The new Cathedral of Christ the Savior was constructed in the ’90s and is the tallest Orthodox church in the world.

Joseph Stalin dynamited the original Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 1931 in order to build his Palace of the Soviets – an overbearing modernist monument bedazzled with its mammoth statue to Lenin, the Bolsheviks’ socialist god. But with lacking funds, the onset of WWII, and flooding of the Moskva River, Stalin’s utopian vision came to a halt.

There sat the flood waters, until 1958, when Nikita Khrushchev decided turn the site into the world’s largest open-air swimming pool. Commies sure are clever when they wanna be.

Marble from the original church, as well as marble benches, were utilized in building the Moscow Metro. Luckily, many of the original high reliefs were kept at Donskoy Monastery, where they are still on display, like Dmitri Donskoy receiving his blessing from St. Sergius before the Battle of Kulikovo.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, fundraising to rebuild the cathedral began in earnest. By 1994, Moskva Pool was demolished and church construction commenced. The completed Cathedral of Christ the Savior was consecrated on the Transfiguration Day, August 19, 2000.

The original cathedral was a 19th-century structure which took 40 years to build. Tsar Aleksandr I said he wanted to construct a church as a memorial “to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her.” The doom? The invader and conqueror Napoleon, who was finally forced to retreat from Moscow in 1812.

Tchaikovsky’s “Overture of 1812” premiered here and much of the art inside tells of Russia’s proudest historical moments. Relics include John the Baptist and St. John Chrysostom.

I couldn’t get any photos inside because security was serious business (a common thing since the feminist band Pussy Riot desecrated the Holy space for a music video – thanks leftists!), but we did get some nice shots of the Moscow from the upper outdoor terraces.

Overall, it is an overwhelming structure in size, beauty, history, and present-day significance, as its become a symbol of Russia’s Christian rebirth. The art and architecture was a little too “Western” for my tastes, as I much prefer “Eastern” imagery and Byzantine structures, but still, visiting the cathedral was quite an experience.

Cathedral of the Meeting of the Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir.

This is the smaller house of worship in Sretensky. Built circa 1679, it is also 338 years older than Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors. It features relics of St. Mary of Egypt and a replica of the Shroud of Turin. Some of the older churches at the seminary (as well as elsewhere throughout Russia and former Soviet republics) were “disassembled” by the communists. Some of these razed Sretensky churches dated back to the 14th century.

The origin of the monastery’s name comes from “Sretenie,” which is the Church Slavonic word for “meeting,” since it was built on the spot where the Muscovites and Prince Vasily I had “met” the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir on August 26, 1395, when it was moved from Vladimir to Moscow to protect the capital from the Mongols’ sacking and raping. Soon thereafter, the invading armies retreated and the grateful monarch founded the monastery to commemorate the miracle.

In 1552, the Muscovites “met” again at the walls of the monastery to greet the Russian army returning home after the conquest of Kazan under Ivan the Terrible. This put an end to 100 years of Mongolian Khan rule in that city.

Another darkened “forbidden” photo, although the accentuated candlelight really does illuminate the space nicely.

A stunning relief sculpture. There’s something about the wood that made it seem so real.

An identical copy of the Shroud of Turin.

Another version of the Shroud in a different exposure. It’s amazing how clearly you can see Jesus’ face in this one. Wow!

Christ smashing the gates of hell.

Archangels protect the Shroud, which is housed on the bottom floor of the church.

St. Mary of Egypt’s relics. She is one of the only female saints to be shown scantily clad and without a head covering, as she was naked when St. Zosimas found her in the desert. She had been a prostitute (who sometimes wouldn’t even accept money for her pleasurable acts), but she was transformed from sexual deviant to devout and sanctified Christ follower.

More royal doors on the outer edge of the smaller cathedral.

St. Stephen the Protomartyr.

The warm glow of Holy light from the cathedral bids us farewell from the monastery.