Moscow, 2nd Raushsky lane, 1-3 / 26, building 8
Architectural styles: Baroque, Elizabethan Baroque
Year of construction: Between 1741 and 1759.
Architect: I. Michurin (?)
metro station "Novokuznetskaya", tram. 3, 39, stop. "Osipenko st."
The Church of St. Nicholas in Zayaitsky is located in Zamoskvorechye, on the right bank of the Moscow River, in the northwestern part of the quarter formed by the intersection of the Raushskaya embankment, 2nd Raushsky lane, Sadovnicheskaya street and Ustinsky passage. The entire area adjacent to the right bank of the Moskva River, between Kamenny and Ustinsky bridges, in ancient times was occupied by gardeners' settlements. Here lived the gardeners who served the royal gardens, arranged by order of Ivan III at the end of the 15th century and stretching along the river bank, opposite the Kremlin.
The most likely version was expressed by the famous historian of the end of the last century I.F. Tokmakov, who believed that the name of the church came from the fact that at the beginning of the 17th century the Zayaitsky Cossacks donated the image of the holy miracle worker Nicholas, in whose name the right side-altar of the warm church was built. This version is confirmed by a recently found archival document. The church of Nikola Zayitsky (with the main chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord) was located in the Lower Sadovnicheskaya Sloboda. The original church on this site was made of wood and was first mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1518. In the documents of the XVII century there is an entry: “The Church was led. Miracle worker Nikola Zayitsky 1625 and 1628 on a salary of 16 altyn 4 money was paid by priest Ephraim. " In 1639, in her parish there were four courtyards of the clergy and "near the cemetery, white courtyards of gardeners." According to some sources, by 1657 the church became stone, but after a hundred years it was so dilapidated that it was decided to demolish it and build a new one in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to others, the stone church was first built in 1652.
On May 25, a solemn laying of the foundation stone of the church building took place, about which a prayer service was served. The church "building was already conceived and only a few were built" when Moskvin died two months later. In September, the unfinished walls of the church were covered with wooden shields and a tent was erected, heated by a stove, in which blocks of white stone were hewn in winter. Construction was largely completed by 1754, and the interior was finished by 1759. On October 24, 1754, His Grace Philemon, Bishop of Georgia, consecrated the right side-altar, in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker, and on July 31 of the following year, the left side, in the name of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. The main, Preobrazhensky side-chapel was consecrated only on August 22, 1759. Thus, from the beginning of the construction of the temple to its full completion, including the decoration of the interior, the hanging of bells, etc., a long eighteen years have passed.
During the fire of 1812, the fire spared the temple, but its utensils were plundered by the French. Thanks to donations from parishioners, the lost utensils were replaced with new ones, and on September 19, 1812, the chapel of Nicholas the Wonderworker was consecrated, and a little later, the rest. In the 1820s, a barn was built along the northern border of the site, next to which it was decided to build stone storage sheds. In 1850, numerous wooden and stone one-story sheds appeared on the churchyard. From the beginning of the 19th century, life in the parish intensified, which was facilitated by merchants who donated for the improvement of the church.
Of the antiquities stored in the church, noteworthy is the old icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Zayitsky in the chapel of his name behind the right choir, which was donated by the Zayitsky Cossacks, in a silver gilded robe, arranged in 1814 by the widow, merchant's wife Sophia Eliseevna Sveshnikova. Another icon of St. Nicholas in the iconostasis of the Preobrazhensky chapel is a copy with the donated by the Cossacks, with separate icons at the top and bottom of the life and miracles of St. Nicholas, belonging to the original image, which was inserted in this place for the summer. The icon "Satisfy My Sorrows", in a silver gilded high work robe with crowns, arranged in 1853 by the diligence of merchant girls Tatiana and Irina Zabelin, who had their own house in the parish, in which they lived. At the left pillar was an icon of the Tikhvin Hodegetria, an exact copy of the original, in a gilded silver robe, arranged in 1820 by the diligence of all parishioners. Icon "Iverskaya", in a gilded silver riza, made by the diligence of the former church head of the Moscow merchant Afanasy Vasilyevich Savrasov in 1859. In the left side-altar "Kazan" icon, in a gilded silver robe, arranged in 1821 by the merchant Rodionov. An ancient remarkable writing icon of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, with his life on the sides, in a gilded silver robe. The local icon of the Mother of God "Feodorovskaya", in the main Transfiguration Church, in a gilded silver chased riza, made in 1879 by the will of a parishioner, Moscow merchant Matvey Dmitrievich Bryushakov (Bryushanov).
