Crosses on domes: a unique collection of Inver Sheydaev. Saint sophia cathedral in novgorod Legend of the dove at the sophia cathedral
Until now, the ancient city did not have its own official symbol. The coat of arms and the flag don't count - it's too boring and without interesting legends. After all, the mascot should become the main souvenir for tourists, especially on the eve of the 1150th anniversary, which Veliky Novgorod will celebrate next year.
Therefore, a decision was made a few months ago to announce a citywide competition for the best symbol. Moreover, a competition among the main dreamers - children.
As a result, the City Administration received over 70 works from children aged 10 - 12 years from all educational institutions of the city. In their opinion, the mascot of Novgorod could be a Russian bear, a veche bell, a fish - a golden feather, an owl, a horseshoe or a brownie. Drawings, products made from natural materials, soft toys and even batik were presented for the competition.
As a result of a long discussion, today on May 29, the jury of the competition made the final decision. The main city symbol is a metal dove, which is forged on the cross of St. Sophia Cathedral. It was this image that contained most of the works presented.
And the pigeon itself has long become the unofficial symbol of the city. And he is visible, practically, from everywhere. And the legend associated with it is very much suitable not only for Novgorod, but for the whole of Russia.
The six best children's works will be awarded with diplomas and prizes. All of them will be sent to professional designers, who will have to work out the final version of the mascot for Veliky Novgorod.
The Legend of the Sophia Dove
The main dome of the most ancient temple in Russia has had this unusual end for a very long time: a cross topped with a lead figure of a dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Tradition traces its appearance to the time of Ivan the Terrible, when the sovereign of All Russia, suspecting a conspiracy against himself in a free city, perpetrated a bloody massacre of its inhabitants. The pigeon hovering over the Novgorod land, having seen the cruel picture of the death of thousands of innocent people, descended on its main cross, overshadowing the dome with a golden glow and froze there forever. Since then, Novgorodians associated with his presence the Divine patronage of the ancient city, saying: "As a dove flies from the cross, here the end of Novgorod will come."
During the Great Patriotic War, it so happened that during one of the shelling of the city, the cross with a dove was knocked down and hung on metal fastening cables. The commandant of the city of Bayol ordered to take it off. In Novgorod during the occupation was located the engineering corps of the "Blue" Spanish division, which fought on the side of Nazi Germany. As one of the trophies testifying to the valor of Spanish soldiers and cultural treasures of the captured Slavic territories, the cross was taken to Spain.
In 2004, the old cross with a dove was returned to Novgorod. Currently, he stands near the altar of St. Sophia Cathedral. After restoration, on the golden dome, there is an exact copy of the cross with a dove, made by the modern Novgorod blacksmith Viktor Kornilov.
Valery RUBTSOV
"TVNZ"
In the week of the Cross, we figure out how the cross should look on the temple. Photographer Inver Sheidaev devoted his whole life to collecting a collection of photographs of domed crosses of various shapes. We publish the most interesting pictures.
The village of Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye. St. Nicholas Church of the Archangel (XVIII century)
We express our special gratitude to the authors of the book “Russian Cross. The symbolism of the Orthodox overhead cross ”to Marina Anashkevich and Invreru Sheidaev for the opportunity to truly appreciate the heavenly beauty, which we rarely look at in ordinary life.
The bulk of this collection was collected during the Khrushchev "thaw", and then the Brezhnev "stagnation". The first exhibition took place in 1968, but was immediately closed. Only in the 90s did the collection gain recognition and was shown not only in Russia, but also in Paris. For thirty years, the photographer Inver Sheydaev traveled through the cities and villages of the then Soviet Union and photographed the crosses crowning the heads of Russian churches, head crosses. That only he did not have to endure in these travels. Once, by some miracle, he even persuaded the peasants of a distant village to dismantle the scaffolding surrounding the dome of the temple in order to photograph the cross.
It all began in the office of the famous Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky (1892-1984), where the young photographer showed his work to the famous architect-restorer. Then Inver was fascinated by the decorative elements of temples.
Once Pyotr Dmitrievich said: “This is full of everything. You better look up. Take off the crosses. This beauty has never been filmed. Collect the crosses, sooner or later it will be needed, you will see. " These words turned out to be prophetic. Later, Inver was approached more than once with "orders" for crosses. He took photographs for the restored churches on Solovki, for the churches of Tobolsk and other cities.
