Christmas Day at Christ the Saviour Cathedral Part II

(If you haven't read Part One yet, please select that from the "archive" links now....)

Inside, the Cathedral is just simply--beautiful! Pictures can't do it justice, because of its grand scale--only a fish-eye lens could get in what your eyes see at once, and then it would look distorted.


Anyway, the cathedral was reconstructed completely from scratch, and -- unlike most other churches -- exactly as it was before it was destroyed. That means the icons are a cross between "real" and "traditional iconographic" styles. They are not gushy Romantic, but are stylized in a dignified way.


The centerpiece of the church is, of course, the Altar. In this case it is a magnificent round structure-round in the middle, at least, then with the straight walls on either side. The picture here is only the very top of it (see below for the bottom). This round style, where the deacons' doors are actually on the sides at an angle from the Royal Doors, is quite common here. I guess it saves space, so you can get as many icons in in a small space as you would if they were all in a straight line. Important, because so many churches have three altars, that each one actually ends up being quite small. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.


Here is the bottom part, looking from the left-hand side. You can see the Royal Doors, but cannot see into the Altar, which is to the left. The grey part on the right is actually on the other side of the church. Notice the row of clergy--and that is not all: an equal number stretched out further to the left! I think this event is something that everyone goes to.

Here is one of the large niches to either side of the main altar, with a Nativity scene. They look and are meant to look quite 3-D--you feel as if you are stepping into the Holy Land, back into time....

(More to come. Sign up to be alerted when new posts are added, so you can follow my (very) erratic schedule :)