Church of Mikhail and Fyodor of Chernigov (Moscow)

Interior of the temple in 2018

1578: Tsar, Metropolitan and people meet the relics of Chernigov miracle workers

For centuries, the Russian princes went to bow to the Horde, the path to which began on the road that became Zamoskvorechya Street - Bolshaya Ordynka. Not everyone was coming back alive.

Those killed in the Batu camp in the Golden Horde of Prince of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich and boyar Fedor for refusing to undergo a pagan rite, in 1246 the church ranked saints. The relics of Prince Michael and boyar Theodore in 1246 were buried in Vladimir, and then transferred to Chernigov.

Back in 1577, a church was erected for the relics of saints in the Moscow Kremlin, located over the Tainitsky Gate and later named the Cathedral of Chernigov Saints. The sovereign himself wrote a "letter of invitation" addressed to the saints, calling them to the Reigning City of Moscow, "as if alive."

On February 14, 1578, near the walls of the Church of John the Baptist, the people with Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan Anthony of Moscow were solemnly greeted by the holy relics of Prince Mikhail of Chernigov and his faithful boyar Fedor, transferred from Chernigov recaptured from the Poles.

On August 25, 1770, upon the abolition of the Chernigov Cathedral, the relics were transferred to the Sretensky Cathedral, which is in the canopy, and on November 21, 1774 - to the Arkhangelsk Cathedral, where the care of Empress Catherine II staged a silver cancer stolen by the French in 1812^[1]

The relics of saints in bronze cancer still rest in the Arkhangelsk Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

1625: There is a wooden church in the name of the Chernihiv miracle workers

In memory of the meeting of the relics of the Chernigov saints, the tsar built a wooden church in the name of the Chernigov miracle workers, the first mention of which dates back to 1625. The temple was assigned to the Church of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist near Bor.

1675: Kupchikha Malyutin, according to her husband's will, builds the five-domed church of Chernigov miracle workers

In 2011, when archaeologists were restoring the foundation of the church, a 17th-century burial and tombstone were discovered under the floor. An inscription in the Old Slavic language has been preserved on the stone, indicating that the famous merchant of the cloth hundred, the ancestor of the Malyutin family, who participated in the adoption of the first Moscow Trade Charter, rests here. It is believed that it was he who bequeathed to his wife to build a stone church of Saints Michael and Fyodor on the site of a wooden one ― at that time this was considered a very generous gesture of^[2].

In 1675, at the expense of the merchant Juliania Ivanovna Malyutina, a stone five-domed single-throne church was built on the site of a wooden church in the name of the Chernigov miracle workers, which is still located there, and its composition included a tent bell tower that has not survived to this day.

View of the temple in March 2018

The main shrine of the temple - the Trinity of the Old Testament, (circa 1675) - is located in the Tretyakov Gallery, where it entered in 1934. Cleared at the State Tretyakov Gallery by A.V. Kirikov in 1954.

The trinity is Old Testament, with being. Circa 1675. Armory School. The board is linden, with an ark, the keys are cut-in, oncoming. Pavoloka, levkas, egg tempera. 133 × 127 cm

This is how this icon is described in the book of Antonova V.I., Mneva N.E. "Catalog of Old Russian painting of the XI - beginning of the XVIII century. Experience of historical and artistic classification" (1963^[3]:

The main theme of the biblical story about the meal of three angels at Abraham and Sarah is combined into a single composition with "life" scenes located in the depths of space, in the interiors, on the platforms and stairs of the building, near the oak of Mamvry and the slides.

Scene plots:

• Abraham's meeting of the three angels;
• Washing the feet of the angels;
• Cooking;
• Angels Send Off;
• The expulsion of Lot from the city of Sodom and the transformation of his wife into a salt column;
• Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac.

The figures of angels sitting at the table in the foreground are large, heavy. Abraham and Sarah, who give the angels food, are half the size. In the depths of space, the figures are depicted very small. People are vividly and completely non-iconographically written. The faces are executed in a chiaroscuro realistic manner. Clothing olive and crimson-red tones with wide golden gaps. Table and seats - carved, gilded. On the table is a white tablecloth, golden dishes, knives, spoons, loaves, berries. In front of the table, on the ground, among the flowers, there are two golden kungans on the pallet. Slides on which naturalistically painted flowers grow, light yellow tones with reddish and greenish shadows. The buildings are painted somewhat variegated - in green, pink and yellow shades. On a mighty oak tree with a thick trunk and a wide crown, the leaves are decorated with gold, the background is greenish blue. The fields are yellow.