The collection turned out to be invaluable at the time when people began to "collect stones". Many crosses were restored from photographs from this collection.
Unfortunately, there are still many destroyed temples, the crosses of which were photographed by Inver, stand overgrown with forests, beheaded. Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky, having seen in his lifetime many churches lying in ruins, said: “Why is the cross destroyed in the first place? Because he, like a mother's breast - nourishes. "
LILY AND GRAPES
Crin is a stylized image of a lily flower, a symbol of purity. Such krina were usually made at the ends of the "branches" of the cross, because the three leaves of the lili (krina) testify to the One Holy Trinity in three Persons. 
Moscow. Novodevichy Convent. Cathedral of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. (1525)
A grapevine entwining a cross with bunches of berries is a symbol of the Living Christ. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15: 1). Vologda blacksmiths especially succeeded in forging grape ornament on the overhead crosses. Cross of the Church of Demetrius Prilutsky Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery in Vologda. And one can be amazed at how subtly the masters conveyed the symbolic connection between the vine and the Holy Communion. This headpiece has a crescent at the bottom, symbolically representing the Cup. 
Vologda. Church of Demetrius Prilutsky Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.
Vologda. Saint Sophia Cathedral (1568-1570)
PIGEON
Dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit since time immemorial. “… And John saw the Spirit of God, who descended like a dove…” (Matthew 3:16) This bird itself, frozen in flight, has the form of a cross. 
Cross of the Church of the Myrrhbearers Martha and Mary in Novgorod (1510).
If you look closely, you can see in the openwork heart of this cross, a dove with outstretched wings. But such an image is the only one, mostly doves were cast and crowned with a cross. In ancient times, pigeons on the cross sometimes also showed in which direction the wind was blowing, they were called windmills.
Velikiy Novgorod. Sophia Cathedral. (1049-1050)
This cross and the dove on it have their own legendary history. There is a prophecy that Veliky Novgorod will exist as long as the dove is at the top of the cross of St. Sophia. In 1942, during the Great Patriotic War, the cross from St. Sophia was dropped by a blast wave. He was taken out of Russia by the soldiers of the "Blue Division" - the Spanish unit of the German army. Instead of the lost shrine on the main dome of Sofia, a "double" cross was subsequently installed, the original was kept in Spain, in the temple gallery of the Military Engineering Academy near Madrid, where it was installed in a conspicuous place. For more than 60 years, more than one generation of Spanish Christians prayed in front of this Russian shrine. A memorial plaque with the names of the sappers who died in Russia was laid next to the cross. In 2004, the cross returned to its homeland - Spain voluntarily transferred it to Russia. He was brought to Moscow by the Spanish Minister of Defense, and the cross was solemnly greeted in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Now it is kept in one of the chapels of St. Sophia Cathedral.
SOURCE OF LIFE
Thriving shoots
If shoots grow from under the base of the cross, then it is called "prosperous". The shoots symbolize rebirth, the Resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Ascended into heaven, the overhead "prosperous" crosses were for the Russian person a visible image of the Garden of Eden and the tree of life growing in it. Some of these crosses are covered with flowers, so it is impossible to look away. They really resemble plants in a spring garden, with such artistic flair, plant elements are selected. 
Moscow. Church of the Intercession of the Virgin in Fili (1690-1693).
Drops of blood
Copper dewdrops and beads on the chains mean drops of blood shed by the Savior on the cross. In Russia they were also called "tears". 
St. Petersburg. Church of the Resurrection of Christ "Savior on Blood") (1883-1907), built on the site of the murder in 1881 of Emperor Alexander II.
VOLUNTARY SACRIFICE
Cane and spear
Kirillov. Cyril-Belozersky Monastery. Church of John Climacus (1572).
A cane with a sponge and a spear - instruments of the Passion of the Lord - are not uncommon on nakupolniki. The main cross with the instruments of the Passion, as it were, replaces the Crucifix, which cannot be on the dome (it is located inside the temple). But the realism of the Savior's terrible crucifixion should not overshadow the main thing - the triumph of the Crucified Redeemer who conquered death. The lily flowers that end the “branches” of the cross speak about this in the best way possible. 
Pskov region, the village of Videlebye. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (16th century) The spear and sponge are stylized as two flowers that flourished on the cross.
Now over the head of the already restored church, its cross again rises.
