Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces

Stained glass mosaics in the cathedral's vault feature various Red Army orders, accompanied by their respected ribbons that denote their class. Many of these orders display the faces of prominent military leaders from Imperial Russian Army. The decision to include some of the most revered Orthodox Christian saints, who had served in the historical armies of Russia, coincides with the Soviet Union's brief wave of nationalism during the Great Patriotic War. On September 5, 1943, a historical meeting in the Moscow Kremlin took place between Metropolitan Alexius and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. After the meeting, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union allowed the Orthodox Church to legally function and operate after experiencing nearly two decades of severe oppression. Many churches began to reopen across the Soviet Union.

The following orders are depicted in the mosaics: The Order of Alexander Nevsky (First Class), Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (First Class), Order of Ushakov (First Class), Order of Nakhimov (First Class), Order of Suvorov (First Class), Order of Kutuzov (First Class), Order of Victory, Order of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star, and the Order of the Patriotic War (First Class).

Some of the sizes are symbolic. The height of the church along with the cross is 95 meters. The diameter of the drum of the main dome is 19.45 meters, symbolizing the year when the Great Patriotic War ended – 1945. The height of the belfry is 75 meters, a reference to the 75 years that passed in 2020 since the end of World War II. The height of the small dome is 14.18 meters – 1418 days and nights hostilities lasted in Great Patriotic War. The area of the church complex is 11,000 m². The capacity of the interior of the church is up to 6,000 people.

The bells are made at the Voronezh Foundry. The decoration of the bells repeats ornaments decorating the cathedral. The bells reflect the theme of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, icons of patrons of the Russian Army. The main bell-evangelist was decorated with bas-reliefs depicting key events of the Great Patriotic War. Work on the manufacture of bells was carried out for six months. The ensemble weighs more than 20 tons, it includes 18 bells, the largest of which weighs 10 tons.[7] 17 of the 18 bells are dedicated to the types and arms of the troops. On the one hand the emblem is applied to the bell, on the other, the image of the patron saint.[7] On 23 August 2019, bells are set on the belfry of the cathedral.

On 15 November 2019, a 80-ton central dome was erected on the cathedral, the height and diameter of which are 12 meters.[8] In total, the cathedral has six domes, four of which are identical, each of which weighs 34 tons, the central one is the largest and one is on the belfry. The design has a high alloy steel frame with a strength factor from 300 to 1500 years.

Ceremony in main temple

The floors of the cathedral are metal. The metal has come from the melting down of trophies, weapons and tanks that were seized from Wehrmacht forces. As visitors walk across the floors of the cathedral, it is intended to symbolise the "delivering a blow to the fascist enemy”.[9]

The central icon of the Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces is the "Holy Saviour" in the main dome. The Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is a canonical image of the Holy Face of Jesus Christ, miraculously imprinted on a piece of material and transmitted by the Saviour himself to King Abgar V of Osroene. The face on the icon surrounds the images of the Most Holy Mother of God of Kazan, of Vladimir, of Smolensk and of Tikhvin, placed on artistic reliefs that depict significant events in the history of the Russian state. In the ark, which invariably accompanies the icon, there are eight particles of holy patrons: the great martyr George the Victorious, St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Sergius of Radonezh, the great martyr Barbara, the apostle Peter, the great martyr Panteleimon the Healer, and also Fyodor Ushakov, the righteous commander of the Black Sea Fleet and one of the most revered saints in the fleet.

The image of the Savior is placed in a bronze fold and weighs about 100 kg. The icon itself without a fold has dimensions of about 98 × 84 × 10 cm.

At the end of April 2020 photos were leaked which showed in the unfinished cathedral mosaics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and other high-ranking Russian officials, as well as Joseph Stalin. The Russian Orthodox Church initially explained the presence of mosaics featuring Putin and Stalin according to the tradition of depicting historical events – in this case, the 2014 accession of the Crimea to Russia and the Great Patriotic War (World War II). However, later it was reported that the cathedral would not have any mosaics of Putin. The Russian Orthodox Church explained that this decision was made taking into account the President's own opinion.[10]