The coup of the 17th year marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. On November 24, the Executive Committee of the Zamoskvoretsk District Council of Workers 'and Peasants' Deputies received Prescription No. 1026 marked "urgently": the Church of Nikola Zayitsky was obliged to submit to the Legal Department an inventory of church real estate, financial statements for 1917 and 1918, receipts for depositing interest-bearing securities to the bank and cash, and in a harsh form it was stated that those guilty of non-compliance would be arrested and prosecuted for non-compliance with the orders of the Soviet government. On January 14, 1930, the Presidium of the Moscow Council decided to close the church and transfer the building to a pioneer club. But this decision was not implemented. In the same year, a statement was sent to the Zamoskvoretsky District Council on the decision to form a "society of believers at the Moscow Nikolo-Zayitsky Orthodox Church" with a request for its registration on the basis of the resolution of the All-Russian National Research Commission and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated April 8, 29 "On Religious Associations" and the NKVD instruction of 1.10 .29 "On the Rights and Duties of Religious Associations." On September 4, the religious society was registered. On September 6, 1931, Deacon Nikolai Vasilievich Tarkhov left the service in the church at his own request.
On October 19, the Presidium of the Moscow Regional Executive Committee heard a petition from the Leninsky District Council to close the church and re-equip it for Orgkhim's workshops and decided “to refuse because the said church is considered a monument of antiquity of the highest category”. The cult commission of the Moscow Oblast Executive Committee suggested that the district council send additional material on the closure of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. On September 17, 1932, the community from the closed church of St. Nicholas in Pupyshi moved to the temple, with a part of church things, utensils and icons. Shortly before that, on June 19, the Presidium of the Leninsky District Council heard a petition from the MOGES to close the Nikolo-Zayitskaya Church to use its building for the House of Science and Technology and decided, “given the urgent need ... in a room for ... deployment of work on those. propaganda ... in the form of consultations, exhibitions, emergency production rooms, those. libraries and reading rooms, production demonstration laboratories "ask the Moscow Council to close the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky, transfer the church building to MOGES, and give a group of believers the opportunity to" satisfy their religious needs "in the Church of St. George in Sadovniki, located nearby.
In 1933, the building of the temple was transferred to the Moscow Association of State Power Plants, which housed a transformer shop in it. When adjusting the church premises for new needs, the beautifully carved iconostases were dismantled, numerous utensils were taken out, and the wall paintings were partially destroyed; the remaining painting was covered with layers of whitewash and paint; the stucco molding of the middle of the 18th century has been fragmentarily preserved, in particular, the rocaille frame above the doorway on the western wall of the refectory, stucco floral ornaments and drawn cornices on the vaults. In 1939, they decided to demolish the temple. We managed to disassemble the octahedral dome with lucarnes above the quadrangle of the main volume of the church and the two upper tiers of the bell tower,
Today it is impossible to imagine the appearance of Raushskaya Embankment without the Nikolskaya Church: its high bell tower and wide dome contrast with the neighboring high-rise buildings and the power plant complex. Now it is hard to believe that in the twentieth century this temple was almost wiped off the face of Moscow.
According to one version, the Nikolsky Church on the banks of the Moskva River was founded back in the 16th century by the Zayaitsky Cossacks - that is, those who lived across the Yaik River (today it is called the Ural). According to another hypothesis, the first temple appeared here at the beginning of the 17th century, and the Zayitsky Cossacks donated the icon of St. Nicholas to it. In the middle of the 17th century, it was already mentioned as a stone one, and its main altar was consecrated in honor of the Savior of the Transfiguration, and only the side altar was named Nikolsky. Nevertheless, among the people, he continued to be named in honor of Nicholas the Wonderworker, one of the most popular saints. In 1741, the church was dismantled, and at the expense of the merchant Yemelyan Moskvin, new construction began, which ended in failure: in 1742 the unfinished building collapsed. After that, the work was resumed and suspended several times, but nevertheless it was crowned with success: by 1759, under the leadership of the outstanding Moscow architect Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky, the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Raushsky Lane was completed at the expense of the merchants Turchaninovs.
