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The Cathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionThe Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow was one of three Roman Catholic churches permitted to remain open throughout the Bolshevik Revolution. The religious organization, the Polish National, initiated building the cathedral in response to the growing numbers of Polish people that had outgrown their original church building. The priests at Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, the original church, began to collect funds for the building and the acquisition of a building site. Polish architect Thomas Bogdanowitsch-Dworschetskij undertook the building of the cathedral. Linking the Gothic style, Bogdanowitsch-Dworschetskij wanted an accurate imitation of western European architecture. He chose the Gothic church in Westminster, England, to serve as his model. On Dec. 8, 1911, the completed cathedral was ceremonially consecrated to the Virgin Mary on her feast day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Soviet authorities celebrated its 30th anniversary by closing the cathedral in 1941 stealing treasures of the church and altering the appearance of the entire cathedral. Three stories were constructed from the nave at the cathedral. No longer could a person walking into the cathedral view the grand and impressive beauty of a cathedral with its high ornate ceiling. Instead, one would see only the makeshift ceiling of the false floor above. Thus, the whole interior was now unrecognizable to those who had known it before. After the war, even the church tower no longer remained. In 1976, state authorities began talk about the transfer of the cathedral from state to cultural authorities. The cultural administration planned to use it as an organ music hall. However, the established church firm, Mosspietzpromprojekt, refused to relinquish the building. The first group to ask for the restoration of the cathedral to its legitimate owners was the culture association Dom Polski (Polish House). As a group, the Moscow Catholic community made an official request for the return of the cathedral to the faithful. Their request was granted. On Dec. 8, 1990, with the permission of Russian authorities, the Holy Mass was celebrated on the cathedral’s steps by Father Tadeusch Pickus, chaplain of the Polish restoration business, in honor of the Immaculate Conception. One hundred people attended the Mass, the first in 60 years. The next Mass was celebrated there on May 3, 1991, the Feast of the Mother of God, Mary, Queen of Poland. From June 7, there were regular services on Sundays at noon. On Dec. 8, 1995, the current mayor of Moscow, Luschkov, signed a document for the restoration of the church by the end of 1995. On Jan. 13, 1996, the director of the resident company left the church. One month later the church community received a document obtaining for them permanent use of the church. The church now belongs to the community of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Moscow. Aid to the Church in Russia was largely responsible for the renovation and restoration of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Much of the cathedral’s natural beauty has been restored and the three floors put in by the Communists have been knocked out. With the floors gone, the cathedral began to look as it once did. *** Moscow, 25 December 2007 (Interfax): A Solemn High Mass was celebrated in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow on Monday night. The service started in the overcrowded cathedral with the singing of Christmas hymns. The church was lit with illuminated Christmas trees. After that, the clergy, garbed in golden and white vestments, processed to the Nativity scene. Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia, carried a sculpture of the Infant Christ. When the procession reached the crèche, the archbishop placed the figure of Jesus into the manger, said a prayer, and sprinkled the scene with blessed water. “May the Star of Bethlehem shine!” he acclaimed, and the bells started to ring. After a fireworks display, the procession came back to the church, and the Mass continued. The service was attended by Fr Igor Vyzhanov, the secretary for inter-Christian affairs at the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, and many foreign diplomats. The overall number of worshippers in the cathedral was about 2,000. Interfax-Religion www.interfax.ru Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Address: 27 Malaya Gruzinskaya Ul. Metro: Krasnopresnenskaya or Belorusskaya Telephone: (495) 252-3911 Service Times: Sundays, 1500 English (Other times: Polish, Spanish, and Russian);
St.Andrew's Anglican ChurchAnglican worship in Moscow dates from 1553, when Tsar Ivan the Terrible allowed the first non-Russian-Orthodox services to maintain Christian and moral teaching among English traders employed by the Russia Company. Today, St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Moscow is still a spiritual home away from home for expatriates. More than 150 Muscovites representing a dozen nationalities and almost as many Christian denominations worship each Sunday. On major feasts such as Christmas and Easter, that number swells to over 200. Every Thursday at 7:30pm St Andrew's hosts a concert of classical music when professional musicians from all over Russia and abroad draw large audiences. The concerts are given in aid of the Chaplaincy's mission to the wider Moscow community; and to support the restoration programme of St Andrew's Church. For more information, please contact the chaplaincy's Concert Master, Mr Nikolai Grigorian on tel. 772-5842. The Grigorian Quartet comprising 3rd/4th year students of the Moscow Conservatoire plays at all major Chaplaincy functions and Church feasts. Regular Services Sundays08.00 Morning Prayer (CW) 08.30 Holy Communion (1662 BCP) 11.00 Sung Eucharist (CW, our main service) 18.30 Evening Prayer (CW) Wednesdays18.30 Evening Prayer (BCP) 19.00 Holy Communion (BCP) 20.00 Bible study Other Weekdays08.30 Morning Prayer (BCP) 18.30 Evening Prayer (BCP, not on Thursdays) Saturdays18.30 Evening Prayer (BCP) St Andrew's Anglican Church Voznesenskiy Pereulok 8/5 Moscow 103009 Tel: 629-0990 http://www.standrewsmoscow.org/ |
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