bobsville adventure magazine volume one, issue two.
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  The Church of Our Saviour of Transfiguration-in-Eliyah-Street
One of Novgorod's most celebrated monuments is the Church of Our Saviour of Transfiguration-in-Eliyah-Street (1374). Both in its architectural aspect and in its constructive techniques, the building has much in common with earlier and contemporaneous structures. Among the later additions is the eight-slope roof which replaced the three-pitched one in the 16th century. Characteristic of 14th- and 15th-century architecture, the latter echoed the overall construction of the building. Whereas the pilasters articulating the double-stepped form of the walls occur, though rarely, in Novgorodian architecture, the decoration of the facades sharply differs from the typically Novgorodian restrained decor. Executed with surprising freedom and ease, it features seemingly at random scattered windows, variously shaped niches and numerous crosses which, taken together, produce the sensation of a free equilibrium. At the same time, the tooth-edged bricks accentuate the expressiveness of the multi-slo pe roof. The facades are decorated differently, depending on their importance. Especially lavish is the decor of the main, southern facade. In its regular pattern and strict symmetry the decoration of the drum seems to embody the calm unchangeability of the heavenly as contrasted to the transience of the earthly. However, the building's charm lies not in its individual forms, but in that harmonious fusion of all the components which makes the creation of a humble mason a genuine work of architecture. In 1378 the boyar Vasily Danilovich and the men of Eliyah Street, paid for the church to be frescoed by Theophanes the Greek. Its murals are all that remains of the great Byzantine master's legacy, who painted over forty churches. At the time of his work in Novgorod, Theophanes the Greek was a highly accomplished artist, in the prime of his powerful talent. Epiphanius the Wise, a contemporary writer, described him as a man of wisdom skilful in depiction, a real philosopher and a bril liant painter. Also from Epiphanius we learn that while painting the murals, the artist used to pace the scaffold, talking to the beholders, yet constantly keeping his mind on his noble concept.

  The St George Cathedral

Although the chronicles do not record the founding of the St George (Yuriev) Monastery, it probably took place long before the monastery was first mentioned in the entry for 1119. The largest Novgorodian cloister, it played an outstanding part in the ecclesiastic, political and cultural life of the city. Several scholars think that the oldest of all known icons of St George (1030, the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) stems from this monastery. Of exceptional historic and artistic value is another icon of the saint painted in the 12th century for the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The famous Ustiug Annunciation (the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) bears this name only by tradition; it would be more proper to call it the Yuriev Annunciation since the icon was painted for the St George Cathedral of the monastery in the 1130s. Also for it, the Yuriev Lectionary, one of the ancient illuminated manuscript books of this type, was written between 1120 and 1228 (now in the Historical Museum, Moscow). Today, the monastery is dominated by structures of the 19th century, but none can stand comparison with the St George Cathedral located at its centre. A supreme manifestation of early Russian architectural thought the church was founded in 1119. One chronicle names its creator: 'and built by Master Peter', which is actually the first mention of an architect to be found in old Russian chronicles. The name of Master Peter is associated with the construction of other Novgorodian churches of the early 12th century, including the Cathedral of St Nicholas in Yaroslav's Court and the Church of the Annunciation in the Rurik-Fortress. The St George Cathedral is perceived as a triumph of artistry over stone. This is the key feature that unites all Novgorodian architecture of the 11th to 15th century. The crystal clarity and unity of the volumes is emphasized by tiers of windows and double-stepped niches. In spite of the thick cultural layers burying the lower parts of the walls and in spite of the cornice seemingly extinguishing the energy of the dynamic wall surfaces, the height of the building and its impetuous surge upward produce an indelible impression. The character of the architectural masses as if modelled by hand, the spontaneous composition with a tower and an asymmetric three-cupola top ? a composition that accentuates the harmony of whole and detail ? everything is imbued with a special sense of majesty inherent in Novgorodian architecture. The architectural scheme of the interior, resolved in an energetic and dynamic manner, is notable for the well-thought-out relationship of space and volumes. It looks as if the architect aspired to convey here his idea of a harmonious world. Such buildings could have only been constructed by people who keenly felt the harmony of the spiritual and the material. Most of the murals were lost in the 19th century (knocked down during a restoration).

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