The ardent faith of the Orthodox people in a wonderful icon dedicated to the Tikhvin Mother of God has appeared for a long time. The image was held in high esteem by the Russian people. The very first location of the icon was the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, which burned three times during a fire, but the icon miraculously remained unharmed.
The main thing
The second half of the 17th century was marked by the fact that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich laid the first stone of the temple, but the construction was completed after the death of the sovereign. The new church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky was consecrated by Patriarch and young ruler Fedor Alekseevich. The temple was loved in the royal family, and therefore, two small chapels were specially built for the royal couple in the church. During the reign, he did a lot for the holy monastery, allocated a lot of financial resources to help. After all, the tsar often visited the church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky and knelt before the shrine. He was a very devout and churched monarch.
A bit of history
The events that happened in the holy monastery throughout its existence are interesting. The Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky is located on the ancient Trinity Road, which leads to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which stores the relics of one of the most revered saints in Russia - Sergius of Radonezh. Once, during the Streletsky revolt, Tsar Peter 1 stopped at this temple. Learning about this, a large group of archers arrived, who, repenting and asking for mercy, fell to the king’s knees, bowing their heads. Peter 1 forgave them all and had mercy, although the remaining archers were executed. In 1812, Napoleon’s army captured Moscow, which desecrated many Russian shrines, and the church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky was no exception. The French army gradually turned the temple into a grocery warehouse, where it placed its provisions, and used the refectory as a stable. For a long time, everything was desolate, and only in 1824, Emperor Alexander 1 allocated about 20 thousand rubles from the treasury to rebuild the temple. Then they built a bell tower. In 1836, an important event took place for the temple itself and for the entire flock of the church. The temple was first painted by the talented artist D. Scotty. The entire temple complex in its architectural style is an example of church construction in the form of a “Russian pattern”.
Description of the temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky
In the first half of the 19th century, the ceiling of the refectory was dismantled, since then it has become single-tiered. From the second floor there were only choirs that ran along the walls along the western, southern and northern parts of the building. At these choirs preserved ancient chandeliers, fenced with a railing. At the expense of the merchant Konstantinov, in the corners of the refectory, under the choirs, were built the side altars of St. Nicholas and St. Sergius. Famous at that time in Russia, the architect Bykovsky put his soul and all his skill into the architectural style of the altars, the consecration of which took place in 1848 in May.
It is known that the pilgrimage to the temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky was made on foot. Even members of the royal family for the duration of the trip refused all amenities in order to prepare for the great sacraments of confession and communion during this time.
Life during the revolution
In 1917, in the month of November, under the northern end of the temple, in symmetry with the Alekseevsky chapel, the chapel of the great martyr Tryphon was created. Believers have the opportunity to worship the saint and honor his memory.
And in 1922, the Church of the Resurrection of the Word was installed in the church, which is located in the basement of the church. In addition, at the same time the temple fence and the parable house were erected.
During the reign of godlessness in Russia and terrible repressions during the years of Soviet power, the temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky was opened. And everyone who wanted to touch the great shrine could visit him, attend divine services and worship the miraculous icon. But this did not stop the Soviet government in 1922 from taking out part of the church premises for the location of the vegetable base there, and then using it for an art workshop. In addition, property belonging to the temple was confiscated. This is 114 kg of silver and 58 diamonds. The bells on the bell tower were not touched, but they still did not ring for a long time and did not please the ears of the parishioners. The trees around the church grew so large that it became almost invisible and disappeared from view. And only in 1998, all the premises were completely transferred back to the temple.
Miracles performed by the shrine
There is a legend of our days that in 1941 during the Hitler invasion, on the orders of Stalin, they flew around Moscow by plane, taking the great miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin. They did this to maintain the fighting spirit of the army and the people. Surprisingly, the offensive of the Soviet army soon ended successfully, and the city of Tikhvin was liberated from the Germans, in which the original icon was stored. Perhaps this is only a legend, but believers sincerely believe in it, because they know many other miraculous phenomena from the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky. The temple is now glorified and has become a haven of souls for many believers.
Post-war life
The temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky was heavily rising from his knees. After the end of World War II, internal repairs were made, and already in the 70-90s of the 19th century, the restoration of the holy monastery took place. Then, beautiful wall paintings of the famous Italian painter D. Scotti, which were hidden under a large layer of records, were opened to the eyes of numerous parishioners.
In 1945, Father Vladimir Podobedov accepted the post of rector of the Tikhvin Church. Archpriest Solertovsky Alexander Vitalyevich, well-known in Orthodox circles, was rector of the monastery since 1953. And in 1982, Archpriest Arkady Tyshchuk was appointed to this responsible position.
Wonderful tradition of Tikhvin temple
The tradition that began in 1962 in this church is very interesting and important for all Orthodox parishioners. Every year on March 30, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II served the liturgy. It was dedicated to the memory of the patron saint of Patriarch Alexy - the Man of God, in whose honor he was named during the rite of baptism. This solemn event was a great celebration for the entire parish and for all believers who had prepared in advance for this event.
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy loved to visit the walls of the church on the day of the Tikhvin Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to conduct a service. This holiday takes place on July 9th. At this time, many believers come who widely celebrate a wonderful holiday.
Nowadays, a restored temple has been re-opened for everyone who wants to visit, and anyone who believes can commemorate the great martyr Sergius of Radonezh. On the official website of the holy monastery, you can find the address, phone number, schedule of services. The temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God has become a place of pilgrimage for more than one thousand believers, and I want to believe that this is not the limit.