Editor Pick
Church of the Ressurection of Jesus Christ
- August 18, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
marcopolo from Savannah, Georgia
I think that anyone who travels to Moscow will be fascinated with a visit to the Church of the Ressurection of Jesus Christ in Moscow. This marvelous church was built in 1862 as a tribute to the Russian defenders of the Napoleonic invasion of Russia. All of the people of Russia gave as much financial support as they could to help build this church. Some could only give one kopek but everyone contributed. Some of the most famous painters in all of Russian history came to the church to contribute to the beautiful interior including V. I. Surikov and other Russian immortals. I personally understood just how important this church was to the people of Russia when I saw the list of painters. Surikov is perhaps the most famous painter of Russian epochal historical scenes and has always been one of my favorite painters.
It was a tragedy of epic proportion when this beautiful church was destroyed in the 1930s. It was dynamited by the Bolshiviks in order to make room for the proposed Palace of the Soviets. After the destruction of the church, the foundation was dug for the Palace. The Palace of Soviets was to have been larger than the Empire State Building and was to have been topped off with a 100 meter tall statue of Lenin. Imagine their surprise and disappointment when the newly dug foundation kept filling up with water. WWII interupted construction and plans were put on hold.
In the 1960s plans were made to convert the failed foundation into a huge swimming area for the people of Moscow. This area became very popular and people swam there even in the winter! By the 1980s members of the Russian intelligencia, led by Vladimir Solouhin, proposed the idea of rebuilding the church that had been destroyed so many years before. The effort was supported by Gorbachov, and soon money again poured in from all over Russia.
The church is being rebuilt from existing archives. The Academy of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg provided the masters necessary to complete the most difficult of the restoration tasks. Teachers and students from the Academy contributed their time and effort to make this dream a reality. Today this church is almost completely rebuilt. To see the church is to understand the passion of the Russian people for their history and culture. It is a must for every American who goes to Moscow to see this hallowed spot.
From journal Moscow City of Power