The City Of Golden Domes: Cathedrals & Monasteries

“Two Romes fell, a third stands, and there will not be a fourth one!”

Tour Description:

For Russian speakers, Moscow has many nicknames. The city is sometimes referred to as the “first-throned”, because it became the first capital of the young Russian state; “white-stoned”, because of the first stone Kremlin that was white; or “golden-domed”, because of the gilded cupolas of Moscow’s churches. But why did Moscow gain the nickname the “Third Rome”?

Since the 10^th century Moscow has been the cradle of the orthodoxy and this is reflected in the large number of magnificent and picturesque monasteries and cathedrals established in the city. Fascinating churches do not only remind us of the most glorious victories and conquests of Russia but also commemorate the Russian soldiers who died on the fields of battles defending their motherland. At the same time the constant threat of attack of foreign invaders led Moscow’s early rulers to establish a chain of citadel monasteries around the old city, and these have become some of the most important centres of the Russian Orthodox Church, including the official residence of the Russian Patriarch.

Although the Bolshevik government disbanded all of Moscow’s monasteries after the Revolution, and used the buildings for a variety of more or less insalubrious purposes, including a Museum of Atheism and a prison camp. Some of the sites were returned to the Church after the Second World War. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the remainder have all found their way back into Church hands. Extensive work has been going on to restore these architectural treasures to their former splendour.