Conny Waters – AncientPages.com - Originally erected in 1158 to 1160, the magnificent Dormition Cathedral is currently undergoing restoration work. It’s not the first time the church has been reconstructed, but this time workers discovered beautiful, never before seen ancient frescoes hidden behind the walls.
The Cathedral of the Dormition, Moscow Kremlin. Credit: Vss, CC BY-SA 3.0
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The history of Dormition Cathedral is just as interesting as the church itself.
Located withing within the Moscow Kremlin, the Dormition Cathedral also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption is a Russian Orthodox church that was recognized as the country’s main church until the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
Credit: Moscow Kremlin Museums
Dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, the Dormition Cathedral’s present design was constructed between 1475–79 by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti. Below the church, there is an underground necropolis that holds graves of Russian Orthodox Church patriarchs. Most tsars have been coronated and married here, but the cathedral has suffered from many disasters in its history.
Credit: Moscow Kremlin Museums
The religious icon of Russia had to cope with fires in 1518, 1547, 1682, and 1737, and looting under the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Time of Troubles in 1612. During the French occupation of Russia, it was looted and used as a horse stable.
Credit: Moscow Kremlin Museums
By the church’s walls were covered with murals by many of them were lost later. Now, there are reports of a truly exceptional discovery that adds more historical and religious value to this beautiful church. Restorers have found several unknown frescoes behind the altarpiece walls.
Credit: Moscow Kremlin Museums
As Russia Beyond reports, “there are low hidden parts of two compositions: ‘Cathedral of Our Lady’ and ‘Birth of John the Baptist’. Two new prophets from the fresco ‘Praises of the Theotokos’ were also discovered.
Credit: Moscow Kremlin Museums
Research shows that these wall paintings are most likely to be dated around 1481 when Dionisy and other masters made the iconostasis. (Not even 1515, when the cathedral walls were supposedly officially painted.)
If these conclusions are correct, it means it’s an absolutely unique discovery, as frescoes of Dionisy and his contemporaries have almost all been lost.”
Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
