In 2017, the 280th anniversary of the founding of the St. George Church in Ivanteevka, a city of regional subordination, located at a distance of 17 km northeast of Moscow, was celebrated. This shrine had a happy fate, having avoided closure and subsequent desecration during the Soviet period, to live safely until blessed times, when the Russians again turned to the spiritual heritage of their ancestors. It should be especially noted that by the will of the Almighty, as well as thanks to the courage of the clergy and parishioners, worship in St. George's Church in Ivanteevka was not interrupted even in the midst of the most violent anti-religious campaigns.
Villages on the banks of the river Uchi
Before delving into the history of St. George's Church located in Ivanteevka, a few words should be said about the city itself. It is known that it was formed from three nearby villages located on the banks of the Ucha River - Vanteevo, founded in the second half of the 15th century, as well as Kopnina and Novoselok. From the first of them came itcurrent name.
From archival materials it is known that over the next centuries the inhabitants of these villages were engaged in agriculture, until a weaving factory was founded there in the middle of the 19th century. The production of fabrics developed successfully, and by the beginning of the next century, a powerful industrial center had grown on the site of the former agricultural holdings, supplying its products both to the domestic market and abroad.
Good undertaking of the officer's widow I. F. Sheremeteva
As for the religious life of the villagers, its beginning can be traced back to the first half of the 16th century, when on the banks of the Ucha, near the place where the St. George Church is now located in Ivanteevka, a small wooden church was built, consecrated in honor of the saint Great Martyr George. After a century, it became very dilapidated, and in 1668 the merchant I. I. Biryukin-Zaitsev, who at that time owned the village of Vanteevo, built in its place a new one, the same wooden one and dedicated to the same great martyr as its predecessor.
This shrine was destined to stand for a little over sixty years, namely, until the time when the village in which it was located was inherited by Irina Fedorovna Sheremeteva, the widow of a naval officer, one of Peter I's active assistants in creating Russian fleet. Considering this, already the second in a row, St. George's Church to be extremely dilapidated, she turned to the Holy Synod with a request to build a new church in her village - also wooden, but more spacious androomy.
Construction and consecration of a new church
Having received a blessing from the capital, Irina Fedorovna immediately set about fulfilling her plan, and after 7 years on the picturesque bank of the river, where the stone St. in the best traditions of Russian temple architecture of that time. It was erected on a stone foundation and covered with sheet iron on top.
In December 1737, a group of priests headed by Archpriest Father Nikifor (Ivanov) arrived from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, sent for its solemn consecration. It is this significant event that is considered to be the beginning of the history of the Church of the Great Martyr George, which is discussed in our article.
Status of the affiliated church
After another century, the population of Vanteev and the two adjacent villages decreased significantly due to the fact that many serfs were sent by their owner - the landowner F. S. Malgunov - to populate other territories belonging to him. In those days, when almost a quarter of a century remained before the abolition of serfdom, this was a common occurrence.
With the resettlement of peasants, the number of parishioners of the church, which was the predecessor of the St. George's Church now existing in Ivanteevka, has significantly decreased. In this regard, the decision of the Holy Synod was issued, according to which - due to the small number of the parish - she lostindependence and was attributed to the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, located in the village of Komyagino near Moscow.
From that time until 1918, the villagers were fed by the Komyagin priests, who regularly performed services in their church, which received the status of ascribed for this period. This situation did not change even after a weaving factory opened next to it, which later became a powerful industrial complex and united a large number of visiting workers around it, who replenished the number of parishioners.
Anonymous donor
This church, built on the initiative and at the expense of I. F. Sheremeteva, was destined for almost a century and a half to gather the inhabitants of the surrounding villages for worship with the ringing of its bells. But the wood from which its walls were built, as you know, is a very short-lived material, and at the end of the 19th century the question arose of a major overhaul of the building, which had become very dilapidated by that time. It was then that the St. George Church, which has survived to this day in the city of Ivanteevka, was built.
