Shi Yang “Metempsychosis: Revival of the Christ the Savior Cathedral”

1 pm Moscow time, Guanguanpig arrived at Sheremetyevo air port, started her first adventure of Russia, a nostalgic dream world for her. Natasha, her Russian friend meeting in Beijing 2 years ago, drove to the airport and picked her up. After 3 hours traffic jams, they reached the heart of Moscow center. Bathing the winter sunset along the embankment of Moscow River after painful congestion made them completely released. ‘Look at that white church! How beautiful in the sunset! I am truly in Russia, incredible!’ ‘That’s Christ the Sav-iour Cathedral, one of our canteen.’

14 of April. 2011Guanguanpig’s Adventure

‘What? I mean that church.’ ‘Yes, I know, I also wash my car there, I have a golden membership, much cheaper than another places in Moscow.’ ‘What… I am totally confused, isn’t it a church? ’ ‘It is, but not only a church. It’s a complex built 10 years ago of Cathedral, canteen, laundry, car parking and washing, museum, etc… there is a brilliant story about it.’ Natasha told the legendary life of Christ the Saviour to Guanguanpig. ‘Superplace of Ghosts! It sems like a Disneyland then, but anyway, I like it. It composed a strong feeling of Russia as I imagined in my dream.’

METEMPSYCHOSIS

The passage of a soul from one body to another.Rebirth of the soul at death in another body, either human or animal.

Christ the Saviour in 1904

CONTENTS:

History of the Cathedral 9

Introduction 1

New Landmark 35

Glorification 41

Sham Replica 59

Hybridization 71

Conclusion 75

Christ the Saviour in 2011

1

2

Political Symbol

Living Tradition

Political Symbol

Living Tradition

Christ the Saviour

Skyline

LANDMARK

SHAM REPLICA

Political intentionsSocio-Economic need

communist beliefs collapsed rich-poor divide destroy communist ideology way for social solidarity

Reasons of Re-construction

Symbolism

HYBRIDIZATION

GLORIFICATION

Cases in Moscow Mayor Luzhkov

Commerce

Orthodox Church

Culture

Christ the Saviour

Skyline

LANDMARK

SHAM REPLICA



Reasons of Re-construction

Symbolism

HYBRIDIZATION

GLORIFICATION


Commerce

Orthodox Church

Culture

Designed by Konstantin Ton 1860

7

Interior 1883

8

The cathedral was considered as a symbol of the autocratic leadership characteristic to Rus-sia, setting the region apart from the west.

9

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is on the bank of the Mosk-va River, a few blocks west of the Kremlin. With an overall height of 103 metres, it is the tallest Orthodox church in the world. When Napoleon retreated from Moscow, Emperor Alexander I signed a manifest, 25 December 1812, declaring his intention to build a Cathedral in honor of Christ the Saviour “to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her” and as a memorial to the sacrifices of the Russian people. The cathedral was finished in 1883. Ton’s cathedral was an imposing monument to Russian victory and strength, dominating the Moscow cityscape into the Soviet era.

View of the cathedral and the Great Stone Bridge in 1905

10

Russian Imperial Ideology

Embodying the most prominent expression of Russian imperial ideology, the Cathedral was too provocative a symbol to resist socialist rule. It was demolished in 1931 by Stalin, who intended to build there the vast Palace of the Soviets.

11

Socialist RuleRussian Imperial Ideology

View of the cathedral in 1931

12

13

14

The newspapers wrote ‘ The Ca-thedral is grotesque and totally inartistic’. ‘The Cathedral is a poisonous mushroom on Mos-cow’s face’ and that it was ‘a source of slothfulness’ .

15

Designed byBoris Iofan 1932

16

One of the most influential pieces of architecture never to be built.

17

18

Tallest & Biggest m

ade in Soviet Union

19

20

In 1958, under Nikita Khrushchev, the site turned over to become an open-air swimming pool, the largest in the world, which was kept at a temperature of 27°C all year round. The result was a thick covering of fog that shrouded a number of gruesome deaths (and murders) among the swimmers. The swimming pool that used to attract 15,000 bathers a day.

21

Moskva Pool in 1960

22

23

Moskva Pool in 1980

In 1993, 207 Moscow churches were attended by 500,000 people, but, beginning in 1960, more than five million people used the pool annually.