HEAVENLY KING
Crown
The crown at the top of the main cross symbolizes the Cross of the Heavenly King and indicates to us that the church was erected by the order of the king of the earth, or donations from the royal treasury. The crown can be either quite real or very conditional. 
Ryazan. Spassky monastery. Church of the Epiphany (1647)
Moscow. Church of the Deposition of the Robe in Leonov (1719-1722)
Sovereign scepter
The cross can also symbolize the second sign of the royal power of Christ - the scepter. Giving the cross the appearance of a scepter is possible with the help of one well-known symbolism. The top of the scepters of the Russian tsars was the figure of a crowned two-headed eagle - the sovereign sign of Byzantium. However, domes with a double-headed eagle were installed on temples only in the era of Peter I, the king, known for his imperial ambitions. 
Moscow. Church of the Intercession of the Virgin in Fili (1693).
In unity and equality
A four-pointed cross (usually with a crescent at the bottom) has been placed on the domes of temples since ancient times. This type of cross symbolizes the Church of Christ in the unity and equality of its visible and invisible sides. Over time, detractors of the four-pointed cross were found, they said that this was the wrong cross, because Christ was not crucified on such. But Saint Demetrius of Rostov put an end to this dispute. He suggested that when Christ carried the cross on His shoulders, the cross was not yet four-pointed, because there was not yet a title or a foot on it, and only on Calvary the soldiers, not knowing where the feet of Christ would reach, attached a foot. 
Vladimir. Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady (1158-1160)
Tula region, Arsenyevsky district, Monaenki village. Church of St. George the Victorious (XIX)
And this is how this temple looks now. The cross has survived only in the photograph of Inver Sheidaev
Russian foot
One of the oldest Russian crosses is six-pointed with a slanting lower crossbar. The slanting foot symbolically represents the bar of the "scales" of the Last Judgment. Some researchers of Christian symbols and, in particular, N.V. Pokrovsky, suggest that the slanting crossbar is nothing more than a modified form of the ancient Byzantine foot of the cross. One way or another, but this form has become firmly established in Russian icon painting. The oblique bar was given the meaning of "the measure of the righteous." And the people began to call the foot "stood". 
Vologda. Bishop's house. Church of the Nativity of Christ (1670)
The very Cross
The seven-pointed, T-shaped cross, apparently, was the most ancient form of the Christian cross, since this is how the cross looked, the instrument of the Savior's execution.
This cross has the appearance of an altar, because of the upper crossbar, similar to a throne. The Old Testament priests sacrificed on a gold pedestal attached to the throne, therefore, if the upper crossbar symbolically depicts an altar, then the lower crossbar of such a cross denotes this pedestal of the cross, and indicates the sacrificial priestly service of the Savior. 
Moscow. Kremlin. Church of the Twelve Apostles (1652-1656)
HEAVENLY FORCES
Sun and stars
Straight or wavy lines emanating from the center of the cross convey the radiance of the sun. Direct rays denote direct light, and wavy burning, heat. The motive emanating from the cross of the "light of life" is conveyed by each artist in his own way. 
Pskov Region, Loknyansky District, Dunyani Village. Church of the Archangel Michael (XVI-XVIII centuries) Such a cross is very rare. 
The temple itself is now a ruin. The cross is lost.
Often the ends of the rays were also decorated with stars. 
Nizhny Novgorod. Church of the Nativity of Christ (1719)
Tobolsk. Church of the Seven Youths of Ephesus. (XVIII century)
Lightning
"Like lightning seeing the power of the cross" evil forces flee from the cross. Therefore, lightning can be found on temple crosses. 
Moscow region, Odintsovo district, the village of Yudino. Church of the Transfiguration (1720)
Angels and cherubs
Attaching a copper angel to the cross, the author emphasized that the temple also has a guardian angel. The most famous and traditional are angels carrying a cross, like a banner, as on the spire of the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. 
Ryazan. Church of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem (XVII)
Often in the head crosses there are images of Cherubim. 
Moscow region, the village of Komyagino. Church of St. Sergius of Razhonezh
Now the church has been completely restored.
EARTH HUNDRED
Ship and anchor
Our oldest churches, on the heads of which a cross with a crescent is adorned, are the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin, St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod and the Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir. The crescent is a church ship, led by the helmsman Christ. 
Moscow. Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Gonchary.
In the 19th century, the theme of a sailing ship was no longer limited to the symbol of the crescent moon.
