Church of Sergey of Radonezh

The gateway church of Sergey of Radonezh, designed by the order of archbishop Iona on the Vladychny Dvor in 1463, expresses the idea of peace, intimacy and spiritual unification with Moscow. For this reason Iona dedicated his home church to a Muscovite saint and chose the hagiography of Sergey of Radonezh as the chief subject of the wall painting. The destiny of the frescos is somewhat unusual. Before World War II they had been removed from the wall and stored in the museum. Today these miniature compositions, obviously created under the influence of iconography, have been returned to their original places
Next to the church rises a tall, almost forty-meter high pillar-like clock tower. The Chasozvonya, surmounted with kokoshniki and a small cupola, seems to tilt slightly, evoking associations with the Tower of Pisa. The main purpose of the Chasozvonya is reflected in its ancient name of the Storozhnya (Guard tower): its top platform was used for guarding the roads (in case of unexpected enemy attacks) and watching for fires (an important task since most of the old town buildings were made of wood). From the West the Chasozvonya is connected with constructions of the 17th century such as the Doukhovny (Spiritual) and the Sudny (Court) offices, and the Likhudov building. All of them have high wooden porches and richly decorated facades.

Location:
Novgorod the Great, Russia

On this theme:


• The Petrovsky or Vysokopetrovsky Monastery
  
• Sergey Lazarev
  
• Anita Tsoi
  
• Zhigunov S.V.
  
• Nesterov M. V.
  
• The Church of St. Simeon Stylites
  
• The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood
  
• Church of St. George the Victorious on Pskov Hill
  
• The Church of The Ressurection in Kadashy
  
• The Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist
  
• The Church of The Ascension in Kolomenskoye
  
• Cathedral of God`s Ascension
  
• The Church and Heresies in the second half of XV century.
  
• Kazan Cathedral
  
• The Church and Abolition of Patriarchate.