Close by the Assumption is the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, which is the mausoleum of the sovereigns of the Rurik and Romanoff families from an early period down to the time of Peter the Great, and of Peter II. since that time. The cenotaphs are covered with faded crimson palls, badly spotted with grease from the candles above them. The tomb of young Dimitri, son of Ivan the Terrible, murdered by Boris Godunoff, is venerated by the faithful, because, after the anarchy and bloodshed produced by the false Dimitris, the coffin and body of the true one were discovered by a miracle. The tomb of Ivan the Terrible is next to the altar, though he often broke the canons of the church. His cross, set with very large pearls and an emerald a third of an inch in diameter, is preserved here.
The churches of the Annunciation and of the Redeemer are close by; but the students declared that they had seen churches enough for one day, and they entered the House of the Holy Synod, containing the wardrobe and treasury of the church, where robes, mitres, and crosiers, decked with precious stones, are exhibited. In this house is prepared the holy oil used in baptism, in consecrating churches, and in anointing the emperor at his coronation. The vessels used in compounding it are of solid silver, weighing thirteen hundred pounds. It is composed of thirty different ingredients, the principal of which is pure Florence oil, with wine, fragrant gums, balsam, and spices. It is made according to the ancient rule, and a few drops of the chrism brought from Constantinople is mingled with it. Some say this is a part of the ointment used by Mary Magdalen in anointing the feet of the Saviour; and a portion of the new chrism is returned to the "Alabaster," which contains it, each time any is used. All the children of Orthodox parents are anointed with this oil at their baptism.
The baptism of the child consists of four ceremonials. By its sponsors it first makes the confession of faith. The priest, after crossing the child and saying prayers, blows upon it, to drive away evil and unclean spirits. After the prayer the parents leave the room, thereby symbolizing the entire giving up of the child to the sponsors; and this custom is followed even in the imperial family. The second step is the immersion; and the priest, in full canonicals, blesses the water, and anoints the infant, for the first time, on the breast for "the healing of body and soul;" on the ears for "the hearing of the Word;" on the hands, because "Thy hands have made and fashioned me;" on the feet, that they "may walk in the way of thy commandments." He then rolls up his sleeves, takes the child in his hands, stopping the ears with his thumb and little finger, the eyes with two other fingers, and the mouth and nose with the palm of his right hand, and holding up its body with the left, he skilfully plunges it into a font three times, in the name of the three persons of the Trinity.