Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Church of the Resurrection in the Grove, 1910. Digital color rendering. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsc-03975 (48)
Above is a picture taken by Sergi Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, photographer to Tsar Nicholas II, of a Russian Orthodox Church. Under the Russian Empire, the Church played an important role in every day life. But, how did orthodoxy end up in Russia?
The Russian Empire considered itself the “Third Rome”, the new seat of power for the Roman Empire. The “First Rome” was in Rome itself, while the “Second Rome” was in Constantinople. It was the “Second Rome”, controlled by the Byzantine Empire that brought Eastern Orthodoxy to Russia in the 9th century through missionaries. Not only did these missionaries bring religion to Russia, they also brought the written language, cyrillic. Cyrillic is named after one of the Byzantine missionaries. The Russian Empire adopted a style of church similar to the Byzantine Churches, however the Russian Churches like Saint Basil’s in Moscow tend to be more colorful. The Tsars also adopted the Double Headed Eagle, the symbol of the Byzantine Emperor as the symbol of the Tsar. The Double Headed Eagle appeared on thrones, buildings and still appears on the russian ruble.
Religion affected many aspects of life in the Russian Empire. It brought the written language to Russia and influenced the Empire’s government.
I think one of the reason I would love to visit Russia (and every other place i would like to visit) is because of the architectural beauty that I feel isn’t as prominent in the United States. I think this church is just too cool looking, but I like how instead of focusing on the church you swung the topic to focus more on the religious aspect of Russia and how it evolved. I also think it’s pretty neat that although Russia doesn’t have Tsars anymore it still appears on the form of currency they use today. Great info!
I really enjoyed your post, mostly due to the fact that I have taken a class on Byzantine history so this was a good refresher for me. Church history has always been of some interest to me, especially the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Great Schism. I’ve also always enjoyed the very unique and beautiful style of Russian buildings. Overall, I thought that your post was very informative, especially for those who may not have as strong of a background in church history.
I concur. Informative post!
It would be nice to know more about the particular church in this photograph. Where is it? Is it still standing? What do we know about the architectural style?