Kerk van de Twaalf Apostelen.
Church of the Twelve Apostles.

The Church of the Twelve Apostles and the Patriarch's residence

This picturesque ensemble was formed form the 15th to the 17th century, and borders on Sobornaya Square from the north. With two thoroughfares at ground level the Church was a kind of official entrance to the Residence and inner court. It was a private church belonging to the Moscow Metropolitans and from 1589 the All-Russia Patriarchs. It has a five-domed structure with four pillars inside; on the arched porch there are brightly glazed ceramic tiles. The three-storey edifice of the Residence is a complicated structure with adjoining churches, passageways, dwellings and official premises. Mainly brick vaults lacking a central support cover the rooms. The largest and most interesting is the Cross Chamber (Krestovaya). Its huge vault (14 x 20 m) was constructed in 1655. After Peter the Great abolished the patriarchy the entire complex was renamed the Sinode House. During the course of four centuries the complex has
undergone repeated restoration. Today it houses the Museum of Applied Arts.