How Valera wrasse returned the dove to St. Sophia. Saint Sophia Lily and grapes

On the cross of the central dome there is a lead figure of a dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit. According to legend, when Ivan the Terrible brutally dealt with the residents of Novgorod in 1570, a dove sat down to rest on the cross of Sophia. Seeing the terrible carnage from there, the dove was petrified with horror. Afterwards, the Mother of God revealed to one of the monks that this dove was sent to console the city - and until it flies off the cross, the city will be protected by it.

Fragment of the drum of the central dome with lost frescoes

On July 5, 1942, during the shelling by Soviet troops of the German commandant's office, which was located in the Kremlin (according to intelligence information, the high front-line command of the German troops was supposed to gather on that day), the image of the Savior Pantocrator (painting of 1109) in the central dome of the cathedral was destroyed and damaged. frescoes in the drum, in some places the vaults and the wall were pierced.

During the shelling, 80 shells were fired, 5 of which hit the cathedral. By order of the German command, according to a long-developed plan, many works of art were taken from Novgorod to Pskov, Riga and Germany, among which were also valuables from the St. Sophia Cathedral: iconostases, mosaic slabs, etc.

The main cross of the cathedral, hanging on chains, was removed by order of the city commandant. The gold lining of the damaged dome was used by soldiers for souvenirs that were sent home (snuff boxes, dishes, etc.). At that time, the engineering corps of the Spanish “Blue Division”, which fought on the side of Nazi Germany, was located in Novgorod. The cross, like a trophy, was taken to Spain by them. At the request of the governor of the Novgorod region to the Spanish Embassy in Russia in 2002, it was found that the cross was in the chapel of the museum of the Spanish Military Engineering Academy in Madrid. The rector of the St. Sophia Cathedral, Archbishop Leo of Novgorod and Staraya Rus, having received information about the location of the domed St. Sophia cross, during a meeting with Russian President V.V. Putin, inquired about the possibility of returning the cross to Novgorod. As a result of negotiations between the Russian President and the King of Spain, the Spanish side decided to transfer the cross of the St. Sophia Cathedral to Russia.

Preamble.

Report.

