedral's prior.

According to tradition, it was at the walls of the Mikhaylo-Arkhangelsky Cathedral that Kuzma Minin addressed the Nizhny Novgorod residents with a call to march and liberate Moscow.[1]

Sources

  1. nne.ru — As early as 1227, the wooden church was rebuilt in stone; in all likelihood, it was constructed by the same stonemasons who had built the churches of Suzdal, Vladimir and (archive)
  2. tonkosti.ru — Mikhaylo-Arkhangelsky Cathedral: description, history, photos, exact address (archive)
  3. russiancity.ru — S. L. Agafonov. The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. Architecture, History, Restoration. Gorky, 1976 (chapter on the Mikhaylo-Arkhangelsky Cathedral) (archive)