On Vacation Guide Book Moscow | Page 18

9 C O A . A T H E D R A L F T H E R C H A N G E L КРЕМЛЬ The Archangel Cathedral , built in 1505 – 1508 by the Italian architect Aleviz Novy , is the most original monument in the whole ensemble of the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin . With the construction of the Cathedral of the Archangel , the restructuring of the grand - ducal residence , conceived and carried out by Ivan III , the grand duke , sovereign of " All Russia " ( 1462 – 1505 ), ended . During his reign , the process of unification of the Russian lands , which finally liberated from the Mongol - Tatar yoke in 1480 , was completed , and the international prestige of the Muscovite state gained strength . A reflection of this was the grandiose construction in the Kremlin . In the ideological program that the customer himself invested in the transformation of the Moscow Kremlin , an important role was assigned to the Archangel Cathedral , the main princely temple , which had become the tomb of the Moscow grand - prince ' s house at that time . The temple is dedicated to the Archangel Michael , the heavenly patron of princes in their feats of arms . Grand princes came here for prayer before going to war , hoping to beg spiritual power for a feat . Here his younger brothers took the oath of allegiance to the Grand Duke . Later , the king went to the temple to worship the tombs of the ancestors at the head of a solemn procession after the wedding ceremony of the kingdom .