The general composition of the new church is typical of its time: the building is made in the spirit of the Elizabethan Baroque, named after the Empress Elizabeth. The quadruple of St. Nicholas Church is crowned with a powerful octahedral dome with eight large lucarnes - this not only gives the temple a monumental look, but also contributes to good illumination of its interior space. Interestingly, some decorative elements were never completed: in particular, the capitals of the pilasters on the facade remained smooth and did not receive the intended carving. The general view of the temple is perfectly complemented by an elegant fence with a wrought-iron lattice, which is a drawing of a blossoming flower bud. In addition to its architectural merits, the temple impresses with its size and spaciousness: in addition to the main throne in the name of the Transfiguration of the Savior, refectories, chapels of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. Sergius of Radonezh were consecrated.
After the cessation of services in 1933, St. Nicholas Church came under the jurisdiction of the neighboring power plant, which, having destroyed its dome and the upper tiers of the bell tower, intended to demolish the building altogether, but then turned it into a transformer-mechanical workshop. By the early 1990s, the church was brought to an emergency state, the space of the central part was divided into floors, and cracks appeared in the brickwork. Only in 1996, the disfigured temple was handed over to the community of believers. At the beginning of the XXI century, St. Nicholas Church was returned to its historical appearance. But the restoration continues today, work is underway to recreate the lost interiors. In addition to the temple itself, a two-story house has survived. and chta XVIII century in the 2nd Raushsky lane. The 19th century church sheds with their facades overlooking the Moskva River were replaced at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries with new buildings imitating ancient architecture.
Today, looking at the beautiful church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zayayitsky, which is located nearby, it is difficult to imagine that in the 20th century it could have been destroyed forever.
From the history of the Nicholas Church in Raushsky lane
The exact data on the appearance of the shrine has not yet been established.
According to the first version, the Nicholas Church was founded in the 16th century by the Zayitsky Cossacks, those who lived across the Yaik River. Another assumption regarding the appearance of a religious building says that it happened later - in the 17th century, when the Zayitsky Cossacks presented the temple with an icon depicting St. Nicholas.
In the second half of the 17th century, the church was already mentioned as a stone one. Then only the side-altar was called Nikolsky, but the people so soon began to call the temple itself.
In 1741, the old church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker built in 1652 was dismantled, and a new church began to be erected in its place. The funds for the construction were provided by the merchant Moskvin, and the project was developed by the architect I.S. Mergasov.
However, in 1743 the unfinished church collapsed. The construction of the shrine was started again only in 1751. The funds for the construction were allocated by the merchant Turchaninov, who supervised the construction work. Only by 1759, all the work on the construction of the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zayitskoye was completed.
The building is executed in the Elizabethan Baroque style. On the quadrangle there is a huge octahedral dome with powerful lucarnes, which gives the temple a monumentality, and also contributes to the excellent illumination of the building inside. It was planned to decorate the capitals on the facade with carvings, but they remained smooth.
A wrought-iron fence, which depicts a blossoming flower bud, complements the look of the temple.
The Nicholas Church in Raushsky Lane is very spacious. It impresses with its size as well as its architectural decor.
In 1933, the services ceased. The building was transferred to a nearby power plant. After the dome of the temple and some tiers of the bell tower were destroyed, it was planned to demolish the entire building of the temple itself. However, the demolition was suspended, and the temple was adapted for a transformer workshop.
By 1990, the church was in disrepair: cracks appeared on the walls, partitions were placed in the central part, dividing the temple into floors.
In 1996, the shrine was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Already in the 21st century, St. Nicholas Church acquired its original historical appearance.
Schedule: On holidays and Sunday Liturgy at 9.30 a.m., on the eve of an all-night vigil at 5 p.m.
