Roman Catholic Cathedral. The tragic history of the Catholic Cathedral in Georgians. Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary - video

In Orthodox Moscow, it's a bit unusual to see a classic Catholic cathedral. Just such a model of a classical Catholic cathedral is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street. The temple was decided to be built in 1894, when the number of Catholics in Moscow exceeded 30 thousand people. Poles who lived in Moscow collected money for it. And the cathedral was built according to the project of the Moscow architect Foma Iosifovich Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky. The Gothic cathedral in Westminster Abbey served as the prototype for the facade, and its dome resembles the dome of the cathedral in Milan. The construction of the cathedral was carried out from 1901 to 1911. And in December 1911 it was solemnly opened.

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But in 1937 the temple was closed, and its property was plundered and destroyed. For many years, the interior of the cathedral was rebuilt by various organizations. And in 1989, Moscow Catholics asked to return the cathedral to the Roman Catholic Church. In 1991, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov signed a decree on the transfer of the temple, but it dragged on for several years. And on December 12, 1999, the cathedral was consecrated by the legate of Pope John Paul II, Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Sodano and became the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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There are four bells on the bell tower of the temple, the largest of which - "The Mother of God of Fatima" weighs 900 kilograms and it rings at 12 o'clock in the afternoon and at 12 at night, as well as 15 minutes before the service. The rest are called: "John Paul II", "Saint Thaddeus" (in honor of the heavenly patron Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz), "Jubilee-2000" and "Saint Victor" (in honor of the heavenly patron Bishop Skvorets).

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Jesus and sheep. The Lord tends his sheep. Sheep are all believers who graze nearby, and the Lord gives them food.

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05. Mother Teresa - created many schools, shelters, hospitals for the poor and seriously ill people. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2003, Mother Teresa was beatified by the Catholic Church.

06. There are 14 bas-reliefs on the sides of the cathedral. They show the 14 Stations of the Way of the Cross of Christ

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12. Before entering the cathedral, the faithful wash their hands and make the sign of the cross and bow before the holy gifts. Above is the medal "Jubilee-2000"

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17. Electric organ

18. "Live" body of the firm "Kuhn". This is one of the largest organs in Russia. It was presented as a gift to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow from the Evangelical Reformed Cathedral "Basel Münster" in the Swiss city of Basel. The organ itself was made in 1955. And in 2002, they began to dismantle it and transport it to Moscow. All work on the installation of the organ in Moscow was carried out free of charge. On January 16, 2005, a solemn mass was held with the consecration of the cathedral organ under the leadership of Archbishop-Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz

19. Three-nave temple. The naves are separated from each other by ten columns. Each column symbolizes one of the commandments of the Lord.

20. Icon with a cross, which gave a piece of bread to freedom, a prisoner in the 1930s

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24. Appearance to the children of the Virgin Mary in Fatima. She is known to have made three prophecies. The following is a quote from the Third Memoir, written by Lucia, one of those children, at the request of José da Silva, Bishop of Leiria:

1. "The Mother of God showed us a huge sea of ​​​​fire, which seemed to be underground. Demons and souls in human form were immersed in this fire, like transparent burning coals, all blackened or like dark bronze. Floating in a fire, they then rose into the air tongues of flame erupting from within themselves along with great clouds of smoke, then fell back in all directions, like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or balance, against the background of squeals and groans of pain and despair that shook us and made us tremble with fear. could be distinguished by their terrible and hideous resemblance to terrible and unknown animals, completely black and transparent. This vision lasted only a moment. How can we ever sufficiently thank our good Heavenly Mother, who prepared us in advance, promising, in her first appearance take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think, we would die of fear and horror."

