We are starting a small series of issues about the Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the State Tretyakov Gallery. The history of this unique church, its interior decoration and the presence of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in it are told by the rector of the church, Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov and the head of the department of ancient Russian art of the State Tretyakov Gallery Natalia Nikolaevna Sheredega.
- To my left you see the domes of the church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, and we are now at his bell tower. And our today's release of the program "Keepers of Memory" opens a short cycle of stories about this temple.
Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov, rector of the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the State Tretyakov Gallery:
- Dear brothers and sisters, all TV viewers who are watching our program today! We are in a unique temple, which is located almost in the very center of our capital, the city of Moscow. The name of this church is the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the Tretyakov Gallery. It has been in existence for almost three and a half centuries.
It was first mentioned in 1625, but it was built a little earlier. At first the building was wooden, then stone, then it was rebuilt. And today the temple is before us after all the incidents associated with the events of 1917 and later. Now he is in all its glory, as Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov saw him.
In 1856, the Tretyakov family acquired an estate next to this church, and it became a parish church. Pavel Tretyakov, his brother, mother and close friends visited this church all the time. There is a place marked in the church where Pavel Mikhailovich was during the service. The temple was decorated and attended by the first hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Saint Philaret of Moscow (Drozdov), who is now canonized, paid a lot of attention to the interior of the church and its decoration. He served in this temple, consecrated thrones, paintings and decorations were made according to his sketches. The Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi today is to be the same as it was at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. But if we come here, we will see that not everything is as it was, but there is something completely new.
Since 1992, the temple has received the status of the first operating temple-museum in Russia. It is both a temple of the Orthodox Church and a museum adjacent to the Tretyakov Gallery. As soon as communication was established here, a certain climate was created, alarms and fire extinguishing devices were installed, it became possible to bring all possible icons here.
Some of them were in the temple even before it was closed. And some of them are completely new icons, but they appeared here in the original interior of the church, for which they were painted. These are wall iconostases, as well as the second, third, fourth and fifth tiers of the central iconostasis. And today the church keeps many icons, starting from the XII-XIII centuries and ending with some modern images of those saints who became famous in the XX century, being servants of this temple.
This is Father Ilya Chetverukhin, who was the last rector before the closure of the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, this is the Elder, Father Alexy Zosimovsky, who was a deacon in this church for 28 years, and then the Lord judged him before the miraculous icon of the Vladimir Mother of God to draw lots for the service of His Holiness the Patriarch Tikhon. And also the martyr Nicholas Rein, who also served in this church.
I have just mentioned the great shrine of Russia - the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Nothing happens in the world and in the life of an accident. Elder Alexy Zosimovsky, while still here as a deacon with the name Fedor, greatly revered this icon. After the death of his wife, he accepted monasticism with the name Alexy, was ordained a hieromonk and from this church was sent to serve in the Moscow Kremlin, where, as he writes in his memoirs, he prayed many times and almost daily in front of the miraculous image of Vladimir.
What kind of prayers were they? What was this inspired old man praying for? We can only guess. But decades later, the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God ends up in the Tretyakov Gallery, and remains there for all the troubled seventy years.
And after the completion of the reconstruction of the temple at the highest level, His Holiness the Patriarch and the President of Russia decided that the icon would be in the existing temple. They did not know exactly where to place it, and there was a possibility of various options: the Kremlin, or the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was just beginning to be built, or some other Moscow temple.
After consultation and difficult debates, it was decided that the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God should remain in the Tretyakov Gallery. But not just in the hall, but in the working temple-museum. And today we are in this church, where the central image is the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Vladimirskaya", which has been kept here since 1999. I repeat, this happened when the renovation was completely completed, the iconostasis and the icon case for the icon were made, which also passed a difficult path, when everything necessary was prepared to preserve this icon.
