| Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary | |
| Location | Moscow, Moscow Region |
|---|---|
| Country | Russia |
| Denomination | Russian Catholic Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 21 December 1911 |
| Significant events | Reconstructed by the Soviets for civil purposes |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Gothic revival |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Peter and Paul parish |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Paolo Pezzi |
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary (Russian: Собор Непорочного Зачатия Пресвятой Девы Марии Sobor Neporotschnovo Sachatiya Presvyatoj Devy Marii, in colloquial speech sometimes Костёл/Kostyol or Кирха/Kirkha – "the Catholic church") is a Neo-Gothic church in the centre of Moscow, and the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow. It is one of only two Catholic churches in Moscow and is the largest in Russia.
The construction of the cathedral was proposed by the Russian government in 1894. Initial groundbreaking was in 1899, with building commencing in 1901 and finishing ten years later. With the help of funds from Catholic parishes in Russia and its neighbouring states, the cathedral was consecrated as a chapel for Moscow's Polish parish in the same year. Based on a design by architect Tomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki, it was influenced by the style of Westminster Abbey and Milan Cathedral. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Menshevik government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks and Russia became part of the new Soviet Union. The promotion of state atheism was part of communist ideology, and the Soviet Union adopted this policy, resulting in the closure of many churches. For a number of years during World War II the cathedral faced the possibility of demolition. It was closed in 1938 by the communist government, reconstructed, and used for almost 60 years for civil purposes. After a long debate between the government, the church hierarchy and the institute which had used the building since 1956, it became a church again in 1996 and was elevated to a cathedral in 2002. It was re-consecrated in 2005 after extensive renovations.
The three-aisled cathedral, built from red bricks, is home to regular church services in Russian, Polish, Korean, English, French, Spanish, Armenian and Latin as well as benefit concerts of organ and church music. The cathedral incorporates a library, the editorial office of the Russian Catholic magazine The Catholic Messenger – The Light of the Gospel (Russ.: Католический вестник — Свет Евангелия) as well as the local office for the Caritas charity. Its organ, the third since the cathedral's construction, was donated by the Basel Münster. It was consecrated in 2005 and is one of the largest in Russia. The cathedral is listed at as a heritage building in the Russian Federation, and is a protected monument.[1][2]
Contents |
At the end of the 19th century, only two Catholic cathedrals existed in Moscow: the Saint Louis des Francais church for the French population and the St. Peter and Paul for the Polish parish. The congregation for the Polish church increased to about 30,000 members, and the existing building was too small. The local council voted for a new church in 1894, following a submission of a petition to the Governor-General of Moscow. The new church was permitted with conditions: "the building to be away from the city centre and not near important Orthodox sacred sites".[3] In 16 May 1895, the parish bought a 10 hectare property at Malaja Grusinskaja street, which met the requirements. At that time, the property was located on the city outskirts and was surrounded by fields and vegetable gardens. Today's heavily downsized and tower block-surrounded church is located in the Central Administrative Okrug of the megacity, just beyond the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. The purchase of the property was funded by donations, and cost at that time 10,000 ruble in gold (corresponding roughly to US$6,800,000 at current rates).[4] The purchase agreement and the full list of all donations are still preserved in the city archives of Moscow and St. Petersburg.[3][4][5]
Another condition imposed by the city was, "In the light of the two existing Roman Catholic churches, the future church shall be larger, with a cross on the gable, but without spires and exterior sculptures".[3] The plans for the building were produced by a Russian architect of Polish descent, Tomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki, who did not follow the latter condition, but his scheme was accepted anyway. The plans provided seating for up to 5000 worshippers. The groundbreaking occurred in 1899, but the actual construction work started in 1901 and lasted until 1911. The construction costed 290,000 ruble in gold (corresponds roughly to US$197,000,000). The majority of the money was given by the Polish parish. Other donations came from Catholic parishes all over Russia and from foreign countries, mainly Poland and Belarus.[3][4][5]
The church was consecrated on 21 December 1911 as the "Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary" and had the status of a chapel in the Peter and Paul parish. The consecration received extensive coverage from the Russian and Polish daily press. The Moscow newspaper Russkoje Slowo, for example, wrote the following:
| “ | In the filthy, wretched Malaja Grusinskaja Street, forsaken by God and the city, there rose the wonderful, artistic solidity of the new Roman Catholic church, dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary. Tremendous in magnitude and height, […] the newly-built chapel left a deep impression. […] [Every detail] look impressive and eminent: there was no slightest stylistic taint visible and palpable. | ” |
