The first stone temple of Ancient Rus is which temple?

The symbol of the Orthodox culture of ancient Russia has always been the temples. The beauty and grandeur of religion begin with the center of church life - Orthodox churches.

From tree to stone

The abundance of forests in Russia influenced the predominance of wooden construction. The tree was considered a cheap material, and the difficulty in mining the building stone also affected its value.

The history of Ancient Rus describes that almost all buildings were wooden: terema, palaces, peasant houses, and churches. The log was the main element of any design. Creative projects were limited. Few people dared to desperate experiments to spend money on searching for alternative material. Classical projects of peasant hut were quadrangular log buildings. More complex compositions were prince's houses, tent churches.

It is because of the fragility of the building material that much of the Old Russian architecture has been lost.

Stone construction

Stone construction is associated with the Baptism of Rus. The first stone temple of Ancient Rus is the one that was laid in Kiev by Constantinople architects. Historians consider the date of this event to be the 989th year. Before that, there were also temples, but wooden buildings.

If you believe the annals, the construction of the temple was completed in 996, then there was a solemn consecration.

The Symbol of Faith and Tradition

The attitude of believers to churches has always been special in Orthodoxy. Often, the construction of a new church took place on donations.

Its roots go back to the times of the Old Testament. According to the chronicles it is established that the first stone church of Ancient Rus is the Church of the Holy Virgin, or, in other words, the Church of the Tithes. After the Baptism of Rus, in the early years, the construction of church splendor began according to the traditions of Byzantine and Bulgarian architecture. The founder of the noble cause was Prince Vladimir, who gave the tenth part of his income.

Up to now, the first stone temple of Ancient Rus was not preserved in its original form. It was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars during the seizure of Kiev. Restorative work began in the XIX century. However, the design of this church significantly affected the architecture of churches throughout Russia.

About the first stone church

The first stone church of ancient Russia received its name from the tithes donated by the prince for construction. So it was fixed in the history of his definition - the Church of the Tithes.

Undoubtedly, the first stone church of Ancient Rus is a building that can be considered a palace church. According to the remains of the brick foundation, historians have concluded that the palace buildings were erected nearby. Significant destruction does not allow to restore their original architectural appearance, but according to experts it was the front rooms.

Residential palace premises were a wooden part of the second floors of stone palaces, or were in the neighborhood with the first stone temple of Ancient Russia. It is a historical fact that Kiev stood out among other cities with stone-brick architecture. The capital of the state was distinguished by monumental construction.

The influence of Greek masters in the architectural design of the Transfiguration Cathedral is well traced.

During the reign of Mstislav and Yaroslav the country was divided. Then the next stage of construction began. In the city of Chernigov, the construction began earlier. Mstislav laid the foundation of the Spassky Cathedral.

The exact date of commencement of construction is not traced in written sources. It is known that in 1036 the walls of the cathedral became by definition "as if standing on a horse with a hand", which means "very high". In history, the date is marked by the death of Prince Mstislav.

In Kiev, St. Sophia Cathedral was erected after the Chernigov Spassky Cathedral. Analyzing the political situation and some historical data, the period when the stone church was built, we can consider 1037 year. The Cathedral of St. Sophia reflects the desire to repeat Byzantine patterns. This largest temple of Kievan Rus is taken as a model as a cross-domed structure in the construction of cathedrals in Novgorod and Polotsk.

In 1073, the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Monastery of the Caves was laid. This temple played a significant role in the development of Russian architecture. In the "Pechersk Paterik" there is a note: "... masters of the church 4 men", - so the arrival of architects for the construction of this building from Constantinople is described. The composition of the church building of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery was also influenced by the Kiev Sophia. The uneasy history of the Assumption Cathedral convinces the Orthodox in the power of faith - the cathedral, which was blown up in 1942, was rebuilt in the 1990s.

At the end of the XI century, the large ancient city of Pereyaslavl acquires military and political significance. Beyond its walls, the Kiev land and the entire Middle Dnieper have found a cover from the invading Polovtsians. On the land of this glorious city, the construction of the "stone city" - the church of Michael - unfolded. At the initiative of Prince Vladimir Monomakh and Bishop Ephrem there appeared a gate with the gate church of Fedor. In 1098, the construction of the Church of the Theotokos begins in the princely court.

