In this article we want to introduce you to one of the Moscow churches with a worthy history. It will be about the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki.
About the temple
The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist is the current Orthodox church. Refers to the Resurrection Deanery of the Moscow Diocese. It has a special status - the Patriarchal Compound.
According to historical reports, founded in the XVII century. The modern building was built in 1915-1917. Author - N.L. Shevyakov.
The address of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki: Kolodezny Lane, 2a. Geographically, this is the HLW of Moscow.
There are two thrones at the temple:
- Lower - the Apostle Matthias (now inactive).
- Upper - Nativity of the Forerunner and Prophet John (John the Baptist).
Accordingly, there are two feast days at the church:
- November 29 in a new style - the Apostle Matthew.
- July 7 to present from. - John the Baptist.
Service Schedule
The schedule of services at the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki is as follows:
- The beginning of the morning service: on weekdays - 8:00, on Sundays, holidays (according to the Orthodox calendar) - 9:00.
- The beginning of the evening service: daily at 17:00.
The schedule is the same in both winter and summer. The time of confession is before the liturgy.
Prayers with an akathist are offered weekly twice:
- On Monday (5:00 p.m.) - a prayer service to John the Baptist.
- On Thursday (9:00) - St. John of San Francisco and Shanghai.
About the clergy of the temple
Since July 5, 2017, Priest Vyacheslav Drobyshev is the rector of the Sokolniki Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Archpriest - Oleg Stenyaev. He is known not only as a priest, but also as a writer, publicist, theologian, missionary, and preacher. His specialization is comparative theology and sectology. Since 2004, she has been a cleric at the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Sokolniki.
He is the author of books interesting to both the believer and the secular:
- "Jehovah's Witnesses: Who Are They?"
- "Krishnaites: who are they?"
- "Satanism".
- "Man in the face of temptations" and so on.
The activities of a priest and a missionary are widely known to the public:
- Sermons of Orthodoxy among adherents of non-traditional religions (sectarians).
- Conversations with residents of Chechnya and Russian soldiers stationed there.
- Missionary trip to India.
Many became aware of the name of Archpriest Oleg because of the conflict with Alexei Dvorkin, a researcher of the sectarian movement, theologian, and medieval historian. Its essence is that in one of his conversations Oleg Stenyaev spoke out that God is one among Christians and Muslims. A.L. Dvorkin, in an article criticizing this conversation, wrote that such a statement contradicts the dogmas of both Orthodoxy and Christianity in general. Oleg Viktorovich’s open letter of objection to the historian, however, did not attract much public approval.
The history of the old temple
The history of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki (then - in the Workhouse) began in the 17th century - it was erected in the possession of the Old Transfiguration Palace of Alexei Mikhailovich. In the years 1669-1670. in the courtyards of the estate was built the Resurrection Church, intended for falconers, huntsmen, servants (next was the king's falcon grove). Nearby was a healing spring called the Holy Well.
The village of Preobrazhenskoye was also the place of unofficial exile of Natalia Kirillovna with little Peter. After the great emperor, who had matured, ordered the rebuilding of the new Transfiguration Palace, this one was abandoned.
Only in 1740 Anna Ioannovna ordered to build a new Resurrection Church on the site of the old one. But already in 1789 the throne was transferred to the Catherine’s almshouse, and the church was dismantled.
In the XIX century, the Moscow city administration began to actively buy land in the Sokolniki area for the construction of almshouses and hospitals. In particular, the Moscow Work House (House of industriousness) was opened, on the basis of which there were workshops, gardening. There were departments for adolescents, people chronically ill and incapable of work. Over time, the Workhouse began to need its own temple.
The history of the new temple
A small house church was originally planned. However, when the project N.L. Shevyakova was already ready, the widow of the fabricator O.A. Titova donated a rather large sum for the future church - 100 thousand rubles. Her condition was to raise the throne of John the Baptist in honor of the heavenly patron of the deceased spouse and the throne of Matthew in memory of the deceased son.
The project was completely transformed as part of a donation:
- The facade was adorned with a Byzantine and Pskov-Novgorod ornament, a promising portal, and arcature-columnar drums.
- Oak iconostasis with icons painted with a Stroganov letter on a gold background.
- At the same time, 800 people could be in the temple, and only 200 in choirs.
The temple was laid in 1915, and consecrated in the troubled 1917. The first attempt to close it was made in 1919, however, the event was delayed by the residents and employees of the Ermakovsky training and craft workshops (the former Dr. Haas Work House). True, only 3 years.
Since the 1950s On the territory of the temple there was a thermogalvanic workshop of the MEZ No. 1. At the same time, not a single repair, not a single restoration of the building was carried out for all these years, which brought it into critical condition.
Only in 1998, the temple and the surrounding area were included in the cultural and social heritage, and the building itself was returned to the Orthodox Church. But at the same time, the building belonged to the Newest Technologies and Communications LLC, which bought the property of the bankrupt MEZ No. 1.
And only in 2009, both the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist itself and its land, two houses of the Worker Complex were completely given to the Russian Orthodox Church. Only a few years of repair work and restoration helped to regain the historical appearance of the building. Today, the temple in Sokolniki has already been practically restored and is glad to receive parishioners.