Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir. Lace legend. Dmitrievsky Cathedral (Vladimir)

Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir. End of the 12th century.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir is the main princely temple, built by Grand Duke Vsevolod the Big Nest according to the research of N. N. Voronin, in 1194-1197. (there is information that according to chronicle data discovered in the 1990s by T. P. Timofeeva, it was built in 1991). It is one of the most striking, expressive and famous monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture of the pre-Mongol period.

The temple was consecrated in the name of St. Dmitry of Thessaloniki - the heavenly patron of Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, who received the name Dmitry at baptism. Despite the indicated dating, the exact time of construction of the cathedral is unknown. Vladimir chronicler, speaking about death
Grand Duke Vsevolod, mentions that he created a “beautiful church” in his courtyard in the name of the holy martyr Dmitry and “marvelously” decorated it with icons and paintings. That is why a number of researchers attribute the construction of the cathedral to the period between 1194 and 1197.

Only Russian architects were involved in the work on the cathedral - the chronicler especially emphasizes that for the construction of the Demetrius Cathedral they “no longer looked for German craftsmen.” However, according to one version, among the builders there were also people from the Balkan Peninsula - Bulgarians, Serbs or Dalmatians. This explains the similarity of the white stone decoration of the cathedral with general medieval traditions, characteristic not only of
Balkans and Byzantium, but also other European states. In 1197, to the Demetrius Cathedral from the Basilica of St. Dmitry in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) the main relics were brought - a large icon depicting the saint in full height, and
a chased silver reliquary containing a “shirt” - a piece of clothing soaked in the blood of a martyr. The chronicler reports: “And he brought the tomb board from Selunia of the holy martyr Dmitry, who constantly wears myrrh for the health of the weak, put it in that church, and put the shirt of the same martyr there.”
Why is the cathedral dedicated to Demetrius? Vsevolod's mother, a Byzantine princess, lived in Constantinople, at the court of Emperor Manuel Komnenos, where St. Dmitry was revered as
patron of the imperial family.

Photo by A.A. Aleksandrov from the book by G.K. Wagner "Old Russian Cities".

The current appearance of the cathedral is significantly different from the original: it survived devastating fires in 1536, then in 1719 and in the 1760s. It is known that back in the 15th century, repair work was carried out, the initiators of which were the Moscow princes. At the beginning of the 16th century, the cathedral was still considered a grand ducal cathedral, but later lost this significance. In the 16th-17th centuries the cathedral
was renovated, partially losing the old structural and decorative elements.

Demetrius Cathedral in the 1830s. Drawing by F. Richter

According to some researchers, the greatest damage was caused to the building in the 19th century and not by fire. ; In 1834, during a visit to Vladimir, Emperor Nicholas I drew attention to the extreme dilapidation and poverty of the temple and wished to restore the cathedral to its “primitive appearance.” Diligent “reconstructors” dismantled in 1837-1839 the gallery surrounding the cathedral from the south, west and north, brought under the level of the arched-columnar
belts, as well as towers adjoining from the north and south with internal staircases leading to the choir. These irreparable losses not only distorted the appearance of the temple, but also greatly weakened its structure. In 1840-1847, renovations also took place inside the building: the walls were re-painted, while the ancient frescoes were destroyed, the floor was lowered, a new iconostasis was installed,
spiral staircase to the choir.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral in 1834. Drawing by F. Dmitriev

Dmitrievsky Cathedral. Plan.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the head of the cathedral on a high drum is covered with a golden helmet. The helmet-like covering of the domes is one of the hallmarks of ancient architecture (as a rule, up to the 16th century inclusive).
The main material for construction was white stone - limestone. The facades of the temple are clearly divided into three tiers. The lower one is practically devoid of any decoration, because initially it was closed with single-tier galleries surrounding the cathedral on three sides. Staircase towers were located at the corners of the galleries. These galleries and towers most likely appeared or were rebuilt a little later than the cathedral itself and connected the cathedral with
princely palace. They also had white stone carvings, slightly different in style, which were later used to fill in losses on the facades of the cathedral when the galleries and towers were dismantled in 1838.

The middle tier displays an arcature-columnar belt with rich ornamentation. The upper tier along its entire plane, from the top of the arcature-columnar belt to the top, is also decorated with carvings. The columns of the arcature belt in this abundance of carvings are perceived as a bordering ribbon; Carvings are also present on the cylindrical drum on which the gilded dome rises.

However, the structural integrity is not violated by the decor: the vertical pilasters rhythmically divide the facades, subordinating all the carved decoration to the architecture.

There are more than five hundred reliefs on the facades of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral.

Authentic reliefs have been preserved on the western facade, in the central and eastern sections of the southern and northern facades, and on the apses. Many carved stones from the dismantled towers mentioned above ended up on the western sides of the southern and northern facades; many reliefs had to be made anew. The ancient arcature-columnar belt survived only in
on the western side of the northern facade, the remaining columns and figures of saints were carved in the 19th century.
The exception is the 13 columns removed from the towers and the seated saints on the western façade. In addition, stone blocks with spreading “trees” under the figures of saints were also removed from the towers.

Sculptural decoration of portals. Fragment.

Carved stones on the facades of the temple create a bizarre picture of the world, where Christian images harmoniously coexist with images of pagan mythology and subjects of medieval literature.

The carving of the columnar belt depicts a whole gallery of saints, among which there are figures of princes Boris and Gleb. Under each figure there are carved images of fantastic
animals or plants. The sculptures are separated by carved columns of an arcature belt.

It can be assumed that in the original plan for the sculptural design of the cathedral, the leading theme was power. The southern façade is decorated with a large composition “The Ascension of Alexander the Great to Heaven.” This plot, which to a modern observer seems very unusual for decorating an Orthodox church, was extremely popular in Rus', Europe, and the East in the Middle Ages thanks to the Byzantine story “Alexandria,” translated into many languages. According to Academician B.A. Rybakov’s “The Ascension of Alexander” in church sculpture of the second half of the 12th century was equal to the most important Christian images. Alexander is depicted in a wicker box, which is carried on the wings of two griffins. He holds small lion cubs in his hands, acting as “bait” for the griffins. Flying monsters stretch to the bait, thereby taking the king up. This plot was very common in Vladimir-Suzdal art: he
decorated both the original Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, and symbolized the divine patronage of the princely power.