24

25

Moskva Pool in 1980s

26

View of the cathedral in 1996

Moscow City Government estimates the reconstruc-tion costs $360-million and most of the amount was given by the 20 largest companies operating in Moscow, such as Coca Cola, McDonalds and Soci-ete Generale. “Our Mayor said to the companies; you make money out of the people of Moscow, so you give something back for them and our city”.

Boris Yel’tsin signed the July 1992 decree, “On the creation of a Foundation for Moscow’s Rebirth,” in which restoration of the Cathedral was listed as the very first project.

27

28

29

View of the reconstruction 1996

30

31

32

The reconstruction ompleted in 2000, the new ca-thedral is loosely based on Ton’s original designs, but constructed with modern building materials in-cluding air conditioning, telecommunications facili-ties, elevators and underground parking.

33

34

The new ‘old’ national symbol comes back

35

36

Paschal Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior 24.04.2011

37

38

President of the Republic of Guatemala

President of the Republic of Abkhazia

39

The Cathedral became the national card

Lebanese President

Patriarch taught primatial blessing to Bagapsh and his wife and hoped to develop good relations of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia.

40

Why Christ the Saviour Cathedral comes back to Russia?

Why Christ the Saviour Cathedral comes back to Russia?

45

46

People felt vacuous after loosing the faith of Communism, Orthodoxy fulfilled the emptiness. Believers are booming after Soviet Union collapsed, reached 60% of Russian population.

47

48

After the fall of Soviet Union, new econo-my policy lead to a striking gap between the rich and the poor, in 2009, there were 2 million unemployment and one sixth people live below poverty bottom line. Religion became their port both physical-ly and psycologically, which has already led to the renovation of appoximately 300 churches in Moscow. Christ the Sav-iour is the leading power of all the Ortho-dox churches in Russia.

49

Reconstruction was undertaken by a special Committee, headed by Patri-arch Alexy II and the Mayor of Moscow. This collaboration seems to be more the product of political aspirations than a real response to the spontaneous reli-gious feeling of Muscovites. It was the need to establish ‘Religion As a Symbol’, rather than ‘Religion As a Living Tradi-tion And Practice’, that was the prime motivation of this project.

50

Yeltsin, ‘national sacred place must be reborn.’ ‘it will be easier to find the path to social accord, the creation of goodness, and a life in which there will be less room for sin.

Putin, ‘Our country need Orthodox’s cooperation to help drugger, vagrant problems and assist elder ,disabled in order to strengthen national unity ...’ ‘State will gradually compensate the fault made by history to Orthodox’unity ...’ ‘State will gradually compensate the fault made by history to Orthodox’

Luzhkov declared at the official opening of the cathedral in October, 2000, that the site would help generate Orthodoxy and spirituality inRussia. The overall goal of the project was officially proclaimed as being ‘to break with the Soviet past, with its antireligious and an-tinational practices, and to re-establish connection with the lost cultural heritage of the country.’

Reconstructing the cathedral with a design faithful to the original would imply that the Soviet past could be easily erased.

51

Reconstructing the cathedral with a design faithful to the original would imply that the Soviet past could be easily erased.

52

The churches distribution in Moscow city territory53

54

55

There are 23,000 Russian Orthodox churches have been rebuilt in the post-Soviet era. Till 2010, the total number of churches and chapels in Moscow is 837. Yet, 19 churches have not been transferred to the Church; 90 churches and chapels are under construction. Approxi-mately 300 churches were renovat-ed and constructed in Moscow. In 2010 and 2011, at least 200 ortho-dox churches are to be built .

56

Prefabricated churches will be built in Moscow57

58

Sham ReplicaTurning the historic city into a stage-set city

Sham ReplicaTurning the historic city into a stage-set city

constructed 1620-1636demolished 1936



constructed eighteenth centurynever finished

reconstructed 1992-1993 reconstructed 1995-2002 reconstructed 2005-2009 reconstruct started from 2005

Cathedral of Kazan

A trend for sham replicas has flourished during this 20 years

Christ the Saviour Moskva Hotel Tsaritsino Palace

61

A Trend For Sham Replicas Has Flourished During This 20 Years




constructed eighteenth centurynever finished

reconstructed 1992-1993 reconstructed 1995-2002 reconstructed 2005-2009 reconstruct started from 2005

Cathedral of Kazan

A trend for sham replicas has flourished during this 20 years

Christ the Saviour Moskva Hotel Tsaritsino Palace

62

Luzhkov’s personal tastes and business interests have left a strong mark on the city since he became Mayor in 1992.

