In the city of Moscow, in the historical district of Kadashevskaya Sloboda, there is a beautiful church of the Resurrection of Christ. It is called the Zamoskvoretsky pearl. Having gone through the difficult milestones of Russian history, he retained his bewitching appearance and spirituality. After the temple was closed in the thirties of the last century, in the early nineties Christian life returned to it.
The beginning of the story
The temple was built in the XVII century. He owes his name to the large and rich settlement of the city of Moscow. She was in Zamoskvorechye, near the Kremlin. The settlement (Kadashevskaya) owes its name to the ancient craft of Moscow residents. Around the XV-XVI centuries, local craftsmen made cadmium (barrels) here.
In the middle of the XVII century, the Kadashevskaya Sloboda became the center of Moscow's weaving infrastructure. Roughly in the years 1658-1661 the tsar's boorish court was erected here, which became one of the first Russian manufactories.
He specialized in the manufacture and supply of fabrics to the royal court. As a result of this, the Kadashevskaya settlement was populated by Khamovniki, state weavers.
The Church of the Resurrection of Christ was an Orthodox Zamoskvorets center even before the formation of the Kadashevskaya Sloboda. In those ancient times, its wooden structure was located at the intersection of the two most important roads of the Moscow state, going from Belokamennaya to the south. This fact distinguished the church from other Orthodox structures in Zamoskvorechye.
The first mention of the church, historians found in the letter of Patrikeev Ivan Yurievich, Moscow governor, prince. In 1493, he mentioned the Church of the Resurrection in Mud. Such an unusual comparison is due to the fact that at the location of the church, the Moskva River in late spring - early summer spilled heavily. This made the embankment, suitable directly to the temple, marshy, viscous, difficult to pass.
From the first half of the 17th century, tentatively from 1625, there are regular entries in the Patriarchal books about the temple in Kadashi.
Rebirth, new trials
The stone church building was first erected in 1657. Its term was short-lived, about 30 years. In its place in 1687 began to build a new five-domed two-story church. Funds for the construction were raised by the residents of the Kadashevskaya Sloboda. Fragments of the old stone structure in the new building were partially included.
The construction of the temple took eight years and ended in early 1695. In January of the same year, Patriarch Adrian consecrated the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi.
Historical records indicate that this religious building of the Russian Orthodox Church was noteworthy. Its walls are painted with meerk, the domes are gilded. The decor of white stone is painted yellow, which gave the temple a golden hue. The stone seams were painted blue, giving the impression of airiness of the structure, surrounded by a bluish haze.
In 1695, a tented six-tier bell tower was erected next to the church. In height, it reached more than 43 meters. It was a narrowing octahedron with spans. In the XVIII century, such forms were very popular in Russian architecture, associated with tents. The bell tower of the inhabitants of Moscow received the nickname "candle." At the same time, everyone noted her graceful style.
As a result of all these reconstructions, the Church of the Ascension of Christ in Kadashi has become a truly outstanding architectural monument of the so-called "Naryshkinsky" or "Moscow" baroque. This style was very popular at the end of the 18th century. The temple served as a role model for many other Russian churches.
In the Kadashevsky temple there were four altars and a majestic iconostasis. Wooden columns, of which there were fifty-two pieces, the icons were divided vertically. The iconostasis itself was gilded in red gold. Its uncut parts are painted in blue shades. The iconostasis has not reached modern years. It was gradually plundered after the 1917 revolution. Its separate icons, separated, are in various places - in the Historical Museum, Ostankino Museum, in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Got to the temple in Kadashi during the war of 1812. He survived the fire in which the ancient paintings that were made by the royal isographs were lost. A new painting on the walls was carried out only in 1848, the iconostasis was then gilded again. Wall paintings partially survived to this day.
After the restoration of the interior of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in 1849, it was re-consecrated. However, restoration and construction work in it went until 1862.
