Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Blessed virgin Mary is the largest Catholic church in Russia. It rises in Moscow, on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street and adorns it with its pointed neo-Gothic towers. The building was erected in 1911 by the forces of the Polish community in Moscow.
In prayer and good deeds
The Roman Catholic Cathedral has not held services since 1938. And only in 1999, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who arrived from the Vatican, consecrated him and gave his blessing. Now in the cathedral, services are held according to the Roman Catholic rite, not only in Russian and Polish, but also in English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Korean and in Latin. In addition, divine services and holy masses are held according to the Armenian rite.
Much attention has been directed to charity events, including music concerts to raise funds. On the territory of the cathedral there is a library, an editorial office of a church magazine, a church shop and offices of charitable organizations. In the temple, youth meetings are organized to attract the younger generation to the Roman Catholic Church. In the cathedral, those who wish are taught the Gregorian chant and improvisation playing the organ.
Organ music
Not only Catholic believers visit the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Many people are attracted to classical organ music. The organ in this cathedral is the largest in Russia, it includes 5563 pipes. Just imagine this amount. This is a huge musical organism that comes to life from contact with a person.
Concerts include Handel, Mozart, other great composers and, of course, Bach, the inimitable master of organ music. In addition to amazing sensations, there is surprise at the composer's skill. What kind of computer should be in his head in order to harmonize almost six thousand different voices into one stunning melody that speaks so clearly to the audience? The sound fills the entire cathedral, rises upward, fills a person. Elastic wave sound becomes tangible, it can be felt on the skin. An indescribable, amazing feeling.
Tears welling up in the eyes of many listeners. Others listen with closed eyes, others held their breath, afraid to move. After the last chord, there is complete silence for a while. People do not believe that the music has died down and will not resume. After all, the concert lasts more than an hour, and according to the listener's perception it seems that only a few minutes have passed ...
Organ concerts can only be discussed in superlatives, they cause unprecedented sensations. This example clearly shows that the interpenetration of cultures and religions can enrich the worldview of all peoples without exception, make their spiritual life a little richer.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary - third catholic church operating in Moscow before the 1917 revolution. The other two: on Malaya Lubyanka - the Church of St. Louis of France, and in Milyutinsky Lane - the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. By the end of the 19th century, the number of Catholics in Moscow reached 30,000, and the small church of St. Peter and Paul that belonged to them could no longer accommodate all the parishioners.
In 1894, it was decided to build another church for Moscow Catholics. After receiving permission from the authorities to build a "branch" church, the parish committee in Milyutinsky lane began collecting funds. The money was collected by Poles who lived throughout Russian Empire and abroad, including workers of weaving factories, railway workers, builders of the Trans-Siberian Railway, exiled to Siberia, to Far East and Asia, as well as many Catholics of other nationalities, including Russians.
The archives of Moscow (TsGIA of Moscow) and St. Petersburg (TsGIA of the USSR) preserved documents describing the activities of the construction committee, including the Act of purchase of ten hectares of land for 10,000 rubles in gold for a new church in the Malaya Gruzinskaya Street area and a collection of donations, where all donors are recorded, regardless of the amount of the contribution. ... a neo-Gothic cathedral in Moscow, the largest Catholic cathedral in Russia, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God, headed by Archbishop Metropolitan Paolo Pezzi. One of the two active Catholic churches in Moscow, along with the Church of St. Louis of France (in addition to two churches in Moscow, there is also a Catholic chapel of St. Olga).
The project of the temple was developed by the parishioner of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the famous Moscow architect Foma Iosifovich Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky, a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and the architect L. F. Dauksha. The building was designed in the Gothic style. The facade was inspired by the Gothic cathedral in Westminster (England). The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1901-1911. In December 1911, the inauguration of the new church took place. The construction cost 300,000 gold rubles. Additional sums were collected in 1911-1917 for decoration and purchase of church implements. In 1938, the temple was closed, church property was plundered, and a hostel was organized inside. During the war, the building was damaged by bombing, several turrets and spiers were destroyed. In 1956 the research institute "Mosspetspromproekt" was located in the church. The redevelopment of the building was carried out, which completely changed the interior of the church, in particular, the main volume of the internal space was divided into 4 floors.
In 1976, the Moscow authorities planned to transfer the building of the Temple to the Main Department of Culture. We have developed a project for its reconstruction into a hall of organ music. But the idea was not realized due to the resistance of the organizations located in the Church. In 1989, Moscow Catholics and the cultural association Dom Polskiy, which unites Moscow Poles, announced the need to return the Temple to its natural and rightful owner - Catholics and their Roman Catholic Church. In January 1990, a group of Moscow Catholics established the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but on December 8, priest Tadeusz Pikus celebrated the first Holy Mass permitted by the authorities on the steps of the Church. Several hundred people attended the mass.
