Shi Yang “Metempsychosis: Revival of the Christ the Savior Cathedral”

Guanguanpig’s Adventure

14 of April. 2011

1 pm Moscow time, Guanguanpig arrived at Sheremetyevo air port, started her first adventure of Russia, a nostalgic dream world for her.

Natasha, her Russian friend meeting in Beijing 2 years ago, drove to the airport and picked her up. After 3 hours traffic jams, they reached the heart of Moscow center. Bathing the winter sunset along the embankment of Moscow River after painful congestion made them completely released. ‘Look at that white church! How beautiful in the sunset! I am truly in Russia, incredible!’ ‘That’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral, one of our canteen.’

‘What? I mean that church.’ ‘Yes, I know, I also wash my car there, I have a golden membership, much cheaper than another places in Moscow.’ ‘What… I am totally confused, isn’t it a church? ’ ‘It is, but not only a church. It’s a complex built 10 years ago of Cathedral, canteen, laundry, car parking and washing, museum, etc… there is a brilliant story about it.’ Natasha told the legendary life of Christ the Saviour to Guanguanpig. ‘Superplace of Ghosts! It sems like a Disneyland then, but anyway, I like it. It composed a strong feeling of Russia as I imagined in my dream.’

METEMPSYCHOSIS The passage of a soul from one body to another.

Rebirth of the soul at death in another body, either human or animal.

Christ the Saviour in 1904

CONTENTS: Introduction

1

History of the Cathedral

9

New Landmark

35

Glorification

41

Sham Replica

59

Hybridization

71

Conclusion

75

Christ the Saviour in 2011 1

2

Political Symbol

Living Tradition

Cases in Moscow

SHAM R

Christ the

HYBRIDIZATION

Orthodox Culture

Commerce

GLORIFI

Reasons of R

Socio-Economic need

communist beliefs collapsed

rich-poor divide

Mayor Luzhkov

REPLICA

e Saviour

LANDMARK

x Church Skyline

ICATION

Re-construction

Political intentions

destroy communist ideology

way for social solidarity

Symbolism

Designed by Konstantin Ton 1860 7

Interior 1883 8

The cathedral was considered as a symbol of the autocratic leadership characteristic to Russia, setting the region apart from the west.

9

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is on the bank of the Moskva River, a few blocks west of the Kremlin. With an overall height of 103 metres, it is the tallest Orthodox church in the world.

When Napoleon retreated from Moscow, Emperor Alexander I signed a manifest, 25 December 1812, declaring his intention to build a Cathedral in honor of Christ the Saviour “to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her” and as a memorial to the sacrifices of the Russian people. The cathedral was finished in 1883. Ton’s cathedral was an imposing monument to Russian victory and strength, dominating the Moscow cityscape into the Soviet era.

View of the cathedral and the Great Stone Bridge in 1905 10

Russian Imperial Ideology

Embodying the most prominent expression of Russian imperial ideology, the Cathedral was too provocative a symbol to resist socialist rule. It was demolished in 1931 by Stalin, who intended to build there the vast Palace of the Soviets.

11

Socialist Rule

View of the cathedral in 1931 12

13

The newspapers wrote ‘ The Cathedral is grotesque and totally inartistic’. ‘The Cathedral is a poisonous mushroom on Moscow’s face’ and that it was ‘a source of slothfulness’ .

14

Designed byBoris Iofan 1932 15

One of the most influential pieces of architecture never to be built.

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In 1958, under Nikita Khrushchev, the site turned over to become an open-air swimming pool, the largest in the world, which was kept at a temperature of 27째C all year round. The result was a thick covering of fog that shrouded a number of gruesome deaths (and murders) among the swimmers. The swimming pool that used to attract 15,000 bathers a day.

21

Moskva Pool in 1960 22

23

In 1993, 207 Moscow churches were attended by 500,000 people, but, beginning in 1960, more than five million people used the pool annually.