So in the cross of the eight-pointed cross of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on the Obvodny Canal in St. Petersburg, the steering wheel of a sea vessel is depicted, and instead of the lunar one we see an oblique foot.
If the ship is at anchor, then for its safety it is, as it were, already on the ground. And although waves shake it, they cannot sink it. In many cases, it is almost impossible to distinguish a domed cross on a "semi-lunar base" from an "anchor" cross. The only detail that unmistakably points exactly to the "anchor" is all kinds of decorations and thickenings at the ends of the arc. 
Moscow region, Lukhovitsky district, Didinovo village. Church of the Life-Giving Trinity
Between heaven and earth
The place of intersection of the horizontal with the vertical on the cross, the place of the cross, symbolizes the intersection of the human with the divine. The cross is the mediator between earth and sky. Therefore, this place on the cross was often decorated with a "figure eight" shaped like a keyhole. It is formed by the addition of two symbols - a halo (the radiance of holiness) and a tsata (a precious pendant signifying the royal "purity"). 
Moscow. Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi (1687-1713)
The article uses materials from the book “Russian Cross. Symbols of the Orthodox cross over the head ”. Moscow, "AST", 2006.
The main dome of the oldest temple in Russia - the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral - has an extraordinary completion for a long time: a cross topped with a lead figure of a dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Tradition traces its appearance to the time of Ivan the Terrible, when the sovereign of All Russia, suspecting a conspiracy against himself in a free city, perpetrated a bloody massacre of its inhabitants. The pigeon hovering over the Novgorod land, having seen the cruel picture of the death of thousands of innocent people, descended on its main cross, overshadowing the dome with a golden glow and froze there forever. Since then, Novgorodians associated with his presence the Divine patronage of the ancient city, saying: "As a dove flies from the cross, here the end of Novgorod will come."
During the Great Patriotic War, it happened that during one of the air raids or artillery attacks on the city, the cross with a dove was shot down and hung on metal fastening cables. The commandant of the city of Bayol ordered to take it off. During the occupation, the engineering corps of the "Blue" Spanish division, which fought on the side of Nazi Germany, was located in Novgorod, and as one of the trophies testifying to the valor of Spanish soldiers and cultural treasures of the captured Slavic territories, the cross was taken to Spain. The story related to the search for the relic suggests that in November 2002, the governor of the Novgorod region, M. M. Prusak, turned to the Russian Embassy in Spain with a request to establish the location of the relic. The embassy managed to find out that the cross is in the chapel of the Museum of the Military Engineering Academy of Spain. The rector of the Sophia Cathedral, Archbishop of Novgorod and Old Russian Lev, having received information about the current location of the domed Sophia cross, at a meeting with Russian President V.V. Putin, inquired about the possibility of returning this historical relic to Novgorod. As a result of negotiations between the Russian President and the King of Spain, the Spanish side decided to transfer the cross of St. Sophia Cathedral to Russia.
The handover ceremony of the cross took place on November 16, 2004 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior at the opening of the First International Festival of Orthodox Media. The act of transferring the Novgorod shrine to Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II took place with the participation of the defense ministers of both sides. The head of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Ivanov, expressed gratitude to the Minister of Defense of Spain Jose Bono for returning the cross to Russia from the main dome of St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod:
"For 56 years this cross was in Spain in one of the cathedrals on the territory of a military unit, and today it is returning to where it should be."
The head of the Spanish Ministry of Defense said that for the Spanish military, the cross from the dome of St. Sophia Cathedral was a favorite religious symbol:
“The wonderful thing is that believing Catholics have been praying before the cross of the Orthodox Church for more than sixty years. The reason is simple: we all managed to see in him the image of Christ who gave his life for the sake of the life of all other people, Christ who calmly erased all boundaries with his message of peace and nationwide love, who decided to say that God is love, who proclaimed absolute equality all people.
Your Holiness, at the moment you are also speaking to a Christian who has arrived here as the Minister of Defense of Spain in order to convey with this cross the desire for sincere cooperation with the Russian people and their government. Your Holiness, we are returning it with love, with great love for those who receive it, and with great love for the cross, which for a long time has been revered by many Spanish military personnel as a great Symbol of Faith. The cross has now returned to where it should be. "
In turn, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II said:
“I sincerely thank everyone who contributed to the return of the ancient cross from the St. Sophia Cathedral in Veliky Novgorod.