On April 21, 1991, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Apostolic Administrator for Catholics of the Latin Rite of the European part, issued a decree on the restoration of the Catholic parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Church of the same name on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street in Moscow. On May 31, 1991, the charter of the Parish was officially registered by the Justice Department of the Moscow City Council. From June 7, 1991, Holy Masses began to be held every Sunday in the courtyard of the Temple.
Since November 29, 1991, the Salesian sisters have served in the Temple, they conduct catechesis, teach the basics of Christianity. At the same time, charitable activities began, in particular, helping the sick and the needy. In 1993-1995. the premises of the Church housed the Catholic Higher Theological Seminary - Mary Queen of the Apostles. On February 1, 1992, a decision was signed by the Mayor of Moscow Yu. M. Luzhkov on the gradual, over two years, the release of the Temple for church services. However, the transfer of at least a few rooms to the Parish did not take place. On July 2, the parishioners entered the Temple and liberated themselves small part premises. After negotiations with representatives of the City Hall, the conquered part of the church remained with the parish.
On March 7 and 8, 1995, believers a second time rose up to fight for the return of all the rest of the Temple. The parishioners realized that without decisive action on their part, the situation is unlikely to change. On March 7, after a common prayer for the return of the Temple, they went up to the fourth floor and began to take out the junk stored there. At this time, other parishioners dismantled the wall on the ground floor that separated the Parish from Mosspetspromproekt. On March 8, the parishioners continued to vacate the premises of the Temple. However, the police and riot police intervened: people were expelled from the Temple, while many were injured, a nun was severely beaten, a priest and a seminarian were arrested. On March 9, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz addressed an open letter to Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin regarding the situation around the Temple. As a result, the Mayor of Moscow Yu. M. Luzhkov signed on March 7, 1995 a long-prepared resolution on the transfer of "Mosspetspromproekt" to new premises and the transfer of the Temple to believers by the end of the year.
However, there was no guarantee that this decision would be followed. Parish rector, Fr. Joseph Zanevsky called on believers to pray for the return of the Temple and fasting. On Thursdays and Fridays, worship of the Holy Gifts and a prayer procession around the Temple on Sundays began to be performed in the Temple. Finally, on January 13, 1996, the Mosspetspromproekt association left the church. And on February 2, the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary received documents for the eternal use of the Temple. Fr. Kazimir Shidelko, Director of the Orphanage. John Bosco, and many parishioners. Completion of the restoration in August 1998 was directed by Fr. Andrzej Steckiewicz.
The general project of the restoration of the Temple and the author's support of the restoration work belong to the PKZ company. The project of the altars, the chapel and the interior as a whole was developed by Professor Jan Taihman (Torun). The firm EnergoPol, director Kazimir Vershillo, provided constant financial assistance. All three donors are from the Republic of Poland. The Rodgers organ was donated by the Catholic organization Aid to the Church in Russia, USA. Thanks to donations from charitable organizations and Catholics around the world, as well as prayers and selfless help from parishioners, the Temple has regained all its original beauty. On December 12, 1999, the Temple was consecrated by the Legate of Pope John Paul II, Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Sodano and became the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On April 13, 2001, the Cathedral solemnly celebrated the tenth anniversary of the restoration of the structures of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia.
The cathedral on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street in Moscow belongs to the Roman Catholic Church and is the main temple of this religious trend in the capital.
Since mid XVIII century in Europe, a trend arose that revived medieval Gothic architecture and received the name "neo-Gothic".
Pointed upward, lancet lines, like palms folded in prayer, vaults of intersecting arcs, openwork structures, windows with multicolored stained-glass windows, tall, but long and narrow halls - all these characteristic Gothic features are inherent in the cathedral, erected in late XIX- the beginning of the XX century.
Description of the Catholic Cathedral
A sculpture depicting the crucifixion of Christ greets visitors at the entrance. The temple has three naves, separated by columns. In the side aisles there are confessionals. In the central one there are places for parishioners, separated by a passage. Wall bas-reliefs depicting the Way of the Cross of Jesus can be seen under the windows.
The altar of the temple, like the pulpit, is made of dark green marble; the relics of the saints are kept in it.
Above rear end the choir stalls are located in the central nave. On Sundays, services are accompanied by the Liturgical Choir, and on church holidays- professional Academic choir.
This cathedral contains the most large organ in Russia. It is made in Switzerland, has 4 manuals and 74 registers. The temple also has two digital organs.