Moskva Pool in 1980 24

25

Moskva Pool in 1980s 26

Boris Yel’tsin signed the July 1992 decree, “On the creation of a Foundation for Moscow’s Rebirth,” in which restoration of the Cathedral was listed as the very first project.

Moscow City Government estimates the reconstruction costs $360-million and most of the amount was given by the 20 largest companies operating in Moscow, such as Coca Cola, McDonalds and Societe Generale. “Our Mayor said to the companies; you make money out of the people of Moscow, so you give something back for them and our city”.

View of the cathedral in 1996 27

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View of the reconstruction 1996 30

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The reconstruction ompleted in 2000, the new cathedral is loosely based on Ton’s original designs, but constructed with modern building materials including air conditioning, telecommunications facilities, elevators and underground parking.

33

34

The new ‘old’ national symbol comes back 35

36

Paschal Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior 24.04.2011 37

38

President of the Republic of Guatemala

President of the Republic of Abkhazia 39

The Cathedral became the national card

Patriarch taught primatial blessing to Bagapsh and his wife and hoped to develop good relations of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia.

Lebanese President 40

Why Christ the Saviour Cath

hedral comes back to Russia?

45

People felt vacuous after loosing the faith of Communism, Orthodoxy fulfilled the emptiness. Believers are booming after Soviet Union collapsed, reached 60% of Russian population.

46

47

After the fall of Soviet Union, new economy policy lead to a striking gap between the rich and the poor, in 2009, there were 2 million unemployment and one sixth people live below poverty bottom line.

Religion became their port both physically and psycologically, which has already led to the renovation of appoximately 300 churches in Moscow. Christ the Saviour is the leading power of all the Orthodox churches in Russia.

48

Reconstruction was undertaken by a special Committee, headed by Patriarch Alexy II and the Mayor of Moscow.

This collaboration seems to be more the product of political aspirations than a real response to the spontaneous religious feeling of Muscovites. It was the need to establish ‘Religion As a Symbol’, rather than ‘Religion As a Living Tradition And Practice’, that was the prime motivation of this project.

49

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Yeltsin, ‘national sacred place must be reborn.’ ‘it will be easier to find the path to social accord, the creation of goodness, and a life in which there will be less room for sin.

Luzhkov declared at the official opening of the cathedral in October, 2000, that the site would help generate Orthodoxy and spirituality in Russia. The overall goal of the project was officially proclaimed as being ‘to break with the Soviet past, with its antireligious and antinational practices, and to re-establish connection with the lost cultural heritage of the country.’

Putin, ‘Our country need Orthodox’s cooperation to help drugger, vagrant problems and assist elder ,disabled in order to strengthen national unity ...’ ‘State will gradually compensate the fault made by history to Orthodox’unity ...’ ‘State will gradually compensate the fault made by history to Orthodox’

Reconstructing the cathedral with a design faithful to the ori 51

iginal would imply that the Soviet past could be easily erased.

52

The churches distribution in Moscow city territory 53

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There are 23,000 Russian Orthodox churches have been rebuilt in the post-Soviet era. Till 2010, the total number of churches and chapels in Moscow is 837. Yet, 19 churches have not been transferred to the Church; 90 churches and chapels are under construction. Approximately 300 churches were renovated and constructed in Moscow. In 2010 and 2011, at least 200 orthodox churches are to be built .

56

Prefabricated churches will be built in Moscow 57

58

Sham Replica

Turning the historic city into a stage-set city

A Trend For Sham Replicas Has Flourished During This 20 Yearshas f A trend for sham replicas Cathedral of Kazan

61

Christ the Saviour

constructed 1620-1636 demolished 1936

constructed 1837-1883 demolished 1931

reconstructed 1992-1993

reconstructed 1995-2002

flourished during this 20 years

Moskva Hotel

constructed 1932-1938 demolished 2003

reconstructed 2005-2009

Tsaritsino Palace

constructed eighteenth century never finished

reconstruct started from 2005

62

Luzhkov’s personal tastes and business interests have left a strong mark on the city since he became Mayor in 1992.

