Museum of Church Archeology

Welcome to the Museum of Church Archeology. Founded in 1950, the Museum has a collection consisting of icons, religious articles and artworks from both Rus­sia and the West.

The first part of this hall contains artworks dating back from the dawn of Christianity. Here we have a model of the Roman catacombs — an underground system of pas­sages and rooms where the first Christians hid from the persecution of the Romans (and Jews). The catacombs were very safe from persecutions because according to Roman law, cemeteries were untouchable and didn't fall under jurisdiction of Roman law enforcement. These chambers served as cemeteries for Christians, they buried their dead in the walls of the catacombs. The first Christian churches were built in catacombs.

To mark the places of their gatherings, Christians began to use certain symbols. These symbols painted on the walls of the gathering's places, were the fish (which symbolized our Lord Jesus Christ), the ancher (a symbol of Christian hope), the dove (which symbolized the Holy Spirit) and the cross. In this case we see some photographs of the first Christians frescoes. Here are also some lamps which illuminated the dark catacombs. After legalization of Christianity in 313 the symbolism of Christian art was incor­porated into painting on boards. This was the beginning of iconography. Here we have the oldest icon of our collection, from the Byzantine school, dating back from the u11 century. The icon consists of 2 parts, at the top of it there is an image of Our Lady with hands raised in praying. In Greek this image is called "Orantha" (praying). At the bottom part is an image of St.George the Great Martyr and Vanquisher.

In this hall we have one more exhibit associated with the first centuries of Christi­anity. This is a model of the Roman coliseum, where the Christians were publicly executed by being thrown to the lions. In many cases the lions didn't even touch the martyrs, who sometimes (always) asked God to crown their earthly life with a "martyric" death.

Here are a few models of the first Christian churches. Here is the most famous of them — the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Constantinople (Sophia means the wisdom of God). It was built in the 6th century by order of the Byzantine emperor Justiniane, who exclaimed upon completion of the building «I beat you, Solomon!» In this cathedral the envoys of Prince Vladimir had experienced the Divine Liturgy for the first time. They were captivated. And when they returned to the ancient Rus­sian, capital Kiev, they said to the Prince "we didn't know, where we were, on earth or in heaven..." Through their positive influence the decision was made to adopt Orthodox Christianity in Russia, which officialized by the "Baptism of Russia in 988.

From this part of the hall the exhibition of Russian icons begins. On this wall there are two icons dating back from the 16th century. One of them depicts St.George the Vanquisher killing a dragon which symbolizes devil (He does it not by his own power, but by God's. In the comer of the icon we see Christ blessing the Saint)/ St.George is the patron-saint of Moscow.

On this icon we see Archangel Michael who is the patron-saint of all Russia and St.Apostle Andrew the first called who preached Christianity on the Black Sea coast among the "Seythian" tribes, the ancestors of slaves.

Hall 2

On this wall we have a portable iconostas used by priests who served the spiritual needs of the Russian army before the Revolution of 1917. This is an icon of the Dormition of Our Lady. Here Jesus Christ is holding the pure soul of his Mother, here depicted as an infant.

One of the most interesting icons is the so called measured icon. The future Rus­sian tzar Alexey Mikhailivitch, father of the famous Russian emperor Peter the Great, was measured with this very board. The matter of fact is that in ancient times there was a tradition in Russian families to measure a new-born baby with a board and then to paint an image of the child's patron-saint on it. Here we have a very interesting icon of the thief who was crucified by Christs side, who repented and was the first one to enter the heavenly Kingdom after the fall of our forefathers Adam and Eve.

In this display here are some personal belongings of St.Sergius ofRadonezh, one of the greatest Russian Saints and the founder of our monastery. This holy chalice and plate were used by him for celebrating the Divine Luturgy. St.Sergius wear these leather shoes, which he made with his own hands. 30 years after his death St.Sergius grave was dug up and his body was found absolutely in­corrupt.

This is a brick from St.Sergius tomb and this tool is a chisel with which he made wooden toys for children. On the other side of the hall we see 12 icons dating from the 16th century. They make up an iconographic calendar for every month of the year and depictions of the saints, where feast days are celebrated on fixed dates through the year.