Mass schedule
Divine services in the cathedral are held in Russian, Polish, Latin and five more languages. Masses in Russian and Polish are held daily, in other languages - in certain days ... The worship of the Blessed Gifts takes place on a regular basis, on Sundays they serve Holy Mass with a sermon for children. Thematic events are also held, for example, masses for getting rid of various ailments or conversations about family and raising children.
Schedule of masses in the church on Malaya Gruzinskaya:
- On weekdays, except Wednesdays, Holy Mass is held at 8.00, 9.00 (in Russian), 18.00 and 19.00 (in Polish).
- On Saturdays - in the morning and at 17.30.
- On Sunday, Holy Masses are held all day.
Services are also held in the cathedral in the form of the Roman rite: every third Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Divine Liturgy according to the Armenian rite - on Fridays and Sundays at 13.00 and 15.30.
Anyone can attend the service, regardless of their religion.... However, only baptized Catholics can confess and partake of the Holy Gifts.
The activities of the church are not limited only to masses and liturgies. In order to attract young people, various events are held here:
- meetings, conversations, consultations;
- catechism classes;
- preparation for confirmation;
- there is a children's and youth center named after John Bosco. The public cultural organization "The Art of Kindness", located in the premises of the church, closely cooperates with the clergy and believers. This foundation organizes and supervises concerts of sacred music, provides assistance to young talented musicians and orphanages.
Concerts in the cathedral
This building is not only a monument of Gothic architecture, but also popular concert hall... Concerts in the Catholic Cathedral on Malaya Gruzinskaya attract many fans classical music... The abundance of niches, vaults, domes creates a special acoustics, similar to stereo sound (in the light modern technologies- 3D). It is not for nothing that since the Middle Ages, organs were placed exclusively in temples.
Organ and choral concerts are held regularly in the church. Here you can listen to classical organ music - Bach, Handel, Mozart, Vivaldi, etc .; choral works by great composers performed by magnificent choirs, symphonic music and even jazz performed by organ. The Art of Kindness Foundation maintains contacts with prominent organists of the world and some of them give concerts and even conduct classes with young musicians. In addition, a project has been developed, within the framework of which there is an opportunity to take a course, which includes training in polyphonic vocal in the style of the Gregorian chant.
These concerts are very popular with serious music lovers and their organizers have already drawn up a six-month schedule. The program poster offers, in addition to organ music performed by Russian and foreign organists, performances by ensembles with the most unusual combinations of instruments:
- lute, lyre, cithara;
- organ, oboe, flute;
- organ and harp;
- organ and saxophone;
- organ, saxophone, duduk, flute, harp;
- organ and pipe;
- organ and orchestra;
- string quintet and guitar;
- organ and vocals (solo and ensemble).
The Concert Hall also presents the fairy tales "The Hobbit" and "The Little Prince" with sand animation.
Location, transport
How to get to the cathedral on Malaya Gruzinskaya, how to get to this street - such a question often arises among visitors, and sometimes even among Muscovites. The address of the cathedral is Presnensky district, Malaya Gruzinskaya street, house 27/13.
To get to a church service or concert, it is best to take the subway and then walk a little. The closest station is the Ulitsa 1905 Goda station.
The Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a true bastion of spirituality and culture. It is visited by people of different faiths, and this interpenetration of cultures and religions blurs the lines between them and, undoubtedly, serves the cause of peace.
We were at an organ concert (organ + violin + oboe) - great! Amazing acoustics, very polite attitude. I advise everyone to admire the grandeur of the cathedral and listen to a concert.
Great cathedral, great concerts. Famous musicians often perform. An amazing atmosphere, the music seems to envelop and rise to the vaults.
Triumph of the Gothic! The cathedral is amazing, especially when illuminated. It looks like a magic castle, I can't even believe that it is real, the real Middle Ages.
Its real name is "Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary". But it is precisely by the title of the article that this cathedral is often searched for in search engines.
This church is the largest Catholic cathedral in Russia and one of two active Catholic cathedrals in Moscow. It is very impressive by its appearance, but most of the city's residents do not even know that there is something similar in Moscow. Personally, I found out about him a few years ago, and for the first time I saw just the other day, and this is in 30 years lived in my hometown.
The beginning of the construction of the cathedral is dated 1901, and ends in 1911. It was consecrated on December 21, 1911. The construction of the cathedral was due to big amount Catholics in Moscow at the beginning of the 20th century, at that time their community numbered about 35 thousand people, and two other functioning cathedrals at that time could no longer serve as many parishioners.
After the parishioners raised the necessary money, the construction project was agreed with the Moscow authorities and the construction of the largest branch of the Catholic Church in Russia began. But already in 1919 the branch became a full-fledged parish. 
