Phenomenon of Transfiguration church of Kizhi churchyard

The evolution of wooden temple architecture in Obonezhye, affected by the “Novgorod” trend to build higher multistorey structures and by closer attention to tower-like temples incorporating the “Moscow” trend of high roofs, is discussed. The Church of Transfiguration is compared compositionally and typologically with the many domed Obonezhye churches such as the Church of Intercession in Vytegra community, the Church of John the Forerunner in Shuya, and the Trinity Church in Klimetsky Monastery. Characteristics of Obonezhye churches are presented through the skilful use of the churches’ compositional potential “kreshchataya bochka” (eight-sloped roof made by the intersection of two roofs resembling a barrel), a traditional form of the roof in wooden architecture. The concept of the Kizhi temple phenomenon as a symbol of self-expression and self-assertion of the Russian population residing in Karelia, formed under the influence of active ethnic and cultural contacts of the Russians with Karelians and Vepsians, is proposed. Examples of outstanding Old Russian wooden architectural monuments are given to trace development of national architectural priorities in temple construction. The Church of Transfiguration in the Kizhi rural community is described as a structure, which in the early 18th century most vividly and consistently embodied the medieval architectural ideal of the Russian orthodoxy - a triad: high, centric, many domed structure.