Liturgy for relatives of prisoners with an intense prayer "for everyone in dungeons and bonds of those who are staying" - the last Sunday of each month throughout the year - beginning at 9:00 am (summer months) or at 10:00 am during the rest of the year;
Prayer for health and mercy in relation to the prisoners and their families, with the singing of the Akathist to St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker of Myra and the fervent prayer "for everyone in dungeons and bonds of those who are in" - every Thursday throughout the year - beginning at 17-00;
The divine service is headed by the chairman of the Synodal Department of Prison Ministry, Vicar of the Moscow Diocese, Bishop Irinarkh of Krasnogorsk
On January 26, 2011, the relics of the early Christian Martyr Boniface of Tarsus and holy great martyr Anastasia.
The shrines were placed in a reliquary and from now on will always be in the temple, available for worship to Every Sunday without interruption.
Address: 2nd Raushsky lane, 1-3 / 26, bldg. 8
Directions: M. "Novokuznetskaya", tram. 3, 39, stop. "Sadovnicheskaya Street"
Nearest metro: Metro "Novokuznetskaya"
Temple website: http://svnikolahram.ru/
Priests at the temple:
Archpriest Vyacheslav Kulikov
Priest Andrey Grinev
Deacon Maximian Tantsurov
The Church of St. Nicholas in Zayaitsky is located in Zamoskvorechye, on the right bank of the Moscow River, in the northwestern part of the quarter formed by the intersection of the Raushskaya embankment, 2nd Raushsky lane, Sadovnicheskaya street and Ustinsky passage. The entire area adjacent to the right bank of the Moskva River, between Kamenny and Ustinsky bridges, in ancient times was occupied by gardeners' settlements. Here lived the gardeners who served the royal gardens, arranged by order of Ivan III at the end of the 15th century and stretching along the river bank, opposite the Kremlin.
The name of the church of Nikolai Zayitsky has long attracted historians and place names. Thus, I. Kondratyev, a historian of the late 19th century, expressed several assumptions about it: “They say that Zayayik Tatars lived here, who traded Bukhara goods in Moscow. According to other news, it can be seen that the temple was called Zayitsky because during the invasion of the Poles at the beginning of the 17th century, a Cossack regiment from the Yaik River (modern Ural River) was summoned to repel the enemies, which built a wooden church on the place where the stone church now stands in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and put in her the image of this saint. Then there is also a legend that the icon painter Andrei Zayizsky lived in the parish, who painted the image of Nicholas the Wonderworker in the said church and painted all the walls of the church. Finally, some suggest that the ancient image of St. Nicholas was brought from Zayitsky Island, which belongs to the Solovetsky monastery, and is placed in the aforementioned church. "
The assumption about the Zayaitsky Tatars, who gave the name to the church, was also expressed in the "Historical Guide to the Famous Capital of the Russian State", published at the beginning of the 19th century. The modern author Alexander Shamaro also leans towards him: “The adjective“ Zayitsky ”itself does not represent anything mysterious. Zayitsky - behind the Yaik, a large river flowing through the South Urals and the Caspian lowlands and separating Europe and Asia. As you know, in 1775, Mother Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, who had barely recovered from the deep emotional upheavals associated with a gigantic peasant revolt led by Yemelyan Pugachev, and was in anger at the Yaik Cossacks, who ignited this fire, ordered to rename the Yaik River into the Ural River and, accordingly, the Yaitsk Cossack army in the Urals. This means that what left a memory in the name of the Nikolsky temple must be looked for in the history that preceded the renaming. Yes, it must be in the Time of Troubles - the hard times of 1605-1612, the time of foreign intervention, general ruin, hunger, countless deaths. For only then could Cossack detachments from the shores of the distant Yaik visit Moscow.