The cathedral did not serve the parishioners for long; already in 1938 it was closed and plundered. And later, Soviet authorities organized a hostel in it. But that was not the worst part. During the great patriotic war, the cathedral was partially destroyed by bombing. Several towers were lost and roofs collapsed. But even this is not the most deplorable thing that could happen to him. Later, in 1956, the organization NII "Mosspetspromproekt" came to the cathedral. Apparently in this special project, such talented designers worked that they completely changed the whole interior view cathedral. Instead of one huge hall, 4 floors with staircases were built, which finally destroyed the original interiors of the church. Surprisingly, this predatory organization remained there until 1996, and not only did no one follow the building, it was possible to expel the organization of the Mosspetspromproekt Research Institute only through scandalous trials, and if it were not for the intervention of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, it is not known how long it would have dragged on litigation, and they lasted since 1992.
This is what the Cathedral looked like in 1980, as you can see, there is not a single spire above the entrance: 
from 1996 to 1999, the cathedral was undergoing global restoration work and already on December 12 of the same year, the cathedral was re-consecrated by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.
Cathedral during restoration: 
2011 marked the centenary of the cathedral.
On this moment in the cathedral, masses are held in many languages, most often in Russian, Polish and English. As well as performances and concerts of cultural figures. The concert schedule can be found on the official website of the cathedral http://www.catedra.ru
The architecture of the cathedral is a neo-gothic style with many decorative elements. I propose to look at the cathedral from different angles during the day and at night:
3) View of the cathedral from the north side during the day: 
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7) View of the spiers of the main entrance, from the back: 
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10) North side at night: 
11) The main entrance to the Cathedral: 
12) The entrance is so beautiful that I took several different photos: 
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15) The dome, with a light drum, rises majestically over the entire building: 
16) On the back side, the cathedral has fewer windows and thus resembles an ancient knight's castle: 
17) At night, the back is not lit at all: 
18) But with a slow shutter speed, you can accumulate enough light to see huge walls and a cross made of bricks. 
19) No less huge windows near the cathedral, or rather stained-glass windows. Completely made of mosaic glass: 
20) Stained glass at night: 
21) and from the inside: 
I liked the inside of the church just as much as the outside. A different style is already felt here, with massive columns and very high ceilings. By the way, the only church in which I was allowed to take pictures inside without any problems.
22) View immediately after entering: 
The central part of the cathedral is visually divided into three zones, the so-called naves, separated by columns. In the central part there are benches, and on the sides there are walkways leading to the prayer areas and the altar
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25) As I said above, all windows are made of mosaic glass: 
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27) This photo shows the colors of the night light passing through the dome light drum. 
28) The main cross with a sculpture of the crucified Jesus Christ: 
Territory of the main catholic cathedral not big, but very well appointed. During the day, children play here, and they often leave toys and balls right there. And the next day they come and play with them again and no one touches these things. In the evening, young people and girls from Catholic communities come here and rehearse various performances and productions. The entire area is paved with paving stones and has several monuments:
29) monument "Good Shepherd": 
30) Monument to the Virgin Mary: 
31) And of course, the entire complex of the temple is taken under state protection. It is an extremely rare occurrence when an architectural monument is really protected by the state and is in excellent condition, although I am not sure that this is the merit of the state ... 
32) The final, twilight photograph of the south side of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 
In the end, I would like to say that I recommend everyone to visit this place. A wonderful, hospitable place in the center of Moscow for all citizens and religions.
The cathedral will also be of interest to all photographers-architects. In photographic terms, a very difficult building due to its geometry, where the laws of perspective do not play into the hands of the photographer, breaking and distorting the true geometry of the building. Photos are obtained either as barrels in the case of panoramas or fisheye, or rockets tapering towards the top :) You have to spend a lot of time aligning the geometry in the editors, but you still can't get away from all the distortions. You can, of course, move away to slightly reduce the effect of the rocket, but you won't go too far, the city is still. A Tilt-Shift lens would help a lot, it will probably be my next lens)
If you walk along Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, you will certainly pass by a building in the neo-Gothic style, which is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the main Catholic church in Russia. 
Looking at the arrow-shaped spiers with silver crosses, striving into the blue sky, it is difficult to imagine that this was not always the case. But our church had a very difficult and tragic history.
It was built at the beginning of the twentieth century for the Russian Catholic community, which included mainly Poles. Consecrated in 1911 in the name of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but, in general, served as a branch of the now closed church of St. Peter and Paul, which could no longer cope with so many parishioners (more than 30,000). Donations for the construction were collected from all over the country and even from abroad. The temple was built from 1899 to 1911, but the decoration was carried out until 1917.
