The extended two-storey yellow building with gingerbread-style windows and chequerboard decoration on the upper tier – are the so-called Tsar Chambers. The name tells the whole story – nothing more than a royal palace, where members of the ruling monarchy could stay, when coming on pilgrimages.
The name chertog, or chamber – is a word that came into Russian from Asiatic languages, and is partly related to the word for 'loft'. The complex etymology is hard to explain in translation, especially since the words no longer have their original meanings in any case. Today, the name has the implication of a space with special use for religious devotions.
The Tsar Chambers were built at the latter end of the 17th century – at a time when there was a fierce struggle regarding who was to succeed Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov.
For over two hundred years, the Moscow Academy of Divinity – the principle academy in Russia where adepts train for the priesthood. In the right-hand side of the building we see clearly the Academy Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which wsawas built in 1870.
The interiors of the building are more ornate than the exterior – after all, the Chambers were originally intended for the most Royal of guests. The Chambers today also house the Museum of the Archaeological Church Office, which holds more than twenty thousand exhibits, including religious utensils, vestments, precious ikons, and ancient books.
It's true, of course, that the Romanov royal family's visits to Sergiev Posad were not always motivated by thoughts of religious pilgrimage. In fact, the calm space within the monastery's defensive walls often made it an ideal refuge from the possibility of revolt or revolution.
Thus in 1682, during the time of the Streltsy, or Sharpshooter's Uprising, the 16-year-old Prince Ivan – son of the Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by his first wife, Maria Ilinichna (whose maiden name had been Miloslavskaya) was one such refuge-seeker. Another at the same time was the ten-year old Peter – later known as Peter the Great – who as Tsar Alexei's son by his second wife, Natalya (who had been born as a glamorous member of the Naryshkin noble family).
At that time the Streltsy, or Sharpshooter's Regiment, was the only full-time military corps in Russia. In truth, there was no money to pay them, and the situation grew dire. Prompted by Count Miloslavsky, the Streltsy dealt harshly with anyone who supported the Naryshkins, or indeed anyone who crossed their path. Civil war was avoided with great difficulty, and resulted in the rule of an uneasy triumvirate. This consisted of the sickly Ivan (or Ioann) V, and the young Peter I... who were both nominated as monarchs, while actual power rested with their sister, the 25-year-old Sofia Alexeyevna – Tsar Alexei's daughter by Maria Miloslavskaya.
It was compromise unlikely to last long, and things went on like this for just 6 years. Once Peter I reached the age of legal majority, he no longer needed to rule through the Regency of his sister-in-law, and demanded his right to accede fully to the throne without co-rulers. His ambitious sister-in-law took a completely opposite view of the situation, and threatened to take action to stint Peter's plans.
Peter was forewarned of his sister's evil intentions, and fled, with his mother, to the Trinity St Sergius Monastery – or, as they said, 'to the Trinity'. It was here that Peter demanded that all of the streltsy men and officers swore an Oath of Allegiance to himself alone, as the sole ruler of Russia. Once Peter had gathered enough loyal men, he marched on Moscow, where he found his sister-in-law and had her locked up in the Novodevichy Convent. This was how, in 1698, the fortified walls of this holy sanctuary launched the glorious career of Peter the Great – the first ruler of Russia to style himself 'Emperor'.
Now we'll leave the Lavra, and go on to visit the other attractions here in Sergiev Posad. Our first stop will be a rather straightforward building – the Equestrian Court.
