The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev is located in an extremely picturesque area on the outskirts of Moscow. This shrine has a rich history, which will be described in the article.
Occurrence
The first mention of the village of Altufyevo near Moscow dates back to the reign of Tsar Fedor Ioannovich, and more precisely to 1585. At that time, this settlement belonged to Neupokoy Dmitrievich Myakishev, who served as the key keeper of the Bread Palace. The village was located on the banks of the small river Samotyshki.
Altufevo flourished until the Time of Troubles. By the XVII century, the village gradually fell into decay, and soon completely emptied. At that time, the owners of the village were two brothers - Ivan and Arkhip Akinfov. It is with this genus that the further life of the settlement in the next hundred years will be connected.
In 1687, the descendant of the Akinfov brothers, Nikita Ivanovich, who was a duma nobleman, began the construction of a stone church. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev was built as soon as possible. After its construction, the village began to be called first Godfather, and then Vozdvizhensky.
New temple
At the beginning of the 18th century, a fire broke out in the church, after which it was called Sofia. In 1759, the Akinfs sold the village. Lieutenant Ivan Velyaminov became its new owner. He immediately took up the construction of a new temple, as the former came into utter disrepair. After 4 years, the church was rebuilt. She had a beautiful exterior decoration in the style of Russian late Baroque. A little later, the former name was returned to her, and she again became the Holy Cross Exaltation. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev at that time had its own bell tower, located above the western extension, but it was not refectory.
In 1766, Ivan Velyaminov sold his estate. Over the following years, it changed its owners several times. Over the years, they became Count Apraksin, Andrei Ridner and Countess Bruce. Finally, in 1786, the village of Altufevo was acquired by a descendant of the famous ancient princely family, a wealthy landowner Stepan Kurakin. At the end of the 18th century, the church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev was somewhat rebuilt: a new bell tower was erected over the church vault and a refectory was built.
Soviet period
The Cross Exaltation Church was closed only once during the war with the German occupiers, and even then for a short time. The temple was considered small in size, and until the 60s of the last century it was considered a rural parish, which was part of the Moscow diocese.
Then the village of Altufevo entered the line of the capital. At the same time, intensive development of the northern part of the city began, and a new residential community of Lianozovo grew near the church and the old estate. Despite this, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev (Moscow, Altufevskoe sh., D. 147), the garden, the estate and the pond did not disappear, but, on the contrary, began to be considered ancient monuments protected by the state. As you can see, the new microdistrict did not prevent to save this page of its history for posterity.
Due to the significant expansion of the parish in 1986, when Father Mikhail Oleinikov served in the church, an extension was made to the church, however, it also could not accommodate all the parishioners. Three years later, a two-story house was erected, which had a baptismal church.
Until 1980, the parish was one-staff, and since 1987 - already three-staff. Nowadays, Archbishop Jonotayevsky and Astrakhan Jonah is considered the honorary rector of the Holy Cross Exaltation Church. Currently, the church has six clergymen.
The next transformation
It is safe to say that literally from the first days of his ministry in the church, Archimandrite Jonah began to take care of her condition. The first step was to make a new makovitsa with a gilded cross and a drum on the dome of the church, decorated on four sides with icons with images of Moscow saints inserted into it.
In 1992, Archimandrite Jonah decided to expand the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev (photo). For this purpose, a project has been drawn up. Three years later, all work to expand the central altar and the church itself was completed. In addition, a bell tower was built and new bells were purchased.
At the end of the same year, Archimandrite Jonah was called to the episcopal ministry, but the post of honorary priest of the Holy Cross Church remained with him. To this day, Archbishop Jonah does not forget about his native church: he often comes here to perform bishop services. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Altufev (address: Altufevskoe highway, 147) is waiting for its parishioners at the daily Liturgy, which begins at 9 a.m. Throughout the day, the doors of the church are open to believers. There is always a priest on duty in the church who is ready to answer all questions of parishioners.