On the northern facade facing the city there is a relief “Prince Vsevolod with his sons”. Vsevolod the Big Nest is depicted sitting on a throne, surrounded by his eldest sons Constantine, George, Yaroslav and Svyatoslav, with the newborn Vladimir in his arms. In total the prince had twelve sons. This, as is known, was the reason for his nickname “Big Nest”.

The western wall of the temple is decorated with three reliefs, stylizedly illustrating the labors of Hercules. According to one version, Vladimir masters borrowed these scenes from Western European culture: they transferred to the walls of the palace temple the images that adorned the medieval Romanesque casket, which was kept in the princely treasury.

King David plays the lute. Relief fragment.

The central place among the characters present in the design of the Demetrievsky Cathedral is occupied by the figure of King David. It is presented in the decoration of the three facades of the temple. In the image of David - the psalmist, shepherd, king, prophet - most likely, the image of Christ is anticipated. The entire created world - animals, birds, trees and grass - listens to David at the foot of the throne. According to another opinion, the reliefs of the Dmitrov collection go back to folk
mythology, pointing to the connection of the images with the “Dove Book”, the main character of which is King Davila, a kind spellcaster of natural forces and an inspired singer. G.K. Wagner, the author of a special monograph on the sculpture of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', believed that the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral depict not David at all, but his son Solomon, the prophet
and the king, who holds in his hands not a harp, but a scroll. Solomon was considered the ideal of a wise ruler, and that is why Vsevolod sought to decorate his palace temple with his images.

Relief of an arcature-columnar belt. Fragment

The New Testament theme is represented by images of saints in an arcature-columnar belt and in medallions, as well as twelve horsemen. It is difficult not to note that with all this, most of the reliefs are devoted to non-church subjects.

According to some researchers, the animal world of the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral is essentially an “aristocratic” animal world that has acquired significance
heraldic emblems of the nobility.

And indeed, the princely coats of arms of the 12th-13th centuries often contained images of leopards, pardus (leopard cats) and other heraldic creatures.

Therefore, there is an assumption that the walls of the cathedral embody not ideas of folk mythology, but images that came from the world of medieval books - the princely nobility were familiar with them. Such stories were unknown to the common people and
incomprehensible, surprising and even frightening. In addition, and this is worth paying attention to, the cathedral originally stood behind a white stone wall and its carvings could only be admired by those who had access to the princely court.

A white stone poem or a carpet of stone-patterned lace - these are the epithets that tourists, historians, and art critics, not only Russian, but also foreign, award the St. Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir - in 1992, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral is a brilliant example of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture of the pre-Mongol period, the brightest masterpiece of ancient architecture, created, according to the chronicles, exclusively by the hands of Russian craftsmen, without the involvement of the Germans. Experts, however, believe that representatives of the Balkan Peninsula worked on the construction of the temple - many details in the design of the facade echo those of Byzantine religious buildings and have common features of medieval European cathedrals.

A little about the history of the temple

One of the Vladimir chroniclers, talking about the death of Grand Duke Vsevolod the Big Nest, mentions among his deeds for the glory of the land of Vladimir and the construction of a marvelous church in the princely courtyard, decorated with paintings, icons and wonderful carved patterns on stone. There is no exact date of construction in the chronicle, presumably between 1194 and 1197.

Historians believe that the idea of ​​​​building a temple arose from Vsevolod a long time ago - during his exile. His mother, a Byzantine princess, due to the oppression of Andrei Bogolyubsky, was forced to leave Rus' and settle with her young children in Constantinople at the imperial court, where the martyr for the Christian faith Dmitry of Thessalonica was especially revered. Prince Vsevolod received his name at baptism and considered the saint his heavenly patron, therefore, having headed the Principality of Vladimir, he fulfilled a long-standing desire - he erected a temple next to his palace in his honor. The cathedral was connected together with the princely chambers by a long gallery that goes around it at the northern, southern and western facades. In 1197, relics were brought from Thessalonica to the Cathedral of St. Demetrius - an icon painted on the coffin board and depicting St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki in full growth, and a small silver chest, decorated with chasing, which contained a piece of clothing soaked in the blood of the martyr.

The modern appearance of the temple is significantly different from the original: having survived devastating fires in 1536 and 1719, and then again in the 1760s, the cathedral has lost some of its decorative elements. Restoration work was carried out periodically, but they rather damaged the masterpiece beauty of the ancient Orthodox building. So, after a visit to Vladimir by Emperor Nicholas I in 1834, the state of the temple seemed extremely disastrous and dilapidated to the sovereign, so he received an order to reconstruct the cathedral, as a result of which the would-be masters dismantled the gallery and towers with stairs leading to the choir, which also performed a fortifying function for the temple. After such “work,” cracks appeared in the walls, and the building began to practically creep apart. The next stage of restoration efforts barely managed to save the cathedral itself, but the ancient frescoes on the interior walls were lost forever. There was a new iconostasis, a spiral staircase to the choir and air-heating heating, which made it possible to hold services all year round.

After the revolution, Demetrius Cathedral, fortunately, did not suffer the fate of many Orthodox shrines, which were used at best as medical or educational institutions. In 1918, the Commission for the Preservation of Monuments of Art worked in the building, which discovered miraculously surviving frescoes depicting the scene of the Last Judgment under the choir. The cathedral was transferred to the Vladimir Museum. Restoration and repair work was carried out periodically, even during the war, but its final stage was completed quite recently - in 2004. To protect the white stone, a special plastic mixture was used, the building was equipped with drainage pipes, the cross was replaced, and a special microclimate was created inside the room, making it possible to preserve this unique monument of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture.

Architectural features of Dmitrievsky Cathedral

The walls of the temple, the greatest masterpiece of unknown ancient Russian architects, soared upward in a slender white-stone elegy. A striking example of a classic four-pillar, three-apse, single-domed cathedral was once the center of the entire grand-ducal palace complex and symbolized the power of the ruler and all of Rus'.

