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The metropolitan Alexei founded this monastery overlooking crossings
of the Yauza River. It was built as a fortification covering
Moscow's eastern approaches in 1360. It covered the area between the
Yauza and Moscow. Its name combines that of the Savior (Spaso) with
that of its first abbot (Andronik), who took over when Alexei was
called away to heal the favorite wife of a Tartar prince. The
monastery's Cathedral of the Savior was built in 1427 and is now the
oldest stone building in Moscow. It is adorned with frescoes painted
by the master icon-painter Andrei Rublev; Rublev is thought to be
buried in the monastery's crypt and a museum dedicated to his work
adjoins the building. The Church of the Archangel Michael, built in
the baroque style, was commissioned by Peter the Great's
mother-in-law in honor of her grandson's birth, although Peter sent
her to Siberia soon afterward. The monastery became a popular base
for the Old Believers, a schismatic religious sect created when the
Patriarch Nikon attempted to reform the Russian Orthodox Church
under Peter's father, Tsar Alexis. The monastery also has the Rublev
museum of early Russian art, which, however, has none of Rublev's
own icons. The master icon painter Andrei Rublev was born around
1360, and is considered one of the greatest Russian artists who ever
lived. In a 17th-century text, one can read: "...The revered Andrei
of Radonezh, called Rublev, has painted many holy icons, all
magnificent." His art, in contrast to the austere asceticism of his
contemporary, Theophanes the Greek, reflects a spirituality born of
love and understanding, uniting delicate colors and supple contours
with a rare tenderness and majesty in his subjects. He decorated
many of the Kremlin's structures, as well as various monasteries
throughout the "Golden Ring"- the towns that surround Moscow. |
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