FROM THE MILITARY HISTORY OF SOPHIA'S CROSS

Mister Veliky Novgorod - one of the largest trading cities in Northern Europe, arose on the site of one of the ancient centers of Rus'. In ancient times, the city of Slovensk stood on the shores of Lake Ilmen. Then a new city was built nearby - Novgorod. In the 11th century, the son of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Yaroslavich, ruled here. Following the example of the priest, he decided to spread the “wisdom of God” and erected the Church of Hagia Sophia in the capital city in 1045-1050. This building, made of stone blocks and not plastered, with a lead roof in the shape of a combat helmet, made an indelible impression. Novgorodians immediately recognized the cathedral as their spiritual center. They said: “Where Sofia is, there is Novgorod.” Merchants went on trade expeditions with her name. And they went into battle with her name on their lips. St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod is considered the oldest Orthodox church in modern Russia. After the revolution, the cathedral was used as a museum complex, and in the early 90s it was returned to the Novgorod diocese. Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy personally consecrated the temple on August 16, 1991. The main dome of the oldest church in Russia, the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, has had an extraordinary completion since ancient times: a cross topped with a lead figure of a dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Tradition traces its appearance back to the time of Ivan the Terrible, when the Tsar of All Rus', suspecting a conspiracy against himself in the free city, carried out a bloody massacre of its inhabitants. A dove hovering over the Novgorod land, having seen the cruel picture of the death of thousands of innocent people, descended onto its main cross, casting a golden glow on the dome and freezing there forever. Since then, the Novgorodians associated Divine protection of the ancient city with his presence, saying: “As a dove flies from the cross, then Novgorod will come to an end.” The main cross of the St. Sophia Cathedral is an important historical relic with which ancient legends are associated. It is known about his repeated repairs during the renovation of the temple. The domed cross from the St. Sophia Cathedral was restored by craftsmen at the end of the 19th century. Its height exceeds two meters, its width is about one and a half meters. During the Great Patriotic War, it so happened that during one of the air raids or artillery shelling of the city on August 15, 1941, a cross with a dove was knocked down and hung on metal fastening cables. The commandant of the city of Novgorod, Captain Bayol, ordered its removal. Then the Spaniards, who lost up to 5 thousand killed here, were transferred to Leningrad, from where they were recalled home. Veliky Novgorod was liberated in January 1944, after which special commissions began to identify what was taken out by the occupiers. It was then that it was first noticed that on the broken dome of the St. Sophia Cathedral there was no ancient symbol of the city - a cross with a dove. He was never found; the tide was new after the war. Half a century after these events, the Association of Relatives of the Missing Blue Division fighters was created in Spain. Its center was located in Toledo, and the head of the organization was lawyer Fernando Pollonio, who wrote the book “Red Snow” about the fate of his fellow countrymen in military Novgorod. It was he who was the first Spaniard to discover the remains of his uncle here, which he transported to his homeland. Working closely with the searchers of the "Valley" expedition, Fernando and his brother Miguel learned many new historical facts - including the mysterious disappearance of the domed cross from the St. Sophia Cathedral. The fact of the movement of historical value is officially confirmed; the Association of Missing Soldiers of the Blue Division has photographic documents depicting Spanish soldiers in the destroyed Novgorod next to the relic. The exact location of the cross that disappeared from the country remained unknown to the Russians for several post-war decades. Representatives of the Spanish Association are missing. missing in Russia came up with a proposal to restore this historical justice. The head of the association, Fernando Pollonio, the nephew of the first Spanish soldier whose remains were taken from Russia after the war, is confident that the ancient Russian cross should have returned to Veliky Novgorod. The story associated with the search for the relic speaks of. that in November 2002, the governor of the Novgorod region M. M. Prusak turned to the Russian Embassy in Spain with a request to establish the exact location of the shrine. The embassy managed to find out that the cross is located in the chapel of the Museum of the Military Engineering Academy of Spain near Madrid near the city of Burgos. The rector of the St. Sophia Cathedral, Archbishop Lev of Novgorod and Staraya Rus, having received information about the location of the domed cross, during a meeting with Russian President V.V. Putin, inquired about the possibility of returning this historical relic to Novgorod. As a result of negotiations between the Russian President and the King of Spain, the Spanish side decided to transfer the cross of the St. Sophia Cathedral to Russia. The ceremony of handing over the cross took place on November 16, 2004 at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior at the opening of the First International Festival of Orthodox Media. The act of transferring the Novgorod shrine to Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' took place with the participation of the defense ministers of both sides. The return of the domed cross of the Cathedral of Sophia of the Wisdom of God testifies to the restoration of the continuity of the historical destiny of Veliky Novgorod, to the return of the Novgorodians under the saving canopy of the Cross of the Lord, under the cover of His mercy and intercession. The cross of the main dome of Hagia Sophia was handed over to the Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod and Leo of Old Russia and on November 17, 2004 delivered to Veliky Novgorod on the eve of the feast of St. Varlaam of Khutyn, November 19. Therefore, the Sofia shrine originally resided in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Khutyn Monastery. The cross was solemnly transferred to the St. Sophia Cathedral on December 10 - for the celebration of the great Orthodox shrine, the icon of Our Lady of the Sign. Before the start of the festive liturgy, which was performed by Bishop Leo, the gilded cross of Sophia with a dove crowning it was installed on the solea near the main iconostasis, to the right of the icon “Our Lady of the Sign”. By order of the Novgorod administration, an exact copy of the cross found in Spain was made. It was transferred to the Spanish side to replace the original one. The cross, now located on the central dome, was made in 2006 and installed on January 24, 2007. The copper cross was made by the famous Novgorod master Viktor Kornilov. The forged cross is an almost exact copy of the one that was installed on the St. Sophia Cathedral after the Great Patriotic War. Experts declared the previous cross removed from the dome to be beyond restoration. The only significant difference in the new cross was the crossbar in the middle, traditional for Orthodoxy. This crossbar was not on the post-war cross. And in modern conditions, for the residents of Novgorod, the St. Sophia Cathedral is, first of all, the main temple of the city, which played a vital role in its history. Novgorodians greatly reverence this Orthodox shrine and treat it with great love. Thus, three St. Sophia crosses are now known: - the original cross stands in the St. Sophia Cathedral near the icon of Our Lady of the Sign; - on the dome of St. Sophia Cathedral, which was made in 2006; - in Spain in the chapel of the Museum of the Military Engineering Academy of Spain near Madrid near the city of Burgos.

Like any other ancient city, Veliky Novgorod is surrounded by many secrets and mysteries. This is interesting: they help to look at well-known facts in a new way. But, unfortunately, few people know about these stories and legends. The most interesting of them are in our material.

