Among the monuments of ancient temple architecture,The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Pereslavl-Zalessky takes a special place in the history of Russia. Reached to us from those remote times, when Russia had not yet learned the horrors of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, it is the earliest of the white-stone temples of the northeast of Russia.
Transfiguration Cathedral(Pereslavl-Zalessky), which is the same age as the city itself, was founded in 1152 by one of the sons of Vladimir Monomakh - Grand Duke Yury Dolgoruky. Years imposed on him their imprint. As studies have shown, for a period exceeding more than eight and a half centuries, the temple plunged into the earth by ninety centimeters.
As if foreseeing future military turmoil,the founders of the cathedral laid a considerable margin of safety in its walls. The thickness of more than a meter, they were laid out in the so-called semi-rubble technique, which consisted in laying dry perfectly-peeled white stone blocks. Fitted to each other with great accuracy, they ensured high strength and durability of the entire structure. In its architectural features, the object refers to a single-domed four-pillar temple, decorated with three apses. The quality of work has passed a successful test of time, as a result of which the Transfiguration Cathedral (Pereslavl-Zalessky) built in the XII century has reached our days in excellent condition.
And to test a temple it was a lot of.Inside, on one of the walls, a board is fixed, on which all the trials and troubles that fell to his share during the next centuries are listed. Mentioned in it and the countless Tatar hordes, swept through Pereslavl-Zalessky, and hordes of Lithuanian conquerors, and squads of neighboring princes of predators. It does not say only about those who caused the main and irreparable damage to the temple - about restorers.
As a result of their heartlessness and professionalismincompetence, manifested during the restoration work carried out in the temple at the end of the XIX century, priceless frescoes dating from the last quarter of the 12th century were forever lost. About the level at which they were performed by ancient masters, one can form a representation only on the only fragment that survived miraculously and is now stored in the Moscow Historical Museum. It depicts the Old Testament prophet Simon.
From the reports of the commission following the proceedingsrestoration, it is known that the frescoes depicting scenes of the Last Judgment and the Virgin, sitting on the throne, were removed from the walls and packed in wooden boxes. Since none of the museums agreed to accept them for storage, these samples of ancient painting were simply dumped in a barn, where they were in complete disorder.
Over time, they have become completely worthless, and inIn 1895, by a special Archaeological Commission, their further storage was deemed inexpedient. Since piety did not allow enlightened barbarians to throw sacred images into the trash, they were simply drowned in the lake.
Over the years of its history, I've often been in thethe center of events that formed bright pages of the history of Ancient Rus, and Pereslavl-Zalessky. The Savior's Transfiguration Cathedral has seen a lot in its time. The marble plaque installed on its wall indicates that somewhere near it there were princely chambers in which, in 1220, the future defender of Russia, Prince Alexander, was born, for the defeat of the Swedish invaders at the mouth of the Neva called Nevsky. Under the arches of the same temple, he took holy baptism.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral (Pereslavl-Zalessky)became a tomb to his son - the great Prince Vladimir of Vladimir, and to his grandson - to the specific Prince of Pereslavl Ivan Dmitrievich. Their graves, preserved by time, have survived to this day. Remember the vaults of the church and the Monk Sergei of Radonezh, elevated here to the rank of hegumen, before he headed the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra founded by him.
Переславль-Залесский собор Спаса-Преображения saw how many great princes of Moscow prayed on their knees here. He also knew Ivan the Terrible himself, who had come to this wondrous land to beg God for forgiveness for the crimes he had already committed and gain strength for the new ones. And when, in the midst of the Time of Troubles, Russia was on the verge of collapse, in front of the images of this temple, they prayed to the Lord for sending victory to the Orthodox militia Minin and Pozharsky.
Many "legends of olden times" keep in theirin memory of the Transfiguration Cathedral (Pereslavl-Zalessky). He could also tell how not far from him on the lake Plescheevo was building his “amusing fleet” young sovereign Russian Peter I, who was to receive the title Great from his descendants, and the fleet sailed from the quiet shores of the lake was destined to conquer all the oceans .
As any self-respecting monument of the ancientsFrom time to time, the Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky has its own secret, exciting the minds of scientists and researchers and just lovers of everything that goes beyond the gray routine. From the chronicle materials it is known that during the erection of the temple, underground passages were dug deep under its foundation for the evacuation of city residents in the event of a siege - times were already painfully restless.
Did I have to use them in the followingperiods of history when hordes of Tatars and other invaders fell upon Russia are not known. Numerous attempts to find the entrance to these underground labyrinths were unsuccessful, and they still keep their secrets, which certainly makes the temple even more attractive for tourists.
After the Bolshevik coup, the temple in whichuntil then, church services were performed regularly; it was closed, but fortunately, unlike many temple buildings, it was not destroyed. Everything that, in the opinion of the new authorities, was valuable, was seized or simply looted. However, a number of the most significant items of church utensils were saved. Among them was the chalice sent to Moscow (communion cup) - a gift from Yuri Dolgorukov and the unique Gospel of the deacon Zinovy.
Despite the fact that today the temple is officiallyis owned by Nikolsky Monastery, services are held in it infrequently, and it still maintains the status of the museum of antiquities, in which he himself is the main exhibit. Not far away stands a memorial monument in honor of Yuri Dolgoruky, by whose command the city was built and the Transfiguration Cathedral was erected. In Pereslavl-Zalessky, whose history has become an integral part of Russia's past, thousands of tourists come every year to see this extraordinary temple and breathe in it with the air of bygone centuries.