The entire structure is divided into three tiers: the lower one, once hidden inside the galleries, is devoid of any decorations; the middle one is an arcature-columnar belt with a rich carved pattern; the top one is a continuous carpet of stone carvings, ornately decorating the cylinder of the chapter, covered, like a hero’s helmet, with a gilded dome, above which is erected a cross with an airy lace pattern made of gilded copper.

The facades of the temple are rich in sculptural reliefs - there are over 550 of them. The main themes are Christian images, plots of pagan mythology, episodes of ancient European literature. The walls of the southern facade are occupied by a large composition - “The Ascension of Alexander the Great into Heaven.” The box with Alexander is carried by griffins, reaching for bait - small lion cubs in the arms of the king.

On the northern facade there is a sculptural image of Grand Duke Vsevolod and his 12 sons. The western facade is filled with three sculptural miniatures representing the labors of Hercules - a common subject for church architecture in medieval Europe.

On all facade reliefs there is a figure of King David the psalmist, although some researchers, in particular G. Wagner, the author of a publication on Vladimir-Suzdal sculpture, believe that Solomon, the son of David, the wisest of rulers, is depicted on the walls of the Demetrius Cathedral, which is why Vsevolod placed his silhouette to decorate his temple.

The interior decoration of the cathedral does not amaze with such splendor and would rather seem ascetically simple - and this is not surprising, because the church was created for a narrow circle of the princely family, and not for a large gathering of parishioners. The main value of the interior is the ancient frescoes, which delight the imagination with the perfect beauty of angelic images, the realism of their faces, as well as a surprisingly unusual image of the Garden of Eden with lush palm trees, lush vines, among which birds are lost, picking the fruits.

Attractions near Dmitrievsky Cathedral

Vladimir is one of the pearls of the popular tourist route Golden Ring, a city-museum where most of the buildings were built many centuries ago and are architectural monuments.

The heart of the city is Cathedral Square, which received its name from the Dmitrievsky and Assumption cathedrals located above Klyazma. Several monuments have been erected on the square near the Dmitrievsky Cathedral; in the very center there is a monument in the form of a triangular pyramid made of white stone in honor of the 850th anniversary of the founding of the city.

Between the Dmitrievsky Cathedral, the central street of Vladimir, Bolshaya Moskovskaya, and the buildings of the Government Places, or “Chambers,” lies the oldest park in the city - Lipki, named because of the linden alley planted before other trees. In Soviet times, the green zone in the center of Vladimir began to be called A.S. Pushkin Park, a popular vacation spot among tourists and Vladimir residents. Quite recently, a monument to Andrei Rublev, a world-famous icon painter, appeared at the very entrance to the park. At the end of the park there is an observation deck, from which a magnificent panorama of the city opens.

Of course, all guests of the city are shown the triumphal arch - the Golden Gate, which opens the road to the center, one of the main attractions of Vladimir, which, like St. Demetrius Cathedral, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Where to stay

Vladimir is a hospitable city with a developed tourist infrastructure designed for millions of visitors. The top ten best hotels according to the ratings of some online resources include the park hotel Pearl of the Golden Ring, hotels at the Golden Gate, Erlangen House, Russian Village, Amaks Golden Ring, Prince Vladimir, Klyazma, Zarya, Dobroye, Motel Ochag. The price range is from 1880 to 5600 rubles per day per room. More economical accommodation in hostels Everest, Pilgrim, Samovar, Vozdukh, Wow - from 500 to 1990 rubles per day.

How to get to Dmitrievsky Cathedral

Russia, Vladimir region, Vladimir, Cathedral Square

Electric trains depart daily from the Kursk station of the capital to Vladimir, the trip duration is about 3 hours, the fare is 300-400 rubles.

Traveling on a branded train or on the high-speed Sapsan will be more expensive - from 1000 to 2000 rubles.

Quite often, buses run from the Central Bus Station near the Shchelkovskaya metro station to Vladimir; the journey takes the same three hours as by train; tickets cost about 320 rubles.

Address: Vladimir region, Vladimir, st. B. Moskovskaya, 60

The Cathedral of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica was built around 1194-1197 by Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest. At baptism, the prince took the name Demetrius, which explains the dedication of the new cathedral to his heavenly patron. The fact that the builder of the cathedral is Prince Vsevolod is known only from one document - his obituary (“Build a stone church in your yard, in your name”). For the construction of the temple, a rare shrine was transported here from Thessalonica itself - the tombstone of the martyr Demetrius and part of his shirt. According to legend, numerous healings took place at these shrines.

The four-pillar cross-domed church was built as a princely house church on the territory of Detinets, so its area is small. But, designed to demonstrate the greatness and power of princely power (and Prince Vsevolod was very strong at that time), the temple still amazes the imagination with its elegant proportions and extraordinary beauty of decoration. The famous stone carvings covering the walls of St. Demetrius Cathedral are located at the top of the walls. The lower part is strictly flat, cut only by blades and lush perspective portals. But in the upper half there is an abundance of magnificent subject paintings carved from stone. Unlike the lost scenes on the walls of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky, here everything was preserved according to the plans of the architects and carvers. The arcature belts running along all the walls and semicircular apses are filled with small images of saints, plants, animals and monsters. The columns are “propped up” by mascarons and animals. And in the semicircles of the zakomars there are real paintings: illustrations of the psalms of David, in the center of which is the figure of the king-psalmist himself, the painting “The Ascension of Alexander the Great”, as well as a scene in which the temple builder himself, Prince Vsevolod, with his newborn son Dmitry and his other sons surrounding them, appeared .

The cathedral preserves ancient frescoes, the same age as the building itself. They were discovered under later paintings in arched openings in 1918. These are the remains of the painting of the Last Judgment - the figures of the apostles and the procession of the righteous to heaven. The paintings were done by Greek and Russian masters.

