The Holy Gospel tells us that for forty days following His miraculous resurrection, the Savior stayed among the disciples, and then, ascending with them to the Mount of Olives and blessing them, he ascended into heaven. In honor of this greatest event in Russia, temples have been built and consecrated since time immemorial, one of which is the Small Ascension Church on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street in Moscow.
Witness of antiquity
Today, on this, the longest street of the capital's center, the temple is an ancient building. The primacy once belonged to the Nikitsky Monastery in its beginning, founded by the grandfather of the first tsar from the Romanov clan - the boyar Nikita Romanovich, but he was not destined to survive the Soviet hard times.
One often hears the question of what is the Lesser Ascension, and where did such an unusual name come from. The fact is that in 1848 in Moscow the construction of another larger church was completed, also consecrated in honor of the Ascension of Christ. In order to make it clear in the conversation which one is being discussed, the old one was called the Little Ascension, and the new one was called the Big Ascension.
The feast, established in honor of the Ascension of the Lord, is celebrated on the first Thursday after five weeks after Easter. According to current belief, this is the last day when sinners who find themselves in hell are given the chance to associate with the righteous, who have acquired eternal life and are in paradise.
Temple in honor of the accession of the last Rurikovich
Temple Small Ascension on Bolshaya Nikitskaya appeared in 1584. The reason for its construction was the accession to the royal throne of the last Rurikovich - Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. It was wooden and was in the center of the settlement, inhabited by immigrants from Novgorod and Ustyug, resettled here in the previous reign.
In 1634, the wooden building was dismantled, and in its place a stone building was erected, which has survived to this day, although it has undergone numerous rebuilds. They were caused mainly by the need to rebuild the temple after the fires that repeatedly occurred in those years.
Some salient features of the temple
The Church of the Ascension of the Lord (Small Ascension) differed from other Moscow churches primarily in the volumetric-spatial solution of the building, oriented along the south-north axis, and its peculiar decorative design. Significant work in it was carried out at the beginning of the XIX century. During this period, the size of the southern aisle was increased, and a covered gallery was built on the northern facade. Somewhat later, a two-tier belfry was erected, ending with a tent.
The bas-reliefs decorating the building’s facade and the wall facing Voznesensky Lane are very remarkable. One of them presents the blessed Procopius of Ustyug, who became famous in the 13th century for his prophecies. The salvation of Ustyug from a stone hail is attributed to his prayers. It is curious that on the bas-relief he is depicted with poker in his hands. According to legend, Procopius carried them around the city, and if he held them up, this meant that ahead of all there was a rich harvest and a well-fed life, and if down - to be hungry.
Pride of Russian science
Among the parishioners of the temple, the most famous is E.K. Dashkova, who at one time headed the two Russian academies. In the territory of the parish there were lands belonging to her and a house built according to her own project. The Small Ascension Temple on Bolshaya Nikitskaya became the place of her burial service, and from here the coffin with the body of Ekaterina Romanovna was delivered to her country estate near the village of Troitsky.
Years of hard times
With the advent of the atheistic government, the temple continued to operate for some time, but at the end of the twenties it was removed from the church and sent to re-melting, and in the thirties it was completely closed. Then crosses were removed from it, and the interior was converted for use in household needs. In 1980, the former Small Ascension Church on Bolshaya Nikitskaya was placed at the disposal of Glavmosstroy, and one of its branches was placed in it. This continued until the onset of perestroika.
Return to Spiritual Roots
In 1992, when a large-scale campaign was conducted in the country to return the church to its former property, parishioners and the Ascension Church on Bolshaya Nikitskaya again became the property of the parishioners. Before resuming the services in it, it was necessary to restore the appearance of the building and bring the internal premises into proper shape. Communities of other Moscow churches helped to solve all the problems that arose in connection with this and provided free material and moral support in its restoration.
On June 3, 1992, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord was consecrated (Lesser Ascension). The church has not yet been completely restored, and everywhere traces of the past hard times appeared, but it was gratifying to all those present that finally came the long-awaited turn to that spiritual beginning and those roots that are the basis of all human life.
Today the temple is among the most famous and significant religious centers of the capital. In addition to regular worship services, it carries out extensive educational work with children and their parents. Training is also being provided for those who wish to receive holy baptism. They have a library and a wide range of books on offer at the church shop.