The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-16
ROOTED WITHPUREG GOLD
INCRBDIBLE MAGNIFICRNCE OF
THE MOSCOW CHURCHEs.

The Cars Gorgeous and Once Gold
plated Palace Four Hundred
Churches That Cost MILLIONS OF Dol
lsrs-s2, ooo, 900 Worth OF Marble in
One Building.
r. g. Carpenter IN NeU York Press
Moscow. Sept. 25.-Moscow Is still the
capital Of Russia. the center OF Russian
political and religious thought, and the
center OF commercial Russia as well. The
! greatest railroads OF the empire come to It,,
the biggest Of the Russian factories send
! their smoke into the blue sky above it, and
| its business blocks are among the largest In
| the world. It has tbs finest churches IN
! Russia, and the people consider IL 30 holy
that they make piigrimages even from the
! borders Of the Black sea and from the edges
OF Siberia to pray at its shrines. The
mightiest citadel In the world ia the
Kremlin, which stands In its center.
and the treasures Of its churches are
| unsurpassed by the cathedrals Of Rome or
the mosques Of Constantinople. We hear
bus little Of the Greek Catholic church, but
It has one Of the most lively religions 10 the
world to-day, and the holy synod OF Russia
has capital Of $25, 900, 900, and its income
i something like 81 100000 year.
visited this morning toe Church OF Our
Savior, which SURPRISES In beauty any
church of modern times 1t was ouiIt
to commemorate the deliverance OF MOS
COW from the French, and is has cost
about $40, 900 900, or three times as mocn
al told as we have spent on the capitol
at Washington, IL stands on the banks OF
the Moscow river Just outside the Kremliu,
and IT'S great gold dome may be seen blazing
out under the sun from a1y part OF MoscoF.
II covers almost two acres and 1t is built, 10
the shape of Greek cross, OF cleer, white
stone. It has golden cupoles ae tn corners
and Russia dome in Its center. and these
oupolas and this dome are covered with
copper and plated with polished gold. II
took 900 pounds of gold to plate this dome
and there Is moro than $1,000, coo worth
Of gold upon it. This dome is In the
ehape of an inverted Bermuda onion, and IL
you can imagine an onion of gold the top OF
which is just 100 feet in diameter, you may
get some idea Of this 81 .o0O. 900 golden onion
which crowns tho Church of our Savior.
The cupolas cost $500, 900 to gid, and there
are bells within this church which have cost
nearly $l,000,000. The biggest one here
cost $500 900, and IL weighs just thirteen
tons.
INCREDIBLE MAGNIFICENCE.
Its altar is as delicate In its combination
OF precious stones and marble carvings as q
lady's bresstpin, and before It was enriched
" Ab1 EOAAOh kSOAog nAANOA "a hoAlohsS 0hh
sacred pictures, cost nearly $500, 900. The
marble in the building cost almost 50, 000,-
600 and the floor and walls are Of wonder
full marbles OF maiachite and Of lapis lazuh
From the floor, running around the entire
church, there is first a dado OF jasper. Above
this runs panel OF white alabaster and mar
bles Of different colors succeed one another
until they lose themselves In great freize
of carvings and freeooes by the most noted
of the Russian painters. Everywhere there
10 gold and gold carving. Golden pictures
hang upon the walls. Twelve hundred
golden candelabra hold as many candles
under the cupolas, and all the vessels ussd
by the priest are Of solid gold. Upon the
walls are golden texts from the scriptures
shining ous of the white marble ADD the
church is lighted by shirty-six windows OF
steins I'd glass, each Of which Is 80 feet high.
This church will accommodate 10000
people, and when entered IL this Sunday
morning it was packed 10 bursting. Upon
Its steps were the usual number OF dirty
bsggnrs, and found that of the 10000
worshipers, at least 5000 were peasants.
The priests who conducted the service wore
clothes Of gold aud silver cloth, and tne
chief priest had on tiara set with die
monds. The priest droned out q sentence,
and these 10 700 heads bowed In unison.
He uttered another and the thousands krelt
upon the floor and pressed their heads
against the marble. As the service went on
1000 hands crossed 10 600 breasts az the
same time, and of the 10000 faces did not
see one that was NOS sober and reverend.
-FOUR HUNDRED GOLDEN DoMEs.
There are 400 churches In Moscow, and
nearly every one of them has q golden
dome. The holy buildings Of the Kreu,lin
| are crowned with gold, and there Is enough
| gold plsting in Russia to carpet Rroadway
or to gid the public buildings Of Washing
ton. The car has palace just outside OF
st. Petersburg known as Tsarskoe-Selo,
! which was built by Catherine the Great
| It IL of vast extent and plated with gold. Il
took nearly s., 900 900 worth of bullion TO do
the work, and when, owing TO the dampness
OF the climate, II was painted over, some
Russian speoulators wanted to scrape of she
old gold and melt IL over again, and they
offered 100000. They were sent to prison
for insulting Catherine with the proposition,
and she covered the palace with yellow
paint The palace has rooms walled with
ambeT. 1t has perlor covered with lapis
lazull and the walls and ceilings of one
drawing room are Of the finest tortoise
shell. There are 500 apartments ia the
! palace and the ball room covers nearly half
an acre. Its floor Is of wooden mosaic, and
there are other rooms in which the HnIsh-
| lug Is In ivory, bamboo and in bronze
| The palace must have cost millions, and 1t
is only one Of a dozen which belong to the
! czar.
| THE KREMLIN.
Moscow is twenty-five miles around and
the shortest street car line from one part to
the other takes you nine miles. In the very
csuter is the great fortress known as the
| Kremlin, which has vast wall sixty feet
high running around 1t end in which are the
old palace Of the czsr y half dozen churches,
the cathedral and the tall tower built by
Ivan the Terrible. The tower Is FIVE stories
high and It's & lden dome rests in the air
! 500 feet above the ground.
The Kremltn contains about 200 acres. 10
Is paved with oobblestones, and It's massive
wall is entered by five gates. Zach Of these
gates has history, and one ia known as
the Gate OF the Redeemer, or the Sacred
Gate. IL has q famous picture of the
Savior above it, and every one, from the
car 70 the peasant, taxes or his hat before
pSEsing through 1t. Every inch Of the land
about this tower 10 historic and sacred
In that church there all Of the
czars OF Russia have been crowned, and in
the treasury TO the left are the thrones OF all
the emperors of the pass and the historic
Jewels and the choicest plate now owned by
she Russian crown. There are 5000 000, 600
worth Of gold md silver and precious stones
IN that treasury. and there are basins OF
gold there which are as big as a baby's bath
tub, and two card tables of solid silver