|
—"Russkoje Slowo", December 1911, [3] |
||
In the years 1911–1917, additional money was collected for the interior furnishings, and fitting continued until 1917. The fittings remained until the 1930s, but were relatively sparse apart from the impressive main altar. Parts of the draft plan were not even achieved: The floor was not constructed from marble as intended, but poured from plain concrete; outside there were no pinnacles on the facade. According to several sources, the pinnacles were built in 1923, but partially destroyed during World War II and partially intentionally dismantled;[4] according to other sources, they were not completed until the renovation of the cathedral in 1999.[3][5]
The Peter and Paul parish was formally dissolved by the Communist government in 1929, and celebrating masses was forbidden. The church lost the majority of its gardens in 1935, on which a school was later built in 1936, and the church was finally closed on 30 July 1938 (the St. Peter and Paul church had met the same fate nine days earlier). After its closure, the church was plundered; many items, including the main altar and the organ have been irretrievably lost. The church was used for several months as a storage place for vegetables, until it was reconstructed as a hostel. At the same time its interior was divided into four floors.[3]
During the Battle of Moscow, the main tower's spire was removed to make it more difficult for the Luftwaffe to use it as a landmark. Shortly after war, the church lost another part of its grounds to a neighbouring residential building. After a fire in 1956 and the resulting collapse of the main tower dome and the church was again reconstructed. Existing tenants moved one at a time to new buildings, while members of the Mosspetspromproyekt (Rus. Мосспецпромпроект) research institute moved into the church. The research institute dealt primarily with project drawings of industrial facilities,[3] but also designs for the 1980 Summer Olympics torch in Luzhniki Stadium.[6]
In the 1960s and 70s, the building became visibly derelict.[3] The view of the deconsecrated and dilapidated church was depressing for many people, including for Russian bard Vladimir Vysotsky, who lived from 1975 till his death 1980 in a house across the street.[7] There were proposals by the municipality in 1976 to renovate the church house, to reconstruct it as a concert hall for organ music, or as a the general administration centre for culture. The project was suspended due to resistance by the research institute.[3]
In 1989, a group of Catholics in Moscow, and the cultural association "The Polish House" (Rus. Дом Польский), instigated a debate concerning the repatriation of the building to the Catholic church. With the municipality's permission, the first Holy Mass for 60 years was celebrated on the church stairs during the feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1990. Several hundred people prayed during December for the return of the church. The mass was headed by Polish priest Tadeusz Pikus, who was an auxiliary bishop of archdiocese of Warsaw from 1999.[4][3]
In January 1990, a group of Catholics in Moscow formally founded the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary. On 13 April 1991 Pope John Paul II established together with the Apostolic constitution Providi quae the "Apostolic administration for European Russia". Its apostolic administrator, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, issued a decree for the reconstruction of the church on 21 April 1991. With the municipality's permission another Mass took place, again on the stairs, during the Polish National Day on 3 May. The constitution of the parish was officially recognized in 31 May by the department of justice of the city council. Meanwhile parts of church used by Mosspetspromproyekt were subleased to various companies.[3]
Since 7 June 1991, masses had been celebrated in the churchyard each Sunday. On 15 July 1991 Josef Sanewski, a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, was appointed the new parish priest. Religious education had been given regularly under the direction of the Salesian Sisters since 29 November 1991. At the same time the first charities were founded for nursing and aid to the poor. The vice-mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, signed an order in 1 February 1992, which requested a one-step delivery of the church from the institute to the Catholic parish, and its complete vacation within two years. The order was never implemented. The institute failed to carry out the first part of the transfer as agreed. Subsequently, parish members entered the building on 2 July 1992, and occupied the institute's workshop. After debate with the city council, the occupied part was adjudicated to the parish and was separated from the institute's rest facilities with a wall. Masses took place regularly from then on.[4][3]
The dividing wall was removed by parish members in 7 March 1995, while others started clearing the truss. The institute called the police, OMON, for help. On the next day, another conflict with the police occurred and several parish members, among them a nun, were injured. Others were arrested, including a priest and a seminarian, but were released the next day. After those events, the Apostolic Administrator, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, wrote an open letter to then-president Boris Yeltsin in 9. März 1995, on which he was asked to consider the situation of the church. It said, inter alia: "It seems that persecution of the church was history. Is that the case? I can't remember seeing a priest arrested, and I can't remember seeing a nun beaten up."[3][8]