2. "You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wants to establish in the world the veneration of My Immaculate Heart. If what I tell you is done, many souls will be saved and peace will come. The war will soon end But if people do not stop insulting God, the worst war under Pope Pius XI will begin.When you see the night illuminated by an unusual light, know that this is a great sign of God that God is ready to punish the world for atrocities through war, famine, and persecution of Church and the Holy Father.To prevent this, I came to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and for communion in reparation for sins on the first Saturday of the month.If my requests are heard, Russia will be converted and a time of peace will come.If not, she will spread her mistakes throughout the world, causing wars and persecution of the Church.The good will be tormented, the Holy Father will suffer much, some nations will be destroyed.In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph t. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted and some time of peace will be granted to the world"

3. "I am writing out of obedience to You, my God, who ordered me to do this through His Eminence the Bishop of Leiria and the Mother of God.
After the two parts that I have already explained, to the left of the Mother of God and a little higher, we saw an Angel with a fiery sword in his left hand. Blazing, the sword spewed out flames that could have burned the whole Earth, but they faded, touching the magnificent radiance that the Mother of God radiated towards them from her right hand. Pointing to the ground with his right hand, the Angel shouted with a loud voice, "Repent, repent, repent!" We saw in an infinitely bright light that there is a God, something similar to how images of people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it: a bishop dressed in white - it seemed to us that it was the Holy Father. There were other bishops, priests, believing men and women. They climbed up a steep mountain, on top of which was a large cross made of unhewn cork trunks. Before getting there, the Holy Father passed through a large city, half in ruins, half trembling. He walked stopping, suffering from pain and grief, and praying for the souls of those whose corpses he met on his way. Reaching the top of the mountain, kneeling at the foot of the Cross, he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him. And in the same way there died, one after another, other bishops, priests, and believing men and women, and various laity of various ranks and estates. On both sides of the Cross stood two Angels, each with a crystal sprinkler in his hand, into which they collected the blood of the martyrs and sprinkled with it the souls making their way to God.

25. Saints John and Dominic

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27. Crucifix showing the deceased Christ

28. Font in which babies are baptized

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30. Bells that are rung before the start of the service

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32. Under the dome

33. Stand for knees during the wedding

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35. The sun is a niche in which the most holy gifts are located

36. The icon was painted at the request of Faustina Kowalska, a nun from Poland who had stigmata. Once the Lord appeared to her and said: "Write me as you see me." She went to the artist and such an icon appeared

37. Mother of God

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40. Pope John Paul II

41. Confessional

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47. Way of the Cross of Christ

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50. Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Lourdes is a city in France. He gained his fame after, in 1858, the 14-year-old girl Bernadette Soubirous was honored with multiple miraculous appearances of the Blessed Virgin.

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52. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow

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54. Monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire

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In Moscow, in ancient times there was a small isolated territory - the Georgian Sloboda, which was owned by the king of this state, Vakhtang VI. Since those ancient times, only the names of the streets remained - Gruzinsky lane, Gruzinsky Val, Gruzinsky Malaya and Bolshaya streets.

The church on Malaya Gruzinskaya stands out strongly against the background of other buildings located nearby

Now on Malaya Gruzinskaya in the building 27/13 there is a unique church - the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Built in the neo-Gothic style, the building of the temple stands out among the nearby buildings with a strict and majestic view with unusual architecture.

The church on Malaya Gruzinskaya owes its name to one of the most important characters of the Christian faith - the Virgin Mary (Holy Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, earthly mother of Jesus Christ).

Architect, exterior finish, architectural ensemble

The temple begins its history in 1894. At that time, the Catholic diaspora in Moscow grew noticeably. As a result, its representatives raised the question of the need to build a larger church capable of accommodating a large number of believers before the Moscow governor. By this time, there were already 2 Catholic churches in Moscow.

The Moscow authorities issued a permit for the construction of a religious building, but put forward certain conditions. It was necessary to build the cathedral away from Orthodox holy places and not in the city center. At the same time, there should not be any sculptures and towers on the building.

The church on Malaya Gruzinskaya was designed by the architect F. Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky.

He developed and presented to the public a design for a neo-Gothic cathedral that could accommodate 5,000 parishioners. At the same time, the put forward conditions for the absence of sculptures on the facade and towers were ignored by him.

Despite this, the project won the competition, it was recommended for construction. For the construction of the cathedral, a piece of land was purchased on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street.

