1694 year from the birth of Christ. In Russia, the Romanov dynasty rules. The Silent Alexei Mikhailovich is no longer alive. On the throne, his painful son, and all state affairs is ruled by the energetic, ambitious, power-hungry Sophia. She fiercely hates the young wolf cub, half-brother Petrusha.
Basmannaya settlement
Moscow is boyar, unhurried, sleepy. The confusion of streets and alleys. They grow randomly, without a plan. Around the gardens, gardens and villages. And in the village of Elokhov there is already a church of the Epiphany of the Lord. It is now colloquially known as the Elokhov Church on Baumanskaya, majestic and elegant at the same time. And then it is small, poor, wooden. But it has a chapel in honor of the Annunciation. The Basmannaya settlement adjoins the church. Historians have no unequivocal opinion of what its inhabitants did: either they made patterned ornaments for salaries of icons, or they baked bread with special stamps - “basmami”. But Moscow is gradually growing, and Elokhovo becomes a part of it.
Where was A.S. Pushkin baptized?
A German settlement is also expanding nearby, and at the expense of the parishioners, which became the cramped ancient temple, a new stone one is being set up. In it, the poor nobles of Pushkin brought a baptism and called the name of their son Alexander. On June 8, the baby was baptized in the refectory, and it has survived to this day. There is a record of this in the Church of the Epiphany in Elokhov, as the modern Elokhov Church was then called. on Bauman. And just a few minutes walk from her a small modest one-story house with a memorial plaque. There lived the uncle of the poet Vasily Lvovich Pushkin, a merry fellow and a joker. Now this address is Old Basmannaya, 36, metro station "Baumanskaya". Everything was nearby: both relatives and the present Elokhovskaya church on Baumanskaya.
Heirs of Byzantium
Time flew by. Moscow burned in fire during the test of war with Napoleon. But the church survived. However, it was decided to reconstruct it. This was entrusted to Evgraf Dmitrievich Tyurin. He began working on the project in 1837, and after 26 years the church was consecrated by Metropolitan Filaret. In those days, the idea of an empire that unites vast expanses was dominant. This is not so bad. The Empire is the oldest concept that came to us from the East through Byzantium, or as they called their state, the “Roman Empire”, which preserved the traditions of the Roman Empire, Roman law and Orthodoxy. So, the new church was conceived and built in the empire style of empire. Her greatness was to be emphasized by the defeat of Napoleon, and the capture of Paris, and the dream of the high destinies of the country.
A petty-bourgeois son, a talented architect, designed and built a grandiose cathedral with five domes. The central dome is as powerful as the architectural structures of Michelangelo in Rome. The bell tower with a needle directed to the sky and rises above all the surrounding buildings so far. It preserved almost all the bells that were placed during construction. This is an old, often one-story, Basmanny district
. The Bauman Elokhovskaya Church is the central unifying core of this place. Shining with azure and golden domes, it stands out from the low-key landscape and attracts the eye. It’s impossible to pass by. Let’s enter it.
Entrances are triumphal arches. Inside the Elokhov Church on Baumanskaya anew painted, gilded iconostasis in five tiers. Radiance, Byzantine luxury, incense, prayer - an atmosphere that fascinates and immerses in thoughts that are far from everyday life. The soul is strengthened and imbued with purity and poetry. She is filled with humility, patience and love. The fallen one rises by an unknown force. The seeker gradually begins to figure out what to live for and why die. No wonder the central rotunda is so large that it accommodates thousands of people with different prayers and infirmities. Light passes into it through high windows. Large side entrances are separated by columns. Each chapel has its own name. The church never closed, although it threatened such a sad fate - to become a movie theater or even be destroyed.
The appearance of the cathedral
Like the Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow the temple has existed since the 30s. He became the main church in the country, where the services of the patriarchs, metropolitans, bishops served. During the war, the cathedral was mined so that the Nazis could not abuse him if they entered Moscow. In the very first days of the attack, a prayer service was held to defeat the evil forces. At that time, the Orthodox were called upon to defend the Fatherland. Charity has always been important to the temple. And during the war, donations were collected here for the defense of the Motherland.
Metropolitan Sergius began this holy work: two crosses, one diamond from the hood, and the other pectoral from the chest - the first gifts to the Fatherland. The Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov is our cultural heritage and shrine. It honors the list with the miraculous icon that saved Russia during the time of turmoil and the Polish invasion with False Dmitry. It must be remembered that the list is not a copy. It is dominated by the inner content. It leads to an external, visible image. In a bronze-alloy crab under a wooden canopy, relics are preserved, to which all who happened to enter the temple fall. Many shrines of the Land of Jerusalem, the right hand of the Apostle Andrew, who became the first disciple of Christ and keeps the Russian fleet from the glorious times of Peter the Great to the present day, and the metropolitan of St. Peter, are reliably guarded in a metal cancer. From time immemorial, prayers have been brought to the church in the image of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow." In it, everyone will find consolation and understand that love is eternal, and the victory of good is inevitable, just as the victory of Christ is inevitable.
Epiphany, or Epiphany
What is the name of the cathedral connected with? Why is he Epiphany? In everyday life, he is also called the Epiphany. The holiday of January 19 is called the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and Epiphany. God the Father and the Holy Spirit appeared to John the Baptist and announced to him the appearance of the Son of God, the long-promised Savior. This is a great mystery that we are not given to know.
The holidays of Christmas and Epiphany are almost one triumph, inextricably linked by merry Christmas. But in winter darkness, Baptism is the light of Christ, and light is the substance of God. On this holiday, the
Orthodox Church always performs sanctification, or sanctification. And everyone leaves after the service with “Epiphany water”. Faith in its strength has not waned over the centuries. It strengthens a person both spiritually and bodily. This is a shrine to which special respect, and respect, and reverence. Store it under the images. That’s the whole explanation of why the Elokhov Epiphany Church is called the Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhov.
When are the services
For any Russian, the phrase “this is close”, when twenty minutes by bus, half an hour by metro and 15 minutes to run on foot. It's close. Only a European can be frightened, to whom such distances are almost a trip abroad. This is a joke, of course, but with real reliance on the culture of communicative communication. Not only Muscovites know the Elokhov Church on Baumanskaya. timetable worship services, however, not everyone knows. The daily service is as follows: morning service begins at 8:00, and evening service - at 18:00 in the summer and at 17:00 in the winter. The sacrament of weddings and services with Akathist are performed on all days except Monday, Thursday and Saturday. On Sundays and public holidays, two mass events are held with the sacrament of communion at 6:00 and 9:30. The sacrament of baptism is daily.
Come, if possible, to the Elokhov Cathedral, and you will have a kind and calm look at everything in the world. No wonder the ancient magnificent temple is one of the symbols of Orthodoxy.