Therefore, another toponymic version seems to be more correct. It can be said that it is turned in the diametrically opposite direction - not towards war, but towards peace, not towards murder, robbery, fires, but towards trade with distant countries. IF Tokmakov briefly informs about this hypothesis: “Perhaps some lovers of Moscow antiquity will want to know the reason why this temple is called“ what's in Zayitskaya ”; we cannot answer reliably, but we assume that the Zayaitsk Tatars lived here, who traded in Moscow in Bukhara goods. Across the street from the embankment there is one street named after Tatarskaya; this proves that Tatars lived in this part ... ”. Is this version historically plausible? Caravan routes crossed the lands inhabited by Eastern Slavs, and our ancestors, of course, also participated in this trade. In the 16th-18th centuries, the Bukhara Khanate was the main supplier of Asian goods to Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, to the Moscow state, which became the Russian Empire. Khiva also conducted extensive trade. From Bukhara and Khiva, embassies were sent one after another, which, of course, were also trade expeditions. And all these ambassadors and merchants needed a safe haven worthy of them in the mother capital. Speaking in Russian - an inn, or a courtyard. It could well have been created on the Moskvoretsky coast, opposite the mouth of the Yauza, near the Tatar settlement located south of the Tatar settlement. The desire of guests from Turkestan to stay in a Slavic and Christian city closer to brothers in faith who spoke a related language is quite understandable. Well, as for Tokmakov's expression “Zayayik Tatars who traded Bukhara goods in Moscow,” it should be recalled that in pre-revolutionary Russia, representatives of various Turkic peoples were called Tatars. And it is quite possible that the nickname Nikola Zayitsky meant the Nikolsky temple, which in Zayitskaya Sloboda - near the Bukhara courtyard ”. For this reason, this area can also be attributed to the era of Mongol-Tatar domination. "
And yet the most probable version was expressed by the famous historian of the end of the last century I.F.Tokmakov, who believed that the name of the church came from the fact that at the beginning of the 17th century the Zayaik Cossacks donated the image of the holy miracle worker Nicholas, in whose name the right side-altar of the warm church was built. This version is confirmed by a recently found archival document. The church of Nikola Zayitsky (with the main chapel of the Transfiguration of the Lord) was located in the Lower Sadovnicheskaya Sloboda. The original church on this site was made of wood and was first mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1518. In the documents of the XVII century there is an entry: “The Church was led. Miracle worker Nikola Zayitsky 1625 and 1628 on a salary of 16 altyn 4 money was paid by priest Ephraim. " In 1639, in her parish there were four courtyards of the clergy and "near the cemetery, white courtyards of gardeners." According to some sources, by 1657 the church became stone, but after a hundred years it was so dilapidated that it was decided to demolish it and build a new one in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker. According to others, the stone church was first built in 1652.
The Temple of the Sign was built next to the Church of St. Nicholas in Zayitskoye in 1670 (stone from 1718, consecrated on November 25), dismantled in the second half of the 18th century. The Znamensky throne was last mentioned in a document from 1778. In the 1870s, there was a project to restore the Znamensky side-chapel in the bell tower, but permission was not given, as "the passage there is cramped and inconvenient."
The "Construction Book" for 1657 indicates the size of the church land and two cemeteries at the Nikolo-Zayitsky Church, fenced off. Mostly gardeners lived in the parish (there were 47 yards), and “around the church” there were “garden fences”. In 1699, after an audit of the "annual cash income", Peter I against the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord with the side-altar of Nicholas the Wonderworker Zayitsky made a note: "to feed on the parish." From that time on, all repair and restructuring work was to be carried out at the expense of parishioners, without subsidies from church departments.
In March 1741, "Moscow drinking gatherings, the companion Emelyan Yakovlev, son Moskvin" turned to the office of the Synodal Board with a request to give permission to demolish the old parish church and build a new one - in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord with the chapels of Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. Gardeners, Zayetsky's Call ”.
On May 25, a solemn laying of the foundation stone of the church building took place, about which a prayer service was served. The church "building was already conceived and only a few were built" when Moskvin died two months later. In September, the unfinished walls of the church were covered with wooden shields and a tent was erected, heated by a stove, in which blocks of white stone were hewn in winter.
