Muscovites are very lucky. When the soul asks for something bright and kind, a resident of literally every microdistrict can go to a small church or a majestic cathedral, defend a service or talk one-on-one with God, light candles at the icons for the he alth of the living and as a sign of the memory of the dead.
Notorious "backgrounds"
In the Russian language there are many words and expressions that are used not literally, but figuratively. They are well understood only by those who have this native language, who are familiar with the history of their native country "from Romulus to the present day." This includes the famous Makarov's calves, and the crayfish whistling on the mountain, and the "little streets" located no one knows where - at the very devil. And somehow the Church of All Saints in Kulishki relates to all this. Let's try to figure it out!
"Kulizhki" once (Dal noted this in his dictionary) called forest clearings, swamps with small islands, remote from human settlements. Then, around the 13th and 14th centuries, the word became synonymous with the "ends of the earth", the distant borders of any area. Moscow at that time alreadyexisted, but was still a small town, consisting entirely of wooden buildings. By order of the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, in honor of the soldiers who died in 1380 during the Battle of Kulikovo, the first Church of All Saints was built on Kulishki (then a small church not far from the city limits - now it is the historical center of the capital).
History in detail
The wooden church, as usual, has not been preserved: it burned down in one of the Moscow fires, which were not rare in those days. The second life of the church was given much later, in the first half of the 17th century. Since that time, the same Church of All Saints in Kulishki, which still exists today, was rebuilt. In the 19th century it was restored for the first time, the second renovation took place in the post-perestroika period of the 20th century.
From the beginning of the establishment of the power of the Bolsheviks, the parish was closed, and the premises, including the basements, were used as investigation rooms and torture chambers. There were also shootings. Then, since the architecture of the temple was of great historical value, the church was given to the Historical Museum.
During the next restoration under a fresh foundation, the remains of a 14th-century building were discovered. At the moment, the Church of All Saints on Kulishki is Orthodox, belongs to the Moscow diocese of the Intercession Deanery, stands on Slavyanskaya Square, near Kitay-gorod.
To holy places
Kulichki, as experts in Moscow life and history will tell you, is a completely unusual place. First of all, by the number of "prayerplaces" - churches, cathedrals, parishes. For example, passing by, one cannot help but go to the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin on Kulishki. It is also called the "Christmas Church on Strelka". This is an Orthodox spiritual institution belonging to the Pokrovsky deanery of the diocese of the capital.
Those who want to visit this temple on Kulishki in Moscow should go to the Taganka area (Central Administrative District). The main feature of the church is that services are held here in the Church Slavonic language and the Ossetian dialect. One of the limits is dedicated to John the Theologian, the second - to Demetrius of Thessalonica.
Faces of the Mother of God
The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Kulishki, like many places of true faith, has a unique destiny. The first mention of it is found in documents of the 16th century. It was then, in 1547, that a wooden church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin stood here. It was located at the fork of two important roads at that time: towards the Yauza River, then to the future Kolomenskaya road and further to the Ryazan principality. The second path led to the settlement of Vorontsovo. That's why it was said that the church stands "on the arrow".
In ancient times, its building served as a gathering place for Russians for the Battle of Kulikovo. As a result, many historians associate this church with the Church of All Saints, later the same temple on Kulishki, which was written about above. In the 17th century, a brick building was built here. The fire of Moscow in 1812 caused irreparable damage to the temple, the Soviet government completed the ruin. And only inIn 1996, at the request and blessing of Patriarch Alexy, the temple was transferred to the religious use of the Moscow Ossetian community. Now he stands on the Alanian Compound.
Church of the Three Saints
And, finally, another holy place - the Church of the Three Hierarchs in Kulishki. This is an Orthodox church, it is located in one of the oldest districts of Moscow - Basmanny, in Khitrovsky lane. The main lower altar of the monastery is dedicated to the Ecumenical Teachers, the aisles belong to Saints Frol and Laurus, and the upper church was erected in honor of the Holy Trinity. Now it is the Solyansky district of Moscow, along with adjacent lanes, up to the boulevard and the embankment of the Yauza River.
Living history
The temple was built in the 15th century by order of Prince Vasily 1. It adjoined the princely summer palace with luxurious orchards and adjacent stables. A small church towered in the horse yard, because Frol and Lavr have long been revered as patrons of horses and domestic animals. Then the Metropolitan's home church was added to it, built in the name of the Three Ecumenical Hierarchs - John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great.
Then, from the 17th to the 19th centuries, the building was rebuilt, improved, restored at the expense of parishioners and voluntary donors, patrons of art. In Soviet times, the temple was devastated, unique icons and other religious objects were destroyed. The restoration of the church began in the late 1990s and is still underway. At the temple, there are Orthodox courses for regents (heads of churchchoirs), Orthodox and Sunday schools, icon-painting workshop.