This ancient city holds a special place in the history of our country. It is distinguished by its peculiar architecture and icon painting, which is inherent in the masters of this region only. St. Sophia Cathedral was the focus of the spiritual and material culture of the Novgorod land. On the square near the walls of the cathedral, a popular veche gathered, at which the most important issues were resolved - from economic to military-political. The standards of measures and weights were kept in the altar of the temple. This testified to the fact that from ancient times the Novgorodians believed the truth of God as the basis of their labors. From here the ministers of the Church went to preach the Gospel in the northern reaches of our country. For centuries, Veliky Novgorod was also the gateway through which numerous contacts with European countries were made. People, looking at the cross of the Sophia Cathedral and the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign", took with them to distant lands a particle of the Motherland and hope for the intercession of the All-Merciful God in military and commercial matters.
Soon the inhabitants of Veliky Novgorod will regain this Holy Cross, which for more than half a century, by the will of fate, was outside Russia. Thanks to the joint efforts of the secular authorities, the President of the Russian Federation and the Minister of Defense, and also thanks to the goodwill of the Spanish government, it became possible to return this shrine to its historical place. Indeed, in my opinion, the war cannot be considered over, not only until the last soldier is buried. Likewise, it cannot be considered complete while they are in the captivity of the shrine. Today's event symbolizes that our peoples strive, atoning for the sins of their ancestors, to forever turn the tragic page of history in order to live in peace and cooperation.
The return of the domed cross of the Cathedral of Sophia the Wisdom of God testifies to the restoration of the succession of the historical fate of Veliky Novgorod, to the return of Novgorodians to the saving shade of the Lord's Cross, to the protection of His mercy and intercession. This year is not the first shrine to return to Russia. We witnessed the return from the United States of America of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which was in the prayer room of Pope John Paul II, has been returned to Russia from the Vatican. And today we accept the domed cross of Hagia Sophia, which was in Spain for many years. We consider this event as one of the main among the significant facts of the return of shrines to their homeland. We pray that the cross of the Lord would keep us all in peace, good neighborliness and mutual understanding. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the implementation of this solemn and significant act. "
The cross of the main dome of the Cathedral of St. Sophia was handed over to the Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod and the Old Russian Lion and on November 17 delivered to Veliky Novgorod on the eve of the feast of St. Varlaam of Khutynsky, on November 19. Therefore, the Sofia shrine originally resided in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Khutynsky monastery. The cross was solemnly transferred to St. Sophia Cathedral on December 10 - to celebrate the great Orthodox shrine, the icon "Our Lady of the Sign". Representatives of the Spanish Association of the Missing in Russia, the Garrido brothers, nephews of the first Spanish soldier, whose remains were discovered and removed from Russia after the war, took part in the procession to the St. Sophia Cathedral. The gilded cross of Sophia with a dove crowning it before the start of the festive liturgy, which was celebrated by Vladyka Leo, was installed on a salt near the main iconostasis, to the right of the icon "Our Lady of the Sign".
The main cross of St. Sophia Cathedral (its height is about 2 m, width is 1.5 m) is an important historical relic with which ancient legends are associated. It is known about its repeated repairs during the repairs of the temple. For example, from the Pogodin Chronicle it is known that it was renewed under Metropolitan Isidor (1613), and in 1718 the domed cross was re-arranged and erected “under the power of the Tsar Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alexievich of All Great and Little and White Russia, the autocrat” ...
Probably, the last time the cross was erected on the main dome was in 1897. It was then that the capital work on the restoration of the cathedral was completed, which was led by Academician V.V.Suslov. In the post-war period, after the restoration of the cathedral, in place of the lost cross on the gilded helmet of the Sophia dome, a new one was installed, made according to pre-war photographs. The original cross, in need of restoration after a long return home, is supposed to be kept under the canopy of the temple and to make this shrine accessible for worship by all Orthodox Christians who come to St. Sophia Cathedral.
T. TSAREVSKAYA
Velikiy Novgorod
Photos by E. Budzinskaya
On November 16, the first Orthodox Media Festival opened in Moscow. During its opening, a significant event took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono handed over to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II an Orthodox relic - a domed cross from St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod.
A miraculously found shrine, a cross with a dove, crowning the dome of the famous Novgorod church, returns to the homeland. For more than six decades, the rarity was in Spain. St. Sophia Cathedral - one of the oldest in Russia - was founded in 1045 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, his son Vladimir and Bishop Luke. The townspeople have developed a special attitude towards this magnificent temple. "Where is St. Sophia," they said, "there is Novgorod." Five centuries ago, the central dome of the cathedral was dressed in gilding, with a 214 cm high cross with a dove that personified the Holy Spirit installed on it. Since then, it has been believed that the copper bird protects the peace of the inhabitants ...