On the back, under the top key, an inscription in ink and two wax seals. The inscription:... " Church of Chernihiv miracle workers 1811 September 26. " On the seals are the letters "KID" under the image of a bird and the inscription: "Dvokraeva... shelf. Ivana... is new. "

1740: A chapel of St. Vmets. Ekaterina

In 1740, a chapel of St. Vmets. Catherine, and the roof with kokoshniks turned into a four-pitched. In the years 1820-30. the church of the Chernigov martyrs was assigned to the Church of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist near Bor, and the Catherine chapel was abolished and dismantled along with the upper part of the temple bell tower.

1881

Church of Mikhail and Fyodor of Chernigov, Moscow. 1881 Nikolay Naydenov. "Moscow: Cathedrals, monasteries, churches." 1882

1917: Closing the Temple

The neighboring Church of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist was closed in 1917, the Church of Chernigov Miracle Workers - shortly after it.

1924: In the building of the Church of the Chernigov Martyrs, the Baptist meeting house

Since 1924, in the building of the church of the Chernigov martyrs there was a Baptist meeting house.

1934: Church of the Chernigov Martyrs turned into a warehouse

The probable date of the closure of the church can be considered 1934. This is evidenced by the entry in the catalog of ancient Russian art of the Tretyakov Gallery about the transfer from the church of Chernigov miracle workers of the icon "The Old Testament Trinity with Being" in 1675, made by the masters of the Armory.

Around 1934, the church of the Chernigov martyrs was turned into a warehouse. So he was a warehouse until 1977. The chapters were dismantled, the plaster was peeled off. The temple of John the Baptist looked no better. In 1969, M.L. Epiphany, one of the largest specialists in the history of Moscow churches, described his condition as follows: "The church is currently beheaded, the plaster has fallen off in places, the bell tower is painted, there is no gilding. Inside is placed "Food Management. Raytorgotdel of the Soviet district. "

1970s: Restoration of temples before the Olympics

In the second half of the 1970s, when the capital of the USSR was preparing to receive foreign guests in connection with the upcoming 1980 Olympic Games, large-scale restoration work was carried out in many ruined architectural monuments. Both churches were restored along with a free-standing bell tower in Chernigov Lane. In the church of the Chernigov martyrs, the chapters were restored and covered with emerald tiles, the completion with kokoshniks was revealed. The walls of both temples were plastered and whitewashed, the refectory and bell tower were painted. Restoration work continued until 1984.

1991: Return of the temple to believers. Rector Sergius Toroptsev

In 1991, the church of the Chernihiv martyrs was returned to believers.

In 1991, in the Epiphany Cathedral, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II ordained Protodeacon Sergius to the priestly rank, and a few days later he was appointed rector of the newly opened church in honor of Michael and Theodore of Chernigov miracle workers.

Being an excellent electrician, carpenter and welder, Father Sergius did all the work on preparing the church for worship with his own hands and with the help of a few parishioners.

Since the opening in 1991, and until the transfer and opening of the Church of St. John the Baptist in 1997, all services were performed in the church of Michael and Theodore of Chernigov miracle workers.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the churches of Chernigov Lane were already united into one parish, the church of Michael and Theodore was used as a summer one. Since 1991, all services, even in winter, have been held in an unheated church. Believers helped the church: they put up frames, doors, brought small heaters, covered the stone floor with boards. Sometimes two people came to the service, and in winter Father Sergius led services and without parishioners at all.

1993: Consecration of the Temple

On October 3, 1993, the temple was consecrated.

Sergius Toroptsev. Photo from the personal file of the Moscow Patriarchate

In the 1990s, the choir of the Church of Mikhail and Theodore of Chernigov was one of the best in Moscow thanks to its regent I.D. Derkach, who had previously led the choir of the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov for many years. Professional singers who came with the regent sang in the choir. And any parishioner of the temple could try himself as a singer.

1994: Dissolution of the parish due to conflicts and the establishment of the Patriarchal Compound

For 1992-94, the works of the rector and young elder Theodore returned to the parish the buildings of the almshouse, bell tower and church house. Two land allotments were issued along Pyatnitskaya Street with the transfer to the parish of part of the territory and premises of the former profitable household of the Savinno-Storozhevsky Monastery.

