Prior to the eighteenth century,the Russian Orthodox Church did not assign any particular symbolism to theexterior shape of a church. Nevertheless, onion domes are popularly believedto symbolise burning candles. In 1917, noted religious philosopher Prince Yevgeny Trubetskoy arguedthat the onion shape of Russian church domes may not be explained rationally. According toTrubetskoy, drums crowned by tapering domes were deliberately scored toresemble candles, thus manifesting a certain aesthetic and religious attitude. Another explanationhas it that the onion dome was originally regarded as a form reminiscent of the edicula(cubiculum) in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
18世纪之前，俄罗斯东正教没有给教堂的外部形状赋予任何特定象征意义。然而，洋葱圆顶被普遍认为，象征着燃烧的蜡烛。1917年，著名宗教哲学家叶夫根尼·Trubetskoy王子认为，俄罗斯教堂的洋葱圆顶可能无法合理解释。根据Trubetskoy的言论，在尖细的圆顶之下的鼓形座被故意做成像蜡烛的样子，从而体现一定的美学和宗教的态度。另一种解释认为的洋葱穹顶最初是为了让人想起在耶路撒冷的圣墓教堂的edicula（cubiculum）地下墓室的一种怀旧形式。
Onion domes often appear ingroups of three, representing the Holy Trinity, or five, representing JesusChrist and the Four Evangelists. Domes standing alone represent Jesus. VasilyTatischev, the first to record such interpretation, disapproved of itemphatically. He believed that the five-domed design of churches was propagated by PatriarchNikon, who liked to compare the central and highest dome with himself andfour lateral domes with four other patriarchsof the Orthodox world. There is no other evidence that Nikon ever heldsuch a view.
洋葱式圆顶，经常以三个一组的形式出现，代表神圣的三位一体，或五个一组的形式出现，代表耶稣基督和四福音。独自出现的洋葱式圆顶则代表了耶稣。瓦西里·Tatischev，记录这样的解释的第一人，特别强调他不赞成这样的观点。他认为五个圆顶的教堂这样的设计是由祖师尼康传播的，他喜欢把自己比作中间的那个最高的穹顶，而其他四个东正教的创始人则比作另外四个穹顶。这里没有其他证据可以证明尼康是否曾经持这样的观点。
The domes are often brightlypainted: their colors may informally symbolise different aspects of religion.Green, blue, and gold domes are sometimes held to represent the HolyTrinity, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, respectively Black ball-shaped domes were once popularin the snowy north of Russia.
圆顶往往涂上明亮的颜色：它们的颜色可能不太正式地象征了宗教的不同方面。绿、蓝和金色的圆顶有时候会分别代表三位一体、圣灵、耶稣。特别提一句，黑色球形圆顶曾一度流行在白雪皑皑的俄罗斯北部。