Legend about the founding of the city

The name of the city - Novgorod (i.e., a new city) makes us think about the existence of some kind of predecessor - the old city. It is still not known for certain under what circumstances Novgorod was founded and why it had such a name.

One of the most plausible versions says that the predecessor of Novgorod is the Rurik settlement, located on the right bank of the Volkhov River, two kilometers from the modern city. Archaeological research carried out near the site indicates the impossibility of developing the city in its original location. Therefore, most likely, a decision was made to build a new fortress on the high left bank of the Volkhov River. This fortress was called the New City. Later, this name spread to nearby villages, or “ends” - Lyudin, Nerevsky, Zagorodsky, Slavensky, Plotnitsky. The new city with its five “ends” was surrounded by a high rampart.

The Legend of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”

In the St. Sophia Cathedral there is one of the most revered miraculous icons and symbols of Veliky Novgorod - “The Sign of the Blessed Virgin Mary”.

Its history begins in 1169, when, having decided to conquer Novgorod, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky marched on the city with a huge army. There was only a small squad in Novgorod, so the forces were unequal, and it seemed that the fate of the besieged city was predetermined. Novgorodians could only pray and hope for a miracle. One night, Archbishop John, who had not left the St. Sophia Cathedral for three days and was praying there with the residents for the salvation of the city, heard a voice that told him to go to the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, take from there the icon of the Mother of God and install it on the city wall opposite the villains.

When the battle began, many enemy arrows rained down on the city and its inhabitants. Some arrows also hit the icon of the Mother of God. Everyone who was next to her saw a great miracle: the icon turned to face the city, and tears began to flow from it. At this moment, there was confusion among those besieging the city nearby. Having ceased to distinguish their own from strangers, the Suzdal residents began to attack each other and, in panic, try to leave the Novgorod lands. Seeing what was happening, the Novgorodians were not at a loss and attacked the enemy.

During the Week of the Cross, we figure out what a cross on a church should look like. Photographer Inver Sheydaev devoted his entire life to collecting a collection of photographs of domed crosses of various shapes. We publish the most interesting pictures.

The village of Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye. St. Nicholas-Arkhangelsk Church (XVIII century)

We express special gratitude to the authors of the book “Russian Cross. Symbolism of the Orthodox overhead cross" to Marina Anashkevich and Invrera Sheidaev for the opportunity to truly appreciate the heavenly beauty, which we rarely look closely at in ordinary life.

The main part of this collection was collected during the Khrushchev “thaw”, and then the Brezhnev “stagnation”. The first exhibition took place in 1968, but was immediately closed. Only in the 90s the collection received recognition and was shown not only in Russia, but also in Paris. For thirty years, photographer Inver Sheydayev traveled through the cities and villages of the then Soviet Union and photographed the crosses crowning the heads of Russian churches, the crosses at the head. What did he have to endure on these travels? Once, by some miracle, he even persuaded the men of one distant village to dismantle the scaffolding surrounding the dome of the temple in order to photograph the cross.

It all started in the office of the famous Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky (1892-1984), where the young photographer showed his work to the famous restoration architect. Then Inver was fascinated by the decorative elements of temples.

One day Pyotr Dmitrievich said: “This is full of everything. You better look up. Take off the crosses. No one has ever photographed this beauty before. Collect crosses, sooner or later you will need it, you’ll see.” These words turned out to be prophetic. Later, Inver was approached more than once with “orders” for crosses. He took photographs for the restored churches on Solovki, for the churches of Tobolsk and other cities.

The collection turned out to be invaluable at a time when people began to “collect stones.” Many crosses were restored using photographs from this collection.

Unfortunately, many more destroyed churches, the crosses of which Inver photographed, still stand, overgrown with forests, decapitated. Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky, who has seen many churches in ruins in his lifetime, said: “Why is the cross destroyed in the first place? Because he, like a mother’s breast, nourishes.”

LILY AND GRAPES

Krin is a stylized image of a lily flower, a symbol of purity. Such krinas were usually made at the ends of the “branches” of the cross, because the three leaves of the lily (krin) testify to the One Holy Trinity in three Persons.