Yevgeny Gennadievich Tretnikov, who worked in the Moscow City Council at that time, and in the parish he was a former assistant to the headman, provided great help in the struggle for the opening of churches and paperwork for all church property.

Constant disagreements, disunity and non-construction among members of the parish assembly forced Father Sergius and his faithful parishioners in August 1994 to appeal to the Holy Patriarch with a petition to dissolve the parish and establish ^[4] Toroptsev at the Church of the Patriarchal Compound^[5].

The diocesan authorities represented by Vladyka Arseny, Archbishop of Istra, and Archpriest Boris Guznyakov, Dean of the Moskvoretsky deanery, made a lot of efforts to reconcile the parties and normalize life in the parish, but everything turned out to be in vain. Experienced and respected Archpriest Sergiy Karamnov, a longtime friend of Father Sergiy Toroptsev, was appointed rector of the courtyard.

2010: Restoration begins

After the transfer of the Chernihiv compound to the General Church Graduate School and doctoral studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius in 2010, a comprehensive restoration of churches and adjacent buildings began.

In the church of the martyrs of Chernigov recreated the wall painting of the XIX century. in the style of the late empire (plots of the Gospel and holy patrons of the temple), restored fragments of murals of the Art Nouveau era. In the work took direct participation of Metropolitan Hilarion, who helped artists decipher the meaning of the fragments that survived on the walls. In the spirit of Russian religious painting of the 2nd half of the 19th century, scenes of the life of St. Michael and Theodore, tortured in the Horde. Thematically connected with them is the composition "The Monk Sergius of Radonezh blesses the holy faithful Grand prince Dimitrii Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo "(the idea of ​ ​ the struggle of Russia for liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke, led by holy ascetics, is revealed different eras). In the iconostasis, made in the Baroque style (a reminder of the era of the construction of the church), the deisis attracts attention: in addition to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist, six apostles are depicted.

2017: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk holds Divine Liturgy

On October 3, 2017, the rector of the All-Church Graduate School and the rector of the courtyard, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, performed the first Divine Liturgy in almost a hundred years in the church of the Chernihiv Martyrs.

2018: Patriarch Kirill performed the rite of great consecration of the temple

On March 11, 2018, on the Week of the 3rd Great Lent, Holy Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill performed the rank of great consecration of the Church of the Holy Martyrs Michael and Theodore of Chernigov Patriarchal Chernigov Compound in Moscow and celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great in the newly consecrated church.

His Holiness was served by:

• Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Rector of the All-Church Graduate School and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius (OCAD);

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk

• Archbishop Sergius of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate;
• Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov, Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow;
• Archpriest Nikolai Krechetov, Dean of the Moskvoretsky District of Moscow;
• Hieromonk John (Kopeikin), Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the OCAD;
• priest Dimitri Safonov, secretary of the Academic Council of the OCAD;
• hieromonk Nikolai (Ono), inspector of the OCAD;
• Hieromonk Pavel (Cherkasov), Assistant Vice-Rector of the OCAD for Academic Affairs;
• Archpriest Andrei Marushchak, cleric of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior of Moscow;
• students of the OTSAD Archimandrite Sinesius (Viktoratos) (Hellas Orthodox Church) and
• hegumen George (Stankovic) (Serbian Orthodox Church);
• clergy of Moscow.

The patriarchal service was attended by:

• Rector of the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" M.N. Strykhanov;
• Rector of the North Caucasus Federal University A.A. Levitskaya;
• rector of Moscow Pedagogical State University A.V. Lubkov;
• rector of the Moscow Architectural Institute D.O. Shvidkovsky;
• Member of the Supreme Council of United Russia O.M. Budargin.

Teachers and students of the All-Church graduate school and doctoral studies, benefactors of the revived church prayed for the Liturgy.

Liturgical chants were performed by the Moscow Synodal Choir (director ― Honored Artist of Russia A.A. Puzakov).

There was a live broadcast of the service on the Soyuz TV channel.

After pure litany, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church offered a prayer for peace in Ukraine.

During the Liturgy, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill ordained Deacon Sergius Evteev, cleric of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Solunsky in the village of East Moscow, to the rank of priest.

The sermon before the communion was delivered by Hieromonk Pavel (Cherkasov), Assistant Vice-Rector of the OCAD for Academic Affairs.

At the end of the Liturgy of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill was greeted by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk:

"Your Holiness, His Holiness and Gracious Father!

