Museum complex

RELIQUARY (THE RELIQUARY-CROSS) “SAINT PRINCE MICHAIL OF CHERNIGOV, SAINT BOYAR FEDOR AND CORNELIUS THE CENTURION”; “SAINT NICOLAS”

Russia. Moscow
The last third of the XV century
From the invasion of the Mongols to the formation of a single Russian state. Mid XIII - early XVI centuries.
"AGIOS NIKOLAOS". On the front side: "IC XC". In the upper part above the images: "CHERUB OF HIS PRINCE MICHAIL OF CHERNIGOV and HIS BOYAR FEDOR AND CORNELIUS CENTURION"
Silver; carving, gilding, casting, niello
7,2 x 11,6 cm
From: collection of P. I. Shchukin in 1905
Showcase 3

The cross-reliquary was intended for relics associated with the persons depicted on it.
Prince Michail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov (1179-1246) was the son of the Grand Duke of Kiev and Chernigov Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermnyi. He participated in the battle against the Tatars on the river Kalka in 1223, in which his uncle Vladimir Svyatoslavich died, after that the Chernigov throne passed to him. Since 1238 - Grand Prince of Kiev. He accepted martyrdom together with the faithful boyar Fyodor in the khan's headquarters in 1246 for refusing to pay divine honors to the posthumous image of Genghis Khan. The circumstances of their death are described in detail in the “Tale of the killing of Prince Mikhail of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor in the Horde”. The relics of the saints were transferred to Chernigov, where they remained until 1572, when they were transported to Moscow after the request of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. At the place the relics were met before entering the city, a church was placed on the territory of the Ivanovo monastery. Since 1774, the relics are located in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, in a bronze shrine, which replaced the silver, stolen by the French in 1812.

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The shrine is in the form of a four-pointed cross with a seven-sided head, with a rounded side and a pointed lower end. On the front side there is a niello image of St. Nicholas in height with a hand raised for blessing, in his left hand - the Gospel and the inscription: "Oh Nicholas Agios." In the upper part, with a niello, the acheiropaeic image and the inscription: "IC XC". On the back side are niello images of boyar Fedor, Prince Miсhail of Chernigov, Cornelius the centurion and in the upper part - a cherub, with inscriptions above the images: “cherub o agios prince Michail of Chernigov o agios boyar Fedor o agios Cornelius the centurion”. At the upper part of the shrine made in the form of a head - a hole for the chain is made.
The cross-reliquary was intended for relics associated with the persons depicted on it.
Prince Michail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov (1179-1246) - the son of the Grand Duke of Kiev and Chernigov Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny. He participated in the battle against the Tatars on the river Kalka in 1223, in which his uncle Vladimir Svyatoslavich died, after that the Chernigov throne passed to him. Since 1238 he was the Grand Prince of Kiev. He accepted martyrdom together with the faithful boyar Fyodor in the khan's headquarters in 1246 for refusing to pay divine honors to the posthumous image of Genghis Khan. The circumstances of their death are described in detail in the “Tale of the killing of Prince Michail of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor in the Horde” and in the “History of the Mongols” of the Franciscan monk Giovanni del Plano Carpini, who headed the papal mission to the Horde in 1245. In the chapter on “worshiping the Tatars”, Carpini described the Mongol custom to worship the emperor's idol at midday and that they "force to worship the idol some noble persons who are subordinate to them." “It happened recently that Michail, who was one of the great princes of the Russians, ... they forced to pass between two fires earlier; after they told him to bow at noon to Genghis Khan. He replied that he would willingly worship Batu and even his slaves, but would not worship the image of a dead man, since it is not appropriate for Christians to do so. And, after repeatedly instructing him to worship and his unwillingness, the aforementioned prince conveyed to him ... that he would be killed if he did not worship it. "
Prince Michail of Chernigov and boyar Fyodor were recognized as saints and canonized by the Russian church as martyrs for the Christian faith. The relics of the saints were transferred to Chernigov, where they remained until 1572, when they were transported to Moscow after the request of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. At the place where the relics where met before entering the city, a church was placed on the territory of the Ivanovo monastery. Since 1774, the relics are located in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, in a bronze shrine, which replaced the silver, stolen by the French in 1812.
The life and service of Saints Michail and Fyodor of Chernigov were compiled in the middle of the XVI century by renowned church writer Monk Zinovy Otensky.
Michail of Chernigov became the ancestor of many glorious families in Russian history. The church canonized his daughter, St. Euphrosyne of Suzdal, and his grandson, the holy Blessed Oleg Bryansky.
Images on the shrine, made with the help of a thick dark niello, resemble painting. Despite their small size, they create the impression of monumentality, strength and special expressiveness. The creation of such monuments in the period when Byzantium was on the verge of annihilation was not accidental, it gave an example of firmness in faith, showed the degree of mastery of the Byzantine artistic tradition by Russian masters.

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