The Assumption Church in Sergiev Posad, which is one of the outstanding examples of Russian church architecture, was erected in the period from 1757 to 1769. The place of its construction was the village of Klementyevo, which was the specific property of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Somewhat later, it, along with other monastic villages, was included in the city of Sergiev Posad. Today, the Assumption Church is considered to be its true decoration.
Wooden predecessor of the temple
The predecessor of the Assumption Church built in Sergiev Posad was a wooden church, which had the same name, but was located about forty meters from the current building. The first mention of it is found in the economic book of the monastery, dated to the end of the XVI century. The church was repeatedly burned and rebuilt, until, finally, it gave way to a memorial pillar erected to commemorate the future construction of a stone church.
The construction of a stone temple
The second half of the 18th century was a period of extreme disadvantage for the Russian Orthodox Church, and especially for monasticism. The reason for this is the large-scale secularization (seizure and transfer to the state fund) of the monastic lands, which the Empress Catherine II had carried out since 1764. Under her decree, the village of Klementyevo ceased to be the property of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and became part of the city of Sergiev Posad.
However, even before legal independence from their owners, the villagers wished to have their own stone parish church, and therefore announced a fundraiser for its construction. Their pious initiative found a response among the widest circles of society, and donations began to come not only from nearby cities and villages, but also from Moscow itself. In 1757, when a large enough amount had already been collected, they began work that had been going on for 12 years and ended with the construction of the Assumption Church in Sergiev Posad, which has survived to this day and has earned fame for its architectural appearance.
Highest visit
In 1775, Empress Catherine II, shortly before that, having taken away the lands belonging to her from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, made a pilgrimage to her shrines. About this, preserved in the history of the monastery, a lot of documentary evidence remains. They describe an extraordinary gathering of people who came from all over the district to personally see the Russian autocrat, as well as the solemn procession, with which Metropolitan of Moscow Plato (Levshin) met a distinguished guest. At the gates of the cloister she appeared accompanied by a bells and cannon fire.
The empress deigned to personally examine the Assumption Church, recently built in Sergiev Posad, in which the service was performed that day with special solemnity. Along with her, many members of the reigning House accompanied her by the ancient icons placed in the temple.
Temple Features
At that time, the Assumption Church in Sergiev Posad had two thrones, one of which was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and the second in the name of John the Baptist. At the beginning of the 19th century, another altar was established on the altar of the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God, the "Life-Giving Spring".
For all the architectural merits of the building, its drawback was that the main volume of the interior, in which the main altar was located, remained unheated at that time and, accordingly, could be used for worship only from May to September.
Bounties merchants Mamaev
In the second half of the XIX century, the main donor of the Assumption Church in Sergiev Posad (on Bolotnaya Street) was his permanent elder ─ the merchant of the first guild Ivan Pavlovich Mamaev. Personally, they made a huge sum at that time ─ 30 thousand rubles, sufficient for the construction of a two-story mansion. With these funds, the interior of the temple was completed.
In particular, new iconostases covered with wooden carvings and gilding were made, salaries and icon cases were ordered for the icons, and the wall painting was updated and supplemented. In addition, on the donation of a pious merchant, floors were paved with marble and bells were made with a total weight of 5.5 tons.
The well-being of the temple in the pre-revolutionary years
Church utensils and priestly vestments, also acquired at the expense of voluntary donors, were unusually rich in those years. Among them, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, numerous silver and gilded vessels and candelabra were especially distinguished. The real treasure was the panagia decorated with precious stones, received as a gift from the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Nikanor. She, according to his will, was invariably next to the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It is known that at the beginning of the 20th century the temple owned significant land leased out.
For a long time, the church “The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles” was assigned to the church, which was located at the Klementyevsky (now Nikolsky) cemetery of Sergiev Posad. It was built on the donations of parishioners of the Assumption Church and other pious citizens. In the years following the October Revolution, it was destroyed and rebuilt only during the years of perestroika. Now it is an independent parish.
