At the end of the XIV century, when the victory at Kulikovo Field and the terrible invasion of Tokhtamysh Khan that followed two years later, the Surozh merchant Stefan appeared in Moscow, whose nickname, which soon became a surname, was Komra. For his descendants, it changed to Khovra and gave the name to their patrimonial fiefdom - the very area where the Temple of the Sign in Khovrino is now located.
The first two churches in the family estate
The first evidence of the piety of the descendants of Stephen Howra - the mention of the construction by them of a wooden church in the name of the holy Great Martyr George - on the patrimonial lands dates back to the end of the 16th century. However, she was not destined to stand for a long time. In the Time of Troubles, the church was burned by apostates who exchanged the faith of the fathers for Latin heresy.
The burnt fire was restored only after three decades, and already at the very end of the 17th century another church was erected next to it, a wooden one, but larger, and the main chapel was consecrated in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. She was destined to stand until 1740, when the owner of the estate, Count N. Golovin, in a fit of piety ordered to replace the wooden one, which was very dilapidated by that time, with a stone building. So in its place there was a new Temple of the Sign in Khovrino.
The pious act of Count Golovin
For more than a hundred years, they served in her mass, baptized infants and funeral service for those who approached the time to complete their earthly journey. Finally, in 1860, the new owner of the estate, court adviser E.I. Molchanov, like his predecessor, Count Golovin, wished to make a large donation to the Orthodox Church to save the soul and forgiveness of sins. He conceived and soon carried out another reconstruction of the temple.
The outward adviser entrusted the development of the project and the work to the famous Moscow architect Konstantin Mikhailovich Bykovsky, who, by his order, had already worked on the construction of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Pokrovsky Gate. The Temple of the Sign of the Mother of God in Khovrino became the pinnacle of his work. Despite the occasional technical difficulties, construction was carried out at a fairly rapid pace. Laid in 1868, the temple was completed two years later, and in 1871 it was consecrated. Services in it were carried out splendidly and decently until 1917.
Time of spiritual darkness
After the October coup, the Temple of the Sign in Khovrino in full experienced the troubles that fell to the lot of the Russian Orthodox Church. The owners of the estate on whose territory it was located were driven out, and their plot was transferred to the agricultural community. Since that time, endless litigation began with the new owners of the land, then with the railway workers of the Khovrino station. Both of them, under various pretexts, demanded to close the temple. The "God-bearing people", who believed in the Marxist-Leninist heresy, was not needed.
There comes a series of repressions against clerics, as well as the most active parishioners. Many of them were shot or exiled to camps. In this difficult time, trouble affected all Moscow churches. The temple of the Icon of the Mother of God “Sign” in Khovrino was not an exception. The schedule of services in those years was not observed only because there was simply no one to serve. Parish priests take the crown of martyrdom: K. Vinogradov, N. Kasatkin, who was replaced by Archimandrite Chudova of the monastery Ambrose (Astakhov) and a number of other sufferers for their faith.
Temple ruin
If before the services in the temple were performed at least periodically, then in 1939 a decree was issued to close it. Reminiscences of Moscow old-timers about how mercilessly demolished domes and belfries, broke high reliefs and burned icons. Only three images were saved from the fire by miracle - the Savior, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. This is all that remains of the former church splendor.
Acacia bushes that created a hedge around the temple were cut down, replacing with a gray wooden fence. In the building, production workshops were organized, the mosaic floor was poured with asphalt and the marble walls were covered with blue oil paint. Later, the former Temple of the Signs in Khovrino was again converted, this time turning into the garage of one of the state institutions.
The beginning of perestroika
In the second half of the eighties, the country began the process of comprehensive liberalization, which in a very original way affected the Temple of the Sign in Khovrino. The evenings of the discos arranged inside it are the only things that perestroika brought to the church building. Another blasphemy was initiated by the local Komsomol district committee, which by that time had not yet been dispersed.
But gradually everything fell into place. Following biblical wisdom, the times of “scattering stones” gave way to a period when they should be collected, and since there were many scattered over the years of general atheism, a lot of work was ahead. In 1991, the temple was returned to believers, and the process of its restoration began. The new abbot, father George (Polozov), had to lift the building literally from the ruins.
The restoration of the temple
Within five years, with the money raised by the parishioners, it was possible to re-lay the mosaic of the floor, once destroyed by asphalt, and recreate the former appearance of the walls. After many years of separation, three holy images returned to their former place, which they managed to save from the fire during the ruin of the temple in 1939. New icons appeared, donated by other churches and simple pilgrims.
Particular efforts were made to restore the central dome and high reliefs, which the temple was once famous for. The best specialists of the capital were involved for their manufacture. They also erected four belfries, accurately reproducing the appearance of their originals. It was possible to completely free the building from the forests in 2005.
Related work
In addition to all of the above, a new spacious brick house was built for the parable, and the whole complex was enclosed with an openwork metal fence. The territory provided to the temple by the city authorities is small, it does not exceed half a hectare, but it was necessary to place several more structures on it, without which a modern parish cannot do.
Temple life today
With the completion of the bulk of the restoration work, regular worship services resumed. The schedule of services at the Sign of the Temple in Khovrino indicates that they are carried out in full, provided for by the church charter.
On Sundays and public holidays: early liturgy at 7:00, late at 10:00; Vespers, matins at 5 p.m.
On weekdays: liturgy at 8:00, Vespers, matins at 17:00.
The exception is only March 13, 2016 - a meeting for Lent. On this day at 16:00 the order of forgiveness will be performed.
In addition, the parish organizes Sunday school for children, and regularly talks with adults, especially with those who are just starting their churching and preparing for the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
In the Kaluga region, the parish of the temple was given a significant territory (an area of forty-seven hectares) for farming. Currently, a wide and systematic work is underway to develop this land, which should ultimately solve the problem of material independence, which is so acute in most communities.
The temple regularly organizes pilgrimage trips to the holy places of Central Russia. Their list is very extensive. For a more complete and comprehensive familiarization of travel participants with objects located on the route of buses, professional guides from various travel companies are invited. Today, the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” (ROC), completely restored after the period of its desolation, has been actively involved in all spheres of the spiritual life of Russia.