Construction history

The purchased plot had a certain meaning for the Catholics. It was here that the main Polish diaspora lived. Representatives of this community collected the main funds for the construction of the cathedral. In total, the total cost of the temple was 300 thousand rubles. silver.

The construction of the religious building began at the beginning of the 20th century. Its construction lasted almost 10 years. Completed at the end of 1911. In winter (December 21) the church was consecrated.

Interior decoration was carried out even after the opening, until the revolutionary events of 1917. During the first period of the formation of the Soviet Union, the Catholic church did not close for almost 20 years. It held regular services.

However, the situation in the country nevertheless led to the fact that in 1937 the cathedral was closed.

The property of the religious building was looted and destroyed. The organ and the altar were destroyed. The facade of the building was disfigured.

Subsequently, the building was taken under the hostel and redevelopment began in it. During the Great Patriotic War, the cathedral was damaged by German air bombs. A number of towers and spiers perished. After the war, the main spire of the temple was dismantled. The building was refurbished.

In 1956, the research institute "Mosspetspromproekt" moved to the former building of the Catholic Cathedral. This structure continued the major internal rebuilding, changing it beyond recognition, creating 4 full-fledged floors.

In 1976, the Moscow authorities decided to create an organ hall on the basis of the building. But the institutions that were in the building of the church, and there were about 15 of them, categorically refused to move, which led to the refusal to implement cultural plans.

However, the Catholics of Moscow, who were united under their leadership by the Polish House association, continued their activities aimed at returning the religious building to believers. In 1989, they submitted an official request to the Moscow authorities for the return of the church building to the Roman Catholic Church.

The authorities of the city reacted favorably to the requests of the believers, and in 1990 the first mass was celebrated in front of the church. It became a landmark, the first in almost 60 years.

However, before the full return of the cathedral to the possession of the Catholic diocese of the capital had to wait another 5 years. Research Institute "Mosspetspromproekt" refused to move out of the building.

The final point in the process of returning the church to believers was set in 1996, when the Moscow Catholic Diocese received documentary materials from the city authorities confirming the right to use the building indefinitely.

Immediately after the transfer of the church, restoration began in it. It dragged on for 3 years. At the end of 1999, the emissary of the Pope, Cardinal Sodano, lit up the cathedral. A few years later, an organ was placed in it.

Interior decoration

The interior of the cathedral is impressive. So the spire of the central inner turret is decorated with a cross, in the side spiers of which the coats of arms of John Paul II and Archbishop Kondrusevich Tadeusz are inserted. In the vestibule of the temple there is a sculptural image of Christ crucified on the cross. At the bowls with holy water, a brick of the Lutheran Lutheran Basilica and a special medal from 2000 are inserted into the walls.

In the central part of the church there are two sectors with benches. Passages separate them. Near the side aisles there are rooms for confession - confessionals. From one side of the nave on the left (the nave is a part of the room bounded by columns) there is a chapel. Inside it stands a tabernacle with an altar of Gifts.

The side naves are separated from the colonnade hall. Their ceilings are vaults in the form of a cross created by arches. Each nave is individually supported by five buttresses. Their total number is 10, which symbolizes the 10 main Christian commandments.

The windows of the cathedral are lancet, with stained-glass window openings. Under them there are 14 bas-reliefs that symbolize 14 "stations" on the Way of the Cross. Next to the first ceiling arch, above the narthex (the entrance area of ​​the porch of the temple), the choirs were erected. Previously, the design of the cathedral involved the placement of about 50 choristers on them. However, a choral organ was installed at this place.

Shrines, icons, relics of the temple

In the central place of the church is its main element - the altar. It is lined with dark green marble.

It contains particles of saints that belong to:

• Chief Apostle Andrew;
• Saint Zeno(Zeno of Verona), patron of children and fishermen;
• Saint Gregory Naziansky(Theologian or Gregory of Nazianzus) is revered as one of the founders of the Church, Archbishop of Constantinople;
• Saints Cosmas and Demian(brothers, unmercenaries, miracle workers and healers);
• cover particle Virgin Mary donated to the church by the diocese of Verona.

