Truly rich in holy ancient cloisters and temples, the golden-headed capital of Moscow. One of such historical monuments adorning her is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Potters. The address points precisely to this historical district of Taganka, and more precisely to 29 Goncharnaya Street. This Orthodox church of the Moscow city diocese of the Intercession of the Protection of the Holy Virgin belongs to the Compound of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The throne of the church was created and consecrated in honor of the great feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, and the chapel was commemorated by St. Tikhon of Amafunta.
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in Gonchary: photo, history of the region
Big Tagansky Hill is one of the oldest Moscow districts, which began to be inhabited around the XV-XVI centuries, and all thanks to artisans who were evicted from the city because of their flammable crafts (most of them were potters and blacksmiths). First, in the 17th century, a wooden Assumption Church was built in the settlement of potters, which is located across the Yauza River.
The so-called Zayauzye from the east was fortified by the Earth Shaft. The first and only gates were on Taganskaya Square, so this place has become one of the most crowded in Moscow. Very convenient and compact here are the palace craft settlements, each of which built its own temple. For the same reason, next to the Assumption Church was St. Nicholas Monastery, dated 1632.
Temple construction time
Local potters in 1654 decided to rebuild the shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The temple in the Potters was stone, but so far single-throne. Then in 1702 he was rebuilt again, then a refectory with a side-chapel of Tikhon, Bishop of Amafutinsky, appeared. The construction of the temple did not stop even from 1764 to 1774. At this time, a three-tier bell tower, made in the style of the post-Petrine Baroque, was added to the architectural ensemble. The temple turned out to be small, but very beautiful and cozy. It was also significant that Polubes Stepan, a rare tiled craftsman, was engaged in its decoration. He lived at that time in that same Pottery settlement near the temple. His workshop was also located there, in which he produced panels and friezes.
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Potters in Moscow and now retained all this unique beauty. Of particular interest is the head of the chapel in honor of St. Tikhon of Amafunta. It is here that one of Polubes’s favorite scenes is posted - a panel depicting four evangelists.
The main shrines of the temple
What else can be said about the monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary? The temple in the Potters has the most important shrine - the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, which is called the Three-Handed. This name she received in honor of the memory of one amazing event - the healing of the Virgin Mary of St. John of Damascus, which cut off his hand. In Russia, this icon has been revered for a very long time, and there are a lot of lists of the original image, but some of them are also miraculous.
In 1661, one of such lists was sent to the Russian Patriarch Nikon from the Hilendarsky Athos Monastery, which was placed in the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery in 1963 in Istra in the Moscow Region.
In 1716, the list was again removed from this icon of the Mother of God of the Three Handguns, which, from the very moment of its appearance, was placed in the Assumption Church. There is still an opinion that it was thanks to the intercession of the great shrine that the Assumption Church was never closed, even in the crucial times of Russian history. All its bells are still preserved.
Today, so that people have free access to the icon, another list of shrines in a tiled icon case is placed on the outer wall on the western side of the temple.
A little more history about the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Potters Temple: Interesting Facts
Be that as it may, in 1812 Napoleon’s troops nevertheless walked around the Assumption Church and took out everything that was possible from it, and they burnt the courtyards of the parish. Only by 1836 it was partially restored and rebuilt, new structures, chapters and crosses appeared, the southern portal was attached to the bell tower. Until now, a fence dating from the beginning of the 19th century has been preserved. However, in 1898, the restructuring of the temple was carried out by the architect L.O. Vasiliev. The unique iconostasis, decorated in the style of the 17th century, consists of very ancient icons of the 17th-18th centuries. Under the Soviet regime, in some surprising way, the temple was preserved.
In 1948, under the treaty of the Orthodox Russian and Bulgarian Churches, as a living link between two native churches, the Compound of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was created in the church.
Here is such a story has the monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the temple in the Potters. We can add that in 2015, the rector of the church, Archimandrite Feoktist, said that there were not many Moscow parishioners-Bulgarians here, most of them mainly live in the district of ul. Red Poppy, where a new church began to be built in honor of St. Cyprian. Therefore, the bulk of visitors to this temple are Russians.