In August 1941, Novgorod was under Nazi occupation. Together with the Germans, their allies - the Spaniards from the 250th Volunteer Infantry Division - settled here. They wore coats of an almost heavenly hue. For this reason, the unit, numbering 17 thousand people, became known as the "Blue Division". It was she who was stationed right on the territory of the Novgorod Kremlin.
Having seized the city, the invaders began to compete in vandalism. The Nazis sent the temple utensils to Germany by carriages, and made cigarette cases and ashtrays from the gilded covering of the domes. The "Francoists" built a smithy from the Church of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem, from the archbishop's chambers - a morgue, some of the iconostases were used for wood, and the Cathedral of the Sign was generally burned "through negligence."
Then the Spaniards, who had lost up to 5 thousand killed here, were transferred to Leningrad, from where they were called back home. As for Veliky Novgorod, he was released in January 1944, after which special commissions began to reveal that the invaders had kidnapped. It was then for the first time that it was noticed that on the broken dome of St. Sophia Cathedral there is no ancient symbol of the city - a cross with a dove. He was never found, the ebb tide after the war is new.
Half a century after these events, the Association of the relatives of the missing fighters of the "Blue Division" was created in Spain. Its center is located in Toledo, and the head of the organization was the lawyer Fernando Pollonio, who wrote the book "Red Snow" about the fate of his fellow countrymen in military Novgorod. It was he who was the first of the Spaniards who discovered the remains of his uncle here, which he transported to his homeland. Working closely with the search engines of the Dolina expedition, Fernando and his brother Miguel learned a lot of new historical facts, including the mysterious disappearance of the domed cross from St. Sophia Cathedral.
And in 2002, at a meeting with the mayor of Veliky Novgorod, Nikolai Grazhdankin, Polonio said that he had discovered this rarity in Spain. According to the president of the association of relatives of the missing fighters of the Blue Division, this is how it happened. In 1942, one of the stray shells hit the dome of St. Sophia Cathedral, and the cross remained hanging only on some metal rods. Therefore, the soldiers of the 2nd and 50th Sapper Battalions of the 102nd Infantry Corps of the Blue Division removed him and sent him to Spain. Don Polonio categorically rejected the idea that the cross was just a trophy - he stressed that the Spaniards simply wanted to save the Christian rarity from desecration.
After the sensational statement, it was not reported for a long time exactly where the cross is. At first, the Spaniards said that he was on the territory of a certain army unit, then - that in a museum of one of the military academies somewhere near Madrid. Finally, in November 2002, the governor of the Novgorod region, Mikhail Prusak, turned to the Russian embassy in Spain with a request to establish exactly where the shrine turned out to be. As it turned out, we are talking about a museum of the military engineering academy in the town of Hoyo de Manzanares near the city of Burgos: the Novgorod cross was installed here next to the Catholic chapel.
Naturally, the Russian side asked to return the rarity taken out of the country during wartime. The Spaniards did not mind. Former officer of the Blue Division, later commander of the police corps, General Jose Luis Aramburu Topete, however, stressed: "We do not object to the return of the cross, but we would not like to be insulted in this regard, accused of military looting."
By mutual decision of the parties, the relic is now returning to Russia, and the Spaniards will have its exact copy. The cross itself will be delivered to Veliky Novgorod, and its further fate depends on the expert opinion. If they decide that the rarity is well preserved, it will again end up on the dome of St. Sophia Cathedral.
Velikiy Novgorod.
The majestic St. Sophia Cathedral, the main temple of Veliky Novgorod, mesmerizes with its power. Like a stone incarnation of a Russian hero, he guards the peace of the city. From the day of its foundation, the cathedral, otherwise also called Sophia of Novgorod or Saint Sophia, has been a city symbol. Built in the middle of the 11th century by Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, Sofia Novgorodskaya is the only temple of those times that has survived in Russia.
The walls of the cathedral, reaching a thickness of 1, 2 meters, were lined with limestone of different shades, which gave Hagia Sophia a special beauty. Later the temple was plastered and painted white. Initially, all six domes of St. Sophia Cathedral were covered with lead sheets. In the 15th century, the main dome was covered with gilded copper, which gave the cathedral an even more solemn appearance.