I perceive the city entirely in terms of facades. So why indeed not destroy a building, replace all its innards and then recreate the facades? In Moscow’s culture the notion of a copy sometimes has no less bearing than that of an original. This is because the conceptual, historical and cultural ‘baggage’ that such a copy carries can often be richer and more profound than the original design.

65

The Mayor once claimed that he was righting historical wrongs by reconstructing architectural monuments destroyed by the Soviets. However, today’s political and business landscape indicates that a prime motivation is profit and convenience. Soon we will have the youngest heritage of any city in the world !!!

66

Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855)

Luzhkov only spent 5 years to complete the

67

The reconstruction need to be finished as soon as possible First, the 850th anniversary of the founding of Moscow was to be celebrated in September 1997 “as a nationwide holiday,� providing Moscow authorities with a chance to display their achievements, of which the crowning one was to be the restored Cathedral. Second, the Parliamentary and Presidential elections in 1995 and 1996 were seen as likely to result in political destabilization, and personal attachment to this significant construction project would allow Luzhkov to stabilize his position.

project which Tsar used to spend 50 years.

68

1

A proposal for reconstruction of Christ the Saviour, not built. Yu.I.Seliverstov 1994

3

Designed by Mospromstroy office 1995 69

2

A proposal in Tsaristsyno, not built. 1988

As soon as Gorbachev’s new policy of openness in the late 1980s allowed some religious freedom, the idea of restoring the lost Cathedral began to gain popularity. The intelligentsia of the country was at the forefront. Using various media, prominent artists and writers criticized the Communist regime and campaigned for restoration of the Cathedral.

Arguing that exact re-construction of the Cathedral would recall only one period of the place’s history, Seliverstov suggested an original way to invoke the past through the erection of a steelcontour outline of the lost building, with just the original chapelaltar inside. This inexpensive project had the advantage of restoring the architectural scale of the original Cathedral, arguably its most famous feature, and leaving empty space for broader interpretations To celebrate the 1988 millennium of the Russian conversion to Christianity, the state agreed to allow construction of a new Trinity Cathedral inTsaritsyno. Designed as a reminder of the lost Cathedral, the project nevertheless was to signify the new policy of separation of Church and state, and therefore to be located not in the center but rather in the residential outskirts of the city.

While Seliverstov’s arch project and the Millennium Cathedral in Tsaritsyno responded to the growing criticism of “grand scale” architectural thinking, the state-led restoration was to continue the tsarist and Soviet tastes for grandiose structures (Malinin 1994, 1995)

70

HYBRIDIZATION The reconstruction is made from reinforced concrete on a steel frame; bronze casts were used instead of carved stone for the reliefs on the exterior of the cathedral. A raised ground floor was added, raising the building up and changing its original proportions. While the total floor area of the Cathedral is only 3,980 m2, the three-level basement has floorspace of 66,000 m2, more than fifteen times the upper level. The new functions added in this space are even more significant.

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Cathed

Underground car parking and car washing

The basement reflects a political compromise The city authorities initially wanted only the garages and the Church of the Transfiguration in the basement. The underground parking garage alone was regarded as worth the effort (Semenov 1994)

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Laudry 73

dral

Canteen

between Moscow govrnment and Patriarchate Restored Convent of Alexius the Man of God, with its Church of the Transfiguration and halls for the Church’s Councils. Another idea is to increase the seating capacity for the conference-hall, build theological center and spacious lobby halls for exhibitions and book sales.