In this display we see some icons depicting the martyrdom of the apostles. Most of them were martyred by crucifixion, but considering themselves unworthy of being executed in the same way as the Lord, some of them asked torturers to make it on any other manner, thus St.Peter was crucified upside down. Only one of the apos­tles died by his natural death. It was St.John the Theologian who wrote a gospel and Apocalipsis, his famous Revelation. On this wall we see traditional orthodox depiction of the Resurrection of Christ. Here we see His descent to Hades to lead out from there the souls of the righteous people, who had been waiting for this coming, and first of all, the souls of our fore­fathers Adam and Eve. In the icon Christ is depicted trampling on the gates of hell, which he destroyed by His death. He is seen leading Adam out by the hand, and Eve is waiting behind the Lord for her turn.

Hall 3

In this hall we have icons of the most celebrated saints in Russia. On the front wall we see an icon of the Prophet Elijah. Here he is hiding in the wil­derness while being persecuted by the king of Israel, and ravens bring him meat and bread every morning and night by God's command. In this part of the hall there are icons of the most popular Saint — St.Nicholaus the Wonderworker. One of the very first churches in Russia dedicated to him was built by grand princess St.Olga, even before the baptism of Russia in the 10th century. Here we have icons of St.John the Baptist. On this icon he is depicted as an angel holding a font with the infant Christ lying inside. Here we have icons of Our Lady. There are about 500 miraculous (miraclework-ing) icons of Her in Russia. According to Holy Tradition, the very first icons of the Mother of God were painted by the Apostle and Evangelist St.Luke, and some copies of them came to. Among them there are icons of Our Lady of Vladimir and Our Lady of Smolensk. Miracles granted (appeared) through this icons are documented facts in Russian history. For example, in 1395 the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir saved our country from invasion of Mongols headed by Tamerlane who had reached Moscow. After the icon was brought to the capital from Vladimir, he mysteriously turned back and left Russia with all his troops.

Further on this wall there are many different icons for almost any life situation, that people can pray in front of. This icon for example is called "The Joy of All Who Sorrows". The origin of almost every icon is based on a miraculous event. For example, we have an image of Our Lady called "The Increase of Intelligence". It was made by a mentally ill person who prayed to the Virgin during the period of his sanity, asking Her to rid him of his madness. One day he was granted a vision on which the Mother of God told him to paint Her image just as he saw Her. The man made the icon and was cured.

On this wall there are traditional Orthodox images of Christ. One of the most ven­erated icons is the so called "Not Made With Hands Icon" of the Lord. It was originally an image of Christ's face on a towel. Its origin dates back to the time of Christ. During the earthly life of Christ there was a king of a city called Edessa. He was a leper and having heard about Christ, sent his painter to Palestine. The painter managed to see the Lord during a sermon, but he failed even to draw his face due to a sort of shining that he saw around Him. Then Christ seeing the painter's faith asked for some water, washed His face and then wiped it. His image, reflected on the towel, became the first icon. And it was really "not made with hands" icon. Having prayed near this icon the king was cured and Edessa became the first Christian state "long before" Byzantine.

Exhibition of Patriarch Alexis

This part of the museum is dedicated to Patriarch Alexis the First, a very signifi­cant figure in our Church. He headed the Church from 1945 until 1970. Our mu­seum was organized through his initiative and he donated a lot of icons from his own collection.

While studying in the Academy, he lived in this place - his dormitory room was situated here. Now it contains photographs of the first years of his life and "priestly activity".

He was born in 1877 in Moscow in a noble family: his father was a courtier, who had the prestigious rank of a "gentleman of the Emperors bedchamber". Here is a portrait of him in a courtly dress coat and his key gave him an access to the royal family at any time.

The future Patriarch graduated from Moscow State University. Here is a portrait of him as a student. He then entered the Moscow Theological Academy where he took the monastic vows. He passed through all the degrees of the clergy, first being ordained as a deacon, then as priest and in 1913 he was consecrated a bishop. In this hall we have pictures of his patriarchal activities. Bishop Alexis was elected to his post (the highest post in the Orthodox Church) in February of 1945. It was during the rule of Joseph Stalin, and the notorious dictator gave the newly-elected Patriarch this painted box. So, this is Stalin's gift. Before his elevation (election) to Patriarch during the 2nd World War Alexis was the bishop of Leningrad, which was under siege of German troops. He didn't leave the city even though Stalin personally had asked him to. Bishop Alexis refused saying "I want to stay with my people". Thus he kept on working in his office while fragments of German bombs and shells fell through its windows. Here they are.

