Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, Russia, 1050 or 1052

Name: Xiaoyu Zeng
ARCH161 – M21 LEC(2587)

Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, Russia Veliky Novgorod, 1050 or 1052

Church, Ecclesiastical architectural

Architect:  Bishop Joachim the Korsunian (the late tenth century)/ Vladimir (1045-1050)

Introduction:

The Cathedral of St. Sophia (the Holy Wisdom of God) is the cathedral church of the archbishop of Novgorod and the mother church of the Novgorodian Eparchy. It is in the Veliky Novgorod. 

They have been saying since the Cathedral of St. Sophia the Holy Wisdom of God was constructed in the 11th century in Russia for 1000 years. Yaroslav the Wise and his son Vladimir found it. The cathedral was meant to be the main temple in the town. Even after many centuries, divine services are still held in the Cathedral of St. Sophia, and the ancient Orthodox sanctuary is public place. The cathedral is opened for everyone every day from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. Divine services are held at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. At the same time, the cathedral is the town necropolis. The most famous citizens of the town, bishops, princes, posadniks, are buried in its south gallery.

         The door of the western portal what dates from the twelfth century. It made of bronze and richly decorated with wonderful relieves. Also, it is believed to bring from Sweden, however, it was made in Magdeburg, Germany. It is a fine example of what we call the cultural ties between nations.

                                                           Interior of Hagia Sophia in Novgorod

Hagia Sophia in Novgorod (now in Russia)began to be built shortly after the completion of the construction of Kyiv”s Hagia Sophia in 1045. There is a good reason to suppose that some of the architects, artists and masons who had worked in Kyiv and gained a considerable experience in building and decorating a brick church of such a monumental size, travelled north to Novgorod. Basically, Hagia Sophia there follows a plan which is very similar to that one of Hagia Sophia in Kyiv – Cruciform with several aisles and domes. However, the church in Novgorod looks lost a lot of details that are even some severity in its appearance in Hagia Sophia in Kyiv. Otherwise, it also influenced by northern clime and some local traditions. This Church has some frescoes that used the interior decorations lack mosaics. One of the frescoes is a woman who was not in Greek but she is in Slavonic, spelling it as Olena. However, in the nineteenth century, the word was removed during restoration.

Plans its St. Sophia cathedrals in Kiev, Novgorod and Polotsk.

To crown the achievements of his father and assert himself as equal to the other princes, Usiaslau ordered the construction of St. Sophia's Cathedral (Safijski Sabor) in Polacak, which should match the cathedrals in Kiev and Novgorod built in 1037 and 1050 respectively. 

Church of St Theodore Stratilates in Novgorod. Interior

Features:

     Compared with the Kiev cathedral is a bride, and the Novgorod cathedral is a warrior. Because decoration of the Novgorod cathedral is minimal, the use of brick is limited and the masses are arranged vertically rather than horizontally.

      During the Second World War, the cathedral was damaged – a shell hit the central dome, but the church itself survived.

   

Reference: 

1. Wikipedia Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod   

2. Ancient churches of Holy Wisdom in the Slavic Lands.

3. Cathedral of St. Sophia The Wisdom Of God, 1045-1050 http://visitnovgorod.com/sights/st_sophia_cathedral.html

4. http://www.belarusguide.com/cities/polacak.html