Rogozhskoe cemetery in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, is the spiritual and administrative center of the largest Old Believers

Old Believers

In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...

 denomination, called the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church

Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church

The Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church is an Eastern Orthodox Church of the Old Believers tradition, born from a schism within the Russian Orthodox Church following the liturgical reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the second half of 17th century...

. Historically, the name cemetery was applied to the whole Old Believer community, with living quarters, cathedral, almshouse

Almshouse

Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

s, libraries, archives and the Old-Rite Institute (established in 1907). Actual 12 hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 cemetery is now a non-denominational municipal burial site; the Old Believers operate a closed spiritual community in the southern part of the historical Rogozhsky township, while Russian Orthodox church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 operates church of Saint Nicholas, located between the cemetery and Old Believer territory.

History

In 1762, the first year of her reign, Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

 opened Russia to settlers of all confessions, excluding Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, in particular inviting the Old Believer fugitives, whose spiritual center at that time was based in present-day Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

. A group of fugitives who returned to Moscow became the nucleus of future Rogozhskoe community.

Moscow Old Believers operated two cemeteries within the city borders - on near Serpukhov Gates, another on the Tverskaya road. After a devastating plague of 1770-1772

Russian plague of 1770-1772

The Russian plague epidemic of 1770—1772, also known as the Plague of 1771, was the last massive outbreak of plague in central Russia, claiming between 52 and 100 thousand lives in Moscow alone...

 all burials within the city limits were banned; instead, the Crown established new cemeteries well beyond the city border. The new cemetery of Old Believers laid one mile east from city border, between the roads to Vladimir

Vladimir

Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...

 and Ryazan

Ryazan

Ryazan is a city and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Oka River southeast of Moscow. Population: The strategic bomber base Dyagilevo is just west of the city, and the air base of Alexandrovo is to the southeast as is the Ryazan Turlatovo Airport...

, south from the village Novaya Andronovka. Mass graves of 1771 plague were preserved at Rogozhskoe till the 20th century.
In the last quarter of the 18th century the cemetery became a spiritual center of popovtsi Old Believers - a denomination that relied on professional, ordained

Ordination

In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...

 clergy rather than informal spiritual leaders. By the beginning of 19th century, popovtsi built three churches (or chapels). The oldest, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was laid down in 1776 (on the site of present-day Saint Nicholas church of the Orthodox denomination). By the end of Alexander I

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

 reign, the sloboda

Sloboda

Sloboda was a kind of settlement in the history of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and may be vaguely translated as "free settlement"....

 around the cemetery grew up into a small town with five convent

Convent

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

s; informal leadership of the Cemetery was vested to Mother Pulcheria (born Pelagea Shevlyukova), and later father Ivan Yastrebov, who gained influence in September 1812

French invasion of Russia

The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...

 for saving treasures of Rogozhskoe from the French troops.

Influence of Rogozhskoe clergy grew due to scarcity of Old-Rite clergy in Russian hinterland; even the basic Old-Rite services, like weddings and confessions, were only available here. As a result, out-of-town pilgrimage quickly multiplied the wealth in Rogozhskoe coffers.

Although Old Believers were allowed to build new churches, none of them was a true church from the government standpoint. Rather, they were classified as chapels and thus could not provide the full range of services expected from a church, including Holy Liturgy

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

 - at least, legally. In 1823 Rogozhskoe was hit by the government for the first time: police searched the community, confiscated the altarpiece

Altarpiece

An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

 donated by Matvey Platov and shut down all churches. They reopened soon on condition that Old Believers will no longer serve Holy Liturgy.

Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...

 increased the pressure, banning ordination of new Old-Rite priests and relocation of existing Old-Rite priests from town to town. As a result, by 1850s Rogozhskoe clergy shrunk through natural attrition to just three priests and the government confiscated the unused St. Nicholas church in favour of more acceptable edinoverie

Edinoverie

Edinoverie is an arrangement between certain Russian Old Believer communities and the official Russian Orthodox State Church, whereby the communities are treated as a part of the normative Orthodox Church system, while maintaining their own traditional rites...

 denomination. Old Believers of Rogozhskoe reacted by establishing a new spiritual and educational center beyond the Russian border, in Austro-Hungary, creating the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy

Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy

Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy is the first full and stable church hierarchy created by the Old Believers.The hierarchy was created in 1846 by acceptance of the Greek Metropolitan Ambrose...

.

Cathedral of Protection

In 1791 the community obtained a permit to build the cathedral of Protection of Our Lady. Architectural drafts (eventually lost) were signed by someone Kazakov, which could be either Matvey Kazakov

Matvey Kazakov

Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate...

 or his lesser-known contemporary Rodion Kazakov. The cathedral, as planned, would have exceeeded in size the Dormition Cathedral of Moscow Kremlin; it was intended for use in summer only due to high costs of heating in winter. The builders laid down the foundation even larger than Kazakov's design; worse, they changed the design from a single dome to five domes. In summer 1792, when the walls were nearly complete, Orthodox clergy 'uncovered the plot' and alerted Empress Catherine

Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

. Catherine, wary of growing influence of the dissidents, ordered demolition of the 'unlawful' additions; Moscow governor, prince Prozorovsky

Prozorovsky

Princes Prozorovsky were a Russian noble family of Rurikid stock descending from medieval rulers of Yaroslavl and Mologa. Their name is derived from the village of Prozorovo near Mologa, which used to be their only votchina in the 15th century...

, complied and assigned architect Semyon Karin to supervise demolition.

As a result, the cathedral was built with a single dome resting on an elongated, flat slab with minimalistic neoclassical

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 finishes. Parts of the building are apparently mismatched, revealing the conflict of the client and the Crown. Traces of baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 influence, like the circular windows of the main dome, give away its 18th century roots. As-built design is attributed, by exclusion, to Semyon Karin.