Made in the Byzantine style, the cathedral, however, had its own unique look. Severe restraint in details, nobility of verified proportions, solidity of closely placed domes - all this created the impression of powerful energy contained in the image of the temple.
In general, the style of the cathedral was organically combined with the northern nature. It is not surprising that it was he who became the forerunner of the stone architecture of North-Western Russia, it was this architectural style that reigned in these parts for many centuries.
With St. Sophia Cathedral, the oldest architectural and historical monument of Russia, is connected several interesting legends. Here they are:
1. Dove on the cross
Sophia cathedral, doveThe cross of the main dome of Sofia Novgorodskaya is decorated with a dove. According to legend, it is no coincidence that a bird figurine appeared there. In 1570, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ruthlessly suppressed the revolt of the inhabitants of Novgorod. In the midst of the terrible massacre, a dove sat on the cross of the temple and was petrified with fear. At about the same time, one of the local monks had a dream in which the Mother of God enlightened him about a dove. According to her, the bird was sent to Novgorod as a sign of protection. " As long as the dove is on the cross of Hagia Sophia, the city will be safe. "
Dove on the cross of St. Sophia Cathedral It is noteworthy that the cross was taken to Spain during the Great Patriotic War. Volunteers from Spain also took part in the war on the side of the Third Reich - the so-called "Blue Division". (The division got its name from the blue shirts - the uniform of the far-right party - the Spanish Phalanx). During one of the Soviet shelling, several shells hit the central dome of Hagia Sophia, and the cross leaned strongly down. The religious Spaniards decided to take the shrine away, because it seemed to them that in Bolshevik Russia the shrines were being desecrated. For many years he was at the Engineering Academy. There was an inscription under it, that this cross is in storage in Spain and will return to Russia when the godless Bolshevik regime disappears.
He returned to his hometown relatively recently, in 2004, having been exchanged for an exact copy.
2. Miracles of the icon
The second legend is associated with the shrine of the city "The Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos", kept in the St. Sophia Cathedral. The icon depicts the Virgin Mary with her hands raised to heaven and with the baby Jesus on her chest.
During the clash of 1169, the Novgorodians with the Suzdal people, the advantage was on the side of the latter. The townspeople could only hope for a miracle. And it happened!
The rector of St. Sophia Cathedral, John, prayed for several days, calling on the Lord for help. Finally, the abbot heard a voice that ordered him to transfer the icon of the Mother of God from the temple to the fortress wall of Novgorod. John immediately followed her, and then, guided by an invisible hand, the cathedral bells rang. The icon was installed on the wall, and immediately the arrows of the enemy stuck into the image of the Virgin Mary. After that, the icon itself turned its face to Novgorod and tears flowed from it ... At the same time, I found a haze on the Suzdal people, they began to beat their own comrades. In terror and confusion, the enemy fled. It is not known how true the legend is, but even now traces of arrows are visible on the icon.
Icon of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos 3. The right hand of Jesus
According to the chronicles, in 1045 Greek icon painters began to paint the vault of St. Sophia Cathedral. It was necessary to create an image of Jesus Christ with a blessing hand, according to the Orthodox canon. The craftsmen began their work, but in the morning the right hand of Jesus depicted by them was clenched into a fist. Three times the icon painters of Christ were rewritten anew, and all three times in the morning the Savior's hand was clenched. For the fourth time, the master heard from heaven:
“Scribes, oh scribes! Do not write me with a blessing hand, write me with a clenched hand, as I hold Veliky Novgorod in this hand; and when my hand spreads, then this hail will end ... "
Much later, in 1941, the image of Jesus Christ under the main dome of the temple was destroyed by a German shell. The hand of the Almighty Savior, figuratively speaking, was unclenched, and the city turned into ruins ...
4. "Earless" bell of Hagia Sophia
Tsarevich Ivan on a walk with the guardsmen. Hood. M. Avilov The next legend was associated with the bell of Hagia Sophia. Once Tsar Ivan the Terrible was on his way to church for mass. Only his horse entered the bridge over the Volkhov, like a bell-ringer, wishing to please the king, too zealously struck the bell. Frightened by the loud ringing, the stallion almost knocked the rider into the river. Enraged, the tsar ordered to cut off the ears of the "audacious" bell so that only one middle loop remained. Despite this, the bell, nicknamed "earless", served the temple for a long time.