At the turn of the eras
The 20th century, which marked the coming of the Bolsheviks to power, brought untold misfortunes to the entire Russian Orthodox Church. They fully touched the Assumption Church in Sergiev Posad (address: Bolotnaya St., 39). Like all other buildings, it became the property of the state and in 1929 was granted for the use of believers on the basis of a lease agreement concluded with them.
This document was drafted in such a way that it allowed the authorities to terminate it at any time, on the basis of violations allegedly committed by tenants. That is precisely what they did in 1936, transferring the church to the use of the Renovationists ─ representatives of the intra-church schismatic movement, led by Archpriest Alexander Vvedensky, who advocated the modernization of services and cooperation with the Soviet government.
Years of trampling shrines
However, the newly appeared schismatics did not perform their services in the church for long. In the late 1930s, the Assumption Church was finally closed, and its building was transferred to the disposal of the city bakery. From this time began its destruction as an architectural monument. In accordance with the needs of production, the interior of the building was converted, and it itself has undergone many changes.
An insignificant step towards the restoration of the violated and desecrated shrine was taken in 1960, when the church was added to the register of historical monuments of Russia and, at the same time, was taken under state protection. Its internal premises were vacated, providing a new building to the enterprise located in them. However, this was all over. No restoration and restoration work was carried out at that time.
Time to "collect stones"
The years of perestroika, in which the government’s policy towards the church drastically changed, became the real era of the renaissance of the Assumption Church. It was time when, in biblical terms, it was time to “collect the scattered stones,” and a great many scattered them during the reign of the Communists. Throughout the country in those years began the restoration of previously destroyed churches and the construction of new ones.
In 1990, immediately after the transfer of the building to the possession of the Russian Orthodox Church, a religious community arose under it. Soon, by order of the diocesan leadership, a clergy staff was established, headed by the rector of the church, Archpriest Vladimir (Kucheryav). By his labors on June 28 of the same year, the first liturgy after a long break was celebrated at the Assumption Church. A prayer service was also served to send God's help in the restoration of the shrine ravaged during the years of spiritual darkness and desolation.
The period of active revival of the temple
In the next decade, a large amount of restoration and restoration work was carried out, including the installation of marble flooring, roof repairs, the creation of iconostases and the writing of the required number of icons. In addition, the bell tower was destroyed, destroyed by the authorities in the late 30s. Then at the temple, an evening school and a religious library began to operate.
In 2001, by the decision of the Holy Synod, the Assumption Church (Sergiev Posad), the photos of which are presented in the article, became the center of the Sergiev Posad deanery. At the same time, prominent religious leader of our time, scholar, candidate of theological sciences Archpriest Alexander (Samoilov) was appointed his new abbot, who later received monastic tonsure and, since 2005, was known as Father Superior John.
The following years became a period of further improvement of the temple and the increase of its shrines. This, as before, showed the generosity of many parishioners who did not skimp on making significant sums for the purchase of church utensils, priestly vestments, and liturgical books, which made it possible to fully renew the spiritual life, interrupted for many years, in the church.
Assumption Church (Sergiev Posad): schedule of services
Currently, church services are held in full, provided for by the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church. The morning services, both on weekdays and on holidays, begin at 7:40 with a confession, followed by the Clock and the Divine Liturgy. Evening services begin at 16:50. Only on Saturday the schedule of services in the Assumption Church of Sergius Posad made some changes: the morning service on these days begins at 8:00. In general, this order of worship corresponds to the work schedule of most Russian churches.
And the last one. For those who wish to visit this Orthodox shrine revived from non-existence, we advise how to get to the Assumption Church of Sergiev Posad. To do this, you need to get to Sergiev Posad by electric train leaving from the Yaroslavl railway station of the capital. Further from the train station, go along Kooperativnaya Street, and then go down the Red Army Street. It will lead directly to Bolotnaya street, where the temple is located. The total length of the path does not exceed one kilometer.