Let me greet you in this heavenly church in the name of the holy martyrs Michael and Theodore of Chernigov, built on the very place where the autocrat John the Terrible met the relics of honest martyrs, after they were brought to the capital city of Moscow.

Your Holiness, nine years ago, after your accession to the Moscow Patriarchal Throne, at the very first meeting of the Holy Synod after this event, it was decided to create a General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies in Moscow. You headed the Supervisory Board of this educational institution, and I was blessed to be its rector. From that moment, restoration work began at the Chernihiv Patriarchal Compound. And today the next stage of these works has been completed, for the second church of this courtyard in honor of the holy Chernigov martyrs is now consecrated by Your Holiness.

Restoration work here took place under your direct supervision with the participation of the city of Moscow. And the paintings that you see on the walls today are partially restored frescoes of the 19th century. For example, the scene depicting Christ and the sinner wife who fell to Him from the Gospel of Luke is partially preserved. Also some episodes from gospel stories. And what was not preserved was restored according to the found samples. And today this temple appeared in the blessings in which it was originally created and decorated.

Your Holiness, according to your blessing, the Chernihiv Patriarchal Compound houses the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies ― a higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, in which students and graduate students from different countries study. Also, the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies interacts with secular educational institutions. More recently, our educational institution received state accreditation, which opens up new opportunities for us both for training and for interaction with secular universities.

On the basis of the General Church Graduate School, according to your blessing, various projects are being developed, including the first dissertation council in the history of Russia, the decisions of which are recognized by the state. The first defense of the dissertation took place, the decision of the dissertation council on this dissertation was also recognized by our Russian state.

Everything that we do within the walls of this educational institution, we do with your blessing so that our students can receive a full-fledged education, and so that in cooperation with secular higher educational institutions we can build a system of theological education throughout the space of our Fatherland.

this day, I would like to thank those who made their significant contribution to the reconstruction of this holy church, first of all, Oleg Mikhailovich Budargin, who put a lot of work and raised a lot of funds to paint this church, build an iconostasis so that today's event will take place.

would like to thank everyone who took part in the restoration of this church, everyone who takes part in the life of our educational institution and, above all, you, Your Holiness, as bishop of Moscow, as chairman of the Supervisory Board of the General Church Graduate School. Let us on this very important day present to you the image of St. Alexander Nevsky, who is your heavenly patron, because in his holy monastery you accepted all the degrees of priesthood, and wish you that the prayer of this holy, spiritual akin to St. Prince Michael of Chernigov always accompany you on your First Consecration Path. Many summers, Your Holiness!

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said the answer:

"Thank you, Your Eminence, for your kind words. Indeed, having become Patriarch, I decided to create a General Church Graduate School, which could contribute to the development of theological education in our Church, and experience has shown that this is what happens. I can gladly say that the renewal of our theological education today is taking place in almost all spiritual educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, somewhere with great success, somewhere with less; but in order for you to understand that the development of spiritual education really becomes a priority for our Church, I will only note that in recent years there has not been a single meeting of the Supreme Church Council at which issues related to the development of theological education have not been discussed.

I am happy with the success of our All-Church Graduate School and I hope that it will fully develop everything, what the Church today considers important - in order for the world to believe, in order for the Church to learn to speak with those in the language of theology, who, unfortunately, do not yet perceive the voice of church preaching, helping them to see in the paternal Tradition, The Holy Scriptures, the patristic creations, that great eternal wisdom upon which we can actualize the ancient but always youthful Divine revelation. "

The Primate of the Russian Church also addressed with the First Sanctification Word to all participants in the service.

As a gift to the newly consecrated church, His Holiness Bishop handed over to the icon of the Mother of God "The Burning Cupid."

In view of the assistance in the restoration of the Church of the Holy Martyrs Michael and Theodore of Chernigov, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill awarded the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh III degree to a member of the Supreme Council of United Russia O.M. Budargin and General Director of the Koksochimmontazh Trust JSC S.V. Fufaev.

Oleg Mikhailovich Budargin

Fufaev Sergey Valentinovich

In view of the work in the field of spiritual education and in connection with the 70th anniversary of the birth, the professor of the Department of Theology and Liturgy of the All-Church Graduate School and Doctoral Studies V.N. Katasonov was awarded the Patriarchal Diploma.

V. N. Katasonov

See also

• Temple of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist near Bor

Notes