Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in Pavlovskaya Sloboda. Cultural heritage of the Moscow region

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

In the village of Pavlovskaya Sloboda, on a high hill on the right bank of the Istra River, one of the most beautiful churches in the Moscow region rises. The ensemble is an example of Russian architecture and an architectural monument of federal significance. The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pavlovskaya Sloboda was built in 1650 by the boyar Boris Morozov.

The first written mention of the church dates back to 1593. It is described as wooden and single-headed, but decorated with tiers and zakomaras, which are very similar to girlish kokoshniks. Such details are characteristic of Russian wooden architecture of the late fifteenth century.

Wooden Temple

The first church of the Holy Mother of God in Pavlovskaya Sloboda was built by boyar Yakov Morozov. There is a legend about the motives of the construction. Tsar Vasily the Third got angry with the nobleman and sent him into exile in the Moscow region.

A year later, the sovereign's son John was born, who becamelater Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Vasily the Third, according to tradition, announced an amnesty and returned the disgraced boyar to Moscow. Yakov Morozov, wanting to please the tsar, ordered the construction of a wooden church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pavlovskaya Sloboda.

The beginning of the Romanov dynasty

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, boyar clans fought for the Russian throne. A great turmoil began in Russia. The late tsar left two sons - Fedor and Dmitry. The eldest of the princes could not independently manage the state, as he was not he althy, and according to some sources, he suffered from dementia. The youngest son was only two years old. The boyars put Fyodor Ioannovich on the throne, but appointed Boris Godunov as guardian.

But the struggle for power did not stop, forcing the royal brother-in-law to weave intrigues. A year later, the closest rivals in the struggle for the royal throne were eliminated. Exile, forced monastic tonsure, poisoning, and accidental death while hunting allowed Boris Godunov to take the Russian throne after the death of Tsar Fyodor. In addition, the uncle of the prince is credited with the murder of the second son of Ivan the Terrible - Dmitry. But in general, historians assess the period of Godunov's reign positively. It was under him that the patriarchate was founded, the first in this post was Job.

After the death of Boris Godunov, the struggle for power flared up with renewed vigor. And there would be a new turmoil in Russia if the son of Patriarch Filaret, Mikhail Romanov, had not put an end to these mournful events.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

Boyarin Boris Morozov was not an ordinary we althy nobleman. In the sixteenth century thosethose who owned three hundred or more peasants were considered. Morozov had more than five thousand souls, each paid the boyar a tribute. In addition, Boris Ivanovich had a pronounced entrepreneurial streak. The village of Pavlovskoye under him became the first industrial center of Russia.

Mikhail Romanov entrusted Boris Ivanovich with the upbringing of his heir - Tsarevich Alexei. Boyarin was very smart, well-read, traveled a lot, studied culture, architecture and industrial business in Europe. Boris Morozov was able to transfer a lot of knowledge to Tsarevich Alexei. He did not have his own children, so he put his whole soul into the future sovereign and the development of his possessions.

In the seventeenth century, a boyar provoked a riot in Moscow. The government imposed a tax on s alt, which condemned the unprotected sections of the population to starvation. People could not stand this and burst into the Kremlin demanding to cancel the tax. Alexei Mikhailovich made concessions and exiled Morozov to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. However, four months later, the boyar was already developing the first set of laws in Moscow.

Summer Palace

The reason for the construction of the stone church of the Blessed Virgin in Pavlovskaya Sloboda was the new residence of the king in Kolomenskoye. The style, largely borrowed from foreigners, impressed Boris Ivanovich so much that he decided on something similar.

Indeed, the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin in Pavlovskaya Sloboda has features similar to the palace. This building was the last thing in the life of an enterprising boyar, but to consecratehe didn't make it to church. Boris Ivanovich Morozov was buried a year before the completion of the construction of the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in Pavlovskaya Sloboda. On his deathbed, he bequeathed to his wife Anna to complete what she started, which she did.

Architectural monument

Anna Morozova was honored to receive roy alty in the walls of a huge temple ensemble. The building, standing on a high basement, has seven domes, a refectory, aisles of the prophet Elijah and St. Nicholas. The construction was completed by a tall hipped bell tower demolished during the war years.

In this form stood the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pavlovskaya Sloboda until the early thirties of the twentieth century. In atheist times, the church was closed, and then destroyed.

The sewing artel was located in the building, later a hostel was arranged. But at the end of the century, the temple was miraculously returned to the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church and restored. The first Divine Liturgy was already celebrated in the summer of 1992, on the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist.