Dormition Cathedral, Moscow

Assumption Cathedral
Успенский Собор
The Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin, (south façade, viewed from Cathedral Square, summer)
Map
55°45′04″N 37°37′01″E / 55.75111°N 37.61694°E / 55.75111; 37.61694
LocationMoscow
CountryRussia
DenominationRussian Orthodox
Websiteassumption-cathedral.kreml.ru
History
Consecrated1479
Architecture
StyleRussian
Years built1475–1479
Groundbreaking1326

The Cathedral of the Dormition (Russian: Успенский собор, romanizedUspenskiy sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. It is located on the north side of Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia, where a narrow alley separates the north from the Patriarch's Palace with the Twelve Apostles Church. Separately in the southwest, also separated by a narrow passage from the church, stands the Palace of Facets. The cathedral is regarded as the mother church of Muscovite Russia.

The cathedral was originally constructed using stone in 1326 under Ivan I.[1] The cathedral was rebuilt between 1475 and 1479 at the behest of the grand prince Ivan III to a design by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti.[2] From 1547 to 1896 the coronation of Russian monarchs took place here. In addition, the cathedral is the burial place for most of the Moscow Metropolitans and Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church; it also serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums.

  1. ^ Freeze, Gregory L. (2009). Russia: a history (Third ed.). Oxford New York: Oxford university press. p. 22. ISBN 9780199560417.
  2. ^ Crummey, Robert O. (1996). The formation of Muscovy: 1304 - 1613 (7. impr ed.). London: Longman. ISBN 9780582491533.