Moscow. Novodevichy Convent. Cathedral of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. (1525)

A vine entwined with a cross with bunches of berries is a symbol of the Living Christ. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). Vologda blacksmiths were especially successful in forging grape ornaments on the head crosses. Cross of the Church of Demetrius of Prilutsky of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery in Vologda. And one can be amazed at how subtly the masters conveyed the symbolic connection between the vine and Holy Communion. This headpiece has a crescent moon at the bottom, symbolically representing the Chalice.

Vologda. Church of Demetrius of Prilutsky Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.

Vologda. St. Sophia Cathedral (1568-1570)

PIGEON

The dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit since time immemorial. “... and John saw the Spirit of God, which descended like a dove...” (Matthew 3: 16) This bird itself, frozen in flight, has the appearance of a cross.

Cross of the Church of the Myrrh-Bearing Wives Martha and Mary in Novgorod (1510).

If you look closely, you can see in the openwork heart of this cross a dove with outstretched wings. But such an image is the only one, mostly doves were cast and crowned with a cross. In ancient times, doves on the cross sometimes also showed which direction the wind was blowing; they were called windbirds.

Velikiy Novgorod. Saint Sophia Cathedral. (1049-1050)

This cross and the dove on it have their own legendary history. There is a prophecy that Veliky Novgorod will exist as long as the dove is on top of the cross of Hagia Sophia. In 1942, during the Great Patriotic War, the cross from Hagia Sophia was thrown off by a blast wave. He was taken outside Russia by soldiers of the Blue Division, a Spanish unit of the German army. Instead of the lost shrine, a “double” cross was subsequently installed on the main dome of Sofia; the original was kept in Spain, in the temple gallery of the Military Engineering Academy near Madrid, where it was installed in a prominent place. For more than 60 years, more than one generation of Spanish Christians prayed in front of this Russian shrine. Next to the cross was a memorial plaque with the names of sappers who died in Russia. In 2004, the cross returned to its homeland - Spain voluntarily handed it over to Russia. It was brought to Moscow by the Spanish Minister of Defense, and the cross was solemnly greeted in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Now it is kept in one of the chapels of the St. Sophia Cathedral.

LIFE SOURCE

Thriving shoots
If shoots grow from under the base of the cross, then it is called “flourishing”. The shoots symbolize rebirth, the Resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Ascended into the heavens, the overhead “flourished” crosses showed for the Russian people a visible image of the Garden of Eden and the tree of life growing in it. Some of these crosses are completely strewn with flowers, so it is impossible to look away. They truly resemble plants in a spring garden; the plant elements were chosen with such artistic flair.

Moscow. Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary in Fili (1690-1693).

Drops of blood
Copper bulges - “dewdrops” and beads on the chains mean drops of blood shed by the Savior on the cross. In Rus' they were also called “tears”.

St. Petersburg. Church of the Resurrection of Christ "Savior on Blood") (1883-1907), built on the site of the assassination of Emperor Alexander II in 1881.

VOLUNTARY SACRIFICE

Cane and spear

Kirillov. Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Church of John Climacus (1572).

A cane with a sponge and a spear - instruments of the Passion of the Lord - are a frequent occurrence on domes. The main cross with the instruments of the Passion seems to replace the Crucifixion, which cannot be on the dome (it is located inside the temple). But the realism of the Savior’s terrible agony on the cross should not overshadow the main thing - the triumph of the Crucified Redeemer, who defeated death. The lily flowers that complete the cross “branches” speak of this in the best possible way.

Pskov region, village of Videlebye. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (XVI century) The spear and sponge are stylized as two flowers that bloomed on the cross.

Now above the head of the already restored church, its cross rises again

HEAVEN KING

Crown
The crown on top of the main cross symbolizes the Cross of the Heavenly King and indicates to us that the church was erected by order of the king of the earth, or with donations from the royal treasury. The crown can be either quite real or very conditional.

Ryazan. Spassky Monastery. Church of the Epiphany (1647)

Moscow. Church of the Deposition of the Robe in Leonovo (1719-1722)

Sovereign Scepter
The cross can also symbolize the second sign of Christ's royal power - the scepter. Giving the cross the appearance of a scepter is possible with the help of one well-known symbolism. The top of the scepters of the Russian tsars was the figure of a crowned double-headed eagle - the sovereign sign of Byzantium. However, domes with a double-headed eagle were installed on churches only in the era of Peter I, a tsar known for his imperial ambitions.

Moscow. Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary in Fili (1693).

