Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka: history, address, top tips before you visit

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka is an old Orthodox complex that managed to survive during the hard times. It has a long history. The temple was founded at the time when Prince Vasily Ioannovich III was blessed to reign. The date coincided with the day of memory of St. Martin - April 14 (27), 1502. The article is devoted to the history of the Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka.

Who is Saint Martin?

A Christian named Martin lived in the 7th century in Constantinople. At that time, the church was not yet divided into Orthodox and Catholic. In the Catholic tradition, Martin is revered as a martyr, and in the Orthodox tradition, as a confessor. This status is given to those who declared their faith openly and, despite the accepted torment, remained alive.

The saint was buried on the outskirts of Chersonese, and his relics are noware in Rome.

Original historical data

The first mention of the temple in historical monuments occurs in 1625. At the beginning of the 17th century, Alekseevskaya Sloboda was formed, located outside the Earthen City, along the path that connected the Taganny Gates and the Spaso-Andronikovsky Monastery. The Martinovskaya Church stood on the way, but the settlement was called Alekseevskaya by analogy with the church erected in honor of Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, at the place where his tent was located during a visit to the monastery. The settlement was called "black", because it was inhabited by merchants and artisans involved in urban improvement. In the second half of the 17th century, the settlement was occupied by bread merchants, so the Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka was called “in Khlebniki.”

The erection and consecration

In 1791, a we althy Moscow tea merchant (later to become the mayor of Moscow) Vasily Zhigarev ordered a new church project from architect Rodion Kazakov. This architect stood on a par with such eminent architects as M. Kazakov and V. Bazhenov, but he was undeservedly forgotten in history. Having received the basics of the theory from these masters, Kazakov continued their work, and also became the head of an architectural school, from the walls of which many gifted figures emerged.

In 1792, with the blessing of the Moscow Metropolitan Platon, began the construction of the Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka. By 1798 the process was complete. At the expense of Zhikharev in the samea private public school was also built next to the church.

Complex in the 19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Italian painter Antonio Claudo painted the temple, his works have been preserved on the walls of the complex to this day. The same master made icons for the main iconostasis. The Italian style of painting was uncharacteristic for temples of that time. Thus, plots unusual for Orthodox churches appeared in the church: the image of Moses and the Apostle Peter.

In 1806, the church was consecrated by Metropolitan Platon of Moscow.

1812 brought misfortune, the temple was badly damaged by fire. Therefore, from 1813 to 1821 it was restored, restoring ceilings and cladding. In the 19th century, the main temple functioned without heating. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, the merchant Sergei Alexandrov contributed to the organization of calorific heating. In addition, the picturesque interior design has also been updated.

Architectural style

The Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka belongs to the monuments of Russian classicism, but stands alone among them. The building stands out for its original architecture. The temple is located on a hill descending to the Yauza coast. At one time, the complex was one of the central town-planning dominants of the entire Zayauzye and, in particular, the Tagansky district.

The building is monumental. Its architect, Kazakov, for the sake of the idea of compositional unity, refused to divide the building into the usual three parts. The building is designed in the spirit of Russian classicism: itsthe forms are solemn and voluminous. It consists of a 4-foot quadrangle and a large apse, a western vestibule and a 3-tier bell tower. The scale of the external design is large. The side facades are marked by 8-columned porticos. The windows are large, located on the sides of the facade. The view of the temple from the side of the Garden Ring is especially expressive.

Times of ruin

Until 1917, schools, almshouses were opened at the temple, and guardianship was carried out for the poor. However, after the revolution, the complex repeated the fate of many shrines. It was looted and closed in 1931. Church premises were given to the Vostokkino film studio. At this time, the iconostasis was destroyed, and the interior of the temple was finally looted. Later, the premises were occupied by the All-Union Book Chamber, placing a literary fund in the temple.

Rebirth

In 1989, the idea of reviving the Temple of St. Martin the Confessor was born. Until that moment, only one church functioned in the Tagansky district - the Assumption of the Mother of God in Gonchars. However, the number of believers by the end of the 80s was steadily increasing, which required the opening of new temple complexes and the revival of the old ones. That is how it was decided to restore the Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka. The photo shows this beautiful structure.

In the early 90s, the temple was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1991 the throne was consecrated. Sergey Suzd altsev became the rector. Services were soon resumed.

In 1991, a religious procession took place, during which the image of the Georgian Mother of God was brought to the temple. The memory of the icon is honored on September 4th. It is believed that the miraculous image helps women suffering from infertility. The fate of the icon of Our Lady of Georgia, which was in the church before the revolution, is still unknown.

The rector of the temple since 1992 is Alexander Abramov. Under his leadership, the complex was freed from the book fund, the heating system was replaced, the roof was rebuilt, and the window frames were renewed. The wall painting has been restored, the iconostasis has been returned. The names of the priests who took an active part in the restoration work: Mikhail Fedin, Sergiy Tocheny, Andrey Bondarenko.

In 1998, the temple was consecrated by Patriarch Alexy.

Address of the Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka and schedule

The complex is located at: g. Moscow, st. Alexandra Solzhenitsyna, 15.

Services are held daily at 8:00 and 17:00, on Sundays at 10:00 and 17:00. Also, every day there is a prayer service to St. Matrona - at 14:00. Up-to-date information on the schedule can be found on the official website of the temple.

Sunday school

Today, the church has a Sunday school. Its purpose is the Orthodox upbringing and education of children in the spirit of Christian values. Children learn to participate in Confession and Communion, study the Law of God, church history, the course of Orthodox worship. Education at the school is free. Pupils are required to be neatmodest appearance, reverent attitude towards church utensils, regular participation in worship.

Tips before visiting

The clergy of the temple gives some advice to believers when visiting the Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Moscow:

• Enter church with joy, reverence and meekness.
• At the entrance you need to make three waist bows, and in fasting - three earthly bows.
• During the service, you should not put candles and kiss the icons, it is better to do this in advance, before the start of the service, so as not to disturb anyone present. The reading of the Gospel, the prayer "Only Begotten Son", part of the liturgy with the words "Like Cherubim" - moments of special concentration when it is forbidden to walk around the temple.
• A church candle is a symbol of our burning before the Lord, therefore it deserves a reverent attitude. It should be lit from the next one, and after singeing the base, put it in a candlestick.
• Greeting acquaintances should be modest, with a bow.
• During prayer, you should not look at others with interest, but rather delve into the course of the service so that the hymns come from the heart.
• Children should get used to reasonable behavior in the temple, in which the role of parents is important. It is forbidden to eat in the temple. If the child cries, he should be removed or taken out of service.
• Candle money should be prepared in advance at home.
• Leaving the service before the end is considered a sin, if this happened, it is worth confessing.
• Women to come to the servicerecommended without makeup. It is forbidden to take communion with painted lips.
• If one of the believers in the temple made a remark, do not be upset, but rather accept the reproaches with humility.
• Mobile phone must be turned off.

Miracles

Believers in their reviews of the Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka often talk about miracles that occur after prayer in front of the image of the Georgian Mother of God. Through the prayers of the family received the long-awaited children. Therefore, the number of those wishing to venerate the shrine does not decrease day by day.