According to the mention of the chronicles, outside the city there were traces of a small church on the river L'et. Unfortunately, Orthodox people and historians, Pereyaslavl monuments have not survived until now.

The meaning of the church - from study to the royal title

Temples of Ancient Rus influenced the definitions of names, streets, roads, cities. All the objects that were associated with the holy place quickly adopted the name of the church, the church.

In the period of Ancient Rus churches were a place of unification. The new settlement began with the construction of a temple - the center of life for every person. Divine services of that time collected almost all residents of the village. Important events for each family were rituals: weddings, baptisms, funerals, blessings.

The temple played a big role in the Orthodox cult. The decoration of the rooms, rites, icons gave the believer the hope of saving his soul. In addition, everyone could enjoy the beauty of the temple.

A considerable push gave Orthodoxy the formation of arts. Their development took place within the temples. For a believing person, the church was the primary factor of all culture and worship. That is why some important events that are not related to the church life, passed under the dome of the shrine. These include: the anointing of kings on the throne, soborhood, the announcement of the royal decree. Do not forget about the importance of the temples in teaching people literacy.

Acting as a social phenomenon in the lives of people of Ancient Rus, monasteries and temples were the place where the training was organized, archives, workshops, libraries were located. A little later, since the XIX century, the first schools at that time began to be approved, parochial schools.

Beautiful decoration with benefit for descendants

A single interior in the architecture of the church construction of Ancient Rus is a distinctive feature of that time. The classical execution was low altar partitions, allowing to see the upper part of the altar zone of the temple.

Everyone praying visually approached the center of worship. For an Orthodox person it was important to see the divine space that united the earthly and heavenly church.

The interior decoration of the temples under the mosaic style came from the Byzantine tradition. The decoration of the bright and light design symbolizes the unity of the earthly and heavenly.

Temples of Ancient Rus carried the function of museums, where the relics of saints, icons, relics with historical value were transferred. Here, the ancient manuscripts and important documents were transferred to the preservation. Thanks to the work of the priests and ministers of the church, the history of Ancient Rus can be traced literally by years, and many historical events were opened to contemporaries in the form of conclusive evidence gathered in the church.

Blessing to protect the Russian land

The church escorted the soldiers to the service or battles. Sometimes the occasion for construction was the reverence of the memory of those killed in the battles. Such churches were erected on the battlefields, as a token of gratitude to the soldiers for the victory.

In peacetime, churches and temples were erected in honor of the great holidays, the saints. For example, the Ascension, Christ the Savior.

Honoring the holy - for your own good

For a believing person, the church has always been important in life. Therefore, only high-quality masters and architects were allowed to build. Bazaar territories, gatherings and assemblies of citizens were held near churches, as evidenced by the map of Ancient Rus.

It did not cost to build without investing a lot of money. Only the best was sacrificed for the creation: materials, land. Considering the fact that the church was built on a hill or, as the ancestors said, "on the red spot," it served as a point of reference, along which the map of Ancient Rus was drawn up, the plan of the terrain.

View of the architect

The building methods of decorating the roof give the stone architecture a shade of wooden architecture. This is especially expressed in examples with temple structures. The roofs continued to make gable and gable.

In small settlements where modest temples were built, the masonry was carried out as a peasant hut, when the crown (four logs) was laid down. Connecting, they formed a square or a rectangle. As a result, a structure was obtained from a certain number of wreaths - a frame.

More complex construction, but according to a given principle, churches were built. The quadrangular frame changed into an octagonal frame. The principle of combining the quadrangles and octal was transferred to the stone architecture of Rus and preserved in our days.

Shatrovye temples are common in Russia as a two- and multi-tiered structures. To connect separate log buildings, they were connected with each other by a system of transitions (galleries, fenders).

By placing church buildings on stone plinths, the builders placed basements, cellars and underground tunnels that were relevant for that time, under the ceilings of the ground.

The destruction and rebirth of temples

For half a century the process of development of ancient Russian architecture stopped after the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars. For different reasons, the masters, icon painters and builders, part of the churches and temples were destroyed.

Leaving from the Byzantine samples, the ancient temples of Russia in the 12th century acquired original features, defining the development of Russian architecture.

All that a student needs to know about the life of Ancient Rus is set forth in the teaching materials for grade 6. Ancient Rus is the history of our ancestors, formation, battles, victories of our state, which every Russian should know.