From the outside, the temple looks very slender, directed upward. This impression is contributed by the blades that vertically divide it into parts, and by narrow high loophole windows framed by carvings. The temple is crowned by one chapter on a massive light drum, also decorated with carvings. The helmet-shaped dome ends with a large cross, on the top of which, if you look closely, you can see a dove. This dove is a copy, and the original, worn away by time, having seen a lot over so many centuries, is kept inside the temple, under glass.

And this cathedral, like the Assumption Cathedral, has reached us in a modified form. But the reason for this is not the fire that damaged the walls, like that of the neighboring church, but the will of Nicholas I, who found the galleries of the cathedral, built partly during the construction of the cathedral, partly during the time of Ivan the Terrible, unnecessary, and he ordered them to be dismantled. In 1837-1839, the galleries and staircase towers were dismantled. This damaged the stability of the cathedral walls; they began to crack, since the dismantled galleries served as buttresses. The walls had to be significantly strengthened with metal ties. But Vladimir patrons of the arts constantly showed concern for the temple. Thus, at the expense of the cathedral elder, the merchant Muravkin, a small belfry, stylized as an ancient Russian one, was built next to the cathedral in the 1880s, and pipes were laid from the belfry building into the cathedral to dry the air in the cathedral and protect its walls from dampness. This belfry has not survived.

Now Dmitrievsky Cathedral is occupied by a museum exhibition dedicated to its history. The cathedral preserves the grave of the Vladimir governor R.I. Vorontsov, who was buried here in 1804 out of respect for his services to the city. The main thing in the exhibition, of course, is the unique ancient frescoes, but the interior of the cathedral itself, the high light dome, the slender lines of the pillars pointing upward, are worth seeing with your own eyes and imagining what it was like when Vsevolod’s family gathered here for services. Big Nest.

Vladimir city. Macedonian, as a symbol of Christianity on the bas-reliefs of the St. Demetrius Cathedral of the city “Owner of the World”. David as Savior.

There is one amazingly beautiful Orthodox church in the center of old Vladimir, old with beautiful and original bas-reliefs. It immediately catches your eye with its unusualness. And everything seems to be known about him, written and republished (although here I’m not entirely right - after the next restoration, no, no, a new fresco will be revealed. Author.), all the mysterious bas-reliefs have been examined to the smallest detail, everything seems to be explained, several have been issued interpretations. But the feeling that all the mysteries have been revealed is NOT! Although it is felt that the authors and archaeologists have come as close as possible to the solution, they cannot cross any barrier. And they convinced themselves that everything had been solved and explored. In this sense, the study of the temple reliefs is interesting from the point of view of the “new chronology”. This is St. Demetrius Cathedral .

It is officially believed that the Dmitrievsky Cathedral (late 12th century) was the central building of the ensemble of the palace of Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, which has not survived to this day. Grand Duke Vsevolod (baptized Dmitry) dedicated the cathedral to his heavenly patron, the Holy Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica. In 1837-1839, a “restoration” of the cathedral was carried out to give the cathedral a “primitive appearance”. As a result, it is believed that the cathedral was defaced to such an extent that it lost any semblance of its original appearance and began to collapse. And only later restoration work partially returned the temple to its original appearance. The facades of the building are divided into three tiers. The lower one is almost devoid of any decoration and only carved perspective portals stand out against the background of its smooth walls. The middle tier is represented by a columnar belt with white stone carved figures and rich ornamentation. The upper tier is completely covered with carvings that also cover the dome drum. The temple is crowned with a gently sloping gilded dome. On it there is a wide cross made of gilded copper with a crescent at the base, and at the very top of the cross there is a dove. Maybe this cross is older than the dome itself (More precisely: the cross that is kept as a relic inside the Cathedral). It is believed that the lower tier of the facade of St. Demetrius Cathedral is free from any decorations due to the fact that it was originally closed by galleries that surrounded the cathedral on three sides. The arrangement of the reliefs in horizontal rows is believed to emphasize the majestic stillness and royalty of the building. Generally speaking, in the 19th century, more than 400 bas-reliefs were restored, sometimes completely, sometimes with inserts into a plot picture, so when considering the reliefs of the cathedral, it makes sense not to look too closely at individual parts of the composition or parts of the bas-relief, which may well turn out to be a remake. It is worth considering the general storyline, which was preserved, and which was no longer possible to completely destroy in the 19th century. (For example: “The fight of Hercules with the beast.” Hercules remains mostly ancient, and the monster, except for the tail, is a remake. But the storyline remains ancient: it is Hercules (or David) who fights with the beast on the bas-relief of the Christian Temple. Some completely recreated -reliefs are copies of old ones, restored for symmetry (and this also does not affect the storyline). We are also interested in the tradition in the images of saints and their entourage, apparently early Christian, which is often represented in Russia in the few surviving really old monuments. And which is very similar to the often introduced from outside, but well-preserved tradition, reflected in a large number of Buddhist monuments in Southeast Asia.

The main figure in the decorative system of St. Demetrius Cathedral is the figure King David occupying a central position on each of the three facades of the temple. There are images around animals and monsters, horsemen and birds, bizarre herbs and flowers; among them there are very few images of a church nature (apparently in the modern sense). (I may be subjective, but the structure of the bas-reliefs is reminiscent of the images on the bas-reliefs of temples in Southeast Asia, including Angkor). The image of King David the psalmist is the key to understanding the symbolism of the white stone carvings of the cathedral: “Let every breath praise the Lord!” (I would like to draw special attention: in the Psalter, beloved by the Russians, the “pre-Christian” King David calls himself Jesus at least three times, and this can be seen in the old non-canonical or Old Believer Russian New Testaments. A qualitative study of the Psalter was carried out in the book “King of the Slavs”, where a good evidence that the Psalter was 99% written by the Savior). It is officially believed that in the image of David - the psalmist, shepherd, king, prophet - the image of Christ is “anticipated”! (Or: the Psalter King David is the Savior. Author.). The whole world of creatures (animals, birds, trees and grass) listens to King David at the foot of the throne (These images are quite likely in reality: some kind of old tradition and completely Christian. Author.). All the characters in the cathedral reliefs serve as illustrations to the lines of David’s Psalm. (There is an opinion that the reliefs of the Dmitrov collection go back to folk mythology, pointing to the connection of the images with the “Dove Book” (or the Deep, that is, the Wise!) with Tsar Davil-Davyd Evseevich, a kind spellcaster of natural forces and an inspired singer. But this is possible - one of the distorted images of King David.