The project of the temple was developed by a parishioner of the Church of Sts. Apostles Peter and Paul, a famous Moscow architect, Pole by origin, Tomash (Foma) Iosifovich Bogdanovich-Dvorzhetsky, teacher of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The building was designed in the neo-gothic style (ie the style of the "new gothic", distinctive features which: red brick masonry, high black roofs, lancet windows). The facade was inspired by the Gothic Cathedral in Westminster (England). 
This is the facade in the year of consecration, and on the right is an old-style altar that has been lost.
A revolution broke out, and with it years of persecution against any religion. The temple operated until 1937, then it was closed, and then in 1938 it was completely taken away from the Catholics. But the attack on the temple began even earlier. In 1935, part of the territory was taken away from him for the construction of a school.
After the closure, the gradual destruction of the cathedral began. Church property, including the altar and organ, was plundered and destroyed, and the façade was disfigured. The temple was given to various organizations that disfigured it beyond recognition, dividing it into 4 floors with ceilings. The temple continued to be destroyed - during the war, the spiers were demolished, ostensibly to remove a dangerous target for bombing, then the spire was demolished from the dome and the remaining territory was taken away for a residential building. 
By the end of the twentieth century, in 1976, they remembered about the temple and decided to transfer it to the main department of culture for the reconstruction and organization of an organ music hall there. But it did not work because of the resistance of the organizations located there.
And in 1989, Moscow Catholics demanded the return of the temple Catholic Church- to the legal owners. Thus began the slow process of rebuilding the temple.
In 1990, the first Mass was celebrated on the steps of the temple. The parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established, and the struggle began for the return of the temple to the believers. 
Since June 1991, Mass has been celebrated every Sunday in the courtyard of the church. In July 1991, Father Joseph Zanevsky, a Salesian, was appointed rector of the church, and he still holds this post. In the same year, charitable activities began, catechesis in preparation for the sacraments. In 1993-1995, the building housed the Higher Theological Seminary - Mary Queen of the Apostles, and for some time the Catholic College of St. Thomas Aquinas. I remember that its graduates told how, during the break, they ran to bow to the Holy Gifts in the basement, and then again rushed to classes. Now both establishments have their own buildings. The Catholic seminary moved to St. Petersburg, and now the university is located somewhere in Baumanka, it seems.
In early 1992, the mayor of Moscow signed a decree on the transfer of the church to believers. But the research institute "Mosspetspromproekt" failed to evict the occupant of the Temple since 1956. The parishioners, by their own efforts, cleared several rooms in the basement of rubbish and began to perform divine services there. 
In the cramped, darkness, but there was no way out.
On May 9, 1995, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz addressed an open letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin regarding the situation around the Temple. As a result, Moscow Mayor YM Luzhkov signed a decree on the transfer of "Mosspetspromproekt" to new premises and the transfer of the Temple to believers by the end of 1995.
However, there was no guarantee that this decision would be followed. The rector of the parish, Father Joseph Zanevsky called on the faithful to prayer for the return of the church and fasting. On Thursdays and Fridays, adoration to the Blessed Gifts and prayer processions around the Temple began to take place in the church on Sundays. The believers even had to engage in self-occupation of premises, which led to clashes with the police. Finally, on January 13, 1996, the Mosspetspromproekt association left the Temple building. And on February 2, 1996, the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary received documents for the permanent use of the building. But it was rather a memory of that cathedral, which was once, and not the cathedral itself. 
Only dilapidated walls were left of it. It is inappropriate to celebrate the Eucharist in such a place. 
A gradual restoration of the building began, donations were again collected from all over the world, just like during the construction. 
On December 12, 1999, the Vatican Secretary of State, Legate of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Angelo Sodano solemnly consecrated the restored Temple, which has since been Cathedral Of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
Not so long ago, we celebrated the eleventh anniversary of the re-consecration of the cathedral. And this year we will celebrate its centenary. “And I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18.) The temple was reborn like a phoenix from the ashes. And I hope it will stand for many, many centuries.
The photographs in this part, apart from the modern ones, are naturally not mine. Found on the net and taken from the parish site catedra.ru. However, they hang out all over the network. So it's hard to say what and where it comes from, but the main thing is the essence.
After the restoration, the temple and parish began to live a full life. 
The cathedral turned into a real one Cultural Center where classes in the basics are taught Christian doctrine, charitable activities are carried out (works orphanage, Caritas center, donations are collected for various needs), concerts of sacred music and various meetings are held.
Sometimes our cathedral reminds me of a densely populated city. :) 
You enter this cast-iron gate, crowned with a Latin cross, and you find yourself in a place of coolness, peace and quiet. 
Yes, it is always calm there, even despite the fact that a lot of children from the surrounding houses are rushing around the territory, and on Sundays it is generally multinational. Kindergarten. Locals they like to come here because no one will drive them away for sure and there is no danger here. Perhaps there is no playground, but the children's population always finds something to do. 