I perceive the city entirely in terms of facades. So why in-deed not destroy a building, replace all its innards and then recreate the facades? In Moscow’s culture the notion of a copy sometimes has no less bearing than that of an origi-nal. This is because the conceptual, historical and cultural ‘baggage’ that such a copy carries can often be richer and more profound than the original design.

65

The Mayor once claimed that he was righting histori-cal wrongs by reconstructing architectural monuments destroyed by the Soviets. However, today’s political and business landscape indicates that a prime motivation is profit and convenience. Soon we will have the youngest heritage of any city in the world !!!

66

Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855)

Luzhkov only spent 5 years to complete the project which Tsar used to spend 50 years.

67

First, the 850th anniversary of the founding of Moscow was to be celebrated in September 1997 “as a nationwide holiday,” providing Moscow authorities with a chance to display their achievements, of which the crowning one was to be the restored Cathedral. Second, the Parliamentary and Presidential elections in 1995 and 1996 were seen as likely to result in political destabi-lization, and personal attachment to this significant construction project would allow Luzhkov to stabilize his position.

The reconstruction need to be finished as soon as possible

Luzhkov only spent 5 years to complete the project which Tsar used to spend 50 years.

68

A proposal for reconstruction of Christ the Saviour, not built. Yu.I.Seliverstov 1994

A proposal in Tsaristsyno, not built. 1988

Designed by Mospromstroy office 1995

1 2

3

69

Arguing that exact re-construction of the Cathedral would recall only one period of the place’s history, Seliverstov suggested an original way to invoke the past through the erection of a steel-contour outline of the lost building, with just the original chapel-altar inside. This inexpensive project had the advantage of re-storing the architectural scale of the original Cathedral, arguably its most famous feature, and leaving empty space for broader interpretations

As soon as Gorbachev’s new policy of openness in the late 1980s allowed some religious freedom, the idea of restoring the lost Cathedral began to gain popularity. The intelligentsia of the country was at the forefront. Using various media, prominent artists and writers criticized the Communist regime and cam-paigned for restoration of the Cathedral.

To celebrate the 1988 millennium of the Russian conversion to Christianity, the state agreed to allow construction of a new Trin-ity Cathedral inTsaritsyno. Designed as a reminder of the lost Cathedral, the project nevertheless was to signify the new policy of separation of Church and state, and therefore to be located not in the center but rather in the residential outskirts of the city.

While Seliverstov’s arch project and the Millennium Cathedral in Tsaritsyno responded to the growing criticism of “grand scale” architectural thinking, the state-led restoration was to continue the tsarist and Soviet tastes for grandiose structures

(Malinin 1994, 1995)

70

HYBRIDIZATION

The reconstruction is made from reinforced concrete on a steel frame; bronze casts were used instead of carved stone for the reliefs on the exterior of the ca-thedral. A raised ground floor was added, raising the building up and changing its original proportions. While the total floor area of the Cathedral is only 3,980 m2, the three-level basement has floorspace of 66,000 m2, more than fifteen times the upper level. The new func-tions added in this space are even more significant.

71

72

Underground car parking and car washing

book sale and gallery

technical support

Laudry Congress hall

Cathedral Canteen

Church of Transfiguration

The basement reflects a political compromise between Moscow govrnment and Patriarchate

The city authorities initially wanted only the garages and the Church of the Transfiguration in the base-ment. The underground parking garage alone was regarded as worth the effort

(Semenov 1994)

73

Underground car parking and car washing

book sale and gallery

technical support

Laudry Congress hall

Cathedral Canteen

Church of Transfiguration

The basement reflects a political compromise between Moscow govrnment and Patriarchate

Restored Convent of Alex-ius the Man of God, with its Church of the Transfiguration and halls for the Church’s Councils. Another idea is to increase the seating capacity for the conference-hall, build theological center and spa-cious lobby halls for exhibi-tions and book sales.

