Firebird Videos, Audios & Books
St. Innocent Monastic Community
Redford, Michigan

IV. VIDEOS in Russian

Moscow

VHS Videotape       1 hour      In Russian     Made in Russia in 1997

PRICE: $24.95
THIS VIDEO IS NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH ON DVD:

DESCRIPTION

Truly "the Great Church of Russia," no other monument in Russia can begin to compare with Christ the Savior Cathedral: it is truly the people’s church, and it reflects the national soul. This excellently crafted and technically superb documentary was produced for the 850th anniversary of Moscow. Seen through Moscovite eyes, the video depicts the history of this amazing Cathedral, built on the Moskva River near the Kremlin, and its central role in the life of Moscow and the nation. Numerous drawings, paintings, prints, archival photos and film footage, plus considerable contemporary film footage are combined in this fascinating documentary. Portrayed are the original construction and consecration, its destruction by Stalin in 1931, and its reconstruction in the 1990's. The major people involved with the life of the Great Church are profiled, including its saints: St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow; Patriarch St. Tikhon; and St. Alexander Khotovitsky. The final third of the video depicts the various stages of the reconstruction of the new Cathedral in the 1990's, and includes views of the consecration of different parts of the enormous complex, and some excerpts of Divine Services. You will see the public celebration of the blessing of the exterior of the cathedral by Patriarch Aleksei, with President Yeltsin and Moscow’s mayor present, and the blessing of the new bells. Also shown are excerpts of the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy and blessing of fruit on the Feast of the Transfiguration in the Cathedral’s magnificent Church of the Transfiguration. This is the smaller "downstairs" church, with a gorgeous iconostasis painted/written by Archimandrite Zenon, plus other beautiful icons.
The original enormous church was built by contributions from people all over Russia to commemorate the fallen, and to give thanks to God for Russia’s being saved from devastation by Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. It was built to be a place of gratitude and prayer to the holy patrons and heavenly protectors of the Russian land, and to the Savior, Jesus Christ. Its artistic decoration illustrates the unity of the life of Christ with the history of Russia—inseparable from its Orthodox Faith. For 30 years the Metropolitan of Moscow, Philaret, inspired and guided much of the creation of this spectacular Temple of God. It was here that in 1917 Patriarch St. Tikhon was elected the first Patriarch of Russia in over 200 years, and it was here that opposition to the Communist destruction of Russia was centered. This church symbolized that Russia’s greatest strength was its faith; by destroying it, Stalin was trying to crucify Russia, her history and culture, her past and her people. Therefore, its recent reconstruction affirms Russia’s dedication to rebuilding its own soul, and the hope for her continuing spiritual revival. This Great Church had been, and once more has become a center of spiritual and cultural life in Moscow and Russia.

This video is totally different from the older video (#VR-24) about Christ the Savior Cathedral, which was made before the overthrow of the Communist state, and before anyone could even have imagined that the Great Church of Russia would be rebuilt less than a decade later.

For complete depiction of the interior of the enormous upper church, not completed when this video was made in 1997, see our 2-DVD set of the complete Consecration of Christ the Savior Cathedral, #VS-7.