Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker a large cross on the Ilyinka. The saint on ilinka, or a few words after the destroyed church of nicholas, has a large cross

Roman Tsekhansky

Kitay-gorod, the former Veliky Posad, the central part of historical Moscow, which could well have become a full-fledged tourist Old City, but it has not become what it is. Over the decades, various concepts of its reconstruction have been discussed, none of which have been brought to mind. In architectural terms, today's Kitay-Gorod is a motley building with a considerable number of historical and cultural monuments of varying degrees of preservation, mainly located in courtyards or side streets. The exception is the even side of Varvarka, which has a more or less unified image that has played in a new way. But many churches of Kitay-gorod have disappeared or distorted, the whole district - Zaryadye - has disappeared altogether. Therefore, we have to study Kitai-Gorod mainly from documents and photographs, where it appears as the disappeared Atlantis. Particular attention is drawn to the exceptionally high concentration of churches dedicated to St. Nicholas.

In Kitai-Gorod, the veneration of St. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was decisive in church building. Of the 56 thrones that existed in Kitai-Gorod in 1917, 13 were dedicated to St. Nicole (1). This is serious even for the nearby White City, which is also full of St. Nicholas' churches. If you take some old map, for example, A. Khotev's atlas of 1852 (2), you can see almost all the Nikolsky churches (except for the Nikolo-Irininskaya, which disappeared in antiquity), the Zaryadye, which has not yet been demolished, the line of the Kitay-city walls, which in the 16th century encircled the line of the oldest settlement in Moscow. The fortress was built by the Italian master Petrok Maloy, therefore a number of researchers believe that China stands for “city” (“chitta” in Italian, Latin root, as in English “city”). The name itself contains the decoding: "China" is a city, just like Kitezh is a city (3). Therefore, we have the right to regard Kitai-Gorod as a “city within a city,” a completely independent unit in the urban planning structure of Moscow.

Nikolskie churches filled the territory of Kitay-gorod quite evenly. If you select the main ones from them and connect them in the plan with lines, you get a somewhat inclined spatial cross. The top of this cross is the Nikolsky Greek Monastery in the middle of Nikolskaya Street, the bottom is the Church of St. Nicholas the Wet in Zaryadye. Both churches disappeared during the Soviet era. The right crossbar of the St. Nicholas Cross is also the disappeared Church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross at the end of Ilyinka, the left one is the existing chapel of St. Nicholas in the Velikoretsky Church of the Intercession on the Moat. "Nikolin Cross" gives a spiritual and symbolic meaning to the abundance of St. Nicholas Churches in Kitay-Gorod.

St. Nicholas' churches largely determine the historical and urban planning structure of Kitai-Gorod, each part of which has its own defender, Nicholas. These are the St. Nicholas-Greek Monastery and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wet at the walls washed by the rivers (Neglinka and the Moscow River, respectively) and the Church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross, which protects the long-curved, open eastern wall of the city. If you imagine a circle consisting of Nikolsky churches in the plan, you get a real "Nikolin round dance". At the same time, the functional "specialization" of these churches was different. Traditionally, he helped people in difficult everyday situations, the saint helps Kitay-gorodtsy in almost all spheres of their life.

Addressing prayers to St. Nikola Mozhaisky, people from ancient times received God's help and deliverance from their troubles. “Saint Nicholas, as a patron, alone receives more prayers and bows to the ground than all the other saints in the aggregate,” testified foreigners who were in Muscovy. Casanova, who expressed this idea in the 18th century, recorded the tradition of venerating a saint dating back to pre-Mongol times (4). In the ancient Moscow texts, the saint is called "an invincible pick-up and an affirmation to our city" (5). There is an assumption that the mass baptism of Muscovites (like Kiev and Novgorod) was performed on Nikolin day, May 9 (shortly after the completion of the construction of the fortress in 1156) at the mouth of the Chertoriy river. Nikolsky churches, which arose in the ancient tracts adjacent to this place (on Lazy Torzhok, in Turygin, in Kievtsy) gave impetus to the construction of countless Nikolsky churches both in Moscow and in all Russian cities (6).

Traditionally, the Nikolsky Gate of the Kremlin was decorated with the icon of St. Nikola, facing towards Kitay-Gorod. The image was performed in the image of Nikola Mozhaisky, who for the first time replaced the Gospel and a blessing gesture with a sword in one hand and a city in the other. The hail-protecting aspect of worshiping the image of St. Nikola Mozhaisky is complemented by its spiritual content. "The name of St. Nicholas is derived from the Greek word "nick" - victory. But victory doesn't have to be military. The saint contributed to the victory of Christianity over paganism, the true worldview over the false, the spirit over the belly, God over the devil "(7). This is the meaning of the image of the sword. The city in his hand is interpreted both as the image of the Heavenly City of Jerusalem (8), and as “the image of the Universal Church, of which the Savior is the Universal Teacher” (9).

It is interesting that the Mozhaisky image (originally sculptural) was still on the tower of the white-stone Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoy. The tower was located to the west of the present one. During the reconstruction and expansion of the Kremlin by Italian masters in the 15th century, the name of the tower was retained and the image above the gate was reproduced (albeit in the fresco technique). There was, as it were, an exit of the veneration of the image to Kitay-gorodsky posad, where at different times 13 Nikolsky churches and side-chapels were built (10). Nicola, as it were, went out to serve ordinary people. Moving along the "Nikolina circle" of churches inside the Kitay-city walls, one can see how different his ministry was.

Considering the image of St. Nikola, located at the Nikolsky gates of the Kremlin, we met with city ​​protection symbolic function veneration of the saint. In a circle, clockwise, starting from the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin, there was the monastery of Nikolai the Old, in the middle of Nikolskaya Street. Here traditionally, from the XVI-XVII centuries. Greeks, scientists lived, on its territory the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (at the subsidiary Zaikonospassky monastery) was opened in 1686. Many scientists came from here in the 17th - 19th centuries. (eleven). It - educational function.