74

75

Summary of Use and Historical Context of the Sites of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Use

Convent of Alexiusthe Man of God

Vitberg’s cathedral

Ton’s cathedral

Palace of the Soviets

Swimming pool

Restored cathedral 1997-present Luzhkov Mayor of Moscow Strong position of Moscow power goupin post-Soviet Russia

formally independent;depends on state support

main cathedral historical memorial;headquarters of the Russian orthodox church; gathering/retial/parking

1960-1994 Khrushchev

1881-1931

1937-1941 Stalin Leader of USSR

Leader of USSR Strong USSR

Global communist union subject to harsh repressions

marginalized, subject to repressions

recreation

gathering and monument to the USSR

Nicholas I

1817-1825 Alexander I Russian Emperor

Russian Emperor Strong empire

Spritual leadership in post- Napoleonic Europe

department of the state


war memorialchurch comlex

war memorialmajor cathedral

abandoned

abandoned

1514-1837 Alexii Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia

Orthodox Christendom

Primary political power religious completed

completed

completed

completed

Dates Founder Political Status Ideology Position of Orthodox Functions Status of construction

76

Use

Convent of Alexiusthe Man of God

Vitberg’s cathedral

Ton’s cathedral

Palace of the Soviets

Swimming pool

Restored cathedral 1997-present Luzhkov Mayor of Moscow Strong position of Moscow power goupin post-Soviet Russia

formally independent;depends on state support

main cathedral historical memorial;headquarters of the Russian orthodox church; gathering/retial/parking

1960-1994 Khrushchev

1881-1931

1937-1941 Stalin Leader of USSR

Leader of USSR Strong USSR

Global communist union subject to harsh repressions

marginalized, subject to repressions

recreation

gathering and monument to the USSR

Nicholas I

1817-1825 Alexander I Russian Emperor

Russian Emperor Strong empire

Spritual leadership in post- Napoleonic Europe



war memorialchurch comlex

war memorialmajor cathedral

abandoned

abandoned

1514-1837 Alexii Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia

Orthodox Christendom

Primary political power religious completed

completed

completed

completed

Dates Founder Political Status Ideology Position of Orthodox Functions Status of construction

Desire

powerambition

president electionsocial solidarity

profit

propaganda

self-representationpurge communism

ideology

taste

welfare substitution

corruption

brandingnew social value

77

“Ne

w o

ld c

hu

rch

”Ca

thed

ral o

f Chr

ist t

he S

avio

r is

a ve

ry im

pres

sive

bui

ldin

g. It

is a

n ex

ampl

e of

Rus

sian

relig

ios

arch

itect

ure.

But

this

cat

hedr

al w

as e

xplo

ded

by S

ovie

t gov

ernm

ent i

n 30

-s a

nd it

was

bui

lt ag

ain

in 9

0-s.

So y

ou s

houl

d un

ders

tand

that

it is

a n

ew b

uild

ing.

I di

d no

t com

e in

side

bec

ause

the

wer

e to

muc

h pe

ople

in q

ueue

. The

re is

a v

ery

butif

ull v

iew

from

the

brid

ge n

ear t

he c

athe

dral

“Ca

n't

mis

s!!”

The

queu

e to

go

insi

de w

asn'

t lon

g, e

ntry

is fr

ee. T

here

is s

ecur

ity c

heck

as

you

ente

r, ba

g ch

ecki

ng. N

o ph

otog

raph

s an

d m

obile

pho

nes

are

allo

wed

to u

se in

side

. Don

't fo

rget

to g

o do

wns

tairs

whe

re is

mor

e to

see

(qui

te a

few

sta

irs b

ut th

ere

is a

n ex

it, s

o yo

u do

n't h

ave

to g

o up

). If

you

can,

try

to g

o du

ring

a m

ass.

I was

ther

e ju

st b

efor

e an

d I h

eard

the

choi

r pra

ctis

ing.

.. It

soun

ded

amaz

ing!

Als

o,en

tran

ce to

the

met

ro s

tatio

n Kr

opot

insk

aya

is d

irect

ly fr

om th

e pa

rk s

urro

undi

ng th

e ca

thed

ral.

