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PATRIARCHAL CHAMBERS AND CHURCH OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES
1653-6
Place of honour by the north-west corner of the Assumption Cathedral was presented by Ivan the Moneybag to Metropolitan Peter who transferred his residence from Vladimir to Moscow. When the Russian Church became independent of Byzantium, Patriarch Job, who was elected by the Russian Church Council (1589-1605), erected the first stone patriarchal palace in his court. Large scale building in the patriarch's court was carried out by Philaret (1619-33) and later Patriarch Joseph (1642-52). But they were all excelled by the ambitious and overbearing Patriarch Nikon (1652-67), who consistently preached the idea of the supremacy of the Church over the State. Possessing vast riches and enjoying exceptional influence over Tsar Alexis, he considerably extended the territory of the Patriarch's court and began to rebuild it, after having many of his predecessors' buildings demolished.
Patriarchal Chambers
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The complex of the Patriarchal Chambers, apartments for private residence and ceremonial use, together with the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was built in the 1650s. The smooth surface of the Chambers' walls sets off the band of blind arcading which echoes the ornament of the Assumption Cathedral. Like the Terem Palace erected twenty years earlier, the three-storey Patriarchal Chambers have a large number of staircases, passages and rooms. The entrance to the Chambers is through the traditional lobby. The ground floor contains offices, the ecclesiastical departments, the first floor-the ceremonial apartments, and the second floor-the Patriarch's private premises and chapel.
The Chambers facades were not particularly lavish or picturesque, but the same cannot be said of the interiors. It is hard to imagine today what the Patriarchal Chambers looked like in Nikon's time. Contemporary accounts say they were furnished with remarkable opulence. One of these contains a description of Nikon's "house-warming". It was written by Paul of Aleppo who accompanied Patriarch Macarius of Antioch to these celebrations. The banquet was held in the largest room, the Cross Chamber (cross-vaulted). "The chamber astounds one by its unusual size, length and width; the vast vault without any support in the middle is particularly remarkable. Around the edge of the chamber are steps, making the floor in it appear like a pool which lacks only water. It is faced with exquisite coloured tiles. Its huge windows look out onto the Cathedral. They have panes of wonderful mica adorned with different flowers which look like real ones... In short, this edifice asfounds the mind, so there may be nothing like it in the Tsar's palace."
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