This long-suffering church is somehow surprisingly located between three lanes: Novovogankovsky and two Trekhgorny. The Church of St. Nicholas on the Three Mountains has changed its name more than once and has been rebuilt several times over its centuries-old history. In the annals of 1628, its progenitor is mentioned - the Church of St. Nicholas in Psary. It received this name due to the transfer of the Royal Kennel here in the middle of the 17th century. This parish church community moved around the city repeatedly, and, surprisingly, always carried the church with them, which is probably why for some time it bore the name "Church of St. Nicholas on a chicken leg".
Church of St. Nicholas on the Three Mountains
In 1695, the Kennel was located in the tract Three Mountains, behind the outpost, called Trekhgornaya. Initially, it was a wooden temple, then in 1762-1775 it was rebuilt in stone in the village of Novoe Vagankovo with three altars. The main one - in honor of the icon of the Virgin "Life-Giving Spring", two limits - in honor of St. Nicholas andSaint Demetrius of Rostov Over time, its boundaries gradually expanded, and in 1860 a high bell tower and a refectory were rebuilt, the area of the estate more than doubled.
The Church of St. Nicholas on the Three Mountains is an architectural monument of the 19th century and an object of cultural heritage. There is a very curious fact associated with this structure. It turns out that in the 20s of the twentieth century, A. V. served as regent here. Alexandrov, who became the author of the anthem of the Soviet Union.
The parishioners of the church were ordinary people, peasants and workers, but there were also quite we althy people, including the Prokhorovs, who owned the Trekhgornaya manufactory.
All extensions did not create a harmonious architectural ensemble, so it was decided to completely rebuild the church itself according to the project of the famous Russian architect G. A. Kaiser with the money of we althy merchants Kopeikin-Serebryakov, who lived in the parish of the church. On December 1, 1902, the renovated church was consecrated. However, all construction and finishing work was finally completed only by 1908.
Church of St. Nicholas
The same workers of the Trekhgornaya manufactory saved the church from fatal destruction. In the most turbulent and dangerous years of 1905 and 1917, they organized the protection of the cathedral, which was right at the epicenter of all the revolutionary events that took place on Presnya. Thanks to this, the temple was not looted and destroyed.
However, in the early 1920s, the church could not be saved, at first it was ruined, and then completelyclosed. In 1929 it was rebuilt, the dome and the bell tower were destroyed. The new government placed a club there, and a little later the house of the pioneers. Pavlik Morozov. The lane, which had the name Nikolsky, also began to bear the name of the pioneer hero.
The long-awaited thaw
And now, after the collapse of the USSR, the Moscow government signed an order to return the building with the adjacent territory to the possession of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Church of St. Nicholas on the Three Mountains was immediately subjected to major restoration and restored to its original beauty. Today it works, even a Bible college, a Sunday school, a club for the reconstruction of medieval folk cultures are open.
You can visit this temple at the address: Moscow, Novovagankovsky lane, house 9, bldg. 1. The current rector is Archpriest Dmitry Roshchin, who was appointed on February 11, 2016.
Service Schedule
Mains Liturgy - beginning at 8.00 (Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays). On great holidays and on Sundays - beginning at 9.00. The day before at 17.00 - Vespers. At 6:00 pm on Wednesdays, the akathist to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. At 8.00 on Sundays - a prayer service and the blessing of water.
The commemoration of St. Nicholas is held to the present: September 11 - the Nativity of the saint, May 22 - the day of the transfer of his honest relics, December 19 - the feast of honoring St. Nicholas.
The temple also has its shrines. This is a casket with the relics of St. Nicholas the World of Lycia (for worship it is taken out of the altar only onSunday liturgies), as well as the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, the icon of St. Nicholas with the relics and the reliquary with the relics of St. Dimitry of Rostov.
