Cathédrale du Christ Sauveur

Today I joined the guided tour organized by the French expat club in town to see the big church named "Cathedral of Christ the Saviour". Under the pouring rain, but well equipped, the guide led us through this church that was undergoing some repair work.
Some history: built to commemorate the victory over Napoleon's French troops in 1812, it was finished in 1883 after 44 years of construction. Just like the Michailska Church in Kiev, Stalin ordered to destroy it in 1931 and on the site he planned to build a huge monument-building to soviet supremacy. The foundation was laid, but the project came to a halt when war approached. A big hole remained and rain water formed a natural pool that then later was transformed into a real pool under the rule of Nikita Khruchshov.
In the early 1990s, the church reclaimed the grounds, started collecting money and the church was rebuilt in 4 years and on December 31st 1999. In 2000, the church was already used to declare the last Tsar and his family Saints. There is a big assembly hall at the base of this church, which serves for conciles of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is here that new Metropolites are elected and big issues debated.
The dimensions of the church are huge, so when you stand inside and look up, remember that the distance between the two open hands of Godfather is 16 meters!
Something else: looking towards the iconostasis, women traditionally pray on the left side and men on the right side.
We were allowed to go up onto the terrace from where you have a great overview of Moscow. The famous "house on the embankment" is right next door and we could see the monument of the sail ship very well: I learned that it is a monument to Peter the Great.....