On the right side of the altar is the pulpit. It is also in dark green marble. In the presbytery, in its back part, there is an elevation consisting of 3 steps. It adjoins the apse (semi-dome temple ledge). There are places for the clergy, as well as the bishop's chair.

The crucifix is ​​located in the presbytery. It reaches 9 meters in height. On the cross Jesus Christ is 3 meters high. On the sides of the crucifix are sculptures made of plaster: the Evangelist John and the Mother of God.

Clergy, mentors

The church on Malaya Gruzinskaya has its own clergy staff. Represented by the Metropolitan of the Moscow Archdiocese, vicar general, rector of the cathedral, cathedral administrators, two parish vicars, three priests in charge of transition assistance. There is a clergyman representing the Armenian Catholic parish and a priest of the Spanish community.

There are 6 sisters in the state. They represent 3 monastic orders: the Salesians of Don Bosco; Daughters of Mary Help of Christians; Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Parish and choir

The parish of the church is extensive. It includes all Catholics living in the west and south of Moscow. Formally, these are parishioners of the parishes of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Family.

The church has its own choir, parish, liturgical. In the basement of the cathedral there is a class of choral singing. There are classes once a week, on Wednesdays. In addition, those who wish can try their hand at a youth vocal and instrumental ensemble.

Interesting facts about the cathedral in the vicinity

The church on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street is famous for its bells. They are located on the left side of the facade, behind the arch. There are only 5 bells. They were made in Poland at the world-famous Falchinski factory. Presented to the cathedral by Bishop Skvorets. The largest reaches a weight of more than 900 kg.

Each bell has its own name (in descending order by weight):

1. "Fatima Mother of God".
2. "John Paul II".
3. "Saint Fadey".
4. "Jubilee - 2000".
5. Saint Victor.

The bell sound is extracted by means of an electronic machine.

Not far from the location of the church on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, there are other sights of the capital:

• Moscow Zoo;
• Monument to Mother Teresa.
• embassy of the Polish Republic;
• Georgian park;
• Cemetery Vagankovsky;
• Schukin's city estate.

Social work, everyday life

There are free tours of the Cathedral. But only by appointment. Their time is Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, when there are no services. Excursion outside groups can also visit the temple. But they also require prior agreement.

Catechism activities are carried out in the temple (teaching the basics of the Catholic faith and the order of church life). Church shops and a library are open to those who wish. There is a cafeteria for the poor. The editors of the bulletin "The Light of the Gospel" found shelter in the cathedral.

Ave Maria Concert in the Cathedral:

The church on Malaya Gruzinskaya is regularly used by the Art of Good Foundation for organ concerts. Paid entrance. Ticket price from 300 to 3000 rubles. The schedule of performances can be found on the foundation's website.

Sunday School

There is no Sunday school in the cathedral. Here you can only get additional knowledge in the field of English. Classes are held in children's groups, as the main recipients of information are children. They are recruited at the age of 3 years.

English courses are characterized by such features as a game form of teaching, a friendly atmosphere, and naturalness in learning the language. The classes are attended by teachers who have experience working with children whose age starts from 3 years.

Patronal feasts

The temple on Malaya Gruzinskaya is a religious cult structure of the Roman Catholic Church. Masses, services, patronal feasts are held in strict accordance with the provisions of the calendar of Catholic dates. A detailed list of church events for the year can be found on the church website.

Schedule of services, mode of operation

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is open daily. It is open for visiting from 8:00 to 20:00. Closed for a technical break from 12:45 to 15:30, except Sundays.

Church services are held daily. The schedule is shown in the table.

Information for pilgrims

Persons wishing to visit the church on Malaya Gruzinskaya, pilgrims living outside of Moscow, need to remember that the cathedral does not provide places to stay. It is necessary to think in advance about where you will live. Also, ahead of time, you need to familiarize yourself with the mode of operation and the events that are held in it.