There were three or four versions of different icon cases. And, thanks to the management of the polymetals plant, which was then headed by Valery Viktorovich Kryukov, this completely unique icon case was created, which simultaneously stores Vladimirskaya, and observes the necessary parameters of humidity, temperature, and is independent of the general power supply. He can stay for several days without general electricity. This, of course, is a unique product that allows us today to see the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in all its wondrous beauty. Because today we see it from all sides: both from the front and from the back, surrounded by a host of icons that are in the temple. Since 1999, prayers have been continuously performed in front of her.
The temple is active, so here, in agreement with the management of the gallery, all the necessary services take place, which are relied on according to the charter of the Church. And, from noon to evening, the temple functions as a hall in the Tretyakov Gallery. The temple-museum is open every day, except Monday, and thousands of people from all over the Orthodox world (from Russia and from abroad) come to pray in front of the wondrous Vladimir image.
Natalia Sheredega, Head of the Department of Old Russian Art of the State Tretyakov Gallery:
- This is a temple with which the fate of Zamoskvorechye is connected, and the fate of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery, and our entire museum, and very many shrines of our fatherland, including those collected here from plundered and devastated churches and, finally, not accessible only as museum exhibits, but also as, first of all, objects of the life of an Orthodox Christian.
Our temple is located in Tolmachi. This is the Tolmachevskaya Sloboda, next to the Kadashevskaya Sloboda. Since ancient times, since the end of the 17th century, there was a temple of the descent of the Holy Spirit, which had a side-altar of St. Nicholas. In the 17th century, the building was rebuilt, then it underwent changes. The main constructive system in which we are now was formed already in the middle of the 19th century.
I want to remind you that many of the objects of worship and works of art that are now in front of us have moved here from the most ancient temple, on the site of which the current Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi stands. First of all, this concerns the iconostasis. It is a collection of icons that were once in two churches. The five-tiered iconostasis has been restored in accordance with tradition.
We see that in the first tier there are icons of St. Nicholas, the Mother of God, the Savior and the descent of the Holy Spirit. They are from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, and belonged to the most ancient temple that was in this place. The fact that they were created at the end of the 17th century by the artist Saltanov specially by order of the organizers of this temple is evidenced by the inscriptions on the icons.
The upper rows of icons were also created by very famous artists, in particular, the master Tikhon Filatyev and his artel, masters of the late 17th century, who painted these icons for the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin on Polyanka. After her plundering, the images through the workshops ended up in the funds of the Tretyakov Gallery. And these funds in the 30-40s were located where we are now. Why?
In 1929, the church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi was closed, the chapters and bell towers were demolished, and the body of the temple was miraculously preserved only because the Tretyakov Gallery's stock of ancient Russian art was arranged in it. Therefore, we consider ourselves, as it were, responsible for the fact that we have preserved the foundation of the temple and the icons brought here. The iconostasis was restored from them.
I emphasize once again that the temple was closed in 1929, and already in the 80s and 90s under Yuri Konstantinovich Korolev (this is the former director of the Tretyakov Gallery, a famous artist), work began to restore the Church of St. Nicholas as a temple-museum, which is also active a church with all the fullness of Orthodox life and a museum. Because for everything that is here (excluding private donations), the curators-restorers of the Tretyakov Gallery are responsible for all these icons, that is, we work together.
We are very lucky. We work with a wonderful rector and a wonderful staff of clergy, we have a wonderful choir of singers and assistants to Father Nikolai, who, in friendship and cooperation with us, carry out a common work of keeping.
- In the next issue we will continue the story about the church-museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the Tretyakov Gallery.
This Church is located next to the Tretyakov Gallery - one of the main museums in the country. Or rather, not even nearby, but on the very territory of the museum, therefore sometimes this church is called a temple in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Tretyakov gallery: temple
Formally, this is a house church, which is very unusual. Because, as a rule, under house churches are meant those that are located inside buildings (for example, hospitals or train stations) - that is, ordinary premises, converted or originally designed like a temple: an altar, an iconostasis.