We see rulers, heroes and kings: “The Flight of Alexander the Great” on the southern facade, “The Labors of David” and “The Labors of Hercules (in many ways similar to Jesus-David from the Psalter)” on the western facade, a portrait of Prince Vsevolod with his sons on the northern facade. The heraldic figures of lions, leopards, and eagles serve as symbols of power and patronage. G.K. Wagner, the author of a special monograph on the sculpture of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' (Wagner G.K. Sculpture of Ancient Rus': Vladimir: Bogolyubovo: XII century. M., 1969), believed that the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral depict not David at all, but Solomon (Solomon -Salomon, according to the new chronology, is Alexander the Great, or Suleiman the Magnificent), prophet and king, who holds in his hands not a harp, but a scroll. Solomon was considered the ideal of a wise ruler, and that is why Vsevolod sought to decorate his palace temple with his images. Relics of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral - the icon (“tomb board”) of St. Dmitry and the reliquary reliquary, brought to the temple in 1197, and subsequently ended up in Moscow, returned to the cathedral from the capital’s museums (in copies). A grandiose four-meter cross with ornaments, removed from the head of the cathedral and replaced in 2002 with a remake, is also on display.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral. Dome.

The carving of the columnar belt contains a whole gallery of saints, among whom are the Russian princes Boris and Gleb. Most of these figures are late; the earliest sculptures survive only in part of the northern façade. Below each figure are carved images of bizarre plants or animals. The sculptures are separated by carved belt columns, reminiscent of thick braided cords, each of which ends with a figurine of a fantastic beast or bird - a lion with a “flourishing” tail, geese with intertwined necks. (This is also apparently some forgotten ancient tradition: animals with intertwined necks are found on reliefs in Egypt and Mesopotamia).

Below are some fairly well-known examples. Birds with entwined necks at Demetrius Cathedral. Mesopotamia. Seal from Uruk. Ancient Egypt. Narmer palette.

So, on the southern facade of the temple, a large composition “The Ascension of Alexander the Great to Heaven” stands out. This plot seems somewhat unusual to us today for a Christian church, but in the Middle Ages it was extremely popular. Two griffins carry on their wings a king sitting in a wicker box. Alexander holds little lion cubs in his hands. Ascension of Alexander the Great to heaven.

Little has survived from the interior decorations of the cathedral. The remains of medieval fresco painting that survived disasters and fires were destroyed in 1843, at which time the cathedral was re-painted with oil paints. During the restoration of the cathedral in the 19th century, under a thick layer of plaster under the choir near the western wall, traces of ancient mural painting were discovered: an image of the Mother of God sitting on a throne with two angels on her sides, next to the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In 1918, the All-Russian Restoration Commission, during clearing, discovered under the vaults of the choir the remains of fresco painting from the 12th century - scenes from the Last Judgment. In the central vault under the choir there are preserved figures of 12 apostle-judges on thrones and angels behind them; in the small vault under the choir are scenes of heaven: trumpeting angels, the Apostle Peter leading the holy women to heaven, the prudent thief, the Virgin Mary with the forefathers. Angels. Fragment of the fresco “The Last Judgment” of St. Demetrius Cathedral

Before moving on to a further description of the facades of the Demetrius Cathedral, we will also mention the Golden Gate - a rare monument of Russian military architecture from the time of the rise of the Vladimir Principality under Andrei Bogolyubsky. Golden Gate of Vladimir.

The Golden Gate was included in the western line of the city ramparts, built in 1158-1164. princely town planners. The shafts adjacent to the gate array on the sides were scattered in the 18th century. for constructing detours; Round false Gothic towers with extensions between them appeared at the corners of the gate; the arch of the gate and the church above it were then rebuilt. Note that we also know the “Golden Gates” of Constantinople and Kyiv, but there is still serious debate as to how much the “restored” “Golden Gates” of modern Kyiv correspond to their name.

A small digression. It is believed that the Scythians were inspired by Zeus. And according to Herodotus: the ancient Greeks considered the Scythians to be the descendants of Hercules. (Taken from the books: Dovatur A.I., Kallistov D.P., Shishova I.A. “The peoples of our country in the “History” of Herodotus”; Kandyba V.M., Zolin P.M. “The real history of Russia. History and the ideology of the Russian people"). This fits well within the framework of the new chronology, according to which Zeus and Hercules are reflections of the “King of the Slavs” Jesus. The Scythians are the direct ancestors of the Slavs or the Slavs themselves under a different name, which was also proven by a recent study of the genetics of the Russian and Kazan Tatars, proving their direct kinship from the Scythians. (http://kp.ru/daily/24065/305831/)

Let's return to the facades of St. Demetrius Cathedral. The relief of King David sitting on the throne, repeated three times in the central zakomari, has a different environment on each façade. Let's look at two reliefs depicting the hero's victory over a lion.

The first relief of the cathedral shows a man sitting on a lion and tearing the beast's mouth (like Samson to a lion). But in early Christian times, the hero tearing the mouth of a lion was also depicted as David; there were several such images, and they were signed as “David”. (Some of these images are shown in the work: Novakovskaya-Bukhman S.M. King David in the reliefs of the Demetrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir.) Therefore, it is assumed that the victory of David over the lion is depicted on the Demetrievsky Cathedral, especially since the relief is located next to the central image of King David . David-Samson is top right.

Second relief: “the hero defeats the lion with the help of a mace.” A well-known story suggests itself: the victory of Hercules over the Nemean lion. But there is a similar feat of David: David, when a lion attacked the flock, chased after it and took the sheep, and if the beast rushed at him, then David “took it by the hair and struck it and killed it” (I Sam. 17:34, 35 ). In early Christian monuments and in miniatures of the Greek aristocratic Psalms of the Middle Byzantine period, the victory of David over the lion is conveyed in two versions: with images of David in front of the predator or behind it. The interpretation of St. is also interesting. Augustine (197 sermon) “David, who strangles the lion and the bear, who have power in their claws or in their mouths, is an image of Christ descending into hell to free the captives and protect his church from the power of the devil.”

