In the South of the Red Square stood a colorful cathedral with onion shape domes, it was the first time I saw such cathedral. Red bricks with white-stone ornaments mixed with vibrant swirling patterns in green, blue and red of the domes. At first look people might mistook it as a Cinderella’s castle in Disneyland.
But it is no Disneyland fantasy, it is a church loaded with history and devotion, it is the Cathedral of St. Basil. It was built in the 16th century by order of Russian Tsar Ivan IV to fulfill his vow to have a church built for his victorious conquests of Kazan. He intended to build the church on a scale reflecting the importance of his victory of Kazan, which not only eliminated a troublesome Kazan, but also opened a vast area for colonization and trade.
The cathedral is not one large space, it consists of 11 small churches, one of them built over the grave of St Basil. The churches are connected with the labyrinth of narrow corridors with arched roofs, beautifully decorated with colorful flower patterns symbolizing the heavenly garden. Each church looks like a vase, a narrow room with a high ceiling. Perhaps this shape made the acoustics amazing, we can hear clearly hymns and chants sung in other room, the sound of their voices was divine.
The cathedral of St. Basil is so impressive that legend has it that supposedly Tsar Ivan IV blinded the cathedral’s architects so that the designs of this new and impressive structure could not be replicated in any other buildings. Although this cannot be verified, it aligns with what is known of his complex personality and his severe temperament, his harsh treatment of Russian nobility, his people and servants. There are notes of his mental outbreaks, with one tragic instance, he accidentally killed his own son during an argument. Because of his cruelty and temper, he is also known as Ivan the Terrible.
The legacy of the cathedral built to memorize Tsar Ivan IV’s victories in Kazan has been overshadowed by Basil, known as a beggar, a “Fool for Christ”, a prophetic voice of conscience clothed in rags, buried under the Cathedral. Basil and the Tzar had a complicated relationship. The strong and vicious Tsar Ivan IV did not dare to trample the beggar who stood in his way, the entire population of Moscow hung on the beggar’s every word and action, revering him as a prophet. The Tsar once showered Basil with gifts, wanting to test if Basil was tempted by wealth. Basil accepted the gifts but promptly gave away all of them to the first needy person he met. When Basil died in 1557, the Tsar Ivan IV himself was among the pallbearers to bring his body to its resting place: now known as the Cathedral of St. Basil.
THE END
SOURCES:
https://nationsmedia.org/basil-the-holy-fool/
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