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To commemorate the victory of her husband
over the Tatars at the Kulikovo field, Yevdokia built in the Kremlin on the
spot of the old wooden church the Raising of Lazarus, the Church of the
Nativity of the Virgin, (chto na Senyakh), in 1393. Two years later Theophan
the Greek was invited to Moscow to paint the icons for its iconostasis and to
decorate the church. He had already gained fame and it was not surprising that
Moscow wanted him to decorate or repaint the old Kremlin's churches. It should
be noted that it existed at that time not on the second floor as the Terem (
upper living quarters of the tsar' family) as it is today, but down below. The
church of the Nativity burned to the ground in 1473, together with the icons
painted by Theophan, and the vaults collapsed. At the time of the reign of Ivan
III the Terem buildings were re-built and raised one story higher, and in 1514
grand duke Vassili III ordered Alevis' Friazin (the Russian name given to
Italians), to erect the presently standing church of the Nativity of the Virgin
but now on the upper level. The Chronicle also records that in 1399 Theophan
repainted the frescoes of the old cathedral of the Archangel Michael, also in
the Kremlin, built by Ivan Kalita. First damaged by lightning and whirlwind in
later Theophan's frescoes perished in the fire that swept through the cathedral
in 1475. A new cathedral was built by Alevis' Novi in 1505-1509.
Increased concern for the churches was not limited to Moscow. It was under
Dimitri that the old cathedral of the Assumption in Vladimir was also restored,
probably for the first time since its reconstruction by Vsyevolod in 1183.
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