As a result, Yuri Lushkov, who was appointed as senior mayor of Moscow by Yelzin, signed a decision for the removal of the institute. The decision was made on 7 March, and arranged an evacuation of the building by the institute in the years 1995–1996. At the same time, the institute wrote to Lushkov describing the earlier events from their standpoint, and required indemnification at the parish's cost. In a meeting with Polish ambassador Stanisław Ciosek in 15 March 1995, acting mayor of Moscow, Alexander Musykantski, assured him that the return of the church would be complete by the end of the year.[4]
On 19 March, a mass was celebrated in the reclaimed part of the church, under the direction of Nuncio John Bukowski, who delivered Pope John Paul's blessing to the parish. In a new decision dated 2 November 1995, Lushkov ordered Mosspetspromproyekt to leave the building by the year end at the latest. When the decision was still not implemented, parish members entered the institute in 2 January 1996 and began the removal. Institute director Evgeny Afanasyev called the police once again, but they did not take any action and let the believers do what they like. Subsequently, the institute director asked the parish priest for a final extension the removal date by two weeks, and Mosspetspromproyekt moved out of the building in 13 January 1996. On 2 February 1996, the Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow obtained official permission to use the church indefinitely.[4]
In the early 1990s, plans were made by the Office for Monument Protection to renovate the church by 1997, the 850th anniversary of Moscow's foundation. The proposal was not fulfilled due to disputes about the occupancy of the building. The return of the church to the parish was eventually accepted, but with the condition that the Catholics should renovate the building at their own cost. A commission was founded for the planned renovation in 1995, chaired by parish priest Josef Sanevski, Russian historian Stanislav Durnin, and Polish building contractor and politician Grzegorz Tuderek.[3]
In the years from 1996 to 1999, the building was renovated with the help of sponsors EnergoPol, a Polish company, and Renovabis, a German association for Roman Catholic churches.[4] The Russian government also provided funds in 1999.[3] Work took place initially under the direction of Polish companies PKZ and Budimex, who completely renovated the façade and roof. From September 1998, priest Andrzey Stetskevich, now vicar general of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow, and Jan Tajchman, architect and restorer from Toruń, undertook the works management; both had previously headed the renovation of the Catholic Assumption Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The interior fittings and the new altar were built after designs by Tajchman and Ukrainian, Belarussian and Russian experts. Companies in Moscow managed all the marble work inside and outside the church. The church furniture was produced, under the direction of Vladimir Mukhin, by students from the St. Petersburg renovating school. Stained glass for the façade's rose window were made in Toruń, other windows were produced by Tolotschko, a Belarussian company from Hrodna.[3][4][10]
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was ceremonially reopened on 12 December 1999 and was reconsecrated by the Cardinal Secretary of State of the Roman Curia, Angelo Cardinal Sodano. The 10th anniversary for the completion of the Apostolic Administration of European Russian began on 21 April 2001.[4] On 11 February 2002, Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution Russia intra fines created the administration for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow and named Apostolic Administrator Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz as the first archbishop and metropolitan. At the same time, the Church of the Immaculate Conception acquired the status of cathedral of the archdiocese. In March 2002, members of the cathedral participated in a rosary, which was organized by a video conference, with Catholics from several European cities, headed by John Paul II. Since the reopening, many services take place daily in the cathedral. The main liturgical language for masses is Russian, but also Polish, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Latin and Armenian (based on an Armenian Rite).[11] Aside from masses, organ and church music concerts take place regularly. Entry is normally free, except for selected concerts, for which admission is by ticket. A central funeral service conducted by the Polish parish took place on 12 April 2010 in memory of those killed in the Smolensk.[4]
The cathedral, built in a Neo-Gothic style, is a three-aisled cross-shaped pseudobasilica. It was constructed entirely from red bricks, and was not rendered outside. The 65 m long main aisle is five bays long, each with lateral arms one bay long. The tower dome above the crossing is 30 m high. The façade is based on the design of Westminster Abbey, and the tower on that of Milan Cathedral.[4][12] Each side aisle was strengthened by five buttresses, the ten together symbolizing the Ten Commandments, as is typical for old-style church buildings. Crosses were built at the top of each main tower and the central façade pinnacle, and two other facade pinnacles feature the crests of John Paul II and archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz.[12]