In unity and equality
A four-pointed cross (usually with a crescent at the bottom) has been placed on the domes of churches since ancient times. This type of cross symbolizes the Church of Christ in the unity and equality of its visible and invisible sides. Over time, there were detractors of the four-pointed cross, they said that this was the wrong cross, because it was not the one on which Christ was crucified. But Saint Demetrius of Rostov put an end to this dispute. He suggested that when Christ carried the cross on His shoulders, the cross was not yet four-pointed, because there was no title or foot on it yet, and only on Golgotha ​​the soldiers, not knowing where Christ’s feet would reach, attached a foot.

Vladimir. Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady (1158-1160)

Tula region, Arsenyevsky district, village of Monaenki. Church of St. George the Victorious (XIX)


And this is what the temple looks like now. The cross was preserved only in a photograph by Inver Sheydaev

Russian foothills
One of the oldest Russian crosses is six-pointed with an oblique lower crossbar. The oblique foot symbolically represents the crossbar of the “scales” of the Last Judgment. Some researchers of Christian symbols and, in particular, N.V. Pokrovsky suggest that the oblique crossbar is nothing more than a modified form of the ancient Byzantine foot of the cross. One way or another, this form became established in Russian icon painting. The oblique crossbar was given the meaning of “the measure of the righteous.” And people began to call the foot “stood”.

Vologda. Bishop's House. Church of the Nativity (1670)

The Same Cross
The seven-pointed, T-shaped cross, apparently, was the oldest form of the Christian cross, since this is exactly what the cross, the instrument of execution of the Savior, looked like.

This cross has the appearance of an altar, due to the top crossbar, which looks like a throne. The Old Testament priests made sacrifices on a golden stool attached to the throne, therefore, if the upper crossbar symbolically represents the altar, then the lower crossbar of such a cross signifies this stool of the cross and points to the sacrificial priestly service of the Savior.

Moscow. Kremlin. Church of the Twelve Apostles (1652-1656)

HEAVENLY POWERS

Sun and stars
Straight or wavy lines emanating from the center of the cross convey the radiance of the sun. Straight rays indicate direct light, and wavy rays indicate combustion and heat. The motif emanating from the cross of the “light of life” is conveyed by each artist in his own way.

Pskov region, Loknyansky district, village of Dunyani. Church of the Archangel Michael (XVI-XVIII centuries) Such a cross is very rare.




The temple itself is now ruins. The cross is lost.

Often the ends of the rays were also decorated with stars.

Nizhny Novgorod. Church of the Nativity (1719)

Tobolsk Church of the Seven Youths of Ephesus. (XVIII century)

Lightning
“Like lightning seeing the power of the cross,” evil forces flee from the cross. That’s why lightning can be found on temple crosses.

Moscow region, Odintsovo district, Yudino village. Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord (1720)

Angels and Cherubs
By attaching a copper angel to the cross, the author emphasized that the temple also has a guardian angel. The most famous and traditional are angels carrying a cross, like a banner, as on the spire of the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Ryazan. Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (XVII)

Often in the main crosses there are images of Cherubim.

Moscow region, village of Komyagino. Church of Sergius of Rajonezh


Now the church has been completely restored.

EARTHLY HAVEN

Ship and anchor
Our most ancient churches, on the heads of which there is a cross with a crescent, are the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral and the Demetrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir. The crescent is a church ship, led by the helmsman Christ.

Moscow. Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Gonchary.

In the 19th century, the theme of a sailing ship was no longer limited to just the crescent symbol.

Thus, in the cross of the eight-pointed cross of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on the Obvodny Canal in St. Petersburg, the steering wheel of a sea vessel is depicted, and instead of a semi-lunar one we see an oblique foot.

If the ship is anchored, then in terms of its safety it is as if already on the ground. And although the waves rock it, they cannot drown it. In many cases, it is almost impossible to distinguish a domed cross on a “lunar base” from a “anchor” cross. The only detail that unmistakably points to an “anchor” is all kinds of decorations and thickenings at the ends of the arc.

Moscow region, Lukhovitsky district, Didinovo village. Church of the Life-Giving Trinity

Between heaven and earth
The place where the horizontal and the vertical intersect on the cross, the place of the middle cross, symbolizes the intersection of the human and the divine. The cross is a mediator between earth and heaven. Therefore, this place on the cross was often decorated with a “figure eight”, shaped like a keyhole. It is formed by the addition of two symbols - a halo (the radiance of holiness) and a tsata (a precious pendant denoting royal “purity”).