There are two more reliefs that are recognized as the image of King David. One of them, a king sitting on a throne, with his left hand clutching a rectangular musical instrument with strings stretched vertically, and with his right hand he blesses, like the Savior, the beast rearing up in front of him. If we compare it with another relief depicting David on the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, then we can assume that there is also David on the Demetrius Cathedral. The figure, pose, musical instrument and vestments in the relief of St. Demetrius Cathedral literally repeat the image on the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, where the inscription STЪ DVDЪ (David) is preserved. King David on the southern facade of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl. David with a lute. Dmitrievsky Cathedral. David.

Once again this same image is repeated in the Demetrius Cathedral, where the king is depicted seated on a lion throne (like Solomon). During the last restoration of the cathedral in 1998-1999. the inscription AG DDD opened. But even in the art of the Middle Ages, thrones in the form of lions became widespread attributes of power, in particular in Byzantium. Sometimes Christ, the Mother of God, the Evangelist Luke and King David himself are depicted on thrones with armrests in the form of lion heads.

G.K. Wagner writes that the iconography of the title relief of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, and similar images of the Demetrius Cathedral, has no analogues in Western European art. The image of David the musician surrounded by animals is one of the earliest and most widespread in medieval art. A feature of the reliefs of Vladimir cathedrals is the blessing gesture of King David and a pose similar to the images of “The Savior on the Throne”. The lions and doves surrounding David may be related to the idea of ​​the kingdom. According to medieval symbolism, they can also be understood as symbols of God. Accordingly, David appears as the king of heaven and earth and, therefore, again, as a type (or himself!) of Christ. In the Greek aristocratic (simply early Christian) Psalms of the 11th century. throne images of King David are known, blessing with his right hand, with an open book in his left. Also in the bas-reliefs of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl and on the Demetrievsky Cathedral in the images of King David, a ribbon encircling him and crossed on his chest is clearly visible. For example, G.K. Wagner saw the tape as a reminder of imperial lore. There are two main opinions: the ribbon on the reliefs of the Church of the Intercession and St. Demetrius Cathedral is associated either with imperial and liturgical vestments, or the ribbon exactly repeats the ribbon of the deacon’s orarion, with which the deacon girds himself before communion. The same girdle is known in the images of Christ’s clothes in the compositions “The Virgin and Child” (Lidov A.M. The image of “Christ the Bishop” in the iconographic program of Sophia of Ohrid.).

Decoration of the central zakomara of the western facade of the cathedral. David. David is depicted here surrounded by angels and saints with scrolls, eagles flying to his head.

To the right of David on the cathedral is an angel walking towards the king. Turning to the next saint with a scroll, the angel hands him a large round object, similar to a round loaf of bread. An angel with bread on which there is a cross and a saint with a scroll.

Ta What kind of bread is Christ holding in his hands in one of the versions of the composition “Communion of the Apostles”. This composition is known in many monumental paintings and mosaics. There is a cross on Jesus' bread. On the relief of St. Demetrius Cathedral, a four-pointed equal-pointed cross is also carved in the center of the bread. Symbols of royalty - eagles - fly to David here, leopards and lions march towards him, and these, as a number of historians claim, are the heraldic animals of the Vladimir princes of pre-Mongol times. That is, in the bas-reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral, most likely, we see an image not of King David or Hercules with Samson, but of the Savior! It’s better to say: the bas-reliefs of the cathedral further confirm the statement previously made in “The King of the Slavs” that King David of the Psalms is Jesus. And therefore, the images on the facades of the cathedral are completely Christian, simply made in the early Christian tradition. Which then began to be forgotten. Thus, we see that the new chronology often more fully reflects the meanings of many images of the Cathedral of St. Demetrius, removes many historical contradictions and, perhaps, even shows an additional, from a different perspective, non-obvious, relationship between early Christianity and Buddhism in particular.

Princely Palace in Bogolyubovo. Almost no bas-reliefs have survived on the facades. But during excavations in the ground, the remains of bas-reliefs were discovered, which suggests that the ancient palace was made in the same early Christian style as the St. Demetrius Cathedral and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl. Here's another interesting find! It is believed that the palace square was decorated with another architectural structure, from which the so-called four-faced capital has been preserved - a massive limestone block of regular shape with four carved faces in Christian halos. Girls' hairstyles are decorated with lilies (or one of the forms of the early Christian cross!) - symbols of the purity and purity of the Mother of God. Perhaps it was part of a massive pillar in the spirit of antiquity. It is known that the tradition of installing memorial triumphal columns was developed in the construction of Christian sacred pillars in Constantinople and in front of the cathedrals of Western Europe. And it reminds everyone, but it reminds me, among other things, not so much of the broken faces of the “Scythian women”, as it might seem at first glance, but rather of the many-faced images of Buddha somewhere in Southeast Asia. Four-faced capital in Bogolyubovo.

Appendix 1. Pigeon book.

