Terem Churches

The Moscow Kremlin was the seat of the Russian tsars from the days of old. In the 15th - 17th centuries, the ensemble of the royal palace with privy chambers, state apartments and splendid churches that were private chapels of the royal family was built on its grounds. The finest Russian masters created for the tsars artistic works which are now regarded as unique specimens of not only Russian, but also European, art.

All the churches that have survived date from the 17th century, the time when became established on the Russian throne. A particularly significant place in the palatial ensemble was occupied by the Upper Cathedral of the Saviour, the main royal domestic chapel. Placed in its carved iconostasis, gleaming with gilt, are icons produced by leading masters of the royal workshops under the supervision of Fyodor Zubov.

Next to the Cathedral of the Saviour is the Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Its iconostasis made by woodcarver Klim Mikhailov, is an outstanding example of Russian decorative art.

In the small Church of the Crucifixion, built upon the vault of the Upper Cathedral of the Saviour, unique icons produced by painter Vassili Poznansky are to be seen. The technique in which they are executed, appliquй on a wooden base, is quite unusual. The faces are painted in oil and all the remaining elements of the composition are made of pieces of rich West European fabrics glued onto the base.

Still another church of the ensemble, the one dedicated to St. Catherine, the Great Martyr of Alexandria, was the domestic chapel of the tsar's daughters. The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, located next to the tsarina's palace, was the private chapel of the tsarina.

In the late 17th century, the group of the Terem (Upper Chambers) Churches was a grand, picturesque sight equal to the splendour of the life style of the Russian royal court.