Inside, the cathedral has three aisle

Aisle

An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...

s and eight load-bearing columns, and is decorated in an 'old-looking' style intended to resemble pre-Nikonian

Patriarch Nikon

Nikon , born Nikita Minin , was the seventh patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church...

 cathedrals. The icons actually date back to 15th-16th centuries, while the neoclassical iconostasis

Iconostasis

In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...

 clearly belongs to 19th century.

Church of Nativity of Christ

Church of Nativity, commissioned in 1804, was intended to complement the summer cathedral in winter. It was designed, most likely, by Ivan Zhukov. In line with the fashion of the early 19th century, the design mixes neoclassical layout with Gothic revival details, most visible on the northern and southern facades (the western facade, open to outside world, carries only a neoclassical portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

). Just like the cathedral, Nativity church is a three-aisle slab with a single dome, however, its transepts are more pronounced. The church was insignificantly expanded in 1908-1909, with secondary altars installed in transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

 niches and more Gothic features added.

In the Soviet period the dome was torn down and is being recreated since 2007.

Church of Saint Nicholas

The first chapel of the community, St. Nicholas was separated from it in 1854, when the government pressed popovtsi out and granted the church building to edinoverie

Edinoverie

Edinoverie is an arrangement between certain Russian Old Believer communities and the official Russian Orthodox State Church, whereby the communities are treated as a part of the normative Orthodox Church system, while maintaining their own traditional rites...

 - a least independent Old Believer denomination in communion

Full communion

In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....

 with state Orthodox church. Existing St. Nicholas, financed by personal funds of M. P. Alabin, was designed by Vasily Karneev and built in two stages, 1863–1867 and 1879. This church is of a single-aisle type (without internal columns), ornately imitating Moscow baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 of late 17th century. Present-day St. Nicholas belongs to mainline Russian Orthodox church, since edinoverie practically disintegrated in the 20th century.

Belltower

The tallest and most visible building of the Cemetery, a free-standing belltower was built in 1908-1909, soon after the government lifted prior ban on Old Believer church construction. Rogozhskoe tower is exactly one meter lower than Moscow's tallest religious building - Ivan the Great Bell Tower

Ivan the Great Bell Tower

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is the tallest of the towers in the Moscow Kremlin complex, with a total height of . It was built in 1508 for the Russian Orthodox cathedrals in Cathedral Square, namely the Assumption, Archangel and Annunciation cathedrals, which do not have their own belfries...

. It was designed by Fyodor Gornostaev

Fyodor Gornostaev

Fyodor Fyodorovich Gornostaev was a Russian architect and preservationist, notable for his folk interpretation of Russian Revival and restoration of landmark buildings in Suzdal, Kursk and Moscow Kremlin....

 (artistic design) and Zinovy Ivanov (structural engineering and construction management). Minor work on internal and external finishes continued until 1913. The first floor housed a small Church of Resurrection, the upper floors - library and a sacristy

Sacristy

A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...

. The bells, all internal finishes and parts of external ornaments were lost in the Soviet period and are being recreated.

Old-Rite Institute

The Old-Rite Teachers Institute, like the belltower, emerged in 1912 after lifting the bans on Old Believers. Initially it operated in Nikoloyamskaya Street, managed by Alexander Rybakov

Alexander Rybakov

Alexander Rybakov is a Russian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for HC Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League .-External links:...

 (father of Boris Rybakov

Boris Rybakov

Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov was a Soviet and Russian historian who personified the anti-Normanist vision of Russian history....

). In 1914-1915 the community erected a new Institute (two blocks east from the cathedral); it was closed after the revolution of 1917 and eventually converted to a municipal school.

The Cemetery also retains a number of old two-story buildings; some are operating, some dilapidated and expecting a complete rebuild (like the Cemetery Hotel, adjacent to St. Nicholas).

Notable graves

Historical graves of Rogozhskoe cemetery significantly differ from contemporary Moscow cemeteries due to their Old Believer roots. Most graves are shaped as plain stone crosses; there are no empire style column-shaped graves or personified sculptures. The largest and richest family burial belongs to the Morozov

Morozov

Morozov may refer to:*Morozov , a lunar crater*Morozov , people with the surname Morozov*Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov, a Russian revolutionary-See also:...

 dynasty - a 'cemetery within a cemetery' protected by an elaborate wrought iron

Wrought iron

thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

 canopy. The dynasty apparently continues - the last Morozov tomb is dated 2005. Other wealthy businesspeople and Old-Rite clergy were buried in black sarcophagus

Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...

-styled graves. Only a few tombs, like the 1907 Nikolaev tomb, bear distinct sculptural artwork - of abstract floral design.

In the Soviet period, due to proximity to military facilities in Lefortovo

Lefortovo

Lefortovo could refer to a number of places or things in or around Moscow, Russia:*Lefortovo District, a district in South-Eastern Administrative Okrug*Lefortovo prison, a prison*Lefortovo tunnel, a road tunnel...

, Rogozhskoe cemetery hosted graves of military personnel (currently, 7 graves of Heroes of Soviet Union are listed memorials).

See also

• Preobrazhenskoe Cemetery
• Fyodor Gornostaev
  Fyodor Gornostaev
  Fyodor Fyodorovich Gornostaev was a Russian architect and preservationist, notable for his folk interpretation of Russian Revival and restoration of landmark buildings in Suzdal, Kursk and Moscow Kremlin....
  
  , architect of Rogozhskoye Belltower

External links

• History of the cemetery (in Russian)