On the site of the construction trailer, a statue of the Good Shepherd with sheep was erected. You can argue endlessly about her artistic value, but the children just adore her.
It usually looks like this. Children ride sheep and try to climb the staff into Jesus' arms. This year we decided to break them off and planted everything around with flowers and fenced off, but for me it’s in vain. Let them play for themselves.
I love to watch children, for beefy pigeons, in many roaming the territory and just admire the turrets going up. 
I also look at the stained glass windows outside, trying to guess which one is. 
But it’s not that easy. The inside of the glass looks very different.
I never get bored of all this, because at any time of the year and day, the cathedral is always different. 
In the deepening twilight, only a black outline is guessed, and in the dark, the backlight turns on, from which the entire building glows orange, as if glowing from the inside.
I also like to walk around the territory, which looks quite well-groomed and refined. Fir trees grow there, which they decorate before Christmas, and the father's abbot started greenhouses and planted a bunch of flowers. 
Sometimes you go out into the yard, and he walks there with a garden hose and waters his flower garden. 
Last year, luxurious red roses bloomed near the church kiosk. 
The grotto of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes near the Curia building is now also buried in flowers. 
And the administration itself is not lagging behind. 
Almost every square centimeter is in flowers. :) 
Say what you like, but in winter it is much more boring. 
Although it depends on how you look at it. Amazing meetings happen all year round... In this photograph, two Franciscan monks suddenly materialized. Later I saw them only on the display. You can't figure it out on purpose. And so this is our church kiosk, where there is a good selection of Christian literature, you can buy candles, icons, crucifixes, pectoral crosses and everything that is necessary for the external expression of faith. 
This is the rose of the cathedral. There are Latin letters VMIC (Virgo Maria Immaculata Concepta - Virgin Mary Immaculate Conceived). Eleven steps symbolize the 10 commandments + the commandment of obedience required to enter the heavenly gates, which are in this case symbolize the doors of the temple. 
Christ yesterday, today and always ... Only following this motto will lead us to the Father's house.
Entering the doors of the temple, you find yourself in the vestibule or in the narthex, as it is sometimes called.
There are parish notice boards, a concert program and announcements of the oratorio - youth center. There are also tables where the concert program is put, Living word(meditating on the Gospel readings for the week), various newspapers and magazines (for example, The Light of the Gospel or the Salesian Bulletin). However, not only this. A lot of interesting things can be found by checking regularly. 
There are also four doors. The right door near the entrance leads to an emergency exit from the temple, where a toilet is located on the landing, and it is also there that the stairs leading to the choir are located. On Sunday morning, it is from there that our choristers descend.
The left door near the entrance leads to the basement, where there are also many different useful rooms, but more on them later. The door near the notice board leads to the hall of Mary Helper of Christians - one of the classrooms, where, in fact, for almost a year I received, so to speak, elementary theological education, in other words, underwent catechesis before Communion. The hall itself is almost no different from a school class or university audience - desks, blackboard, window. Is it a bit crowded there and there is a crucifix hanging on the wall. Where can we go without him?
The Crucifix is located between the two doors. On both sides of it are boxes for donations - the left one is intended for the repair of the temple, and the right one is for those in need. 
V the last days Great Lent The crucifixion and, in general, all the crosses in the temple are covered with a purple cloth. This is a symbol of the fact that God sometimes hides his face from us, but He is still here, suffering for us. 
Since last spring there long time there was a flag of Poland with a mourning ribbon - in memory of the perished Polish delegation. The parish has historically always united Poles, although now many Russians have appeared. But many priests and nuns are from Poland, therefore it concerns them directly. 
This is what the porch looked like on the day the plane with the Polish delegation was killed. 
And finally, the fourth door leads to the main room - the hall for worship. On both sides of the door - bowls with consecrated water or sprinklers. 
To go inside, you need to lower your hand into the water and cross yourself with the banner of the cross. Catholics of the Latin rite and simply living according to the Latin rite perform it as follows: the fingers are folded in a boat (symbol of the five wounds of Christ), then a hand on the forehead, then on the chest somewhere in the solar plexus region, on left shoulder, on the right shoulder. They end it all differently. I put my hand on the area of the heart, someone makes a gesture as if they were going to squeeze a cross on their chest in their hand, someone just lowers their hand, somehow I saw that someone brought their fingers to their lips. This gesture seems to imitate kissing a ring with a cross, if I'm not mistaken. However, folding your fingers can be a little different. There are as many as five options, it seems, but in Russia the one that I described is most common. By the way, it is not forbidden to be baptized as Orthodox. No one will beat you, because, firstly, Catholics of the Byzantine rite are baptized in the same way, and secondly, there is no difference how to be baptized - the most important symbol of the cross of the Lord. Catholics of the Armenian rite in general somehow cross their armpits, and no one looks at them askance.
