Saint Sophia Cathedral, Vologda

The foundation of the cathedral is associated with the name of Tsar Ivan IV, by whose order a grandiose construction was underway in Vologda from 1568 to 1570. After the departure of Ivan the Terrible from the city, the temple remained unconsecrated and unrecorded for 17 years. It was only during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich that the cathedral was partially decorated. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral, a century later, were created under Archbishop Gabriel by an artel of Yaroslavl icon painters. The artel was headed by an outstanding master of wall writing Dmitry Grigoryevich Plekhanov, whose name is also associated with the paintings of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad and the Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkov in Yaroslavl. In the middle of the XIX century, the frescoes of the cathedral were rewritten by the artel of the Yaroslavl icon painter A.M. Kolchin. By the originality of iconography and the skill of execution, the frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral are among the best monuments of Russian monumental painting of the second half of the XVII century, whose area is about 5,000 square meters. By the will of Ivan the Terrible, St. Sophia Cathedral has one rather remarkable feature. According to the ancient church canon, the altar of any temple should be facing east. The altar of St. Sophia Cathedral looks to the northeast, and mainly to the north. Probably, Ivan IV wanted the altar of the cathedral to face the Vologda River, although such an arrangement contradicted the tradition of church construction. The five-tiered wooden carved gilded iconostasis of 1724-1738 (the third since the construction of the cathedral) has been completely preserved to this day, the icons for which were painted by the Polish painter Maxim Iskritsky.

During the entire time of its existence, St. Sophia Cathedral was repeatedly updated and decorated; it took its final form only in the XX century.

The foundation of the cathedral is associated with the name of Tsar Ivan IV, by whose order a grandiose construction was underway in Vologda from 1568 to 1570. After the departure of Ivan the Terrible from the city, the temple remained unconsecrated and unrecorded for 17 years. It was only during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich that the cathedral was partially decorated. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral, a century later, were created under Archbishop Gabriel by an artel of Yaroslavl icon painters. The artel was headed by an outstanding master of wall writing Dmitry Grigoryevich Plekhanov, whose name is also associated with the paintings of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad and the Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkov in Yaroslavl. In the middle of the XIX century, the frescoes of the cathedral were rewritten by the artel of the Yaroslavl icon painter A.M. Kolchin. By the originality of iconography and the skill of execution, the frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral are among the best monuments of Russian monumental painting of the second half of the XVII century, whose area is about 5,000 square meters. By the will of Ivan the Terrible, St. Sophia Cathedral has one rather remarkable feature. According to the ancient church canon, the altar of any temple should be facing east. The altar of St. Sophia Cathedral looks to the northeast, and mainly to the north. Probably, Ivan IV wanted the altar of the cathedral to face the Vologda River, although such an arrangement contradicted the tradition of church construction.

The foundation of the cathedral is associated with the name of Tsar Ivan IV, by whose order a grandiose construction was underway in Vologda from 1568 to 1570. After the departure of Ivan the Terrible from the city, the temple remained unconsecrated and unrecorded for 17 years. It was only during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich that the cathedral was partially decorated. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral, a century later, were created under Archbishop Gabriel by an artel of Yaroslavl icon painters. The artel was headed by an outstanding master of wall writing Dmitry Grigoryevich Plekhanov, whose name is also associated with the paintings of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad and the Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkov in Yaroslavl. In the middle of the XIX century, the frescoes of the cathedral were rewritten by the artel of the Yaroslavl icon painter A.M. Kolchin. By the originality of iconography and the skill of execution, the frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral are among the best monuments of Russian monumental painting of the second half of the XVII century, whose area is about 5,000 square meters.

The foundation of the cathedral is associated with the name of Tsar Ivan IV, by whose order a grandiose construction was underway in Vologda from 1568 to 1570. After the departure of Ivan the Terrible from the city, the temple remained unconsecrated and unrecorded for 17 years. It was only during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich that the cathedral was partially decorated. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral, a century later, were created under Archbishop Gabriel by an artel of Yaroslavl icon painters. The artel was headed by an outstanding master of wall writing Dmitry Grigoryevich Plekhanov, whose name is also associated with the paintings of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad and the Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkov in Yaroslavl.

The oldest stone building of the city — St. Sophia Cathedral - an architectural monument of the XVI century, an object of cultural heritage. The dimensions of the temple are monumental - the length of the walls is 38.5 m, the width is 25.6 m, the total height is 59 m. Temples like the St. Sophia Cathedral are very characteristic of the Russian architecture of the XVI century and are one of the most common types of city and monastery cathedrals built in the image and likeness of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Nevertheless, the Vologda Cathedral differs from all similar type of temples by a special laconicity of architecture, which gives the cathedral a specifically northern rigor.

he XX century.

The foundation of the cathedral is associated with the name of Tsar Ivan IV, by whose order a grandiose construction was underway in Vologda from 1568 to 1570. After the departure of Ivan the Terrible from the city, the temple remained unconsecrated and unrecorded for 17 years.

The oldest stone building of the city — St. Sophia Cathedral - an architectural monument of the XVI century, an object of cultural heritage. The dimensions of the temple are monumental - the length of the walls is 38.5 m, the width is 25.6 m, the total height is 59 m. Temples like the St. Sophia Cathedral are very characteristic of the Russian architecture of the XVI century and are one of the most common types of city and monastery cathedrals built in the image and likeness of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. Nevertheless, the Vologda Cathedral differs from all similar type of temples by a special laconicity of architecture, which gives the cathedral a specifically northern rigor.

he XX century.