Less common are house churches in the form of tiny churches on the territory of, say, rich estates. But the church at the Tretyakov Gallery is a rare case when the most common church in architecture is a brownie. He, in general, is, and has always been an ordinary parish church, formally a house church, it is now considered, because the building belongs to the Tretyakov Gallery, located, as we have already said, on the territory that belongs to the museum.
The temple at the Tretyakov Gallery was consecrated in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker, and its official name is the Church of Nicholas the Wonderworker in Tolmachi. Tolmachi - this was the name of the whole area for a long time. As a memory of this - Bolshoi and Maly Tolmachevsky lanes, near or on which the church is located.
Temple at the Tretyakov Gallery, history
The Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi has a rich history. A lot of material - a real historical work, - the website pravoslavie.ru published about this temple.
At first - as often happens - there was a wooden church here. In the 17th century, a stone church was erected on this site, which was then completed and rebuilt several times.
In 1812, this church was the only building in the area that survived during the "Napoleonic fire". She survived, but then for half a year it did not work - because there was no one to go to the church, all the houses were burned down.
Also, the church at the Tretyakov Gallery was closed during the Soviet era - from 1929 to 1993.
This is how she looked in the 20s:
And so - some time before they began to restore it.
And this is how it looks now:
On each side - a completely different, its own appearance:
A beautiful tall bell tower that can be seen from afar.
Temple at the Tretyakov Gallery: service schedule, how to get there
Services in the church at the Tretyakov Gallery are not held every day. But liturgies are always on Saturdays and Sundays. The beginning is usually at 9:00.
Get to the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi the easiest way is by metro: Tretyakovskaya station with orange or yellow lines. Five minutes walk to the Tretyakov Gallery.
Temple address: Small Tolmachevsky lane, house 9.
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On the eve of the Day of the Holy Trinity from the hall of the permanent exhibition of the Tretyakov Gallery to the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, the icon "Trinity" written by the Monk Andrei Rublev was transferred.
This happens only once a year so that the parishioners of the temple and pilgrims can bow to the revered image during the festive services.
The temple is open from 09.00 to 20.00.
Schedule of services in the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi:
On June 4, on Spirits day, the patronal feast of the church, the beginning of the Liturgy at 9.00. At 15.00 on the eve of the feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God - an akathist with blessing of water. At 17.00 All-night vigil.
The Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi is located at the Tretyakov Gallery, and has the status of a temple-museum. It has all the conditions for storing unique icons. The revered Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is on a permanent basis in the church.
However, one can worship the Trinity, venerate her, and pray in front of her in church only once a year.
According to the chief curator of the Tretyakov Gallery, Tatyana Gorodkova, this event can hardly be overestimated.
“This is always a very exciting event, since the Trinity is an ancient icon, very fragile, its state of preservation is such that it requires constant and very attentive, thoughtful control from the curators of the Tretyakov Gallery and, of course, restorers.
The icon of Andrei Rublev from the chronicle was written for the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which is the spiritual center of Russian life. Accordingly, the most important icon of the Lavra is very dear to every Russian believer. On the other hand, this image also has an immense spiritual depth.
Archpriest Andrei Rumyantsev, cleric of the church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi: In the icon of the Holy Trinity we see the fullness of the Christian concept of God, the world and the place of man in this world. "
Talking about this world and the significance of Rublev's Trinity in it, Tatyana Gorodkova noted that this image has long become significant not only for Russian people.
Tatiana Gorodkova, Chief Curator of the Tretyakov Gallery:
“As a keeper, I can say that the Trinity of St. Andrei Rublev, of course, has long ago outgrown the limits of treating it as an icon. Because it is not only the recognized greatest achievement of ancient Russian painting, but is an integral part of both our culture and world culture as a whole. "
Photo by Mikhail Moiseev:
The Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi has the status of a home church at the Tretyakov Gallery. A significant part of its decoration is exhibits from the museum collection. These are icons of the main and side iconostases, including St. Nicholas, The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, as well as altar crosses, liturgical utensils (Master “MO” Potir, 1838).