Moscow. Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi (1687-1713)

The article uses materials from the book “Russian Cross. Symbolism of the Orthodox overhead cross." Moscow, “AST”, 2006.

On November 16, the first Orthodox Media Festival opened in Moscow. During its opening, a significant event took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono handed over to Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II an Orthodox relic - a domed cross from the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.

A miraculously acquired shrine is returning to its homeland - a cross with a dove that crowned the dome of the famous Novgorod temple. For more than six decades, the rarity was in Spain. St. Sophia Cathedral - one of the oldest in Rus' - was founded in 1045 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, his son Vladimir and Bishop Luke. The townspeople have a special relationship with this magnificent temple. “Where Saint Sophia is,” they said, “there is Novgorod.” Five centuries ago, the central dome of the cathedral was dressed in gold, and a cross 214 centimeters high with a dove representing the Holy Spirit was installed on it. Since then, there has been a belief that the copper bird protects the peace of the inhabitants...

In August 1941, Novgorod found itself under fascist occupation. Together with the Germans, their allies settled here - the Spaniards from the 250th Volunteer Infantry Division. They wore tunics of an almost heavenly shade. For this reason, the unit, numbering 17 thousand people, became known as the “Blue Division”. It was she who was stationed right on the territory of the Novgorod Kremlin.

Having captured the city, the invaders began to compete in vandalism. The Nazis sent temple utensils to Germany by train, and made cigarette cases and ashtrays from the gilded lining of the domes. The “Frankists” set up a forge from the Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, a morgue from the archbishop’s chambers, used some of the iconostasis for firewood, and generally burned the Znamensky Cathedral “through negligence.”

Then the Spaniards, who lost up to 5 thousand killed here, were transferred to Leningrad, from where they were recalled home. As for Veliky Novgorod, it was liberated in January 1944, after which special commissions began to reveal what the occupiers had stolen. It was then that it was first noticed that on the broken dome of the St. Sophia Cathedral there was no ancient symbol of the city - a cross with a dove. He was never found; the tide was new after the war.

Half a century after these events, the Association of Relatives of the Missing Blue Division fighters was created in Spain. Its center was located in Toledo, and the head of the organization was lawyer Fernando Pollonio, who wrote the book “Red Snow” about the fate of his fellow countrymen in military Novgorod. It was he who was the first Spaniard to discover the remains of his uncle here, which he transported to his homeland. Working closely with the searchers of the "Valley" expedition, Fernando and his brother Miguel learned many new historical facts - including the mysterious disappearance of the domed cross from the St. Sophia Cathedral.

And in 2002, at a meeting with the mayor of Veliky Novgorod Nikolai Grazhdankin, Pollonio said that he had discovered this rarity in Spain. According to the president of the association of relatives of missing Blue Division fighters, this is how it happened. In 1942, one of the stray shells hit the dome of the St. Sophia Cathedral, and the cross remained hanging only on some metal rods. Therefore, soldiers of the 2nd and 50th Engineer Battalions of the 102nd Infantry Corps of the Blue Division removed it and sent it to Spain. Don Pollonio categorically rejected the idea that the cross was just a trophy - he emphasized that the Spaniards simply wanted to save a Christian rarity from desecration.

After the sensational statement, it was not reported for quite some time where exactly the cross was located. At first the Spaniards said that he ended up on the territory of a certain army unit, then that he was in the museum of one of the military academies somewhere near Madrid. Finally, in November 2002, the governor of the Novgorod region, Mikhail Prusak, turned to the Russian Embassy in Spain with a request to establish where exactly the shrine was located. As it turned out, we are talking about the museum of the military engineering academy in the town of Hoyo de Manzanares near the city of Burgos: the Novgorod cross was installed here next to the Catholic chapel.

Naturally, the Russian side asked for the return of the rarity taken out of the country during wartime. The Spaniards didn't mind. Former officer of the Blue Division, later commander of the police corps, General José Luis Aramburu Topete, however, emphasized: “We have no objection to returning the cross, but we would not like to be insulted in this regard, accusing us of military looting.”

By mutual decision of the parties, the relic is now returning to Russia, and the Spaniards will have its exact copy. The cross itself will be delivered to Veliky Novgorod, and its further fate depends on the expert opinion. If they decide that the rarity is well preserved, it will again appear on the dome of the St. Sophia Cathedral.

Velikiy Novgorod.