“Unexpected Joy” is one of the most famous icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She represents victory over sin and reminds us of God's grace. “Joy” here refers to the mother of God herself , therefore both words in the name of the icon are capitalized. This icon is dedicated to the temple "Unexpected Joy" located in Maryina Grove. Where exactly, when it was built and what shrines are here - you will learn from this article.
How it all began
In 1901, residents of the village of Maryina Roshcha in the Moscow Region began to think about building a temple. At that time, Count Sheremetyev owned these places, who supported a charitable cause and donated land for construction. He entered the position of residents of Maryina Grove to have his own temple nearby and allocated a dry site for him on an elevation of 400 square fathoms.
The history of the construction of the temple
A construction project was drawn up. According to him, the Sunday school should also be located in the church, and the church itself did not have an independent clergy and belonged to the Holy Trinity Church, located near the village of Ostankino. In 1903, it was decided that the temple "Unexpected Joy" would not be wooden, but stone. Since most of the buildings in Maryina Grove were made of wood, people were simply afraid of possible damage to the church as a result of a fire. The creator of the project and the main supervisor of the construction was Moscow architect N.V. Karneev. It was he who transferred the project to the Construction Department.
Here difficulties began. The approval of the project was refused, the motivation for such a decision was the fact that the exterior view of the stone church-school is unseemly, and the designed section was allegedly drawn up incorrectly. Karneev tried several times to redo the drawings, while the construction of the temple had already begun without official permission.
By the end of 1903, the draft construction was already ready, but according to the report of the Moscow district council, it did not correlate with the presented drawings of the architect. The group of people led by T.F. Neschastnov, who in no way hurried to finish the construction of the temple, even without considering the opinion of the state, was to blame. Serious problems were brewing because it was impossible to approve the project due to the failure of the Construction Department. The Temple of “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Grove acquired the status of illegal construction, and this was fraught with demolition.
Then, in hindsight, a new project was urgently introduced, already by other architects - D. D. Zverev and P. F. Krotov. At the beginning of 1904, the chief representative of the Construction Department, together with the diocesan architect, carried out a final inspection of the newly constructed building and did not find any doubts about its strength and stability. So the incident was exhausted.
Consecration of the temple
The temple "Unexpected joy" in Maryina Grove from the moment of construction to this day has functioned without interruptions. His consecration took place on June 20, 1904, on a Sunday. After 6 years, in December, the side altars were solemnly consecrated. As a result of the divine service conducted by Bishop Vasily Mozhaisky, the church began to be considered a three-altar. And in 1912, the new bell of the temple, weighing more than three hundred pounds, was consecrated.
Temple "Unexpected Joy" today
This temple is located on Sheremetyevskaya street, the nearest metro station is Maryina Roshcha. Nearby are also the Belorusskaya, Riga and VDNH stations. The house number is 33. With the naked eye, you can see that the architecture of the temple is entirely in the style of 17th century Old Russian church buildings.
Here are the services that work at the temple today:
- Sunday School.
- A social service hosting parishioners every Saturday.
- Church library.
- A youth organization called Ladder.
- parish counseling service.
Close cooperation is ongoing with the Phoenix Club, created to help young people with disabilities. In addition, the “Unexpected Joy” Temple helps low-income families in the area and protects the rights of minors in court.
What shrines are in the “Unexpected Joy” temple?
The main shrine of the temple is, of course, the icon of the Mother of God with the same name. It was written in the 19th century and is carefully preserved here to this day. In addition, there is an icon with the relics of the great martyr Tryphon, as well as particles of the relics of other saints, enclosed in the ark.
Temple Schedule
Many services are held today by the temple "Unexpected joy." Their schedule is usually drawn up a month in advance, parishioners can familiarize themselves with it in the church or on a special online portal. Here morning and evening services, confessions and Divine Liturgies are regularly held, prayers and memorial services are read. On holidays, the service includes reading akathists, and on the eve of religious celebrations, an All-Night Vigil is held, with confession.
It should be noted that the icon “Unexpected Joy”, which is the main shrine here, is greatly revered by parishioners. To attach to it, people come even from afar, and local residents consider it their duty to visit the temple and bring fresh flowers to the icon.