The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary is a neo-Gothic church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow. Located in the Central Administrative Okrug, it is one of only two Catholic churches in Moscow and the largest in Russia. The construction of the cathedral was proposed by the Czarist government in 1894. Groundbreaking was in 1899; construction work began in 1901 and was completed ten years later. Three-aisled and built from red brick, the cathedral is based on a design by architect Tomasz Bohdanowicz-Dworzecki. The style was influenced by Westminster Abbey and Milan Cathedral. With the help of funds from Catholic parishes in Russia and its neighbouring states, the church was consecrated as a chapel for Moscow's Polish parish in 1911. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, in order to promote state atheism, the government ordered many churches closed; the cathedral was closed in 1938. During World War II, it was threatened with demolition, and was used after the war for civil purposes, as a warehouse and then a hostel. In 1996, following the fall of communism, it once again became a church, and in 2002 it was elevated to the status of cathedral. Following an extensive and costly program of reconstruction and refurbishment, the cathedral was reconsecrated in 2005.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Immaculate_Conception_%28Moscow%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1282:

Sicilians began to rebel against the rule of the Angevin King Charles I of Naples, starting the War of the Sicilian Vespers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Vespers

1842:

American physician Crawford Long became the first person to use diethyl ether as an anesthetic in a surgical procedure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_Long

1918:

Bolshevik and Dashnak forces suppressed a Muslim revolt in Baku, Azerbaijan, resulting up to 30,000 deaths. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_Days

1954:

The Yonge–University–Spadina line, the first subway in Canada and the busiest in Toronto, opened. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonge%E2%80%93University%E2%80%93Spadina_line

2009:

Twelve gunmen attacked the Manawan Police Training School in Lahore, Pakistan, and held it for several hours before security forces were able to retake it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Lahore_police_academy_attacks

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

eat crow (v): (chiefly US, idiomatic) To recognize that one has been shown to be mistaken or outdone, especially by admitting that one has made a humiliating error http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eat_crow

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

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But my God, how beautiful Shakespeare is, who else is as mysterious as he is; his language and method are like a brush trembling with excitement and ecstasy. But one must learn to read, just as one must learn to see and learn to live. --Vincent van Gogh http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh