A church with a glorious history: Main cathedral of Vysokopetrovsky Monastery restoration all but over

The restoration of the stone church of St Metropolitan Peter is nearing completion. This is the main cathedral of the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery, one of Moscow’s oldest cloisters (founded in the 14^th century). The stone church of St Metropolitan Peter was designed by Italian architect Aleviz Novyi (Aloisio the New) in 1514, two centuries after the monastery’s creation. It was named after the cloister’s founder, Metropolitan Peter of Kiev and All Russia. Its eight-faceted tower is crowned by a helmet-shaped cupola.

“The comprehensive restoration of the monastery started in 2016. Most of the funding was provided under a Moscow programme of subsidies to religious organisations. So far, the belfry, the gateway church and the Church of St Pachomius have been done up and the restoration of the Church of St Metropolitan Peter, which was put on the programme of subsidies in 2017, is coming to an end. Specialists carried out extensive façade renovations and restored the unique murals. This year, subsidies for the restoration of architect religious sites were granted to as many as 17 sites belonging to four different confessions,” Head of Moscow’s Department of Cultural Heritage Alexei Yemelyanov said.

Over its seven-century-old history, the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery was repeatedly overhauled. Generous funds and support came from grand princes Ivan Kalita and Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince Vasily III, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and Emperor Peter I.             

“The foundations of the monastery’s main cathedral have been restored and reinforced. This work is in its final stages. The footpaths around the church and the stairs of the main entrance have been paved with granite tiles. The renovated façade decorations entwine around the main gateway and the nearby windows. Doing up the monastery continues,” Mr Yemelyanov added.

In the early 17^th century, the cloister was fenced by a stone wall. Towards the end of the same century, its territory expanded after incorporating the Naryshkin estate. Between 1690 and 1694, the Bogolyubsky Church and a building for the monks were built. By 1750, the Church of the Mother of God of Tolga appeared between the belfry and the monks’ building, followed by the construction of the Church of St Pachomius three years on (the church was later re-consecrated as the Church of St Peter and St Paul). In 1890, a new wing was added to the monk’s building.

Though it was  officially closed after the 1917 Revolution, the monastery kept on functioning for almost a whole decade. Gradually, its churches were adapted for other than church needs. Thus the Cathedral of St Metroplitan Peter was turned into a storehouse for artworks under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic and remained in that capacity until the 1980s. In 1984, after decades of being neglected, the first restoration work was attempted. Restorers stated that the church was a well-preserved monument of Renaissance architecture untypical of Russia. The project was headed by a well-known architect, Boris Dedushenko, yet it was never accomplished. It was only in 2009 that the monastery and its main cathedral became fully operational again.              

Friendship of the People and StoneFlower fountains at VDNKh to get a faceliftCrossing the border of history: The 19th-century customs house in Lefortovo to be done up Restoration of House with Atlases begins on Solyanka StreetTwo elements: Vera Mukhina’s Water and Earth statues at Luzhniki restored

To preserve and maintain architectural monuments is one of the key priorities of Moscow’s Department of Cultural Heritage. Among the sites slated for reconstruction is the Mostovaya Tower on Izmailovsky Island, a three-level brick structure built by architects Ivanov, Kuznechik, Makarov, Mymrin, Fomin and Yanov between 1671and 1679, as well as the Winter Garden hothouse with a Gothic tower and the granary of the Lyamin estate in Sokolniki Park. Permission has been issued for research and exploratory work in Pavilion No. 51 “Meat Industry” at VDNKh. The brainchild of architects V. Lisitsin and S. Chernobai, it was built between 1951and1954 and was officially entitled “Glavmyaso” until 1956. July 2018 saw the beginning of the renovation of the sculptures of soldiers-the-conquerors and girls glorifying the Victory, which adorn building No. 30 at the intersection of Leninsky Prospekt and Gagarina Square. It is also known as the building on Kaluzhskaya Zastava.