Where is it located, what is in the vicinity, how to get there

The cathedral is located at the address: Moscow, Malaya Gruzinskaya street, 27/13. This cult institution has its own official website Catedra

The most convenient way, according to which the church can be reached without delay, is as follows:

1. First you need to get off at the Krasnopresnenskaya metro station.
2. Then move along Krasnaya Presnya Street in a western direction, towards Tretyakovskiy Val.
3. After 500 meters, you need to turn onto Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, after passing about 600 m, and the goal will be reached.

Another popular way is to choose ground route transport. Bus number 116 follows the cathedral, which is located next to Klimashkina Street. Its route starts at the Belorussky railway station.

Near the church on Malaya Gruzinskaya street there are stops of other public transport. So you can use buses 12, 18, 35, 39, 40, 53, 64, 66, 69, 125, 567. Trolleybus: 54. Fixed-route taxi: 254M.

Useful video on the topic

History of the Cathedral:

The organ is the king of instruments. And any self-respecting royal dynasty traces its lineage from time immemorial. And it is true. The harbinger of the organ can be seen in the Pan flute and the bagpipe. And the ancient Greek Ktesibius, who lived in Egyptian Alexandria, invented the organ. True, this organ was a water organ and sounded during gladiator fights, as well as at the ceremony of taking office of emperors. The image of a water organ is found on the coins of Emperor Nero, a famous music lover.

In the 4th century, organs appeared that were quite royal in their sound, and in the 7th century, Pope Vitalian introduced the organ into the Catholic Church. Byzantium, in the 8th century, was everywhere and deservedly famous for its organs! True, they were rude in appearance, and the keyboard was so wide that the keys were struck not with fingers, but with fists. However, the royal courts of that time did not differ in particular sophistication of morals.

Already in the XIV century, the organ acquired pedals, i.e. leg keyboard. Playing with two hands and two feet significantly increased the capabilities of the performer. And in XV - the width of the keys has finally decreased and the number of pipes has increased. And we got the king of musical instruments that we know and love today. Further improvements were, although important, but not so significant.

Any royal dynasty necessarily owns some kind of secret. The organ also has it. The organ heals the soul. His nobility is so great that any unpretentious melody performed on his pipes becomes high music. By the way, the number of pipes in some organs reaches 7000. And in order not to get confused in all this diversity, they are grouped by registers. Register - a set of pipes with the same timbre and being, as it were, a separate instrument. When meeting with the organ, the organist must conduct a registration. After all, each instrument is absolutely individual - the number of registers, sometimes, reaches 300. And also, in order not to be distracted during the game, the organist prepares the timbres of keyboards - manuals in advance. The organ has several of them - on the largest it happens up to seven.

The retinue makes the king. The more majestic the king, the greater the trail of his music. And organ music was written by the best composers. And, of course, the closest and most trusted of them is Johann Sebastian Bach. By the way, Bach, although he was a great organist, treated his playing with a bit of irony. “You just need to know which keys and when to press, and the organ will do the rest,” he answered the question of how he succeeds.

The organ is like an orchestra. But he is more majestic than the orchestra. It has more than two thousand years of history behind it. And an equally unimaginable future. We love the organ and recognize its right of primacy in the beautiful realm of music. After all, he is the true king of tools.

You can truly feel the organ music only by hearing it at a live concert. Not one, even the most perfect acoustic system, does not transmit vibrations, air movements and the magic of the melodies of the “king of instruments”. Its power and variety of overtones, combined with violin, saxophone and other instruments, give rise to an enchanting sound that will never be forgotten.

The Belcanto Charitable Foundation offers you a varied list of organ music concerts in the halls of Moscow. You can choose the appropriate event below on this page. Our charitable foundation offers a variety of program formats, from a classical organ concert to an audiovisual production. You can buy a ticket by going to the section of the event you like, where you will find not only a description of the event, but also the time of its holding. There you can also pay for the places you like in a convenient way. All changes in the schedule are immediately reflected in the poster.