To the right, at the end of Nikolskaya, in the courtyards was the Nikolsky side-altar of the Trinity Church in Fields, which performed traditional liturgical function... Almost all Nikolskaya Street was the parish of the church. Nikolsky side-altar, along with two others, was added to the church of the 16th century. in 1657 by the boyar M. Saltykov, a relative of the tsar (12).

The five-altar church of St. John the Evangelist under the Elm with the Nikolsky side-altar in the 1st tier (13) is located south of the place of the Trinity Church in the Fields, along the line of the walls of China town.

Below on Ilyinka Street was the Church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross. In this beautiful church of Kitai-gorod there was a kissing cross; people were sent here to take oaths (14). Here we are dealing with legal function.

Further south, somewhat deeper into the building, is the Trinity Church in Nikitniki, a bright 17th century temple. This alpine church also has the northern Nikolsky side-altar (15).

Following further, you have to retreat into the depths of the posad, where almost in the center of the "Nikolina Khorovod" is the Church of St. Nicholas Red Bell. Since at least the 16th century, the most beautifully sounding bells have been brought to its bell tower (16). The location of the church near the geometric center of Kitay-gorod contributed to the even distribution of the ringing, reaching the farthest corners of the fortress. This function is not only alarm, but rather public church, cathedral... Bell ringing was the basis of the "sound of Moscow", had its own hierarchy, which has not yet been studied for the city of China.

Below along the line of the walls was Zaryadye. Here, along the Moskva River, there were three Nikolsky churches. The first is Nikolo-Irininskaya, which disappeared back in the 19th century. It stood at the walls of the fortress, east of the altars of the now existing Church of the Conception of St. Anna in the Corner. Perhaps it was another, together with the Zachatyevsky, prayer temple for childbearing, only this time for the Romanov dynasty. The church was erected in honor of the birthday of the daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. The king came here regularly on Irina's day to celebrate her name day (17). It was not without St. Nikola, a princess was born through his prayers. The dedication was double, the thrones were equal. Perhaps it was a paired church. Probably, any person could come to this church and pray for procreation. Here is manifested prayer function about childbearing, about children.

Not only children were asked by St. Nikol. In 1674, Patriarch Joachim put into the hand of the deceased Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the traditional "authorization letter" - a letter addressed to St. Nicholas, testifying that the deceased was Russian, lived in the true Orthodox faith and that he could be given access to Paradise (18).

From the Church of the Conception in the direction of the Kremlin, on the Velikaya Street parallel to the Moscow River, in the middle of it was the Church of St. Nicholas the Mokroi. The church has been known since the 15th century, a stone building from the 17th century. was rebuilt in the neo-gothic style (19). Nikola is the patron saint of travelers, especially on the waters, and since ancient times there was a pier. Nearby there were trade rows, and it was not for nothing that Zaryadye was called “behind the rows”. Wholesale transactions were carried out here, the merchants had a great risk, hence the function of the Mokrinsky temple - prayer for travelers and merchants (20).

The Nikolo-Moskvoretskaya church was located close to the beginning of this street. The miraculous icon of St. Nicholas Velikoretsky was brought to it by water from the Velikaya River, where it was found in the 16th century. The church was erected on the spot where the icon had stopped and a prayer service to St. Nicole (21).

Above in a circle rises the magnificent complex of the Church of the Intercession on the Moat. Its Nikolo-Velikoretsky side-chapel is facing the river. The icon was transferred from the Kremlin to this chapel called the “wonderfully found” by the chronicle, which is a pillar-like church. The Nikolo-Moskvoretskaya church and the Nikolo-Velikoretskiy side-altar have one function - vowed, in memory of the miracle (22).

And there is one more function of all the listed temples - city-forming... "Nikolin round dance" formed a unique internal structure and shaped the life of Kitay-gorod (23). In the present, modern city "Nikolin Round Dance" has lost its cross.

The cathedral of the Nikolo-Greek Monastery was destroyed in the 1930s, in its place is a public garden. Currently, the City Planning Council has decided to restore the cathedral. Now it is only a matter of time, and soon Nikolin's cross will find its peak again.

Church of the Trinity in the Fields with the side-chapel of St. Nikola was also destroyed during the Soviet era, in its place we see a foundation museumified by archaeologists. If the foundation of the Nikolo-Irininskaya church has been preserved, then over time it will also become the object of an archaeological exhibition.

The Church of St. Nicholas Big Cross is the main loss of Kitay-gorod and one of the main in all of Moscow. The masterpiece of architecture has died, in its place is a public garden. Academician V. Vinogradov, architect S. Konev were engaged in the concept of restoration of the church, the temple was studied by O. Braitseva and many others. But the spatial Nikolin Cross of Kitai-Gorod remains without its most beautiful temple. I would like to believe that we will see the restored Nikolin temple in our life. There is an idea to put in it the famous Shumaevsky cross (now in the storerooms of the Museum of Architecture), attracting pilgrims and tourists to the church.

Zaryadskiye Nikola died entirely. The restoration of the church of St. Nicholas Mokroi after the demolition of the remains of the Soviet hotel is a necessary and quite real thing (archaeological measurements by PN Maksimov have been preserved). This will be the restoration of historical justice, as well as the restoration of the ancient system of streets on the site of the hotel "Russia".

In 2010, after clearing the plaster (together with the Savior of Smolensky on the neighboring Spasskaya tower), the ancient Nikolskaya image was opened on the Nikolskaya tower of the Kremlin. The fresco is carefully dated to the time of the tower's construction, despite the losses and later recordings. They say that the restorers knew about the existence of these icons before, but many Muscovites consider their appearance to be a real miracle. The Nikolskaya icon on the GUM wall has also been restored.

Thus, having recreated the spatial Nikolin Cross (the Cathedral of the Nikolo-Greek Monastery, the Church of St. Nicholas "Big Cross" and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wet), we will partially restore the integrity of Kitai-Gorod as a historical component of Moscow, which can be considered a serious state and social task.

