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The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior.The belfry had gone through numerous alternations since the
moment it was erected. It was given its today's shape in the period of
1809-1823. The cloister was badly damaged during Polish intervention. Its
walls had to be rebuilt in 1635-1646. The entrance into the monastery
grounds can be gained through the Holy Gate in a massive barbican built in
1516.
The most important building of the ensemble is the Church of John
Chrysostom. It was erected by the order of the tradesmen Ivan
and Fyodor Nezhdanovsky. It is typical Yaroslavl's five-domed church with
galleries and vestibules. Tall and large, it gives the impression of
solidity and massiveness. Lavish tiled decorations (17th-18th centuries)
and window casings supplement the exterior decor. In the church interior a
tiled window casing of the central apse is worthy of interest. It is 8
meters high and 5 meters wide. The casing was a presage of the tiled boom
of baroque in churches of later years. It is the best specimen of
Yaroslavl's tile art. In the period from 1732 to1733 a team of Yaroslavl's
icon-painters under Alexei Soplyakov, native of the Korovnitskaya
settlement, decorated the walls with multicolored murals. The baroque
iconostasis was contrived at the same time. The Holy Gate are of a rare
beauty. A motif of the blossoming sunflower in its carving is an original
detail which was never repeated in any other Yaroslavl's
iconostasis.
Most of the icons date back to the 17th and 18th
centuries. Some of them were painted by Semyon Spiridonov Kholmogorets,
the favorite artist in Yaroslavl. 12 icons of his workmanship have
survived, some of them are inscribed. The eminent painter-miniaturist
could have been invited to Yaroslavl by the merchants Nezhdanovsky who had
trade contacts with Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory. The icon of Ilia the
Prophet which is on show in the Yaroslavl {Art Museum} comes from
the Church of John Chrysostom. The icon is surrounded by a wide band of 18
stamps. The flanking five-domed church of the Holy Virgin of Vladimir is
used as a warm winter church attached to the Church of John Chrysostom.
The ensemble of the church in Korovniki was turned over to old believers.
Service is held in a side-chapel of the Church of John Chrysostom. The
main body of the church is being restored. The influence of old believers
in upper Povolzhie was strong. Their settlement remained there until the
20th century. The Nicholo-Uleyminsky Monastery in the suburbs of Uglich
was also handed over to old believers. The restoration of their traditions
is not an easy task as old believers are not very numerous nowadays.
Image of the temple was created under the influence of the
cathedral of Archangel of
Moscow Kremlin.Round windows,open gallery-balcony along southern
facade-everything was created under the influence of Moscow temple. The
ground of the church housed the tomb of local counts, and in XVII-XVIII
cs.-the tomb of rich residents. Nothern vestibule housed a bookstore.Here
in the end of XVIII c.the hand writing of the "Word of the Igor's
Regiment" was found. The cathedral was decorated in 1563-1564 by craftsmen
whose names was fixed on north-west column. This is a rare case of respect
of the painters' talent. Iconostasis created in the same time with the
cathedral later was restored many times.Only thirteen initial icons were
saved. The icon of Epiphany created in traditions of Dionisy'school was
one of the most interesting icon of the cathedral.
The image of the
church is a lucky combination of austerity of the 16th century and
spectacular decorative asymmetry of the 17th century.
Inside the
Church of Ilia
the
Prophet is beautifully decorated. Entering the gallery, one will note the
carved fanciful portals with forged doors. The murals of the central part
were executed in the period from 1680 to 1681 by a team of 15 craftsmen,
with the participation if the famous icon-painters Gury Nikitin and Sila
Slavin from Kostroma, along with four Yaroslavl's painters under Dmitry
Semyonov. The wonderful bright color scheme and a fanciful rhythm of
pictures impart festive pomp to the decor. The walls of the main part of
the church are split into 6 tiers of murals, the lowest tier bears a
pattern. Vaults and the two upper tiers are embellished with large
frescoes presenting scenes from the Gospel.