The verse about the Book of the Dove-Deep is a work of Slavic spiritual literature. There are more than 20 options. It is believed that the “Dove Book” consists of Christian and pre-Christian myths and goes back to a number of apocrypha: “Conversation of the Three Hierarchs”, “Questions of John the Theologian to the Lord on Mount Tabor”, “Jerusalem Conversation”. The image of a book sealed with seven seals is one of the main ones in the Apocalypse. It is believed that the “Dove Book” was written from the future, since the breaking of seals and the battle between “falsehood and truth” take place already at the Last Judgment. (see also St. Augustine's statement about David and the lion). And “golbet” (hence maybe cabbage roll) is the entrance to another world. The wooden structure above the burial mound has the same name. The Pigeon is quite possibly also an otherworldly book, which is why it cannot be read. Apocalypse, chapter 5: The Lion “from the root of David,” who turns out to be the Lamb-Christ, can read the BOOK and open its seven seals (“You are worthy to take the book and open the seals from it, for You were slain, and with Your Blood you have redeemed us to God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation"), for which he enters into battle with the beast (Satan). Let us remember about the Indian thunder god Indra, who fights with the serpent Vritra (god of drought), who blocked the rivers. And about the Egyptian couple: Horus - Set. from the collection of A.V. Oksenova. A strong, menacing cloud rose, A Dove book fell out, And not small, not great: The valley book is forty fathoms, The crossbars are twenty fathoms. Forty kings with the prince, Forty princes with the prince, Forty priests, forty deacons, Many people, small people, Orthodox Christians, No one will approach the book, No one will shrink from God’s book. The wise king, the Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich, came to the book: He has access to God’s book, The book opens up before him, All divine scripture is announced to him. Prince Volodimir, Vododimir Prince Volodimirovich, also came to the book: “You, wise king, Davyd Evseevich! Tell me, sir, preach to us, Who wrote this book, Who printed Golubin?” The wise king, the Wise King Davyd Evseevich, answered them: “Jesus Christ himself wrote this book, Jesus Christ, the Heavenly King; Isaiah the prophet himself read this book, He read the book for exactly three years, He read exactly three leaves from the book.” “Oh, you, you goy, our wise king, Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich! Read, sir, the book of God, Declare, sir, the works of God, About our life, about the holy Russian, About our life to the world of the free: How did we begin white free light Why is our sun red? Why is our month young and bright? Why do we have so many stars? Why do we have dark nights? Why do we have morning dawns? Why do we have violent winds? Why do we have fragmentary rain? Why do we have mind-mind? What are our thoughts? Why do we have peace-people? Why do we have strong bones? What are our bodies made of? Why is our blood ore? Why did we have kings in our land? How did the prince-boyars conceive? Why are the peasants Orthodox?" The wise Tsar, the Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich, will say: "Oh, you goy, Volodimir the Prince, Volodimir the Prince Volodimirovich! I cannot read the book of God. I am honored to read the book of God: This book is not small, This book is great; To hold it in your arms - it won’t be able to hold it, To put it on God’s chest - it won’t fit. We can’t comprehend this book with our minds And we can’t look at the book with our eyes: The Great Dove Book! From my old memory, I will tell you, as if from a letter: For us, the white free light was conceived from the judgment of God, the red Sun from the face of God, Christ Himself, the King of Heaven; The month is young and bright from its breasts, The frequent stars are from the robes of God, The dark nights are from the thoughts of the Lord, The morning dawns are from the eyes of the Lord, The violent winds are from the Holy Spirit, The rain is broken from the tears of Christ, Christ Himself, the King of Heaven. We have the mind-mind of Christ himself, Our thoughts are from the clouds of heaven, We have the world-people from Adam, Our strong bones are from stone, Our bodies are from damp earth, Our blood-ore is from the black sea. From this we have kings in our land: From the holy head of Adam; From this the prince-boyars were conceived: From the holy relics of Adam; That is why the Orthodox peasants: From the holy tribe of Adam." Prince Volodimir, Prince Volodimirovich will say: "Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich! Tell us, preach; Which king is king over kings? What is the mother land of all lands? What is the head of all the heads of the mother? Which city is the father of cities? Which church is the mother of all churches? What is the mother river of all rivers? What mountain is the mother of all mountains? Which stone is the mother of all stones? Which tree is the mother of all trees? What is the mother grass of all herbs? Which sea is the mother of all seas? What fish is the mother of all fish? Which bird is the mother of all birds? Which beast is the father of all beasts?" The wise king, the Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich, will say: "We have a White Tsar - a king over kings. Why is a White Tsar a king over kings? And he holds the baptized faith, the baptized faith, the pious one, He stands for the Christian faith, For the house of the Most Pure Mother of God, - Therefore, the White Tsar is king over kings. Holy Rus' is the mother land of all lands: Apostolic churches are built on it; They pray to God crucified, to Christ Himself, the King of Heaven, - Therefore, holy Rus' is the mother land of all lands. And the head of the heads of the mother is the head of Adam, Because when the Jews crucified Christ on the place of execution, they placed a cross on the holy head of Adam. Jerusalem is the father of cities. Why is that city the father of cities? Therefore, Jerusalem is the father of cities: In the city of Jerusalem, here we have the environment of the earth. The cathedral is the mother church of all churches. Why is the cathedral-church the mother of all churches? There is a cathedral-church in the middle of the city of Jerusalem, In that cathedral church there is a divine throne; On that throne on the divine stands a white stone tomb; In that white stone tomb rest the vestments of Christ Himself, Christ Himself, the King of Heaven, - Therefore, the cathedral-church is the mother of churches. Ilmen is the mother lake of lakes: Not the Ilmen that is above the New City, Not the Ilmen that is in Constantinople, But the Ilmen that is in the Turkish land Above the initial city of Jerusalem. Why is Ilmen Lake mother lakes? His mother Jordan River fell out. The Jordan River is the mother of all rivers. Why is the Jordan River the mother of all rivers? Jesus Christ himself was baptized in it with the power of heaven, with the guardian angels, with the twelve apostles, with John, the light, with the Baptist - Therefore the Jordan River is the mother of all rivers. Favor is the mother mountain of all mountains. Why is Favor Mountain the mother of mountains? Jesus Christ himself was transfigured on it, Jesus Christ, the King of Heaven, the light, with Peter, with John, with James, with the twelve apostles, showed glory to his disciples, - Therefore Tabor is the mountain of the mother mountains. White latyr is the mother stone of all stones. On a white latyr on a stone Jesus Christ Himself, the Heavenly King, talked and rested, From the age of twelve with the apostles, From the age of twelve with the teachers; He established faith on the stone, He spread the book of the Dove throughout the earth, throughout the universe, - Therefore, the latyr-stone is the mother of all stones. Cypress is the mother tree of all trees. Why is that tree the mother of all trees? On that cypress tree the life-giving cross appeared to us. On that, on the life-giving cross, Jesus Christ himself was crucified, Jesus Christ, the King of Heaven, the light - Therefore, cypress is the mother of all trees. Weeping grass is the mother of all herbs. Why is the weeping mother of all herbs? When the Jews crucified Christ, shed his holy blood, the Most Pure Mother of God wept greatly for Jesus Christ, for her son for her beloved, shed most pure tears on mother on the damp earth; From those, from the tears of the most pure, the weeping grass was born, - Therefore, the weeping grass is the mother of the grasses. The ocean is the mother of all seas. Why is the ocean the mother of all seas? In the middle of the ocean sea there emerged a cathedral church, a cathedral church, a pilgrimage church, of St. Clement, the Roman priest; The church has marble domes, and golden crosses on the domes. From that church, from the cathedral, from the cathedral, from the pilgrimage, the Queen of Heaven came out; From the ocean-sea she washed herself, To the cathedral-church she prayed to God, - From that the ocean is the mother of all seas. Whale fish is the mother of all fish. Why is the whale fish the mother of all fish? The earth is based on three fish. A whale-fish stands - it won’t collapse; When the whale-fish turns, Then mother earth will shake, Then our white light will end, - Therefore, the whale-fish is the mother of all fish. The earth was founded by the Holy Spirit, and maintained by the Word of God. Stratim-bird is the mother of all birds. Why is she the mother of all birds? The stratim bird lives on the ocean-sea and produces children on the ocean-sea. According to God's command, the Stratim-bird will perk up, the Ocean-sea will ripple; She sinks living-room ships with precious goods, - Therefore, we are the mother of all the birds. We have the Indrik Beast as the father of all animals. Why is the Indrik Beast the father of all animals? He walks through the dungeon, clears streams and grooves: Where the beast passes, the spring boils here; Wherever the beast turns, all the animals will bow to the beast. He lives in the holy mountain, He drinks and eats in the holy mountain; Wherever he wants, he goes through the dungeon, Like the sun in the sky, - That’s why we have an indrik-beast, the father of all animals. Prince Volodimir said: “Oh, you goy, wise king, Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich! I slept at night, sir, I didn’t sleep much , I saw a lot in my dreams: If from that country from the east, If from another country from the midday, If two animals would gather, If two fierce ones would come together, They would fight and fight among themselves, One animal wants to defeat one.” The wise king, the Wise Tsar Davyd Evseevich, spoke: “It was not two beasts who gathered, It was not two fierce ones who came together, It was Falsehood and the Truth that came together, They fought and fought among themselves, Falsehood wants to overcome Truth. Truth out-argued Falsehood. Truth went to heaven To Christ himself, To the Heavenly King; And all the falsehoods have spread among us throughout the whole earth, All over the whole earth of the Russian world, Throughout all the Christian people. Because of the falsehoods the earth has shaken, Because of this the whole people are indignant; Because of the falsehoods, the people have become wrong, The people have become wrong, vindictive: They "They want to deceive each other, They want to eat each other. Whoever does not live in deceit, He who is drawn to the Lord, That soul will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven."

