Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills. Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity

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

How pleasing to the ear are the names of the Moscow Seven Hills, the Luzhnikovskaya Bend, the Smorodina River, which later became the Moscow River. Vorobyovy Gory (or Mount Svarozhya, or Vorozheiskaya) is one of the 7 hills on which Moscow is spread.

The emergence of the temple on Sparrow Hills

Here, on the steep cliff of the Teploostankinskaya Upland, on the Moscow Hill, the furthest from the Kremlin, is the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills.

The ancient village of Vorobyevo, which gave its name to the hill, changed owners due to princely intrigues, as did the local church, the first mention of which dates back to the middle of the 15th century. Then, already in the second half of the 17th century, a single Trinity Church was built on the site of the three dismantled churches that existed by that time.

The building that exists now began to be built in 1811, retaining its former name, and the old church, due to its dilapidation,dismantled by order of Catherine.

Temple History

There is no doubt that the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills has its own history. It was in this temple that M. I. Kutuzov offered a prayer before the well-known Council in Fili. By a lucky chance, during the capture of Moscow by Napoleon, the church was not damaged, in 1813 its full construction was completed. Architect A. Vitberg, the author of the project, designed the building in the style of late classicism - Empire. Single-domed, with a quadrangular base and aisles, it was decorated with columns along the facade. The Temple of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills has a two-tier bell tower.

Renovated in 1858 and in 1898, after the October Revolution, it can be said that it was constantly under the threat of demolition - something was expanded, something was laid, something was built, and the territory of the temple was always needed. But it can be stated that the fate of this religious building is happy - surviving the Moscow fire of 1812, not demolished in Soviet times, it escaped the ban on bell ringing introduced on the territory of the capital. Obviously, in all these cases, its distance from the center played an important role.

Temple arrangement

The Temple of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills has two chapels dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh and Nicholas the Wonderworker. The shrines of this church include two revered icons of the Mother of God - “Passionate” and “Blessed Sky”, as well as several temple icons.

There are several Trinity churches and temples in Moscow,which are usually laid on the days of church holidays. This means that any church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity began to be built on this great holiday - the Trinity, or Pentecost, one of the twelve church holidays. One of the most beautiful and solemn services takes place on this day. This holiday is associated with greenery, with the victory of spring over winter. Perhaps that is why the roofs of many Trinity churches are painted green. That's very beautiful! In some interpretations, it is considered as a mixture of blue and yellow. In this regard, it symbolizes the rebirth of the soul through generosity and good deeds. In addition, it is the color of St. John the Evangelist. His robe is often green.

The originality of the Ostankino temple

The Moscow Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Ostankino also has a green roof and is also extraordinarily beautiful. Built at the end of the 17th century, it is the pinnacle of creativity of the masters of Moscow pattern making. As the name implies, this style abounded with decorative elements. There was everything here - and compositions of particular complexity, the silhouette of the building was, as a rule, unusually picturesque, the style was distinguished by intricate forms and a large amount of decor. Opinions on the origin of patterns differ, he is reproached even for Mannerism borrowed from the West. A characteristic example of this trend in Russian architecture, the temple in Ostankino, has existed for about 300 years - from the moment when, with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow, it was decided to build a stone Trinity Church instead of the old wooden church. Ostashkovo village(now Ostankino) was the main representative office in the Moscow region of very large landowners - the princes of Cherkassy. The main residence is a worthy house church! The Tverskaya road leading to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra passed by the temple, and all the nobility, including crowned persons, stayed with the owners, visited the new temple. It had three aisles, the central one was dedicated, like the previous church, to the Life-Giving Trinity.

Unique iconostasis

The iconostasis of the temple, consecrated simultaneously with the central chapel in 1692, is unique. Its design was unusual for Orthodox religious buildings, intricate and refined, and very much resembled an organ. The location of the icons, their frames, different and in no way repeating the gaps between them, everything was unprecedented and arousing surprise and admiration. Over time, Nikolai Sheremetyev became the owner of Ostankino, who decided to change the appearance of the church and the iconostasis by adding new icons. The following changes are made by his son. There were a few more renovations, in particular, before the arrival of the couple of Alexander II. But in 1875, during the next restoration, it was decided to return the church to its original appearance and decoration, and then turn it into a monument of Russian architecture. During the years of Soviet power, the temple was not demolished, but thoroughly looted. From 1991 to 1996, successive consecration of the three aisles of the church took place. Gradually, the temple returns to its original purpose. Divine services began in the 1990s. The main shrines kepthere - the Temple Icon of the Old Testament Trinity and the Chernihiv Icon of the Mother of God.

Temple in Khoroshevo

No less interesting is the fate that befell the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khoroshevo, erected at the behest of Boris Godunov in his estate as a home church in 1598. The author, according to the assumption, is Fedor Kon. In the 19th century, the bell tower and the refectory were completed. Decorate and make it different from other temples beautifully decorated kokoshniks under the dome. In the 17th century, it was somewhat modified - the windows were expanded and the porch turned into a gallery. In the days of the USSR, they made either a collective farm club or a children's consultation from it, and even painted over the main decoration - kokoshniks - with plain paint. But already in the 60s of the XX century, the temple was restored, returning its original appearance, although some things could not be restored (portals). Since the 1990s, divine services have resumed, the church was returned to believers. The main shrine of the temple is the especially revered icon of the Georgian Mother of God, the Round Icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God.

Time of services

The schedule of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity includes a detailed and clear schedule of services, which consist of prayers and sacred rites. That is, the exact time of the celebration of all church rites and services should be indicated, because people come not only from all over the area, but also from other regions to take out especially revered icons, for example, the icon of the Georgian Mother of God.