Eleven steps lead to the portal, the first ten symbolizing the Ten Commandments and the eleventh Jesus Christ.[5][12] The portal symbolizes Heaven's gate, accessed by obeying the Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. The portal is surrounded by columns and crowned by a wimperg, the gable spire of which is formed as a finial. The wimperg is decorated with a relief ornament, in the centre of which is a golden monogram of the letters "VMIC" ("Virgo Maria Immaculata Concepta", Latin for "Virgin Mary, conceived unblemished"). The original design by its architect provided a Star of David instead of the monogram,[5][12] which is a reference to the Jewish faith of Virgin Mary. Above the wimperg there is a three-metre bright rose window, built from a light-coloured stone.[12]
There is a stone crucifix and a holy water font, on each side on the entry. High on the left side there is a brick from the Lateran Basilica, and on the right side an anniversary medal from 2000. The crypt is accessed through the door in the right wall of the vestibule, then up to the organ matroneum and finally down through the door on the left wall. In crypt, there are a oratory, Catechism rooms as well as the office of the Caritas charity.[12]
There are benches in the main aisle and confessionals in the side aisles, . The side aisles were fitted out with benches until the closure of the church in 1938. The left side aisle was reserved for women, the right for men.[12] Both side aisles are separated from the main aisle by pillar files, consisting of four columns and two half columns. The columns and the roof are painted in white, and the walls in cream. The floor is constructed from light and dark grey marble slabs in a chequered pattern.[12]
The 8.5-metre high windows are decorated with glass paintings. Most have abstract designs; on the windows in front, the transept, there are crests of Apostolic Nuncios John Bukowski and Francesco Cardinal Colasuonno. The windows in the transept are slightly larger and have a more complex design. On the window in the right lateral arm are depicted Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, who symbolize the Western and Eastern Catholic Church. On the window on the opposite side of the left lateral arm is depicted Pope John Paul II, who is looking up to the Marian apparition of Fátima. In the nave, under the windows, are 14 reliefs in total, which depict the 14 stations of the cross.[12]
The entry to the vestry is located at the end of the right-sided side aisle next to the choir, at the end of the left side aisle the chapel for mercy of God. The tabernacle is situated on the chapel's altar. The church's main altar is faced with a dark green marble, in which pieces of relics of Saints Andrew, Zenon of Verona, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, Cosmas, Damian and Anastasia, as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary's scarf and a donation from the Diocese of Verona, are stored. The ambo, a projection coming out from the soleas, lies on the right side of the altar, which is also faced with dark green marble. Behind the altar, on the apse's wall, there is a nine-metre high stone crucifix, on it a three-metre high figure of Jesus Christ. Plaster figures depicting Holy Virgin Mary and Saint John by architect Svyatoslav Sakhlebin are located on the left and the right side of the corbels. On the opposite side of the altar and above the cathedral's vestibule lies the organ loft, which had originally room for 50 choristers; a large part is occupied by the organ.[12]
The organ, with its 74 stops, four manuals and 5563 organ pipes, is one of the largest in Russia. It is the third organ since the church's establishment. The first was lost in 1938 pillaging. After the renovation in 1999, the cathedral first received an electronic organ with 60 stops. It was donated by American charity "Aid to the Church in Russia", headed by priest Marcel Guarnizo, who received consecration as a deacon during the renovation in 1997. Today's pipe organ was donated by the evangelic-reformed Basel Münster, where it was dismantled in 2002 and transferred to Moscow, except the stop Nr. 65 principal bass 32'. The missing stop was recreated in Moscow and erected in 2009; the original organ must stay in Switzerland, as the 1850 Münster belongs to the country's cultural heritage.[13][14]
The organ was built in 1955 by company Orgelbau Kuhn, located in Männedorf. It was dismantled in Basel and reconstructed in Moscow by the Orgelbau Schmid company from Kaufbeuren. For the transportation, organ pipes were wrapped in garments donated by people of Basel, which were later distributed to people in need in Moscow. The installation of the church was headed by Gerhard Schmid, whose personal request was to make do the work without payment. He died from the affects of injuries he received when he fell from a scaffold, in 9 September 2004. His son Gunnar finished the work.[13][15]
The organ was consecrated by archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz in 16 January 2005, during a Mass, followed by the opening concert for the First International Festival for Organ Music. The one-month festival included several organ concerts in the cathedral. The closing concert was performed by main organist James Edward Goettsche from the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.[16]
The five church bells are located on the cathedral's roof right behind arcades on the left side of the façade. They were donated by bishop Wiktor Skworc and poured by the Felczyński bell foundry in Przemyśl.[3][12]
The bells are electronically activated. The largest weighs 900 kg and bears the name "Mother of God of Fátima". Other bells are named, from the smallest to the biggest, "John Paul II.", "St. Jude" (named after the patron of archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz), "Anniversary-2000" and "St. Victor" (named after the patron of bishop Wiktor Skworc).[3][12]