The famous Dmitrievsky Cathedral is located in the city of Vladimir and is a large court temple, which was built by Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest on the territory of the princely court. It was decided to consecrate the temple in the name of the Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica.

The exact date of construction of the Demetrius Cathedral is still unknown, but many researchers point to the period between 1194 and 1197. Russian craftsmen were involved in the construction process, although it was originally planned to invite German ones.

In 1237, the cathedral was destined to share the fate of the capital of the Vladimir principality. Damaged and plundered by the Tatars, the temple subsequently burned and was looted more than once.

Between 1837 and 1839, according to the order of Emperor Nicholas I, repair and restoration work was carried out in the cathedral in order to give the cathedral its original appearance. As a result of the work, it turned out that the temple was incredibly disfigured and was completely different from the original version. After a certain period of time, the cathedral began to quickly collapse. Again an order was given for its restoration, but this time the appearance of the temple was almost completely restored. The church was built as the palace temple of Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest and occupied first place among all the buildings of his court.

It is worth noting that Demetrius Cathedral is a masterpiece. It has almost ideal forms and noble proportions, which makes the cathedral unique. The appearance of the cathedral is striking at first glance, because the spirit of solemnity envelops the temple down to the most inconspicuous details. The symbol of the Orthodox faith has absorbed all the best from Russian engraving and wood carving, which has found its place not only in decorative, but also in pictorial motifs. The cathedral is rich in white stone carvings, which almost completely envelop the temple walls - it is not for nothing that the cathedral has a second name - “precious casket” or “stone poem”.

The richness of the interior decoration is delightful, although in some places you can notice that there is even too much of it, but apparently the Vladimir architects could not dwell on the splendor that was created by their hands - which is why there is a somewhat sense of imbalance.

As mentioned, the authors of the stone carvings were Vladimir architects who worked in collaboration with Bulgarians, Serbs and Dalmatians - visitors from the Balkan Peninsula. This circumstance explains the presence of motifs that were so widespread in Byzantium and the Balkans.

The façade of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral is divided into three tiers, and the lower one is devoid of decoration, so only carved portals are visible against its background. The second tier is an arcature columnar belt, equipped with white stone figures and luxurious ornaments. The third tier is cut through with narrow windows and completely covered with carvings, which are also noticeable on the dome drum. The crowning of the temple was carried out using a gilded shallow dome, shaped like a hero’s helmet. On the dome there is a wide cross made of gilded copper.

The southern facade of St. Demetrius Cathedral stands out due to the presence of a large-scale composition called “The Ascension of Alexander the Great into Heaven.” The plot of the composition is somewhat unconventional for an Orthodox church, but in those days it was acceptable and popular. In the hands of Alexander the Great are depicted small lion cubs that so attract griffins - terrible monsters.

The key figure in the cathedral decoration is the statue of King David, which occupies a central place on each façade. Today, a small fragment of the painting “The Last Judgment” has survived. It is believed that two talented masters took part in the creation of the fresco. The Byzantine motif of painting is clearly visible in the picture, but this composition is so realistically executed that it literally revolutionized the entire appearance of St. Demetrius Cathedral, adding elements of Byzantine art of the 12th century.

The interior of the cathedral seems quite small, but it was built exclusively for the prince’s family and was not designed for a large crowd of people. But despite this, Dmitrievsky Cathedral is a unique architectural monument of its time.