The necessary funds for the work were found quickly. According to the surviving documents, they were provided in 1886 by a we althy Moscow merchant who did not want to reveal his name, in order to thereby fully fulfill God's commandment about alms given in secret. His generous donation made it possible to quickly erect a new church building in the same place, made in the architectural style characteristic of that period, called "pseudo-Russian".
Bright lookwooden architecture
Even today, after many decades have passed since the date of construction, thanks to the simplicity and brevity of forms, this building is in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape of the modern city of Ivanteevka. St. George's Church, address: st. Novoselki, 53, is rightfully considered not only the center of the spiritual life of the townspeople, but also a unique architectural monument - one of the brightest examples of Russian wooden architecture of the late 19th century that has been preserved in the Moscow region.
Most of the archival documents related to the construction work of that time have been lost, but the fact that the current church was erected exactly where the St. According to experts, it is completely made of bricks produced at the beginning of the 18th century, and the integrity of the masonry suggests that it was never dismantled. Other elements of the former building have also been preserved. Among them are sheets of tinned iron covering the roof, as well as a domed cross from the end of the 18th century and window bars forged in the same period.
Consecration of a new temple
The date of birth of the current temple is considered to be 1892. The basis for this is the entry in the “Clear Gazette” of the same St. Sergius Church in the village of Komyagino, to which, as mentioned above, he was assigned. This document mentions that on May 11 “of this year” Metropolitan Leonty (Lebedinsky) of Moscow personallyvisited St. George's parish and consecrated the church built in honor of the patron saint of the Christ-loving Russian army.
The looting of the temple
Despite the fact that, by the grace of God, the temple escaped closure in the period following the October armed coup of 1917, and also survived all the numerous anti-religious campaigns, the troubles did not bypass it either. So, already in the third year after the establishment of the Bolshevik regime in the country, by the decision of the commission for the seizure of church property, everything that was of material value in it was requisitioned, or simply put, plundered.
Silver chasubles of icons and gospel frames, altar crosses and precious chalices (chalices for communion) were taken from the parishioners and lost forever. This blatant lawlessness continued in the mid-1930s, when, supposedly for the needs of non-ferrous metallurgy, ancient bells were thrown from the bell tower and sent for remelting.
The last hearth of Orthodoxy
However, the religious life in it was not interrupted, as evidenced by the schedule of services constantly posted on the doors of St. George's Church in Ivanteevka. This schedule, which is usual in our days, was extremely important for believers because the rest of the churches, and not only in the city, but in the entire surrounding district, were closed, and it was here that the last center of Orthodoxy was preserved.
Unable to close the temple, the authorities subjected to repression of its clergy and the most active parishioners. So, the hard fate remained in the memory of the townspeople,which fell to the lot of two priests - Father Seraphim (Golubtsov) and Father Gabriel (Raevsky). They were both arrested on false charges of anti-government activities and spent many years in the Stalinist camps.
Temple life today
Over the years that have passed since the beginning of perestroika, the believers of Russia have been returned many shrines illegally taken from them. The religious life of the Moscow region was also revived in the proper volume. However, as before, St. George's Church in Ivanteevka remains one of the most significant spiritual centers in this region of the country.
The schedule of divine services performed daily by his clergy, headed by the rector, Archpriest Father Alexy (Barashkov), fully complies with the requirements of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church. So, on weekdays, its doors open at 7:30 for all who wish to confess before the Divine Liturgy, which begins at 8:00. From 17:00, under the vaults of the temple, evening services are performed and akathists prescribed by the Orthodox calendar sound.
On holidays and Sundays, the schedule of services in St. George's Church in Ivanteevka is somewhat different. They begin an hour earlier - at 6:20 with confession and then the following early liturgy. At 9:30 a.m. a late liturgy is performed, and at 5:50 p.m. an all-night vigil is served. Parishioners will learn about all changes to this schedule from announcements posted both on the premises of the temple and on its Internet resources.