1. P. Palamarchuk, "Forty Sorokov", "Book and Business", "Krom", 1994, v.2, 11,
2. Now widely available on the Internet, http://retromap.ru/mapster.php?right=081852
3. This point of view is shared by the majority of researchers, for example, E. Murzaev. Information from: R. Rakhmatullin "Barbarian, there and back", the journal "Moscow heritage" No. 3, 2007, p.51.
4. Many books have been written about the veneration of the saint in Russia, for example, the recently republished Life and Miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Mirliki "A. Voznesensky and F. Gusev 1899 and others.
5. A quote from the “Commendable Word on the Transfer of the Relics of St. Nicholas from Myra in Lycia to the Bar grad of Presbyter Andrew, cleric of the Moscow Dormition Cathedral. " (Quoted from: G.Ya. Mokeev. "Mozhaisk is the sacred city of the Russians."
6. Mokeev, p.20.
7. Ibid, p.25.
8. Ibid, p.49.
9. A. Voznesensky and F. Gusev. UK. cit., p. 203-204.
10. There are practically no Nikolskie churches in the Kremlin. Nikola Gostunsky was located east of the pillar of Ivan the Great, i.e. was located on Ivanovskaya, and not on Cathedral Square.
11.Ibid, vol. 1, p. 152,
12. It was overhauled in the 19th century. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 58,
13. ibid., Vol. 2, p. 28,
14. ibid., Vol. 2, p. 64,
15. The chapel may have arisen later than the main volume of the church. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 36,
16. Church of the XVI century. was overhauled in the 19th century. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 35,
17. ibid., Vol. 4, p. 509,
18. Mokeev, p. 11.
19.P. Palamarchuk. UK. Works, vol. 2, p. 71,
20. "Wet" St. Nicholas was named because of a miracle that happened in May 1090 in Kiev on the Dnieper. The parents found the drowned child safe and sound, not yet dry from the water in the church near the Nikolskaya icon. Mokeev, p. 15
21. The 17th century stone building was rebuilt in the 19th century. Ibid, v.2, p.74,
22. P. Palamarchuk, vol. 2, p. 23,
23. Of course, we must not forget about other dominants of Kitai-Gorod, first of all about the Epiphany Monastery. This prominent baroque cathedral was erected in the end of the 17th century by the Golitsyn family as a family burial vault on the site of a 14th century temple, and the foundation of the monastery dates back to the 13th century. It is believed that blessing of water took place here with an outlet to the Neglinnaya River (L. Belyaev, Ancient monasteries of Moscow according to archeology, M., 1995). In general, the monastery arose earlier than the surrounding settlement.
The Kazan Cathedral at the beginning of Nikolskaya Street and the Vladimirskaya Church at its end have a memorable function. These objects do not interfere with the consideration of the St. Nicholas churches in the posad as well as the veneration of St. Nicholas in the Church does not interfere with the veneration of other saints.

Text quoted from the book: Romanyuk S.K. Moscow. Loss. M .: Publishing house of PTO "Center", 1992. 336 p., Ill.

Photo from Naydenov's album

Before the revolution, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker stood on Ilyinka and was nicknamed by the people the "Big Cross".
It was erected in 1680-1688 by the rich merchants from Arkhangelsk, the Filatiev brothers, who ordered to build for themselves such splendor that would glorify the temple builders themselves, their generosity and jealousy for godly deeds. Unfortunately, we do not know the names of the architects.
The lower floor served as a burial vault, and two entrances led to the temple itself through a porch raised on three arches and beautifully decorated with white stone carvings. The graceful building was almost square, the second and third tiers were decorated with capitals, and large windows were framed by magnificent platbands. The most extraordinary was located at the top of the building - here unknown masters in the lower tier of the two-tier completion placed hexagonal windows, magnificent and unusual for Moscow, and the upper one was filled with ribbed shell windows, so beloved by Russian masters after Fryazin Aleviz Novy, who built the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin.
The same shells were placed at the base of the elongated necks of all five domes, decorated with relief stars.

The interior of the church was to match its appearance. Its decoration was considered to be a majestic carved iconostasis, which looked more like a piece of jewelry. The attraction of the temple, from which it got its name, was a two-meter wooden cross standing by the kliros, arranged by the same Filatyev brothers, in which more than a hundred particles of the relics of various saints were enclosed.
Next to the church was a bell tower, built at the same time as it, but crowned with a pseudo-Gothic completion after the fire of 1812.
The official reason for the demolition of the temple was that its porch overlooked the sidewalk and obstructed traffic. First, in 1933, the porch was dismantled, and then the church itself.

More images of the church:

Photo from the catalog of Barshchevsky

From a wonderful site.

Nicholas Big Cross, the Church of Nicholas the Wonderworker in Moscow on Ilyinka, the main shrine of the Russian merchants. Built by Arkhangelsk merchants Filatyev in 1680-1697. The five-domed temple sparkled with elegant shiny decoration with a pale blue color, several floors on the basement, at the same time served as a warehouse. In the temple, according to the vow of its creators, a huge, sazhnaya height, cross with 156 particles of relics was erected. The kissing of the cross is linked to the custom of swearing in persons The Kremlin v royal orders. The best craftsmen were invited to decorate the temple.

In 1933 the church was destroyed by Jewish Bolsheviks.

NIKOLA CHURCHES OF OLD MOSCOW

In old Moscow, there were a huge number of churches consecrated in the name of the most revered in Russia Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, both preserved to this day and destroyed under Soviet rule. Among the latter, we will remember the most famous church of St. Nicholas "Big Cross", which stood at the very beginning of Ilyinka and was founded there even before the construction of the Kitaygorodskaya wall in the first half of the 16th century. In it, citizens who had litigations were sworn in - "kissing the cross", and a huge cross with particles of holy relics was erected in the church on the vow of its creators.

The very name of the area - Bersenevka - already brings to mind a dark memory of the Moscow boyar who was executed in distant times. In the XVI - XVIII centuries. here was the "Bersenev Lattice", that is, a night outpost, locked and guarded by watchmen who kept order in the city. During the reign of Ivan III, boyar IN was responsible for the guard in this area. Bersen-Beklemishev, whose name is also one of the Kremlin towers - Beklemishevskaya, because his yard was located next to it. Somewhere there, near the Moskva River, the boyar was executed in 1525 - because of a careless and bold sincerity with the Grand Duke Vasily III. They also said that before his death, the disgraced boyar moved from the Kremlin with his entire yard to Bersenevka.