According to a report in the office of the Synod, by March 1742 the walls of the church had been erected "along the lower windows and higher they were brought out." In March 1742, by the Decree of the Synod, the architect Ivan Michurin was ordered to inspect the construction of the church, "what the word of Zayitsky", and draw up an estimate for its completion, but he examined the church only a year later. In the "Reporting" Michurin reported that "this church should be completed at a height of 12 sazhens, a bell tower at a height of 15 sazhens ... and how to remove the walls should be this, everything is indicated on the drawn up drawing." The estimate compiled by him lists the necessary materials. It was also planned to produce "twenty-four statues of different kinds" to decorate the facades. It was supposed to buy cast iron slabs for the interior of the church floors. The construction was approaching complete completion, when on the night of September 11, 1743, the temple suddenly collapsed, as the priest Peter Kirillov immediately reported to the office of the Synod. Since the money bequeathed by Moskvin had already run out, the office of the Synod began to collect on promissory notes. One of Moskvin's debtors received 500 rubles. They were given to the priest, who hired workers to dismantle the fallen building and began to buy building materials.
From a record dated March 30, 1745, it is known that the peasant contractor Ivan Stefanov "and his comrades" completely dismantled the old foundation, and another contractor, Andrei Stepanov, with a team of masons laid out "a new foundation for the church." This entry contradicts the opinion of many researchers who believed that the new building was erected on the old foundation.
Work resumed in the spring of 1749, but due to a constant lack of funds, their completion was delayed for several years. A new stage in the history of the temple is associated with the name of the famous Russian architect Prince D. Ukhtomsky. On January 18, 1748, the office of the Synod issued a decree, according to which Ukhtomsky was instructed to draw up a "statement" of the necessary materials for the completion of the church. The temple of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya is reasonably considered an analogue of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. Both of them are close both in the time of construction, and in the participation of D. Ukhtomsky in it, and in the architectural appearance in the style of “Elizabethan Baroque”. The Church of Nikola Zayitsky is designed in a traditional Baroque composition, consisting of a sequential connection of the temple, the refectory and the bell tower, moreover, the more dynamic, upward-looking multi-tiered bell tower contrasts with the squat massive quadrangle of the main volume of the church building. The quadruple ends with an octahedral dome, each edge of which is cut through by a high hatch window, framed on the sides by columns and topped with an onion pediment. In the center of the dome is a light drum with a bulbous head. The use of windows of various shapes, including round ones, as well as numerous white-stone decorative elements and the color of the walls, contrasting with the white decor, enhance the feeling of conviviality.
Construction was largely completed by 1754, and the interior was finished by 1759. On October 24, 1754, His Grace Philemon, Bishop of Georgia, consecrated the right side-altar, in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker, and on July 31 of the following year, the left side, in the name of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. The main, Preobrazhensky side-chapel was consecrated only on August 22, 1759. Thus, from the beginning of the construction of the temple to its full completion, including the decoration of the interior, the hanging of bells, etc., a long eighteen years have passed.
The area of the temple was 200 square fathoms, and the territory of the churchyard - 1572. The one-part altar protruded 4.5 fathoms and was 2 fathoms narrower than the main volume. The total length of the church, the refectory and the bell tower was 19 yards, while the width of the latter was 6 yards. The first plan of the churchyard is dated 1748. Its territory had an L-shaped configuration; the long western border stretched along the modern 2nd Raushsky lane, to which the end of the bell tower went; the border parallel to it ran along the adjacent courtyard, while the northern one stretched along the Moskva River. The first tier of the bell tower was a porch open on three sides with a row of arches with cross vaults (later they were laid). In the arches, steps were arranged for the blind area, as well as white stone steps in front of the entrances to the church from the southern and northern facades. The Nikolo-Zayitsky temple was not rich. In 1771, there were 30 households in his parish.
During the fire of 1812, the fire spared the temple, but its utensils were plundered by the French. Thanks to donations from parishioners, the lost utensils were replaced with new ones, and on September 19, 1812, the chapel of Nicholas the Wonderworker was consecrated, and a little later, the rest. In the 1820s, a barn was built along the northern border of the site, next to which it was decided to build stone storage sheds. In 1850, numerous wooden and stone one-story sheds appeared on the churchyard.
From the beginning of the 19th century, life in the parish intensified, which was facilitated by merchants who donated for the improvement of the church.
