Almost all children know this cathedral; even those who have never been to Moscow. The colorful domes are striped, in a checkerboard pattern, or in a honeycomb pattern, as if they were assembled from different kits. They are printed on magnets, on puzzle boxes, and on postcards titled «Greetings from Russia.» In English, it is Saint Basil’s Cathedral; in Russian, it is usually called the Cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed.
And it is called Pokrovsky. It is the full name of the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is located in the village of Rvu. And the holiday of October 14 is directly related to it.
Pokrov near Kazan
In the autumn of 1552, Ivan the Terrible's army was stationed near Kazan. On Pokrov, on October 1st according to the then calendar, they prepared for a decisive assault, and the next day they captured the city. Today, Pokrov is celebrated on October 14th.
By that time, the people of Rus had long known about this holiday. According to church tradition, in the Vakhernsky Church in Constantinople, the Virgin Mary spread her mantle of protection over the people praying. Therefore, when Kazan was taken, the main church was dedicated to Pokrov in memory of the victory.
In 1555, construction of the cathedral began on Red Square. The central church was consecrated in honor of Pokrov, and around it stood eight more churches, each with its own head and its own holiday. The multicolored heads were added much later, in the XVIII century, but if you ever tried to put this cathedral together from a puzzle, you know that there are almost no identical pieces in it.
How the cathedral changed its name
Now about Vasily. In Moscow at that time lived the humble Vasily, a man who was revered as a saint and called Blessed. He was buried here, and in 1588 another church was built over his grave next to the cathedral; it was a small, lower church.
And then what happened was that words keep happening all the time. People started calling the entire cathedral by that little annex. The Great Cathedral of St. Basil became Saint Basil’s Cathedral, and then Saint Basil’s on English postcards. The official name remained the same. It’s just that almost no one uses it anymore, except for tour guides, the museum, and those who know it.
The child usually likes that. It’s kind of like a house where all the neighbors call it the store on the first floor.
The monument to Minin and Pozharski stands in front of the cathedral now. By the way, it was moved here only in 1931; before that it stood in the middle of the square. On the postcard, they look as if they had always stood next to each other. In reality, they became neighbors almost four centuries after the cathedral began to be built.
Pokrov outside of Moscow
In the village of Pokrov they remembered it differently; there was, of course, no cathedral there. They finished cleaning the bread and took the last vegetables out of the store. They insulated the outbuildings, built log cabins, that is, filled the gaps between the logs with moss or straw. And near Pokrov, for the first time this autumn, they filled the stove with mud in the residential hut.
In the Tambov Governorate, on this occasion, they baked pancakes. It was called «frying the corners.» The Russian Ethnographic Museum, which describes the custom, does not explain where the name came from. If you want to bake pancakes by October 14, even without a stove, we have an article about how to make their own oven.
Two names for one cathedral
For the first task, any photo of the cathedral on Red Square is fine; even a magnet on the refrigerator will do. The other two tasks are done verbally. One task in one evening is more than enough.
Where did the two names come from?
The adult asks what the cathedral in the photo is called. The child answers as he/she heard it, in Russian or in English. Then they remember together where the cathedral has two names and which one is older.
Feast, cathedral or barn
The adult names one detail from the article, and the child decides what it refers to: the holiday itself, the cathedral in Moscow, or the village house. The details are as follows: the Virgin Mary’s veil in the church of Constantinople; the siege of Kazan; eight churches around the center; moss between the logs; the first oven; the pancakes that were used to «bake the corners.».
Leaves, snow, or nothing
The child looks out the window and says in Russian what the ground is covered with today: leaves, snow, or nothing. Then he recalls the proverb «The cover of the earth is made of leaves or snow,» and decides whether it applies to what he sees.
Leaves or snow
And finally, a saying that is remembered most often these days. «The veil covers the earth with leaves, sometimes with snow.» The same word is used in the name of the holiday: "To cover, to cover.".
Outside, in mid-October, anything can happen. Yellow leaves, the first snow, green grass in Texas. The saying about the weather on a particular day doesn’t promise anything; it’s about the fact that the ground begins to cover up with something during this time of year.
And the cathedral in the postcard still stands with two names on it. One in honor of the holiday, the other in honor of the person buried under one of its churches.
At the Russian for Bilinguals course at Palme School, children speak Russian about holidays, places, and what they see outside the window; they also learn to understand new words like «gornya» and «konopit» and explain where things get their names from.
You can start with two free lessons: an introductory session with a facilitator and a trial lesson in a group with a teacher.
Try Russian for bilingualsFrequently asked questions about Pokrov
When is Pokrov in 2026?
October 14th, Wednesday. There is no day off that day.
Why does Pokrov celebrate on October 14th?
Churches that follow the Julian calendar celebrate the Dormition on October 1 according to the old style, which is October 14 according to the current calendar. Since September 2023, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has switched to the New Julian calendar and celebrates the Dormition on October 1, while leaving communities the option to maintain the old style.
What do people remember about Pokrov?
According to church tradition, in the Vlachern Monastery in Constantinople, the Virgin Mary spread her mantle over the people praying, that is, a kind of cover. In memory of this, the Feast of the Protection of the Virgin Mary is celebrated.
Why is the Cathedral of St. Basil called Pokrovsky?
Its central church is dedicated to Pokrov. On Pokrov, October 1, 1552, according to the then calendar, Ivan the Terrible's army prepared for a decisive assault on Kazan, and the next day the city was taken. Construction on the cathedral began in 1555; its full name is the Cathedral of Pokrov of the Most Holy Mother of God, which is located in the Rva region.
How did the cathedral get its name, St. Basil the Great?
In 1588, a lower church was added to the cathedral over the grave of Vasily Blagoy, the Moscow monk venerated as a saint. Over time, the entire cathedral came to be called by that name.
What does «baking the corners» mean?
In the Tambov Governorate, the custom of baking pancakes was called "pishchitsy", when the stove was first lit in a residential hut near Pokrov in the autumn. The Russian Ethnographic Museum does not explain where the name itself came from.
What does the saying «The canopy covers the earth; either with leaves or with snow» mean?
She is talking about the end of the year: by All Saints« Day the land begins to be covered with fallen leaves or the first snow. She does not promise the exact weather on October 14th. The words »All Saints« Day» and «covers» have the same root, as in the words «to cover» and "roof".