However, another, less substantiated version says that the name of this area comes from the Siberian word "bersen" - a gooseberry that could grow in the nearby Tsar's garden on Sofiyka. It was defeated by the order of the Grand Duke Ivan III in 1493, when the entire District opposite the Kremlin burned out in a fire, and the sovereign ordered to build only a garden there, without residential buildings, in order to warn against fire in the city in the future.

Already at the end of the XIV century, here, in the Bersenevka area, there was a monastery under the name Nikola Stary, which is "on the Swamp" - this swampy area received this name due to the constant floods of the Moscow River and heavy rains, which turned the right-bank part of the city into a swamp before built in 1786 by the Vodootvodny Canal.

Apparently, from those times, from the ancient monastery, the Nikolskaya Church remained on Bersenevka - it is even possible that it was formerly the cathedral church of this monastery or one of its churches. The church was mentioned as early as 1475, when it was made of wood, and in 1625 it was called "The great miracle worker Nicholas behind the Berseny grate". And Moscow kept the memory of the Zamoskvorechensky, or, as they said in the old days, the Zarechensky monastery for a long time - rumor claimed that it was in it that Ivan the Terrible imprisoned the disgraced Metropolitan Philip. And it was as if people from all over the Mother See flocked to the Swamp and crowded around the walls of the martyr's dungeon. In fact, the Metropolitan was kept under arrest in the Epiphany Monastery Kitay-Gorod, and the legend about Bersenevka appeared due to rumors about Malyuta Skuratov. Rumor connected the red chambers adjacent to the church with his name - as if the chief oprichnik himself lived in them, to whom the gloomy house passed from that very boyar Bersen.

The ancient part of these chambers really belongs to the 16th century, and it is possible that it was here that secret and bloody massacres took place against those objectionable to the king. In 1906, during the construction of a power station here, not far from the future House on the Embankment, ancient underground rooms were opened - so high that a horse could fit in them, as evidenced by the bones found there. In the gloomy dungeons, the remains of a man were found, and a lot of vice, and soon silver coins of the time of Grozny were found nearby. Probably, these were the torture dungeons of Malyuta Skuratov, who lived somewhere nearby. However, in Soviet times, the grave of the oprichnik was discovered on the opposite bank of the Moskva River, near the Church of the Praise of the Virgin, which left a new mystery to historians - after all, in those days the dead were buried only in their parishes, which means that Skuratov lived not on Bersenevka, but right opposite her.

One way or another, but only Bersenevka in Moscow rumor was closely associated with Malyuta Skuratov. Another legend says that after Skuratov, the house passed to his son-in-law, Boris Godunov - the tsar was married to Malyuta's daughter.

Only from the middle of the 17th century the house and church on Bersenevka have a well-known history. In 1657, the Duma clerk Averky Kirillov, who was in charge of the royal gardens in Zamoskvorechye, built a mansion for himself from the old chambers. Then he rebuilt anew the beautiful church with the main altar, consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity, and with the Nikolsky side-altar, which became his home church. In 1695, after the death of the clerk, a 1200 pood bell appeared on its bell tower, cast by Ivan Motorin himself - 42 years later, he and his son will cast the infamous Tsar Bell in the Kremlin.

The construction of the chambers took a long time - work was still underway at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. It is believed that the famous M. Choglokov, the architect of the Sukharev Tower, took part in the creation of their final appearance. However, another, more accurate version calls the author of the chambers Ivan Zarudny - because of the similarity of the decor of the Bersenev Chambers with elements of his Menshikov Tower, built later.

After the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, Averky Kirillov sided with the Naryshkins and fell into the circle of courtiers, whom the Miloslavskys planned to destroy. And the clerk was killed along with Artamon Matveyev during the rifle riot of 1682: he was thrown from the Red Porch to the ground, chopped up, and the corpse was dragged to Red Square with shouts: "Part, the Duma is coming!" He was buried here, on Bersenevka, in the parish of his home church.

His son Yakov was also a Duma clerk at first, and then he was tonsured a monk in the Donskoy Monastery. The Kirillovs donated a lot for this monastery - it was with their funds that the monastery's red walls with beautiful towers were built.

Since 1756, the house on Bersenevka began to belong to the treasury: at first, the Senate archive was located here, then Senate couriers lived in it, and the house was called "Courier". In the 60s of the 19th century, the former Kirillovs' house was donated by the government to the Moscow Archaeological Society, which held its famous public scientific meetings there.

From the middle of the 18th century, the church became an ordinary parish church. In 1812, it suffered from a fire - "burned" and restored, was re-consecrated the next year after the expulsion of Napoleon.

At the end of the 1920s, a dormitory for the builders of the House on the Embankment was housed in the former chambers of the Duma clerk. And in the 30s in the basement under the closed St. Nicholas Church were found ancient icons and the skeleton of a girl with a scythe and a woven ribbon, walled up in a niche. No one else managed to see the terrible find - when the stone slab was opened, the ashes instantly crumbled.

In 1930, after the closure of the Zamoskvorechensk church, they immediately began to seek its demolition: in the same year, the bell tower was destroyed, since it "obscured" the premises of the neighboring restoration workshops. The reason for the demolition was, of course, another - the notorious architect Boris Iofan was especially concerned about the liquidation of the church on Bersenevka, who was building an entire architectural ensemble in that place - the Palace of Soviets and the House on the Embankment - as an example of a socialist "house-town" in the style of constructivism. According to the initial project, the House was supposed to be in harmony with the Kremlin and was supposed to be red-pink in color. But fate decreed otherwise, and the house turned out to be gloomy gray.

The tragedy of Bersenevka continued in the ominous House on the Embankment - rumor spread that it was built from graveyard slabs with graves ravaged by the Bolsheviks, and therefore the fate of its many residents was so unhappy. These were mainly members of the Soviet government, ministers and their deputies, marshals and admirals, on whose heads the ax of Stalin's repressions fell on their heads in the 30s. Only a few of them escaped execution and camps. Even the "peace" of the inhabitants of the house was guarded by the military instead of concierges, and guard dogs were kept in small basements-windows on the first floor.

