Лебедев Алексей (протоиерей). Московский кафедральный Архангельский собор.

Лебедев Алексей (протоиерей). Московский кафедральный Архангельский собор.
Moscow. Printing House Of L. O. Snegirev. 1880. 388s, Viiis. Softcover, format 17.5 x 27.5 cm.

The condition is satisfactory: the book broke up into separate sheets and notebooks, traces of moisture, signature on the title.

 Alexey Nikolaevich Lebedev (?-1880) - sacellary of the Moscow Archangel Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in Russia, Dating back to 1247. The son of a Sexton, after completing the course of the Moscow Seminary in 1834, he was ordained a deacon in the Archangel Cathedral, and at the end of 1837-a priest of the same Cathedral; in 1842, he was entrusted with the correction of the position of sacellary. In 1873, A. N. Lebedev was elevated to the rank of Archpriest. For 37 years, he was the Keeper of the treasures of one of the largest cathedrals in Moscow and Russia.

The present description Of the Archangel Cathedral, which for a long time was the main Cathedral of Russia and served as the tomb of monarchs, is one of the most complete. It is based on a wide range of historical sources and the author's long-term experience with the subjects of material history. The description includes five sections: historical, icon, sacristy, library, and biographical. 

In the first section based on archival sources examined three periods of existence, the Archangel's Cathedral: the first 1247-1333., when the Cathedral was made of wood; the second with 1333 in 1505, when Ivan Kalita built the first stone building of the Cathedral by the vow of the Prince on the occasion of the deliverance of the country from hunger and Cathedral functions as a princely tomb; and the third, from 1505 to 1880, when the Cathedral was rebuilt by Venetian architect Aleviz New and turned into a Royal tomb. The architecture of the new Cathedral had a significant impact on the development of Russian architecture in the XVI century, being a source of Italian influences. 

Descriptions of icons are not limited only to the characteristics of images, but represent salaries and decorations; in addition to icons, it tells about wall paintings and the decoration of relics. The article describes items of Church utensils of historical significance that were stored in the sacristy of the Cathedral. It tells about the library of the Cathedral, which contained both ancient parchment and paper manuscripts, as well as old printed books. The fifth section contains brief biographies of great and appanage princes, as well as tsars buried in the Cathedral. The book was one of the first complete historical and archaeological descriptions of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and is a key work on its history.