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The Church of the Assumption in Suzdal was
replaced by the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin which was built on the
same spot and partly on the same foundation by prince Yurii II (George)
Vsyevolodovich in 1222-1225. The new cathedral repeated most of the features of
the cathedral of the Assumption at Vladimir, including the blind ornamental
decorative band of carved arcature niches, and a few masks of women beneath the
windows to show that it was dedicated to the Virgin. As almost all other
churches in Russia, this cathedral was also the victim of fire, pillage,
reconstructions, "Embellishment," etc. In the middle of the 15th
century its entire roof structure collapsed, and only in the 16th century was
its upper half rebuilt and a new roof with five cupolas added. The onion shaped
cupolas date from the mid eighteenth century. Of interest is the porch and its
doorway on the southern side, with richly ornamented reliefs that includes
lions, birds and floral decorations. The decorations on the shafts are
interrupted by plain oval spaces called "Dinka" (melon) because of
their shape, a very popular detail in wood carving construction. Only in the
middle of the 14th century did dinkas appear for the first time in the
architecture of Moscow where it was, most probably, introduced by Suzdal stone
carvers. The "Golden doors" on the two main entrances, the southern
and western sides, are the elaborate work of 13th century craftsmen who used
the special technique of "Hot gilding" to engrave concave copper
panels of approximately one square foot, called "Kleimo " in Russian.
The panels were first covered with black lacquer, then the picture was drawn
with a needle and , finally, the design was covered with a mixture of gold and
mercury and exposed to strong heat. The mercury evaporated and the gold stuck
to the copper along the lines drawn by the needle. Most of the panels depict
events and holidays described in the bible, saints, or figures of lions and
griffins, with flowers around them. The western door contains 28 panels, 14 on
each side. Of the 13th century frescoes only a few fragments still remain: Some
floral ornaments on the western wall and figures of saints in the south apse.
In the 17th century the cathedral was entirely redecorated and it's frescoes
have been repainted several times since. Of these only a few fragments can
still be seen. At the end of the same century the cathedral received its
present iconostasis of carved, gilded wood, with some of the icons that were
painted by the monk Gregory Zinoviev who became a well known tsar's
iconographer. Inside the cathedral there is also an enormous portable
tsar-lantern,
from the end of the 17th century. It is in the form of a church with fire
gilded, onion-shaped cupola with crosses. In the absence of colored glass, mica
was used for its windows and doors. The lantern is about eight feet high and
four feet in diameter. Several dozens of large candles were used to light it
inside. It was carried around the cathedral during religious processions. For
illustrations see
Suzdal.
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