They began to dismantle the old St. Nicholas Church - there was no place for it in such a neighborhood with the new ideological center of the Soviet capital. And then the construction of the Palace of Soviets was suspended, and the temple miraculously survived. In 1958, the Research Institute of Museology was opened in it, and in the 70s its restoration began.

Divine services in it were resumed in 1992. On the feast of the Transfiguration of the same year, a prayer for peace in Abkhazia was served in the church. Now the temple acts.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, called "Red Bell".
Photo frombooks by N.A. Naydenova "Moscow. Cathedrals, monasteries and churches". 1882-83

Another wonderful and very ancient, but, unfortunately, closed St. Nicholas Church in Moscow is located in Kitay-gorod (former Yushkov Lane, in Soviet times - Vladimirova Passage, and since 1992 - Nikolsky Lane). It is called "Red Ringing", or "at the Red Bells" - from the "red", the beautiful ringing of its bells. In the old days there was a well-known saying: "Eat bread and salt, listen to the Red Ringing of Mother Moscow", and the Kitaygorodskaya Nikolskaya Church, like Moscow, was famous for its bells.

The church certainly belongs to the most ancient Moscow churches. Previously, there was a chapel in the name of St. Zosima of Solovetsky, and this led researchers to the idea that this church, so close to the Kremlin, was founded by Metropolitan Philip himself in 1566 - in memory of the peaceful days of his stay in the Solovetsky monastery. And when the saint fell into disgrace, Ivan the Terrible, in a rage, ordered the re-consecration of the Chinatown temple, which was renamed in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. And when Metropolitan Philip was canonized, and his relics were solemnly greeted in Moscow, then during the next renovation of the church at the end of the 17th century S.G. Naryshkin, honoring the memory of the saint, again arranged a side-chapel in the St. Nicholas Church in honor of the Solovetsky saints Zosima and Savvatya.

Another story says that this church appeared here in 1561, made of stone, by the diligence of an ordinary Chinese merchant Grigory Tverdikov, and some even attribute his life to the next, XVII century. The usual confusion of history.

In the 17th century, the Nikolskaya Church was called "which is famous for the Red Bell Towers on Posolskaya Street" - the Ambassadors' Courtyard was located here at that time. Its main altar was consecrated in the name of the Nativity of the Mother of God, and here was a priceless shrine - the icon of Hodegetria written by Simon Ushakov.

This temple was famous for the fact that, according to legend, the head of the rebel Alexei Sokovnin, the head of the Konyushenny order, who in 1697 participated in the conspiracy of the supporters of Princess Sophia against Peter I, was buried in it and was executed for that. His relatives demanded the remains, but the authorities sent the body to the "poor house", and only the severed head was buried with honors.

In 1858, the church, which had been repeatedly rebuilt by that time, was completely dismantled and, through the diligence of the merchant Polyakov, a new church was built, which has survived to our time. Perhaps its architect was the famous Nikolai Kozlovsky, who built the Joy of All Who Sorrow Church in Kalitniki - he definitely made the iconostasis of the new St. Nicholas Church.

And the most interesting page in the history of St. Nicholas Cathedral is associated with its "red" bells. From the old Moscow name of the church, a legend originated that its bells were painted with red paint for a miracle in Moscow, but this is just a fiction: it would be ridiculous to cover sacred bells with paint, especially since bells in Russia were sometimes beautifully gilded. They were called that - gilded. And there were also royal ones - large bells, cast by the highest decree, or for the main churches, ringing on very big holidays. In the Kremlin, for example, there was another "tsar-bell" weighing a thousand pounds, which was rarely struck, in the event of the death of a tsar or patriarch, slowly and with an arrangement, three times. It was cast already in the middle of the 16th century and was in a special wooden frame, and then it was cast with the addition of copper, named "Festive" and placed on the Assumption Belfry.

In addition to the royal and gilded bells, there were also prisoners, exiles and bast bells. One of these bells was located in the St. Nicholas Church. Bells taken from the enemy in the war as a trophy were called prisoners. The exiles were disgraced or the same captive bells that were sent to the outskirts of the country: sometimes alone, and sometimes together with people who fell into disgrace or captivity. Thus, during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, many Poles and Lithuanians were exiled to the remote Russian provinces, along with their captive bells. Lykovs were called disgraced bells, first broken by decree, and then tied with bast (however, some believe that these were ordinary bells of a simpler decoration.)

In St. Nicholas Church, one captive bell was placed, taken under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich during the war with Poland: casting in 1575, depicting three lilies and with an old inscription in a foreign language: "All hope is for the bell from Chen in France" - this is how it was presented translation in the form of a working hypothesis by modern specialists. This captive bell was "lucky" - it was not sent to some distant exile, but remained in the capital city of Moscow, and even in the beautiful central church. After the closure of the Nikolsky Church in 1927, it was transferred to a museum in the village of Kolomenskoye.

The ringing of bells in Russia invariably accompanied all great celebrations, heralded both joyful and sad events. The bell ringing summoned the Orthodox people to the church service, and those who could not come to the church, he encouraged to inner prayer. And according to the church charter, the ringing of bells on Holy Week was called red. Here, in the St. Nicholas Church, located close to the Kremlin, all the bells were selected "in one tone, and the sound from them was pleasant," wrote one of the distant contemporaries who heard her ringing. Therefore, this church was also called "at a good bell".

At the end of 1922, St. Nicholas Church was captured by some "Free Labor Church", in 1925 it was intended for demolition, two years later it was closed, but miraculously survived. At one time, it even housed an electrical substation. The church was not on the state guard, and it was only included in the list of objects proposed for this production.