“B

reat

hta

kin

g..

.”

A p

lace

you

MU

ST h

ave

been

whe

n vi

sit M

osco

w. A

n at

mos

pher

e w

hich

is u

ndes

crib

able

.

“Blin

g”

“Big

”

“Gh

ost

”“We

dd

ing

ca

ke”

No

othe

r wor

d ca

n de

scrib

e th

is c

athe

dral

bet

ter.

Ther

e is

gol

d, s

ilver

, bro

nze

and

bras

s ev

eryw

here

. Thi

s ca

thed

ral i

s in

tere

stin

g...

“A p

lea

san

t b

reat

h o

f fr

esh

air

” A

fter

the

hust

le a

nd b

ustle

of t

he K

rem

lin, i

t was

gre

at to

arr

ive

at th

e ga

rden

s ar

ound

this

cat

hedr

al. T

he g

roun

ds a

re v

ery

wel

l mai

ntai

ned

and

on a

sun

ny a

nd w

arm

day

an

exc

elle

nt p

lace

to g

o fo

r a b

it of

a re

st. T

he c

athe

dral

sits

righ

t nex

t to

a bu

sy h

ighw

ay th

at ru

ns a

long

the

river

, but

this

is n

ot p

artic

ular

ly n

otic

eabl

e w

hen

you

are

insi

de th

e ca

thed

ral g

roun

ds. A

brid

ge c

onne

cts

the

area

aro

und

the

cath

edra

l with

the

othe

r sid

e of

the

river

. The

who

le a

rea

is lo

vely

and

a g

reat

pla

ce to

go

for a

litt

le

stro

ll. P

ay a

tten

tion

to th

e ra

iling

s w

hen

cros

sing

the

brid

ge. T

his

loca

tion

is o

bvio

ulsy

a p

opul

ar s

pot f

or w

eddi

ng c

oupl

es to

com

e to

hav

e th

eir p

hoto

s ta

ken.

As

a re

min

der o

f the

ir vi

sit a

nd a

sym

bol o

f the

ir un

ion,

man

y of

the

coup

les

lock

pad

lock

s m

arke

d w

ith th

eir n

ames

and

wed

ding

dat

es to

the

raili

ng. I

n ad

ditio

n to

a g

reat

vi

ew o

f the

cat

hedr

al th

ere

is a

lso

a ni

ce v

iew

of t

he ri

ver a

nd th

e Kr

emlin

from

the

brid

ge a

s w

ell a

s a

huge

sta

tue

of P

eter

the

Gre

at w

ith a

nav

al th

eme.

“My

favo

rite

Mo

sco

w C

ath

ed

ral”

Th

is C

athe

dral

is m

y fa

vorit

e in

Mos

cow

. The

cat

hedr

al w

as re

built

dur

ing

the

90's,

but

it h

ouse

s so

me

of th

e ol

dest

icon

s in

Rus

sia

in th

e lo

wer

leve

l. A

lthou

gh n

ot

requ

ired,

all

Russ

ian

wom

en c

over

thei

r hea

ds in

cat

hedr

als.

It is

a c

ourt

esy,

but

not

a re

quire

men

t to

do s

o.

78

Christ the Saviour

Skyline

LANDMARK

REPLICA



Rebuilt national recognition

Tourism

HYBRIDIZATION

GLORIFICATION


Commerce

Orthodox Church

Culture

Tool

Key intervention

Side ef

fect

Christ the Saviour

Skyline

LANDMARK

REPLICA



Rebuilt national recognition

Tourism

HYBRIDIZATION

GLORIFICATION


Commerce

Orthodox Church

Culture

Tool

Key intervention

Side ef

fect

SUPERPLACE OF GHOSTS

A replica of a past monument.

An alternance of symbols in the same place.

A real Superplace, a crucial point in Moscow geopolitics, capable to absorb, in sequence, different presences and symbols.

LEGITIMATION

How long can Moscow, as Capital of Russia, legitimate its National Identity through an old repertoire of symbols?

Will images of the past continue to represent Russian Character?

Documents

Shi Yang “Metempsychosis: Revival of the Christ the Savior Cathedral”