ANTIQUITIES AND SYMBOLICS OF ST. SOPHIA CATHEDRAL IN KIEV
This anonymous text, published in Moscow in 1863, is devoted to the theological and semiotic analysis of the paintings program of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, preserved by the middle of the 19th century. Judging by the note of the publishers, this text was written by the author of “Letters on Divine Service of the Eastern Church”, published by the first edition in St. Petersburg in 1835, – by Andrey Nikolaevich Muraviev, known Orthodox historian and art historian, traveler, writer, Chamberlain of the Russian Imperial Court, Chief secretary of the Holy Synod, an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. A. N. Muraviev was born in 1806 in Moscow, died in 1874 in Kiev, where he lived permanently, resigning. It was A. N. Muraviev who saved the historic center of Kiev in the second half of the 19th century, including the architectural ensemble of St. Sophia. In 1864, he became chairman of the missionary St. Vladimir Brotherhood established on his initiative; he was also the trustee of the St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kiev. A. N. Muraviev was the author of numerous works devoted to the history of the Orthodox Church, pilgrimage, apologetics and art history. His “Letter on Divine Service” withstood 12 editions (the last – in 1993). The following text contains a description of the mosaics and frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral, with interpretation of their historical, dogmatic, liturgical and symbolic meaning. The author consistently explains the “cause and significance” of key iconic images and compositions of the cathedral, individual images and their details, regularly comparing them with the iconography of St. Sophia of Constantinople.
Keywords: St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, interior, iconography, symbolics
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Issue: 3, 2017
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: ARCHIVE
Pages: 116 — 132
Downloads: 1054