At the Prelate on Ilyinka, or A few words after the destroyed church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross

In the Book of Power of the XVI century. the Church of St. Nicholas Big Cross is referred to as standing "outside the city", that is, outside the city wall. And this could only have been up to 1534-1538, when the Kitaygorodskaya wall was being built. Church of St. Nicholas Big Cross, stood at the very beginning of Ilyinka Street. It brought to the oath - "kissing the cross" - citizens who had litigation; a huge cross with 156 pieces of holy relics was erected in the temple on the vow of its creators. In 1680 the Arkhangelsk merchant Filatyev built a new stone church to replace the old one. It was famous for its elegant porch, stone carvings, openwork crosses on its five-domed ... The temple sparkled with elegant shiny decoration with a pale blue color. The basement served at the same time as a warehouse. Nikola Big Cross was one of the most famous and beautiful churches in Moscow. Its decoration can be judged by the iconostasis, which is now located in the Refectory Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Church of St. Nicholas Big Cross (XVII century) - destroyed

Church of the Introduction (XVII century) - destroyed

The history of the Church of Nikola the Great Cross is closely connected with the name of Bishop Seraphim (Zvedinsky). We will try to trace the life path of this bishop in order to acquaint the reader with this confessor and new martyr of Russia. Vladyka Seraphim Zvezdinsky was born in Moscow in May 1883 on New Blessed Street in the parish of the Church of the same faith in the name of the Holy Trinity and the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. The father of the future Vladyka, having converted in his youth from the schismatics bespopovtsy and secretly leaving his parent, the teacher of the bespopovskaya sect, Ioann Zvezdinsky became a zealous preacher among his lost brothers, urging them to join the Church of Christ. He was ordained in St. Petersburg, having married the daughter of Priest Vasily Slavsky.

Vladyka Seraphim's birthday was the day of St. Nicholas. The name of the newborn was given in honor of the holy day, and it was the grace of St. Nicholas was entrusted with a small child, orphaned in the third year of life. Nikolai grew up under the supervision of his father, a good nanny and an older sister. His favorite toy was the censer. Once, during the Liturgy, seeing his father standing at the throne, the boy entered the altar through the Royal Doors. In this they saw the instruction of God - the child itself will be a priest and primate at the Throne of God.

The years passed. Successful in the spiritual sciences, Nikolai lagged behind his classmates in mathematics. He sighed in prayer for help and was heard - he began to prosper, and subsequently he was always one of the first disciples. The youth especially fervently prayed to his heavenly patron - Saint Nicholas - about his cherished desire: "Saint Father Nicholas, help me preach the Word of God as best as possible, without notebooks and books, with your help to glorify the Lord and convert people to Christ." After graduating from the Zaikonospassky School, Nikolai continued his studies at the seminary. In 1901 the Lord visited the seminarian with His wonderful visit. On the evening of January 25, on Saturday, the young man did not go with his family to the all-night vigil, but decided to just walk the streets. Once at the Church of the Epiphany in Yelokhovo, he slowed down a little and thought about going in, but then decided that it was too late. Returning home, he felt a point pain under his right hand, as if a bite, after which the hand began to hurt badly. At dinner he told his family about this, and in the morning he could not get out of bed: a strong fever began. The invited doctor found lymphadenitis (inflammation of the lymph nodes) in him and advised him to undergo surgery. The operation was refused, and the disease progressed. The pain intensified to the point that Nikolai sometimes fainted, rushed about, screamed. On February 7, Father Hierotheos, Father Superior of the Sarov Hermitage, unexpectedly came to their house and advised them to seek help from the late elder of the Sarov Hermitage, Hieroschemamonk Seraphim, who even after his death helped many people. Father Hierotheos promised to send an image of Elder Seraphim. “God willing, through the prayers of the elder, your son will get well, do not be discouraged,” Father Hierotheos said, saying goodbye.

The patient was getting worse; he felt especially bad on 10 February. Subsequently, he said that there was a feeling as if the soul was being separated from the body. In the evening of that day, a book with the life of Elder Seraphim and his image on white tin were received from Father Hierotheos. When the patient took the little icon, he was struck by the living eyes of the Sarov elder, kind-kind. "Father Seraphim, heal me!" - pleaded the young man. With difficulty, he crossed himself with his sore hand, put the small icon to the sore spot, and suddenly the pain subsided. A little later, Nikolai forgot himself. He was told that at night he sat on the bed, prayed, whispered something, kissed the little icon, but he himself did not remember anything. Nikolai woke up only at 5 o'clock in the morning and felt that he was all wet. He asked for a change of linen. Everyone thought at first that he was just sweating, but when they lit a candle and looked, it turned out that an abscess the size of a fist had broken through, and everything came out. Nikolai was saved. Now it was necessary to heal the resulting wound. In the first burst of joy, the Zvezdinsky wanted to write about the miracle that had happened to Father Hierotheos, thank him for the little icon and ask him to serve in gratitude to Elder Seraphim the requiem at his grave. But all this was postponed, and then forgotten. Meanwhile, the wound, despite the doctor's efforts, did not heal, although several months had passed. On July 14, Father John finally sent a telegram to Sarov with a message about the healing and a request to serve a panikhida. Soon the answer came that the requiem was served and the miracle was recorded in the annals of the monastery. After that, the wound healed in a few days so that not a trace remained of it. In gratitude for the salvation of his son, Father John compiled a troparion and a kontakion for the saint of God the Monk Seraphim, the miracle worker.

After graduating from the seminary as one of the best students, Nikolai Zvezdinsky entered the Moscow Theological Academy. In his third year, he suffered a great sorrow - he lost his beloved father, who died on January 6, 1908. In these difficult days for the young man, the Lord consoled him by sending a spiritual father, who replaced his parent. Near the Holy Trinity Lavra, in the quiet Zosimov Hermitage, lived the recluse, Hieroschemamonk Alexei. The elder took the student entirely under his leadership. Nicholas felt how by the power of the prayer of the holy recluse everything earthly departed from him and his heart was kindled with spiritual fire, zeal for monastic life was manifested. Together with two of his friends, students of the academy, at the shrine of St. Sergius, he made a vow to devote his life to God and His Holy Church, taking the monastic order. One of them betrayed his oath promise, carried away by one girl, but just before the crown he suddenly fell dead. “God is God the Jealous,” replied the rector, His Eminence Evdokim (Meshchersky) in his eulogy. "The young man made an oath promise to God to betrot himself to Him, and the Lord took him to Himself before he betrayed Him."

