On September 22, 1839, in Moscow, on Alexeevsky Hill, in the ancient locality of Chertolye, on the site of the Alexeevsky Convent, the cornerstone of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was solemnly laid. The laying of the cornerstone, performed by Metropolitan Filaret of Moscow, was timed to coincide with the 27th anniversary of the end of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the 25th anniversary of the capture of Paris in March 1814. The idea of constructing a cathedral in memory of the salvation of the Fatherland arose as early as 1812. The site for the cathedral was personally chosen by Emperor Nicholas I. He selected the territory of the ancient Alexeevsky Monastery, which was decided to be relocated to Krasnoe village (now the Novo-Alexeevsky Monastery). Funds for the construction of the cathedral were collected in churches across Russia, and an enormous sum — over 15 million rubles — was allocated from the treasury. The laying of the cornerstone of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour became a national celebration with a military parade and a religious procession through Moscow, with tributes to the veterans of the Patriotic War of 1812 and prayers for those who had died on the battlefields.