At the expense of the hereditary honorary citizen of the house owner Afanasy Aleksandrovich Moshnin, two most exquisite silver-gilded vestments were ordered for the temple icons of St. Nicholas and St. Sergius in the side-chapels of their name, he also donated the image of the Great Martyr Panteleimon of high artistic writing in a silver-gilded riza and a metal frame. In 1887, the “Metric” of the church was drawn up, in which, in particular, it was noted that the temple was built “of bricks, the lower part was faced with white stone. Wall masonry and ordinary bricks. The walls have survived in their original form ... The outer walls are smooth, no decorations, except for the columns in the dome windows. A drum with spans, one piece without decorations, is arranged over the vaults. Two chapters, east and west, are gilded. Eight-pointed copper crosses. The windows are oblong, arched at the top, placed above the plinth. There are six in the altar, in one light, with straight lintels; kokoshniks above the windows, architraves with rollers; the windows have ebb inside, iron bars, ring-shaped, shutters are simple. There are three doors, on the north, south and west sides; iron, no decorations, no carvings. " The interior of the main church looks like a “square chamber, the altar is separated by a stone wall with three spans. There are two aisles; the western vestibule in the form of a chamber is separated by a blank wall with spans. In the main church, the vaults are in the form of a circular arc without support on pillars; in the side rooms they rest on four pillars. To the east is a mediastinum with one semicircular span ... In the side-chapels, the ceiling is decorated with stucco frames and heads of cherubs. The main church has a mosaic floor, with cast-iron slabs in the side-altars. An altar without division ... the platform is raised one step. A high place in a depression under a semicircular vault. The salt stone is one step higher than the cathedral platform and is separated by a copper lattice.
The church inside is decorated with paintings ... the main church is painted all over, there are images of Russian princes in princely costumes, in crowns ... The bell tower together with the church, the base is four-sided, the top is octagonal, stone. There are eight bells ... the oldest belongs to 1834, the rest all belong to a later time. Inscriptions on bells of ordinary content. " Subsequently, there were nine bells. The main one is “for the glory of the Holy, Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” in 356 pounds in weight, polyeleos in 165 pounds, everyday and seven different weights.
Of the antiquities stored in the church, noteworthy is the old icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Zayitsky in the chapel of his name behind the right choir, which was donated by the Zayitsky Cossacks, in a silver gilded robe, arranged in 1814 by the widow, merchant's wife Sophia Eliseevna Sveshnikova. Another icon of St. Nicholas in the iconostasis of the Preobrazhensky chapel is a copy with a donated by the Cossacks, with separate icons at the top and bottom of the life and miracles of St. Nicholas, belonging to the original image, which was inserted in this place for the summer. The icon "Satisfy My Sorrows", in a silver gilded high work robe with crowns, arranged in 1853 by the diligence of merchant girls Tatiana and Irina Zabelin, who had their own house in the parish, in which they lived. At the left pillar was an icon of the Tikhvin Hodegetria, an exact copy of the original, in a gilded silver robe, arranged in 1820 by the diligence of all parishioners. Icon "Iverskaya", in a gilded silver riza, made by the diligence of the former church head of the Moscow merchant Afanasy Vasilyevich Savrasov in 1859. In the left side-altar "Kazan" icon, in a gilded silver robe, arranged in 1821 by the merchant Rodionov. An ancient remarkable writing icon of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, with his life on the sides, in a gilded silver robe. The local icon of the Mother of God "Feodorovskaya", in the main Transfiguration Church, in a gilded silver chased riza, made in 1879 by the will of a parishioner, Moscow merchant Matvey Dmitrievich Bryushakov (Bryushanov).
In the chapel in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker there was also a locally revered image of the Sign, of the first half of the 16th century, in a gilded silver chased riza from the nearby Znamensky Church (since 1933 the icon has been in the Tretyakov Gallery). Since olden times, with the blessing of His Grace Metropolitan Plato, the day of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos on November 27 / December 10 was celebrated in the same way as temple and patronal feasts and was accompanied by the walking of a clergyman with a cross and holy water upon arrival.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the entire church was “painted on the walls and in the dome with various picturesque paintings. The bottom of the western wall in the present church and the bottom of the same wall and the adjacent parts of the southern and northern sides to the windows in the refectory church are covered with cloth ", with two pylons in the refectory" altar iconostases have been approved. "
On May 6, 1893, with the permission of the diocesan authorities, the Nikolo-Zayitsky charitable brotherhood was opened with funds collected by subscription from the parishioners.