Nikolai was firm in his intention to devote his life to God. But the enemy did not sleep, attacking him with night insurance. When this did not work, he took advantage of a young girl, to whom Nikolai was disposed in heart. Formerly unapproachable for his youthful pure love, now she began to seek a meeting with him. The young student preparing for the tonsure felt in his heart an affection for her, was carried away by the thought of earthly happiness - but, calling on God for help, he rejected this temptation and quickened his steps to the recluse old man, who in his reclusive cell blessed him not to hesitate with tonsure. On September 25, 1908, at an all-night vigil in the academic church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, the rector, His Grace Evdokim, tonsured a third-year student Nikolai Zvezdinsky. The face of the newly tonsured monk shone with an unearthly lordship. The Right Rector, understanding the freethinking professors and students who hate monasticism, said: "Look at his face and be convinced of the lightness of monastic exploits and God's grace." The newly tonsured monk Seraphim was taken to the Gethsemane skete, where he spent seven days in prayer and fasting in the church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God, in the limit arranged in the choir. In his soul, angels were singing as though praising God, as if he had heard heavenly music. But the soldier of Christ was not abandoned by the enemy. Suddenly hell came to his heart - fear, longing, impenetrable darkness, despondency of loneliness ... Then there was a terrible crash: the temple collapsed, falling down; the iconostasis crumbled to pieces with a crash. A young monk woke up - everything is still, the temple is intact, a quiet prayer twilight fills it ...

Miracles Monastery (16th century) in the Kremlin - destroyed in 1928

On the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, on November 4, Seraphim was ordained a hierodeacon. How grateful was his heart when he held the Almighty of the Universe in his hands, how he was filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, consuming the Holy Mysteries after the Liturgy! On the summer feast of the Kazan Mother of God, July 21, he became a hieromonk. In 1910, Hieromonk Seraphim graduated from the Theological Academy with a Master's degree in Theology and, as an ardent preacher and adherent of Orthodoxy, was left as a teacher at the Bethany Theological Seminary. In the seminary, he won the hearts of students with his example and word, prayed for each of his students, took out a particle for each on a proskomedia. The young students felt this, their hearts were inflamed with the desire to serve God, to be faithful servants of the Throne of God to death, like a mentor. But here, too, the enemy set up wiles against the ascetic of Christ. Wanting to change his good opinion of his mentor, he sent to him a woman of high rank, of extraordinary beauty, who with subtle flattery, under the guise of spiritual disposition, began to bribe the ascetic monk, giving him valuable gifts and gifts. But Father Seraphim kept a keen eye on himself and did not bow to flattery, shielding himself with a shutter and silence.

Consolation in these sorrows was a visit to the Chudov Monastery, where the meek, prayerful Archimandrite Arseny (Zhadanovsky), the good shepherd of the numerous monastic herd, shone with a quiet light at that time. In 1914, Fr. Seraphim became abbot of the Chudov Monastery, and Archimandrite Arseny became Bishop of Serpukhov. The Chudov brothers and parishioners fell in love with their new abbot. Vladyka Arseny saw in him a faithful helper, a companion and friend, the brethren - a good steward and a lofty example of monastic life, the parishioners - a comforter, mentor, teacher. The year 1917 struck like thunder from heaven, and after a year Miracles was empty. Father Seraphim sealed the relics of St. Alexei with the rector's seal and was one of the last to leave the monastery. Shortly before the destruction of the monastery, in July 1918, Archimandrite Seraphim had two visions. In the Annunciation side-altar, on Monday, during the proskomedia at the early liturgy, which was celebrated by Vladyka Arseny, Fr. Seraphim stood at the altar. Suddenly a large and strong boar entered the altar, grunting and glancing sideways at Vladyka Arseny and Fr. Seraphim, and with a roar began to dig a mountainous place. The second vision was seen by Father Seraphim from the windows of his chambers - black, as if in tights, he climbed into the window of the Patriarch's sacristy ...

The brothers were transferred to the Novospassky monastery, but the premises were not given. The fathers settled in the Serafimo-Znamensky skete of the Intercession women's community, under the careful care of Mother Abbess Famari. Liturgy was served daily. In October 1919, Patriarch Tikhon summoned Fr. Seraphim. “I need you,” said the patriarch and appointed him bishop of Dmitrov. - What do you think, are bishops giving incense three times three times for nothing? No, not for nothing. For many labors and deeds, for faithfully kept confessional. Walk the apostolic path. Do not be embarrassed by anything, do not be afraid of inconveniences, endure everything, ”Patriarch Tikhon instructed the new bishop. Vladyka diligently nursed his Dmitrov flock, was available to everyone, knew every house. The people of Dmitrov lived quietly and peacefully, warmed by his love and prayer ...

In November 1922, Vladyka was imprisoned at the Lubyanka. The Lord alone consoled the saint in a deep dungeon. Having eaten nothing for nine days, he strengthened his soul and body with the Holy Mysteries. Then he was transferred to Butyrki. His sufferings here were similar to those suffered by the martyrs of the first Christian centuries. His body, eaten away by lice, was covered with scabs. The heart weakened, and frequent heart attacks began. But the Lord preserved the saint for the Church and the beloved flock, which prayed for him with tears. Vladyka was taken to a hospital. The transfers to the prisoner were so abundant that many prisoners were fed with them. The saint did not cease to capture souls with the love of Christ. People, who did not approach the Holy Mysteries for decades, united again with the Lord, confessing their sins. After five months of imprisonment, Fr. Seraphim went on stage to the Zyryansk Territory. The modest village of Vizinga took him within its borders. They set up a house church. The daily charter service took up all of my free time. The exiled saint indulged in prayer. “Only here, in saving exile, did I learn what solitude and prayer are,” he wrote to his friend Vladyka Arseny. Liberation followed two years later, but it was overshadowed by the death of Patriarch Tikhon. Returning to Moscow, Vladyka settled in the Anosina desert. Prayer calmed the soul of the archpastor. In the summer of 1926, he was again deported from Moscow and the Moscow region. O. Seraphim goes to Diveevo. But the timid abbess did not immediately allow such a famous saint to perform divine services in the monastery. Vladyka suffered for a long time; finally, with his humility and prayer, he persuaded his mother to fulfill his request. In the basement church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Satisfy my sorrows", His Grace Seraphim began to celebrate the Liturgy every day, praying for the monastery and for his orphaned flock. After the liturgy, he walked along the groove, accepting in his heart the rule of the Monk Seraphim - one and a half hundred prayers "Theotokos, Virgin, rejoice" daily. And on November 9, 1927, Vladyka was arrested again. Arzamas, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Melenki, Kazakhstan, Penza, Saratov, Uralsk ... In Uralsk, severe malaria nearly took his life. Then he was transferred to Siberia, in 60-degree frosts ... On June 11, 1937, Vladyka Seraphim was arrested for the last time. On August 23, 1937, the NKVD troika in the Omsk region sentenced N.I. Zvezdinsky. under article 58-10-11 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to be shot. The sentence was carried out three days later. It is known that Vladyka Seraphim was buried in Omsk, in a mass grave, on the site of which there is now a residential building. Today he is a saint of our Church and prays for us at the throne of the Most High in the host of new martyrs who have shone in the land of Russia.

