But the history of the stone Cathedral of Transfiguration, we can safely count on another son of the founder of Moscow dynasty.
According chronicle the news in 1330, Prince Ivan Kalita "laid the church stone in Moscow, near her yard ...". Stone construction in the once outskirts of the city was once again demonstrate the richness and power of the Prince of Moscow. After the construction of the cathedral Ivan Danilovich is "created that monastery, and special troops in he monk, and love him more than the INEGI monasteries, and often come at it pray for.
Monks he transferred because of the Moscow River, from the Danilov Monastery, founded by his father. Kremlin Spassky Monastery became the favorite child of Prince, he was "much alms dayashe Mnich that existent, yasti same, and pitii and clothes, and quit-rents and every requirement neskudno podavashe them, and harrow Velika tvoryashe they do not obidimym being nikim same." Samuel Church, he "will adorn the icons, and books, and vessels and all kinds of patterns the".
The monastery was granted the status of the palace. It Ivan Kalita took schema before his death, in 1340, but repose was in the Archangel Cathedral. Later, following the example of his father, a nun in the Spassky Monastery received and Simeon the Proud.
Spassky Cathedral of the monastery is considered one of the most respected, because in it to the base of the Kremlin Ascension Monastery buried grand duchess. The first burial took place in 1332, when she died the wife of Ivan Kalita, Elena. In 1345 it was buried the first wife of Simeon the Proud Anastasia, shortly before instigated by painting the cathedral: "a master sergeant and nachyalnitsy byst Russia was born, Grechistii student: Goitan, and Simon, Ivan, and others of their student and the squad." In the Spassky Cathedral found its resting place of the mother of Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Duchess Alexandra in 1364, the son of Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan in 1393 and Grand Duchess Maria, the third wife of Simeon the Proud (not to Ivan the Terrible, the grand dukes been controversial church marital affairs) Maria in 1399.
Disastrous for the Savior Cathedral was the defeat perpetrated Khan Tokhtamysh, who took to Moscow in 1382. Died abbot and many monks. Dmitry Donskoy resumed Spassky church, and gave annual donations to the monastery with a considerable sum for those times - 15 rubles. Many princes bestowed monastery villages, land and other lands.
Spassky Cathedral of the Transfiguration was the first chapel be Moscow's rulers, as the wooden Annunciation appeared only in 1397. We Savior on Bor baptized children, married, served fro the family of Grand Duke, Archimandrite of the Spassky monastery had been confessor to the Grand Dukes and their families. Thus, one of the abbots - Michael (Mityai), pretender to the metropolitan department, was the confessor of Dmitry Donskoy. In 1395 at the cathedral appeared shrine - the tomb of St. Stephen of Perm, educator zyryan, canonized in 1549. He came here to Metropolitan Cyprian, suddenly fell ill and died. He was buried in the Savior on Bor, despite the fact that Zyrians asked to give them the body of their beloved bishop.
But it is time Ivan III and ambitious restructuring of the Kremlin, where the space for the Spassky monastery remained. Especially already appeared Chudov and Ascension Monastery. Spassky Cathedral of the Transfiguration was restrained vast palaces, and the monastery was moved to the Kremlin and was called Novospasskij.
Savior on Bor left the palace church for the laity. Homes for the Grand Duke had already been Annunciation Cathedral, and the parishioners of Our Savior on Bor were numerous palace servants. For them, especially served early liturgy, so that they do everything in time to assume his duties. But the feast day service here is always going the patriarch himself. In the temple were sacred: the miraculous icon of "Praise to the Virgin", a salary from an image Vernicle that Thomas Palaeologus blessed his daughter, and the lectern lay an icon Merciful Savior, brought to Moscow, according to legend, the most Sophia Palaeologus.
Church life in the temple did not subside, he still had the high status of the Kremlin palace church, the appropriate status had his priors. Thus, in the middle of the XVI century the rector was a priest Ermolai (in monasticism Erazm), transferred to Moscow from Pskov, who wrote the famous "Tale of Peter and Fevronia. At the invitation of Metropolitan Macarius, he participated in the creation of the Great Chetih Saints, and even spoke to Ivan the Terrible with the proposals for reforms: for example, he called for not paying the money salary of the serving, but only to secure their estates, to liberate the peasants from cash taxes and heavy Yamskaya service. And later in archpriests Savior on Bor predicted future schism Habakkuk Petrova.
In the XVIII century Spassky Cathedral, as, indeed, the entire Kremlin began to decay, lishas watchful eye of the king. Many times the council examined the architects and consistently denounced on all new decrepitude that had to be corrected. Here in 1730 it was reported that through the vaults was a leak, tile in many places collapsed and overgrown with forest, birch, aspen and mountain ash. As a result, the end of XVIII century the cathedral was virtually rebuilt from scratch. Perhaps rebuilt Matvey Kazakov. Until now, remains a mystery, whether used in the restructuring of the old part of the ancient buildings of Ivan Kalita.
In 1812, the temple located stores of hay and oats for their personal horses of Napoleon, but after the war miraculously spared the cathedral was assigned to the palace temple Vernicle at Terem Palace (Savior of the Gold bars). And after the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace Savior on Bor was inscribed in his courtyard. This fact contributed to the new restoration in 1850-1860-ies, for which he was invited venerable architect and restorer FF Richter. Particular attention in the refurbishing of the temple was brought to the burial place of Stephen of Perm.
Savior on Bor remained active church until the Revolution. In 1907, there married the daughter of a senator, poet Maria S. Lopuchin and Prince Vladimir Petrovich Trubetskoy, a relative of the philosopher Sergei Trubetskoy and sculptor Pavlo Trubetskoy. His father belonged to the famous names "bottleneck" near Moscow, where he died on the philosopher Vladimir Solovyov. But Mary Trubetskaya-Lopuchin became the most popular in pre-revolutionary Russia translator of Edgar Allan Poe.
Revolution in Moscow began with the closure of the Kremlin cathedrals and monasteries, but the Savior on Bor kept relatively long time. By the time Christ in Bohr considered the oldest church in Moscow (as its predecessor, the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, was demolished long before the revolution), but the hastily conducted in 1932, studies have revealed the restructuring of the XVIII century. It turns out that attempts to save the cathedral then actually condemned him to death in the 30-ies of XX century? Although ...
There latest is interesting, but few authentic legend that Stalin once went to the Kremlin in the car and pointed to the Spassky Church: "Clear!" The next day, the temple has disappeared. And Stalin, once again riding in the car, he asked: "And where is that beautiful church?" - "You ordered it demolished! - Answered. "Fools! - Said the leader. - I meant a heap of debris that lay before her. "
Much more likely that the fate of the Savior on Bor was sealed its location in the courtyard of the Grand Kremlin Palace. When the palace began to rebuild, to its north facade new wing was added with service facilities. To make room for the construction of the hull Cathedral of the Savior on Bor and was destroyed by May 1, 1933.
Text quoted from the book: Romaniuk SK Moscow. Loss. M.: Izd VET "Center", 1992. 336 pp., Il. and article by Elena Lebedeva
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