In 1894, permission was obtained for the construction of a third Catholic church in Moscow, on the condition that the church be erected far from the city center and especially revered Orthodox churches, without towers and outdoor statues. The Neo-Gothic project of F. O. Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky was approved, despite the deviation from the last condition. The temple was built mainly from 1901 to 1911. The appearance of the temple was different from the design. The cathedral is a neo-Gothic three-nave cruciform pseudo-basilica. Perhaps the prototype for the facade was the Gothic cathedral in Westminster Abbey, for the dome - the dome of the cathedral in Milan. The money for the construction was collected by the Polish community and Catholics of other nationalities throughout Russia. The fence of the cathedral was built in 1911 (architect L. F. Dauksh). The temple, which received the name of the branch church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was consecrated on December 21, 1911. Finishing work continued until 1917. In 1919, the branch church was turned into a full-fledged parish.

In 1938, the temple was closed, the property was looted, and a hostel was organized inside. Until the closing of the cathedral in 1938, the altar of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow was a three-spired Gothic structure with an Altar, rising to the ceiling of the apse, in which the tabernacle was located. Palm trees stood in the presbytery, he himself was fenced off from the nave with a balustrade. During the war, the building was bombed and several towers and spiers were destroyed. In 1956, the Research Institute Mosspetspromproekt was occupied in the building, redevelopment was carried out, the interior space was divided into 4 floors. In 1976, a project for the restoration of the building into an organ music hall was developed, but not implemented. On December 8, 1990, on the occasion of the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Tadeusz Pikus (now a bishop) celebrated mass for the first time on the steps of the cathedral.

Regular services have been held since June 7, 1991. In 1996, after the Mosspetspromproekt Research Institute was removed from the premises, the temple was transferred to the Church. On December 12, 1999, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, solemnly consecrated the restored Cathedral. In its current form, the cathedral has differences from the view before closing in 1938. Lancet window openings are decorated with stained-glass windows. Under the window openings, on the inner surfaces of the walls, there are 14 bas-reliefs - 14 “stays” of the Way of the Cross. There are five bells made at the Felchinsky Polish factory in Przemysl (donated by Bishop Viktor Skvorets of Tarnow). The largest weighs 900 kg and is called the Mother of God of Fatima. The rest: "John Paul II", "Saint Thaddeus", "Jubilee-2000", "Saint Victor". The bells are set in motion with the help of special electronic automation.

There is an organ (th. Kuhn, ag. Mannedorf, 1955), which is one of the largest organs in Russia (73 registers, 4 manuals, 5563 pipes), which makes it possible to perform organ music from various eras. The Kuhn organ was received as a gift from the Evangelical Reformed Cathedral Basel Münster in Basel. It was built in 1955, in January 2002 work began on dismantling the organ and all parts, except for the register No. 65 Principal bass 32", were transported to Moscow. The work was carried out by the organ-building company "Orgelbau Schmid Kaufbeuren e.K." (Kaufbeuren, Germany - Gerhard Schmid, Gunnar Schmid). The organ of the cathedral is now one of the largest in Russia (74 registers, 4 manuals, 5563 pipes) and allows you to perform stylistically flawless organ music of any era. Since 2009, using the organ, an educational the course "Western European Sacred Music", which gives Russian musicians the skills of Gregorian chant and organ improvisation.

A stone's throw from the Moscow Zoo on the corner of Malaya Gruzinskaya and Klimashkina Streets, among residential buildings and narrow streets, is the largest in Moscow and one of the largest Catholic cathedrals in Russia. Today we will visit the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This building was built in 1911 and has been misused for most of its history. Only since 1996, Catholics have been gathering here again.

1. The building with sharp spiers is visible from neighboring streets. Neogothic three-nave cruciform pseudo-basilica in its architecture. It is said that the ideas of the facade of Westminster Abbey and the dome of the cathedral in Milan were used in the external design.

2. I was neither there nor there. I hope there are those who will help compare the appearance.

3. There is a cross on the spire of the central tower, and coats of arms on the sides. One - Pope John Paul II, the second - Tadeusz Kondrusevich, who previously headed the archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow.

4. The territory is surrounded on all sides by ordinary residential buildings. Only from the south is the mansion.

5. Jesus is the good shepherd. Sculpture among flowers.

6. Nearby is a monument to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who was beatified in 2003.

7. The dome of the cathedral separately.

8. For those who enter the cathedral only inside, I advise you to go around it from the outside. There are many interesting things.