Returning to the case of Zvezdinsky, concocted in the NKVD, it should be noted that it contains the history of the unsuccessful departure into the underground of the church community of Nikola Big Cross. This was the very church where Archpriest Valentin Sventsitsky served before his arrest, where he sent his last letter, blessing his spiritual children not to go underground, but to become members of the Church headed by Metropolitan Sergius. Father Valentine (1882–1931) was, in his own way, a remarkable man and an excellent pastor-confessor, who suffered a lot from the godless government. In order to give the reader an opportunity to feel the charm of his words, at least to a small extent, we will cite an excerpt from one sermon delivered by Fr. Valentine in the 1920s, during the terrible time of the persecution of the Russian Church. “... Church flaws are not a phenomenon of our time, they have always existed. Suffice it to recall the words of St. Gregory the Theologian, who said: "Faith in God has perished." Suffice it to recall the words of St. John Chrysostom, who, in his conversation on the Epistles to the Corinthians, said: “We have only good memories left in the Church, as before and now they gathered for chants, but before, when they gathered for chants, there was like-mindedness, but now you will hardly find at least one person who would be your like-minded person. " After all, all this was said when some of the fathers of the Council of Nicea were still alive, when Athanasius the Great had just reposed, when Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom were still alive. But what does this mean? It only means that the earthly Church has many shortcomings, which are the result of human weaknesses and weaknesses. Can the sanctity of the Church be shaken by the transgressions of individuals? What a temptation, what a great folly to say that I am leaving the Church because I have met an unworthy pastor, that I will no longer believe in the Church, because I had to endure a difficult personal impression from this or that bearer of grace. The holiness of the Church does not consist in this - it lies in the sacraments, in the holiness of the grace of God, in all that good that this grace has done with the souls of men; it is contained in that host of saints who are saved by this grace; it is contained in every truly good movement of our soul. This light and holy is the holiness of the Church. And our sins are our diseases, they are sinful weaknesses, which we wash and cleanse in this Holy Church of Christ. That is why, in our personal life, let us not be confused by the crafty thought about the uselessness of our labors, when we feel the weakness of our sins, so let not our faith in the holiness of the Church be confused in us when we see certain shortcomings in the earthly Church. Our consciousness of sins should not cause despondency in us, but only more and more efforts to do the work of the Lord. Awareness of the shortcomings of church life should entail not a departure from the Holy Church, but an even greater love for her and a desire to serve for the benefit of the church. "

The case of Bishop Seraphim bears traces of the ambiguous reaction of parishioners to the message of Fr. Valentine. Some of them even left the temple. It is noteworthy that among the arrested children of Fr. Valentine is not present, except for his wife's sister. It is not clear whether those of them who obeyed their spiritual father remained in the church of St. Nicholas Big Cross or the arrests were more clearly selective than we think. To the extent that we can judge from the materials of the case, at the beginning of 1932 there was no noticeable tendency in the community of Nikola Bolshoy Krest to adopt the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius - on the contrary, she is one of the most active non-remembering people. It is even possible that the parish perceived itself as a certain Moscow center of the Orthodox Church. In particular, they received pilgrims from other cities who came to confess and receive communion. For example, from the city of Kozlov, groups of 12 people came to them, who, in an atmosphere close to a state of emergency, were accommodated in Moscow for the night. Perhaps all this affected the attitude of the OGPU towards them.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Big Cross shortly before destruction

In the fall of 1931, even earlier than A.F. Losev, the church of Nikola Big Cross was closed. A few months earlier, anticipating the closure of the church, its community and abbot, priest. Mikhail Lyubimov, attempted to find forms of continuation of the liturgical life. What to do next? The Orthodox community must necessarily exist, Fr. Michael; "... in no case should the believers be allowed to recognize the Sergian Church, since this leads to some reconciliation with the existing system ..." Sergius: Serbian courtyard (Church of Cyrus and John on Solyanka), Nikola Kleniki on Maroseyka, Nikola Kotelniki, Nikola Podkopai. After the closure of the Church of Nicholas Grand Cross, Fr. Michael invited his parishioners to receive communion in one of the listed churches. Realizing the inevitability of going underground, the parishioners were concerned about the problem of preserving themselves in the Church, and hence of bishop's nourishment. "... Those who are the people of God and the essence of Christ, those are with the bishop," wrote the Holy Martyr. Ignatius the God-bearer. How close has become now the self-consciousness of the Church of the first centuries! Immersed in an atmosphere of hating God, both priests and laity, faced with the need to choose, with extraordinary clarity realized their involvement in Christ and the Church of Christ. They are looking for this unity in Christ with each other, persistently seeking the replenishment of this unity in their spiritual primates - the bishops. Everywhere, both priests and laity - representatives of communities - go and go to their own bishops who have become church-wide. The temple was demolished in 1933. The parishioners moved to the church of the Serbian courtyard on Solyanka ...