After you have crossed yourself, you can enter. 
Entering, we find ourselves in the central nave, which ends with an altar, where the most important thing is celebrated - the Eucharist, followed by the Crucifixion (9 meters high).
When entering, you usually need to bow your head to the Cross, but most of the parishioner kneels on his right knee. In general, this gesture is prescribed to be performed when you walk past the Tabernacle. Previously, it was in the altar, in many old temples it is still so, but after the Second Vatican Council there was a tendency to move it somewhere to the side. We have the Holy Gifts kept in the Chapel of Divine Mercy, so it is not necessary to kneel down at the entrance, but most of them do it anyway.
To the left is the doorkeeper's table, where our grandmothers take turns on duty. The order is looked after, the donation box is watched and questions can be answered. On both sides of the entrance there are confessionals, where there is a priest during each Mass. There, sins are forgiven to the repentant. 
They look something like this, but in the photo they are closed, which are located closer to the sacristy. They are almost never used, except on the days of big holidays, when the queue is large, because I am not very familiar with its device - I have never been there. It is clear that in the center there is a place for the priest, and on the sides for the confessing, but that's all. The open one is almost the same, only there are no doors. The priest sits in a booth in the center, and you have to come up from the side, kneel down on a special board and, in fact, say everything you need to say through the bars and listen to instructions. For those who are especially nervous or ignorant, a piece of paper with the rite of confession is glued specially at eye level, which nevertheless has a certain liturgical form. Although it is recommended to know it by heart, since it is not glued everywhere. 
While walking around the temple, you can admire the colored stained glass windows. They are very beautiful with us. 
Purple prevails everywhere, because the photo was taken during Lent, and purple is the color of repentance.
I usually turn into the left aisle, as I used to sit exactly on left side and a favorite place for prayer is there. 
The walls of the cathedral are hung with bas-reliefs depicting scenes of the Passion of Christ. During Great Lent, on Fridays special worship Way of the Cross, during which believers walk in a procession with a cross and candles, stop at each of the fourteen images (or stands) and meditate on these episodes with prayer. This twelfth is the Crucifixion. 
And this is the Holy place temple - Tabernacle. On the left is the chapel of the Virgin Mary of Fatima, and in front is the chapel of Divine Mercy. The yellow circle is the door behind which the Holy Gifts. An icon lamp always burns near them - the only light that is not extinguished at night. When you cross this passage or want to enter or leave the chapel, you need to bow your right knee and you can cross yourself, saying to yourself or aloud 3 times: "May the Most Holy Gifts - the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be in glorification." But the minimum obligatory for a Catholic is kneeling and full, and not some kind of knixen, as some do. It’s better then to do nothing at all than to imitate for show. 
In the left aisle there is a statue of the Virgin Mary of Fatima, after whom it is named. There are benches with genoflectors - you can sit down, you can kneel. There is also a genoflektoria near the statue itself. Usually the most personal intentions are raised there, according to at least I see it like this. There are candles near the statue, where you can leave a burning candle. In general, in the Latin rite there is no such large-scale tradition to put candles everywhere, but, in principle, it can be left as a sign of prayer or as a sacrifice to the temple. You can do it right here. Candles are bought in a shop, but you can also bring them with you. 
Nearby there is a box for notes with requests to the Virgin Mary, which are read every Wednesday during the Novena to the Mother. God's Helper Christian.
There used to be a bust of the blessed Pope John Paul II and a statue of Judas Thaddeus, one of the apostles. On the side of the bust of the Pope is an announcement of the intentions of Benedict XVI for the current month. For July, they sound like this:
That in every country in the world elections to bodies state power carried out fairly, openly and honestly, with respect for the free decision of each citizen;
So that everywhere, especially in large cities, Christians sought to fruitfully contribute to matters of education, justice, solidarity, and peace.
There is a pious duty of every Catholic to pray as often as possible in the intentions of the Pope. To make it easier, they are announced.
And now the bust has been moved to a small shelf near the altar.
In the same aisle there is another confessional and another emergency exit, which is used on days when a musical concert breathes into the back of the head in the evening mass. Then the parishioners are released through this door so that there are no crowds.
There is also an electric organ nearby, which is used on weekdays. 
And a large organ donated by a Lutheran cathedral in Germany stands in the choir. It is played only on Sunday mornings, on holidays and during concerts.
If you are going to the right side-altar of Saint Joseph, then, passing by the altar, you need to bow to the Cross. 