9. And it's time for us to look inside.

10. As I said, the cathedral was reopened to believers in 1996. At that time, Pope John Paul II was Pope. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, whose coat of arms is on one of the spiers, supervised the restoration work.

11. At the entrance there is information for visitors, a donation box and requests to turn off the phone. The place is open to the public. Anyone can book excursions. This is not uncommon in the cathedral.

12. The decoration of the cathedral inside consists of white and yellow flowers. he is very light. In sunlight, even bright.

13. All places from the dome to the far corner are visible. After visiting numerous temples, churches, cathedrals and basilicas in Spain and Portugal, as well as visiting the Vatican, I have seen a lot. For the most part, these were dark rooms. even those that were decorated inside in white seemed darker to me.

14. Is it good or bad? Of course, compared to something very old and used exclusively for its intended purpose for many centuries, it seems empty here. But we are in Moscow, in Orthodoxy. There are very few places for Catholics in our country.

15. The history of the organ is interesting. The date of its creation is 1955, when a completely different organization was located in the cathedral and the premises were divided into 4 floors. It is one of the largest in Russia: 73 registers, 4 manuals and 5563 pipes. This organ is a gift from the Basel Cathedral, dismantled in its old place in 2002 and put in a new place in 2005. All parts except for one register were transported to Moscow.

16. There is also an electric organ.

17. The history of the creation of the Moscow Cathedral began in 1894 with a request to build 3 Catholic churches because of the growing community in Moscow. Permission was obtained on the condition that no towers, external design be created, and that they generally be built away from the center.

18. Malaya Gruzinskaya at that time was far from the center. The place was chosen for the location of the majority of Catholic Poles, who work mainly on the Moscow-Smolensk railway. Trains to Warsaw still depart on this route. 30,000 Poles raised money for the construction. For 10 years, from 1901 to 1911, construction was carried out according to the project of Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky. Internal work was carried out until 1917.

19. In 1938 the cathedral was closed.

20. The construction of the building is made in the form of a cross, over the intersection of which there is a dome.

21. In addition to the central nave, there are two side ones. they are separated by two rows of 5 columns, symbolizing the 10 commandments.

22. Initially, according to the project, 5 thousand people were supposed to fit here. I don’t know how it is now, but the number of Catholics is clearly higher.

23. Probably not everyone knows, but in order to see and hear everything they say, you can not leave the house. The cathedral has a webcam.

24. In various parts of the cathedral there are several saints who can be consulted. A lot of people come here for a specific purpose.

25. Of the bells installed in the cathedral, the largest weighs 900 kilograms and is called the "Mother of God of Fatima".

26. Fatima - a place in Portugal, where in the last century the Mother of God appeared three times. By the way, I was in Fatima. You can report from the religious center.

27. Along the walls in simple frames there is information for acquaintance with various saints and not only.

28. Altar part and large cross.

29. The largest crucifix in the cathedral is 9 meters high, and the body of Jesus is 3 meters. On the sides are the Mother of God and the Evangelist John.

30. It is noticeable even from the entrance.

31. On one side of the altar is consecrated water and a bath.

32. Here is the crucifixion of the already deceased Jesus.

33. On the other hand, a small but very rich part. This, if I'm not mistaken, is the chapel of the Divine Mercy with the altar of the Holy Gifts.

34. Very unexpectedly, but on this day the weather cleared up and gave out sunny weather. We can see how the rays, penetrating through the Gothic windows, play on the building.

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38. Under the windows there are 14 bas-reliefs - 14 stations of the way of the cross. Here are the confessionals.

39. Each of them has a memo.

This ended our tour. The visit was interesting. The cathedral was very bright. This did not surprise me after Portugal. My girlfriend, for example, considers it too light. What do you think?

Thanks:
-organizers of the tour from the side of the cathedral- for openness;
-community mosblog - for information about the event;
-fellow bloggers for the company(but it seems not everyone got there): arctic-inga.ru , kis_dikiy , podpolkovnikvvs , bulyukina_e ,