Temple bells
The main bell of the Kadashi temple was cast in 1750. Its weight was about 400 pounds (about 6.5 tons). It was not the largest Moscow bell, for example, in the Moscow Kremlin in the Assumption Cathedral, a large bell weighed about 65 tons. However, the uniqueness of the bell of the temple in Kadashi was different; it was placed on the highest bell tower in Moscow of the 18th century.
After the temple was closed in the 30s of the twentieth century, the church bells disappeared. In the early nineties, some of them were discovered at the Bolshoi Theater.
Rector Nikolay Smirnov
A special role in the life of the church was played by priest Nikolai Smirnov, whom the grateful Moscow residents nicknamed Kadashevsky. He headed the parish at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries and as a rector he was distinguished by innovation and asceticism. So, he organized sisterhood at the temple, opened an almshouse, a shelter for children. During the First World War, two hospitals were equipped for the wounded in temple outbuildings. Smirnov dismissed church singers and created a folk choir. Under his leadership, he was recognized in Moscow as the most organized, harmonious and perfect.
Closing of the temple, difficult times, restoration
For parishioners the temple was closed in 1934. It began to host a variety of government agencies. So, in its premises until 1977, a fitness club of a sausage factory functioned. A canning factory was built on the territory of the churchyard.
However, the temple in Kadashi was not forgotten. In the period from 1946 to 1966, the famous Soviet architect Galina Alferova carried out tremendous work on the restoration of the temple. He was returned to the form that existed before the revolution.
After the completion of these works, in 1964, temple buildings with territory were leased to the restoration art center named after I. Grabar.
Return to the bosom of the church
The return of church life to him occurred in 1992, when they created the parish community of the Resurrection Church in Kadashi. However, the desire of believers to finally occupy the original Orthodox church places was not realized soon. Their confrontation with the restoration center continued quite actively and for a long time, sometimes turning into open skirmishes.
The final introduction of believers occurred in 2006, when VHNRTS them. Grabar moved to a new building in Moscow, on the street Radio.
In December 2006, the Kadashi church in Moscow was officially transferred, with the signing of relevant documents, to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Temple Attractions
Now there are two chapels in the temple: the first - in honor of the royal martyrs; the second - in the name of the Mother of God of Pochaev.
The temple is proud of its shrines, among which:
- the icon of Job of Pochaev of the 17th century and part of his relics;
- errands (sleeves) of Amphilochius Pochaevsky, ascetic;
- relics of Saint Eutropius of Rome;
- particles of the relics of the martyrs of the period of troubled times;
- a brick from the Ipatiev House with the image of Nicholas II.
Since 2004, a small museum of local lore under the name "Kadashevskaya Sloboda" has been operating on the territory of the Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi in Moscow. Its initiator was the rector of the temple - Archpriest Saltykov. Museum expositions tell about the history of the settlement, about the people who lived here and their way of life.
“The Battle of Kadashi”
In the period from 2009 to 2010, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was at the epicenter of the confrontation between the residents of this area of Moscow and a construction company. The latter was planning and has already begun work on the construction of a complex with the name “Five Capitals”. At the same time, demolition of buildings that were under state protection were even begun. Joint protests of Moscow residents and parishioners of the church, which the media called the “Battle of Kadashi,” led to the fact that the demolition of historical buildings was stopped and the development plan was sent for review.
Prospects of the Kadashevskaya Sloboda
At present, after a lot of work, during which negotiations were going on with investors and the Moscow leadership, a decision was made that would suit everyone. As a result, the area planned for development was reduced by three times. Excluded construction in areas adjacent to cultural heritage sites. The height of buildings under construction in Kadashi is indicated as not exceeding three floors, which in meters is about 14.5. Only low-rise buildings are allowed.
Such restrictions were established in order to provide a visual perception of the architectural monuments of the city of Moscow.
Temple location
The address of the Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi: Moscow city, second Kadashevsky lane, house 7. Nearby is the Moscow metro station "Tretyakovskaya". The temple stands in a secluded Zamoskvoretsky corner, surrounded by houses of the XVII-XVIII centuries.