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Congress hall 74

Summary of Use and Historical Context of the Sites of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Use

Founder

Political Status

Ideology

Convent of Alexius 1514-1837 the Man of God

Alexii

Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia

Orthodox Christendom

Vitberg’s cathedral 1817-1825

Alexander I

Russian Emperor

Spritual leadership in post- Napoleonic Europe

Nicholas I

Russian Emperor

Strong empire

Stalin

Leader of USSR

Global communist union

Khrushchev

Leader of USSR

Strong USSR

Luzhkov

Mayor of Moscow

Ton’s cathedral

Dates

1881-1931

Palace of the Soviets 1937-1941

Swimming pool

1960-1994

Restored cathedral 1997-present

75

Strong position of Moscow power goup in post-Soviet Russia

Position of Orthodox

Functions

Status of construction

Primary political power

religious

completed

department of the state

war memorial church comlex

abandoned

department of the state

war memorial major cathedral

completed

subject to harsh repressions

gathering and monument to the USSR

abandoned

marginalized, subject to repressions

recreation

completed

formally independent; depends on state support

main cathedral historical memorial; headquarters of the Russian orthodox church; gathering/retial/parking

completed

76

Desire

corruption social solidarity

profit

president election self-representation

purge communism powerpropaganda welfare substitution

ambition new social value branding

77

ideology

taste

78

“New old church”

“Wedding cake”

“Ghost”

“Big”

This Cathedral is my favorite in Moscow. The cathedral was rebuilt during the 90's, but it houses some of the oldest icons in Russia in the lower level. Although not required, all Russian women cover their heads in cathedrals. It is a courtesy, but not a requirement to do so.

“My favorite Moscow Cathedral”

After the hustle and bustle of the Kremlin, it was great to arrive at the gardens around this cathedral. The grounds are very well maintained and on a sunny and warm day an excellent place to go for a bit of a rest. The cathedral sits right next to a busy highway that runs along the river, but this is not particularly noticeable when you are inside the cathedral grounds. A bridge connects the area around the cathedral with the other side of the river. The whole area is lovely and a great place to go for a little stroll. Pay attention to the railings when crossing the bridge. This location is obvioulsy a popular spot for wedding couples to come to have their photos taken. As a reminder of their visit and a symbol of their union, many of the couples lock padlocks marked with their names and wedding dates to the railing. In addition to a great view of the cathedral there is also a nice view of the river and the Kremlin from the bridge as well as a huge statue of Peter the Great with a naval theme.

“A pleasant breath of fresh air”

No other word can describe this cathedral better. There is gold, silver, bronze and brass everywhere. This cathedral is interesting...

“Bling”

“Breathtaking...”

The queue to go inside wasn't long, entry is free. There is security check as you enter, bag checking. No photographs and mobile phones are allowed to use inside. Don't forget to go downstairs where is more to see (quite a few stairs but there is an exit, so you don't have to go up). If you can, try to go during a mass. I was there just before and I heard the choir practising... It sounded amazing! Also,entrance to the metro station Kropotinskaya is directly from the park surrounding the cathedral.

A place you MUST have been when visit Moscow. An atmosphere which is undescribable.

“Can't miss!!”

Cathedral of Christ the Savior is a very impressive building. It is an example of Russian religios architecture. But this cathedral was exploded by Soviet government in 30-s and it was built again in 90-s. So you should understand that it is a new building. I did not come inside because the were to much people in queue. There is a very butifull view from the bridge near the cathedral

Cases in Moscow

REPL t io interven n y e K

Christ the

HYBRIDIZATION

Orthodox Culture

Commerce

l Too

GLORIFI

Rebuilt nation

Socio-Economic need

communist beliefs collapsed

rich-poor divide

Mayor Luzhkov

LICA

e Saviour

LANDMARK

x Church Skyline

Tourism

ICATION

nal recognition

way for social solidarity

d Si

e

destroy communist ideology

ef fec

t

Political intentions

SUPERPLACE OF GHOSTS A replica of a past monument.

An alternance of symbols in the same place.

A real Superplace, a crucial point in Moscow geopolitics, capable to absorb, in sequence, different presences and symbols.

LEGITIMATION How long can Moscow, as Capital of Russia, legitimate its National Identity through an old repertoire of symbols?

Will images of the past continue to represent Russian Character?