In this article we want to introduce you to one of the Moscow churches with a noteworthy history. It will be about the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki.
About the temple
Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist - the current Orthodox church. It belongs to the Resurrection deanery of the Moscow diocese. It has a special status - the Patriarchal Metochion.
According to historical reports, it was founded in the 17th century. The current building was built in 1915-1917. Author - N. L. Shevyakov.
Address of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki: Well lane, 2a. Geographically, this is the Eastern Administrative District of Moscow.
There are two thrones at the temple:
- Lower - the Apostle Matthias (not active now).
- Upper - Nativity of the Forerunner and Prophet John (John the Baptist).
Accordingly, there are two patronal holidays at the temple:
- November 29, according to a new style - the Apostle Matthias.
- July 7 AM With. - John the Baptist.
Service Schedule
Schedule of services in the Church of the Nativity of JohnForerunners in Sokolniki next:
- Beginning of the morning service: on weekdays - 8:00, on Sundays, holidays (according to the Orthodox calendar) - 9:00.
- Evening service starts: daily at 17:00.
The schedule is the same in winter and summer. Confession time - before the start of the liturgy.
Prayers with an akathist are offered twice weekly:
- Monday (17:00) - prayer service to John the Baptist.
- Thursday (9:00) - Saint John of San Francisco and Shanghai.
About the clergy of the temple
Since July 5, 2017, Priest Vyacheslav Drobyshev has been the rector of the Falconer's Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Archpriest - Oleg Stenyaev. He is known not only as a priest, but also as a writer, publicist, theologian, missionary, and preacher. His specialization is comparative theology and sectarian studies. He has served as a cleric of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki since 2004.
He is the author of interesting books for both believers and secular people:
- "Who are Jehovah's Witnesses?"
- "Krishnas: who are they?"
- "Satanism".
- "Man in the face of temptations" and so on.
The activities of the priest and missionary are widely known to the public:
- Preaching Orthodoxy among adherents of non-traditional religions (sectarians).
- Conversations with residents of Chechnya and Russian soldiers stationed there.
- Missionary trip to India.
Many people became aware of the name of Archpriest Oleg because of the conflict with Alexei Dvorkin, a researcher of the sectarian movement, theologian, medievalist historian. Its essence is that in one of his conversations, Oleg Stenyaev said that the God of Christians and Muslims is one. A. L. Dvorkin, in an article criticizing this conversation, wrote that such a statement contradicts the dogmas of both Orthodoxy and Christianity in general. Oleg Viktorovich's open letter of objection to the historian, however, did not arouse much public approval.
The history of the old temple
The history of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Sokolniki (then - in the Workhouse) began in the 17th century - it was erected in the possession of the Old Preobrazhensky Palace of Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1669-1670. the Church of the Resurrection was built in the courtyards of the estate, intended for falconers, huntsmen, and servants (the Tsar's Falcon Grove was nearby). Nearby was a healing spring called the Holy Well.
The village of Preobrazhenskoye was also the place of Natalya Kirillovna's unofficial exile with little Peter. After the matured great emperor ordered to rebuild the new Transfiguration Palace, this one was abandoned.
Only in 1740, Anna Ioannovna ordered the construction of a new Church of the Resurrection on the site of the old one. But already in 1789, the throne was transferred to the Catherine's almshouse, and the church was dismantled.
In the 19th century, the Moscow city administration began to actively buy up land in the Sokolniki area for the construction of almshouses and hospitals. In particular, the Moscow Work House (House of Diligence) was opened, based onwhich operated workshops, gardening. There were departments for teenagers, people who were chronically ill and unable to work. Over time, the Workhouse began to need its own temple.
The story of the new temple
A small home church was originally planned. However, when the project of N. L. Shevyakova was already ready, the widow of the cloth manufacturer O. A. Titova donated a rather large amount for the future temple - 100 thousand rubles. Her condition was to erect the throne of John the Baptist in honor of the heavenly patron of the late spouse and the throne of Matthias in memory of the deceased son.
The project was completely transformed as part of a donation:
- The facade was decorated with Byzantine and Pskov-Novgorod ornaments, a perspective portal, arched-columnar drums.
- Oak iconostasis with icons painted in Stroganoff writing on a gold background.
- At the same time, 800 people could be in the temple, and only 200 in the choirs.
The temple was founded in 1915, and consecrated in the alarming 1917. The first attempt to close it was made in 1919, however, the event was postponed by the efforts of residents and employees of the Yermakov training and craft workshops (the former Workhouse named after Dr. Haaz). True, only for 3 years.
Since the 1950s on the territory of the temple there was a thermal galvanic shop of the MEZ No. 1. At the same time, not a single repair, not a single restoration of the building was carried out over all these years, which led it to a critical condition.
Only in 1998year, the temple and the territory adjacent to it were classified as cultural and social heritage, and the building itself was returned to the Orthodox Church. But at the same time, the building belonged to the New Technologies and Communications LLC, which bought the property of the bankrupt MEZ No. 1.
And only in 2009, both the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist and its land, two houses of the Work Complex were completely given to the Russian Orthodox Church. Only a few years of repair and restoration helped the building regain its historical appearance. Today, the temple in Sokolniki has been almost restored and is happy to receive parishioners.
