Alexandra V. Trushnikova
(St.Petersburg State University, Russia)

Old Russian Cross-domed Churches with Corner Piers in the late 14th — early 15th Centuries. On the Origins of the Architectural Type in the Context of Byzantine and Balkan Architecture.

The article invites the reader to look afresh at the origins of Old Russian cross-dome churches with corner piers. Through the analysis of the architectural forms we are can assume that numerous Byzantine and Balkan churches of this particular type should not be considered as direct sources of those in Moscow princedom. The latter should to be interpreted in terms of fraternity of the architecture development in these countries. We define the nature of Old Russian churches as native Russian, conveying both the features of Moscow architectural tradition in its making and the Hesychastic ideas behind visual forms. We presume that this architectural type emerged in Russia in the late 14th — early 15th centuries.