Treasures of China-city: temples and monasteries

If you want to get to the Moscow Middle Ages, then you will go to the narrow alleys of Kitay-Gorod.

This walk to one of the oldest and most beautiful areas of the capital. It is on China-city that most monasteries and temples with a centuries-old history are concentrated. These temples have survived much: they were burned and destroyed, prayed and married in them, they saw the change of monarchs and even entire eras.

You will find the spiritual history of Moscow, captured in stonework and wooden ceilings. We will visit several churches in Moscow.

Let’s see how the iconostasis is arranged in each of them, what rows of frescoes tell about, what gifts the icons bring, how the images structure the space of the temples.

Let us trace the history of fresco painting – from the ancient Russian canon to the plots and images of the XIX century. We will see the impressive paintings of the Last Judgment, the temple-"reliquary", the amazing icon of Dmitry Donskoy with a peacock and many unusual visual motifs. You will learn to “read” and decipher conventional images, distinguish icon schools and understand the language spoken to us by these images, characterized by strict lines and restrained colors.

We'll visit:

- St. John's. Nicholas in Klenniki: two floors of paintings built according to the ancient Russian canons; frescoes of the Last Judgment and the relics of the saint of the XX century.

The Temple of St. George the Victorious in the Old Archers: the Church-"reliquary"

Church of St. Prince Vladimir in the Old Gardens: Classical Russian Iconostasis and Collection of Rare

icon

St. John-Predechensky Monastery: icons and paintings in the church interior of the XIX century.

- The Church of All Saints on Kulishki: the courtyard of the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.