In 1894 and 1907, several stone and one wooden sheds were built along the Moskva River embankment at the churchyard; they were rented out as a warehouse for goods. In the spring of 1898, the clergyman and headman of the church turned to the spiritual Consistory with a request to allow the installation of a cold central chapel in the basement of an oven. The need to "expand the temple" in this way was explained by the fact that with a large gathering of parishioners in the church it is stuffy, "which is why drops form on the ceiling, wall paintings and gilding on iconostases leak from the walls and deteriorate." The Consistory allowed the indicated work. Having made stone descents into the basement, heating was installed in it, after which all the side-altars of the church became warm.
In 1901, at the expense of A.V. Moshnina, a one-story stone building was built for the parish school, designed by the architect A. Nikiforov. The deacon and psalmists taught at the new school. Five years later, a two-story stone house was added to the building, designed by V. Kashin, and apartments for rent were arranged in it. In 1907, funds from profitable apartments went to add the second floor over the school and the almshouse. The decorative design of the building's facade was made according to the project of the civil engineer V. Dubovsky in the pseudo-Russian style characteristic of that time. In the spring of 1908, the temple was damaged by floods. On April 9, on Great Wednesday, the water in the Moskva River, Yauza and Vodootvodny Canal began to arrive with incredible speed. Near the Babiegorodskaya dam, which from 1836 to 1937 blocked off the Moskva River above the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge, between the Prechistenskaya and Bersenevskaya embankments, a draft cab driver drowned. The horse turned out to be happier than the owner - they managed to pull it on the ropes. The water kept coming in and out until Saturday midnight. For three days, the level in the Moskva River soared almost 9 meters above the ordinary level. 16 square kilometers of urban area - 226 streets, lanes, embankments, 2,500 houses with 180,000 inhabitants - were under water. The Moscow River merged with the Vodootvodny Canal, forming a single stream up to one and a half kilometers wide. On the Kremlin embankment, the water rose so high that only gas lamps were visible on the street lighting poles. The Kremlin looked from the side of the flooded Zamoskvorechye by the Buyan Island from Pushkin's fairy tale. At midnight from Saturday to Easter Sunday, April 13, the flooding reached its highest point. Panic fear gripped the residents of the riverside neighborhoods. Something unimaginable was happening in the churches along the banks of the Moskva River and the Vodootvodny Canal. Dirty, icy water rushed into the temples, turning them into stone pools. Priests and pilgrims wade, stood in the water up to their knees, up to their waist, and in the Tikhvin Church on Dorogomilov - even up to their chest. Religious processions around the temples were interrupted, people with banners and icons hurriedly climbed onto the roofs. The chants of Easter Matins in the Church of St. George, in Endovy, were interrupted by a collapse of plaster that fell from the vault on the worshipers. Having thus marked the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the flood began to subside. And only a week later it was possible to at least roughly determine the damage caused to at least twelve Moscow churches. In the church of Nikola Zayitsky, all the iconostases were damaged, books were stained; up to 25 expensive vestments were damaged in the sacristy and altars.
In June 1917, the clergy and parishioners of the church applied to the Consistory for permission to repair the church "without any changes." O. A. Kashurin (Koshchurin) was appointed the contractor. From his estimate, the nature of the work performed is visible: the roof, domes, cornices and valances of the church and bell tower were made with new twelve-pound iron; the roof and domes are painted with copperhead. Replaced the dilapidated refectory gutters. On the walls of the facades, with an area of 785 square fathoms, the plaster was repaired, and then “the entire church and the bell tower outside in two times” were painted “in the same color with red tint on the chemical composition”.
The coup of the 17th year marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the church of St. Nicholas Zayitsky. On November 24, the Executive Committee of the Zamoskvoretsk District Council of Workers 'and Peasants' Deputies received Prescription No. 1026 marked "urgently": the Church of Nikola Zayitsky was obliged to submit to the Legal Department an inventory of church real estate, financial statements for 1917 and 1918, receipts for depositing interest-bearing securities to the bank and cash, and in a harsh form it was stated that those guilty of non-compliance would be arrested and prosecuted for non-compliance with the orders of the Soviet government.