For five centuries, St. Basil's Cathedral has been one of the main symbols of Moscow and Russia as a whole. However, many legends still circulate around him.
MYTH # 1. Architects Barma and Postnik, who were blinded by Ivan the Terrible …
It is believed that the builders of the cathedral were the Russian architects Barma and Postnik, who were then deprived of sight by Ivan the Terrible. In fact, the name of the architect (or architects) is still unknown. In the chronicles and documents from the time of the construction of the temple, there is no mention of Barma and Postnik. Their names appear only in later sources of the 16th-17th centuries: "Lives of Metropolitan Jonah", "Piskarevsky Chronicler" and "Legend of the Great River Icon of the Wonderworker Nikola". There are several points of view regarding who is the architect of the cathedral. Soviet historian Nikolai Kalinin wrote that the cathedral was built by one person - Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma. The representative of the modern school, Alexander Melnik, developing the idea of the historian and art critic Nikolai Brunov, claims that the architect was of Western European origin. At the beginning of the 17th century, a legend appeared about the blinding of the architects of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed by Ivan the Terrible, so that they could not repeat their masterpiece. But this story has no documentary evidence.
MYTH # 2. The construction of the cathedral was completed in 1560 …
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Until the middle of the 20th century, it was customary to think that the temple was built in 1560: this number appeared in all official documents and scientific works. But during the restoration in 1957, a temple-created inscription was found under several layers of oil painting in the tent of the central church of the temple. 4 years later, when it was fully revealed, the exact date of the consecration of the cathedral was revealed - July 12, 1561 in a new style.
MYTH # 3. St. Basil's Cathedral is the official name of the cathedral …
Since the end of the 17th century, the name of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed has been assigned to the cathedral. Meanwhile, it is consecrated by the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is on the Moat, and is still called so in official sources. The cathedral was erected on the occasion of the victory in the Kazan campaign and was initially more of a memorial: it was not heated, services were not held in winter. In 1588, after the discovery of the relics of St. Basil the Blessed, a side-altar appeared, named after him. This church, the only one of the entire temple, was open to parishioners and pilgrims all year round, even at night. Thus, the name of St. Basil's Church became the popular name of the entire cathedral.
MYTH # 4. Funds for the construction of the temple were collected by Basil the Blessed …
According to one of the legends, the money for the construction of the temple was collected by Basil the Blessed. Allegedly, he brought coins to Red Square, threw them over his right shoulder, and no one touched them until the holy fool before his death transferred the entire amount to Ivan the Terrible. But this myth is not reflected in any of the editions of the life of the saint. Moreover, according to the text of the abbreviated life, the saint died on August 2, 1552: 2 months before the end of the Kazan campaign - the event to which the construction of the temple was timed. And the cathedral itself was founded only three years later, in 1555.
MYTH # 5. All churches of St. Basil's Cathedral are dedicated to the Kazan campaign …
Not all of the cathedral's churches have a connection with this event. Less than half, 4 out of 9 churches are dedicated to the Kazan campaign. The Church of the Holy Trinity, for example, was built on the site of the ancient Trinity Church, and therefore is named so. The chapel of Basil the Blessed, as mentioned above, is consecrated in the name of the holy fool, buried in this place. In honor of the corresponding holiday, the Church of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem was built. Varlaam Khutynsky, after whom the southwestern church is named, was the patron saint of the royal family. And the church of St. Nicholas Velikoretsky is dedicated to the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker.
MYTH # 6. Library of Ivan the Terrible in the basements of the Intercession Cathedral …
There is a legend that the library of Ivan the Terrible is located in the gloomy basements of the Pokrovsky Cathedral. But the fact is that there are no cellars here and there cannot be: the temple was erected on an artificial mound, the only thing that the architects allowed themselves was a shallow strip foundation. It barely reaches 2 meters with a building height of 61 meters. The basement function is visually performed by the space between the first tier of the abolished Church of Theodosius the Virgin and the 17th century cathedral sacristy. The restorers did not specifically touch it so that one could see the vaults of Theodosius the Virgin and the authentic wall of the adjacent St. Basil's Church.