Here is the statue of St. Joseph with the Baby Jesus. Previously, these chapels were intended for separate prayer for men and women. There were men on the right and women on the left, but now this tradition has long since died out. 
There is also a particle of the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, a young Carmelite nun who is considered the patroness of missionaries. There is also a genoflectoria here, so you can pray at the relics. 
There is also another donation box, as well as a statue of Salesian saints - St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio, his student. 
A little further to the left is the door to the sacristy, where the nun on duty is sitting, who writes information in the parish register, accepts donations for mass in personal intentions, as well as a room for priests and ministers who put on liturgical vestments here. Here you can also talk to a priest, ask for a confession at an inopportune time, or consecrate some objects.
Nearby is a kind of warehouse for church utensils - a baptismal font, which is brought to the altar only during baptisms, a cross, which is worn during solemn processions, a carpet runner, which is used only in special cases(for example, during weddings), portable genoflektoria for spouses and the icon of the Virgin Mary of Fatima, which is also especially revered by Russian Catholics, which is worn in a solemn procession around the temple every 13th day of the month in remembrance of the apparitions of the Virgin in the Portuguese town of Fatima, which directly concerned Russia.
There is also a tank with consecrated water, which you can drink or take home. 
The right side-altar is sometimes used to reconstruct Gospel events. On Easter there is the Holy Sepulcher, and on Christmas time - a nativity scene.
At Christmas, I think the temple looks the most beautiful. 
There are trees and garlands everywhere. 
Both the altar and the pulpit look festive. 
After the morning mass on the first day of the New Year, it is quiet and calm. 
And the sun beating through the stained-glass windows. 
To leave the hall, you need to perform the same steps as when entering, but in reverse order.
Now you can walk to the basement or to the crypt. To do this, you need to dive into the door to the left of the main entrance to the temple. There will be a staircase to the basement. 
On the first landing there will be such a wall of memory, which lists the names of Catholics who suffered for their religious beliefs during the years of persecution. 
The history of the Catholic Church in Russia was not easy, at times there were very tragic pages, but this is a topic for a separate post. From the old women I heard enough stories chilling the soul. 
The staircase ends with a hallway with a counter selling concert tickets. Some do not pay attention to the fact that there is still something there. 
If you go deeper, you find yourself in a hall where there is a sofa, and there are also wall newspapers about the history of the Salesian order and its activities in Russia. And then there is table football, which is very often played by children or young people.
If you go up the stairs, you find yourself in a rather long corridor with many doors. The first door on the left is a library where you can read a book or rummage through a file of old newspapers. 
The first door on the right is the oratorio Youth Center where some guys from the parish spend a lot of time. There you can socialize, pray together, have tea and watch a soulful movie, for example. 
Nearby is a large statue of the Virgin Mary, almost human-sized. I really like her. 
After the oratorio there is a hall. blessed Laura Vicuña. Its exact purpose is unknown to me, but inside there is something like an altar and sometimes some kind of meetings are held there. For example, the Missionary Lottery prize draw. 
The second door on the left is St. Maria Dominica Mazzarello. This is a training class. There are catechesis, meetings, circles, meetings of prayer groups.
Next is the Hall of the Holy Angels, also a training room for various meetings, and on the right is the Hall of St. Joseph for large-scale meetings - for example, for the Living Rosary once a month or for signing up for catechesis, where a lot of people are traditionally dragged. This hall is the largest, so it is the best suited for such events. 
There is a crucifix on the wall and there are images of the Mysteries of the Rosary, one of the most popular Catholic prayers - all four parts, a total of 20 mysteries. 
You can't do without a bulletin board either.
Further there is a door, behind which the corridor continues. On the right, there will be a choir class, where choristers conduct rehearsals, and on the left, Caritas is a charitable institution. After the corridor widens and you can see several doors. If you go to the right, you will find yourself in the dressing room, where the door to the premises of the School of Catechists and the School of Bible Study, and the far door leads to the chapel, which is traditionally occupied by the Korean community. 
During last year's renovation, Mass was held there on weekdays. There are two altars in the chapel. 
This is where the Tabernacle is located and the Mass of Trent is celebrated on it twice a month. 
I don't understand this old rank at all. I only know that it is much longer than the new one, everything is in Latin and the priest serves with his back to the people.
I don't really like the chapel itself. The Asian flavor is painfully pronounced - even images with an Asian type of face are very distracting.
There is another altar near the chapel, where Mass is celebrated in the usual order. There is another door through which the priests enter and exit. It is completely transparent, so you can see everything that is happening in the corridor, which is not very cozy, because there is a camping confessional. There are no overlaps, so everything is perfectly visible. There is also a mini-sacristy and another exit from the temple. Such is a short walk through the cathedral, opening the veil of mystery. :)