During this time Bishop Alexis took an active part in raising funds to help the So­viet Armed Forces. A tank regiment was built trough the money gathered by be­lievers.

After the revolution o f 1917 the communists began the most severe persecutions against the Church comparable to those of the first centuries of Christianity. Dur­ing the 2nd World War their attitude changed for the better, but after Stalin's death during the rule of his successor Khrushev the persecutions grew much fierier.

Hall 4

In this hall we can see religious art and articles from the Western Europe which give us the understanding, what the Western Church looks like and how it is differ­ent from the Orthodox Church.

Integral part of any Catholic Church, for example, are religious paintings on the topics, taken from the Bible or on certain events from the life f Christ, such as this painting of an unknown Western painter "The kiss of Judas". Despite the fact, that the topic of the painting is taken from the Bible and here is the depiction of Jesus Himself we (in the Orthodox Church) can not regard it as an icon because it is just an illustration to the Gospel account and we see a depiction of our human life and earthly conditions in which we are living (with all the realistic expressions and colors). It is not a depiction of spiritual reality, which is shown in icons, it is an il­lustration to the earthly material life of Jesus. This is the difference between icon and a picture.

The statue in the middle of the hall first was located on one of the German ceme­teries in Moscow and it was made by an Italian sculptor. During the past revolution period, when most of the churches in Moscow were closed down and destroyed, and people had no place to gather for prayer they had to come to the cemetery and pray in front of this statue. Just like many wonderworking icons this is a wonder­working statue. Russian Orthodox people prayed in front of the statue, which was made by a Catholic sculptor and was present on the tomb of a Lutheran girl and many miracles have taken place. When the Soviet Government found out the pil­grimages to this statue it was removed from the cemetery and it was supposed to be destroyed. But through the intercession of Patriarch Alexis the first it was brought here and placed in one of the churches ofLavra and later in our museum, now it is a part of our collection.

Here is a very interesting and unique piece of art. This picture is painted on por-sland. We see the depiction of child Christ in the Jerusalem temple being sur­rounded by scribes and Pharisees. This picture represents very unique technick when the paint is marked on clay before it is placed in the fire. Here you can see a collection of Roman coins, and three of them, with the depic­tion of Augustus Cesar are contemporaries of Christ. This harmonium belonged to famous Russian composer Rachmaninov. It is a gift of Moscow intelligentsia to our academy.

Hall 5

In this hall you can see religious articles, dating back from the period since 16th till 19th century.

These are mosaic icons of St.Sergius and St.Nickolas the Wonderworker. These are not paints, but small pieces of color stones. Here are artworks made of walrus bones, and manuscript books, dating back from the 16th and 17th centuries. They were rewritten by monks in monasteries. Here are icons made of the mother-of-pearl. On this icon you can see the worship of the wisemen and here is the depiction of the Last Supper. These are the gifts of Jerusalem patriarchate to our Academy.

These are pointed books in the Church Slavonic language, which is little different from Russian. It is a special language and is used now only for the Divine Service. This Holy Gospel weights 36 kg belonged to a large cathedral, were the bishop served and the size of the book emphasized the importance of the service. Here is a copy of a nail what Jesus was crucified with. And here you can see a collection of Easter eggs. We have a tradition in Russia to present each other color or painted eggs on Easter, because the egg is a symbol of life, which was given us by Jesus, who rose from the dead trampling down our death by His own death.

Hall 6

In this hall we have artworks of Russian painters, who painted on the religious subject. The picture of Surikov "The Healing of a blindman" is a self-portrait of a painter. He de­picted himself as a blindman. He wanted to show, how he became a believer. First Suri­kov did not believe in God and when his wife died (she is depicted behind the right shoulder of Jesus) the painter was so shocked, that he reconsidered his religious views and he realized it as healing of his spiritual blindness. And this icon was done by a man, who had no hands. He was a cripple and painted hold­ing brush in his teeth. The hands of the saint are covered by cloth and we can't see them. In this way the painter showed that he was a cripple.