Here, in a specially equipped showcase, is kept the greatest Russian relic and the world-famous work of art, the pride of the Gallery's collection - the icon "Our Lady of Vladimir" (XII century). Her stay in the Museum-Temple allows her to organically combine the artistic and cult nature of this monument.
The first mention of the wooden “Church of the Great Wonderworker Nicholas, and in the limit Ivan the Forerunner, beyond the Moskva River in Tolmachi” is contained in the Parish Book of the Patriarchal Order for 1625.
The stone temple was erected in 1697 by a “guest”, a parishioner of the Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi, Longin Dobrynin, and the main altar of the temple was consecrated in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and Nikolsky was moved to the refectory. However, it was only from 1697 to 1770 that the church in business papers and books was called “Soseshestskaya”, and then it began to be registered again as “Nikolaevskaya”.
In 1770, the Pokrovsky side-altar was built in the refectory at the expense of the widow of the 1st guild merchant I.M. Demidov.
In 1834, at the request of the parishioners and “in accordance with the thought of Metropolitan Philaret,” the refectory was rebuilt according to the project of the architect F.M. Shestakov and a new bell tower was erected.
In 1856, the quadrangle was renovated and the main altar was rebuilt. Funds for the renovation of the church were donated, among others, by Alexandra Danilovna Tretyakova and her sons. One of them, Pavel Mikhailovich, the founder of the art gallery, was a zealous parishioner of the church.
“The image of a person who served as an example of a sober, concentrated life ... who combined the possession of external wealth with spiritual poverty rises in my mind. This was manifested in his humble prayer, ”- this is how Deacon Fyodor Soloviev, who served in the church for 28 years, later the elder of the Zosimov Hermitage, schema monk Alexy, recalled about Pavel Tretyakov.
The temple was honored by their visit to the First Hierarchs and Hierarchs of the Church. In 1924, St. Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia, performed a divine service in the church, the lot for his patriarchal service was drawn by Elder Alexy Zosimovsky in front of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.
The Bishops' Council in August 2000 canonized Elder Alexy Zosimovsky (1846-1928), martyr Nikolai Rein (1892-1937), a former parishioner of the church by the decision of the Holy Synod in 2002, was canonized as a holy martyr, Archpriest Elijah Chetverukhin (1886-1932), the last abbot of the temple before its closure in 1929.
Divine services in the temple were resumed in 1993. On September 8, 1996, the main altar of the church was consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.
In 1997, for the 300th anniversary of the temple, its restoration was completed. The slender bell tower was re-erected and the five-domed quadrangle was restored. Three iconostases, wall icon cases have been recreated, wall paintings have been completely restored.
Moscow church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "in Tolmachi", home temple-museum at the State Tretyakov Gallery.The first mention of the still wooden "Church of the Great Wonderworker Nicholas, and in the limit Ivan the Forerunner, which is beyond the Moscow River in Tolmachi" is contained in the Parish Book of the Patriarchal Order for a year. "Tolmachi" is a word of Tatar origin, that was the name of the interpreters, who were distinguished from those who can write in a foreign language. Tolmachi or Tatar settlement was the name of the area near the road to the Horde, then - away from the rest of Moscow, where translators settled - Tatars who spoke Russian, and then Russian translators.
The stone temple was erected in the year by a "guest", a parishioner of the Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi, Longin Dobrynin, and the main altar of the temple was consecrated in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and St. Nicholas was moved to the refectory. However, only from to years the church in business papers and books was called "Soeshestskaya", and then it began to be registered again as "Nikolaevskaya".
The church has a library of Orthodox literature, a Sunday school for children and educational courses for adults "Foundations of Orthodoxy".
Abbots
- Vasily Pavlov (middle of the 18th century)
- John Vasiliev (September 22, 1770 - 1791)
- John Andreev (May 1791 - 1812)
- Nikolay Yakovlev (1813 -?)
- Ivanovich Smirnov (1816 - 1828)
- Nikolay Rozanov (1828 - 1855)
- Vasily Nechaev (1855 - 1889)
- Dimitri Kasitsyn (1889 - December 3, 1902)