Most of us have probably wondered: just why do Russians build onion domes, anyway? Our tour guide in Suzdal (Ekaterina Arturovna) helped answer that: just as the Bible describes a body as a sacred temple to God, traditions holds each Russian Orthodox has its own body, so to speak. The foundation is legs, a heart is hidden within an iconostasis, and a head, the dome.
If churches have bodies, this one makes me think of a babushka with a thick shawl.
The domes are painted to help show that the spires connect earth to the heavens, and will frequently appear in blues or blacks, sometimes with stars, or gold-covered. Other colors or patterns may instead be associated with the liturgical calendar or help symbolize the reason for the church’s construction. The size and beauty of the domes should inspire a feeling of awe appropriate for preparing the mind of the congregation for prayer and worship to the Almighty.
Focus on the three starry domes readily in sight. Most of the churches in Suzdal are one-domed originals or more recent five-domed ones.
Although churches commonly have one dome, many notable churches boast more. Having three domes means that each dome represents one Person of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son and Savior, and Spirit. It brings God into a physical, immediate accessibility: three domes in one building to match the holy mystery of God’s tripartite single being.
Five slender black domes, recalling the gravity of Christ’s sacrifice.
Five domes on a church symbolizes the stigmata, Christ’s five wounds on the cross. Just like making the Sign of the Cross, the visible representation of five wounds confirms the presence of the Savior, God who gave up his own life for the forgiveness of others’ sins. Seeing the five domes should be a reminder of that sacrifice, revealing once again that humans live in the grace of a God who loves them in the truest way possible. Approaching a church of five domes is meant to help remind each person just what a marvelous sacrifice was responsible for the promise of eternal redemption, the ultimate gift for which it is only right to give thanks.
Information learned on our tour in Suzdal, accuracy dependent on my understanding of the information.
Thank you for this post! I have wondered about the onion domes, and now I know the meaning behind the beauty.
Slava Iisusu Christu vo vyeki vyekov! Amin.
Also – Christ and the Four Evangelists.
Three domes signifies the Blessed Trinity, a single dome – the unity of God the Father, or, alternatively, Christ the Logos or ‘Christos Pantocrator’.