Among all Moscow churches, the Church of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya Street is one of the oldest. Its foundation dates back to the reign of Ivan the Terrible's father, Grand Duke Vasily III. The walls that have survived to this day remember A. S. Pushkin, P. A. Vyazemsky, K. N. Batyushkov, Marina Tsvetaeva and F. S. Rokotov. Like every ancient monument, this church has its own special history.
Corner of former Moscow
Old Basmannaya Street lay where the road used to link the capital with the village of Yelokhovo near Moscow in the 17th century, located on the site of the current Yelokhovskaya Square, and stretching further to the country royal residences of Izmailovo and Rubtsovo-Pokrovskoye.
The formation of Basmannaya Sloboda belongs to the same time, the name of which, according to researchers, comes from the Tatar word "basma", which means a relief print on leather, metal orbread. This allows you to build various assumptions about the occupation of the inhabitants of the settlement.
Shrines from Vladimir
Regarding the history of the creation of the Church of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya, there is a legend, only partially confirmed by surviving documents. According to the chronicle, in the spring of 1518, a miraculous icon of the Mother of God was brought from Vladimir to the Mother See for renovation, and with it the image of Christ the Savior. The work took a year, after which both shrines were escorted back to Vladimir, arranging a solemn procession on this occasion.
Tradition says that on the same day it was planned to consecrate a wooden church built by decree of Grand Duke Vasily III for the inhabitants of Basmannaya Sloboda. In view of such a significant event, the procession deviated from the previously planned route and headed to the place of celebrations.
Stone temple damaged by fire
Thanks to this occasion, the wooden church was consecrated in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Since this event took place on September 15 (28), on the feast day of the Great Martyr Nikita, in the next century, when a stone temple was erected in its place, a chapel dedicated to this saint was added to it. This was the first church of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya.
Built in 1685, it was badly damaged in a fire half a century later. The damage was so significant that after the work carried out it was not possible to fully restore its former appearance. Especially sharply the traces of the recent disaster stood out against the backgrounderected in 1728, the church of Peter and Paul, located nearby and made in the baroque style that was fashionable at that time. It is believed that the construction of the temple was carried out on the personal instructions of Peter I.
The idea of creating a new temple
Despite the fact that Old Basmannaya Street was located at a distance from the center of the capital, in the middle of the 18th century it was considered a very prestigious area. Not only we althy merchants settled on it, but also nobles, for whom Moscow churches have always been a matter of special concern. This reflected both religious consciousness and a sense of national pride. It was the nobles who initiated the construction of a new church of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya. Such a good intention resonated with ordinary residents of the capital.
Before proceeding with the construction of the temple, it was necessary to obtain the highest permission for that. And in 1745, a corresponding petition was sent to the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Having given her consent, the empress allowed one of its limits to be consecrated in honor of John the Baptist ─ the heavenly patron of the main temple builder, the merchant of the first guild Ivan Rybnikov, whose voluntary donations became the financial basis for future construction.
Construction of a new Nikitsky temple
Regarding the name of the architect who created the design of the temple and supervised subsequent work, researchers do not have a common opinion, but most of them tend to believe that he was the architect D. V. Ukhtomsky, who was in high demand in those years. Others attribute this honorCarl Blanc and Alexei Evlashev.
The construction of the church was completed in 1751. Despite the fact that the main chapel was consecrated in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the temple among the people, like its predecessor, began to be called Nikitsky. To the credit of the architect, it should be noted that, creating something new, he managed to carefully preserve the legacy of antiquity. Without destroying the ancient walls, the architect very skillfully rebuilt them, creating a refectory with two aisles. On the western side of the building, he erected an elegant three-tiered bell tower, creating a traditional ship, which fully met the requirements of the Petrine era.
Architectural masterpiece on Staraya Basmannaya Street
The main volume of the building is based on the complicated octagon, traditional for that time, with an apse protruding from the east side (altar room), and from the west side - a vestibule ─ an extension located in front of the entrance. The southern and northern gates of the temple were decorated with decorative porticos. The undoubted success of the architect was the dome, decorated with round windows and ending with a drum topped with a small cupola.
The color scheme of the facade of the building, which seems fiery, thanks to the contrast of snow-white stucco decor, red walls and golden domes shining in the sun, is also original. The Church of Nikita the Martyr on Staraya Basmannaya is rightfully considered a universally recognized masterpiece of the Elizabethan Baroque.
Famous parishioners of the temple
The terrible Moscow fire of 1812, fortunately, spared the Nikitskaya Church and the buildings adjacent to it, without causing themserious harm. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, Staraya Basmannaya Street became one of the most aristocratic districts of Moscow and was not inferior to Prechistenskaya and Arbat streets in terms of its prestige. Then and in subsequent years, many celebrities settled on it and became parishioners of St. Nicholas Church.
S. Pushkin ─ Vasily Lvovich, as well as many other persons who left their mark on Russian history.
The Nikitsky temple was also known for its own celebrities. At the beginning of the 20th century, one of them was Protodeacon Mikhail Kholmogorov, who had such a marvelous bass that crowds of people invariably gathered to listen to him. Fans called their idol the second Chaliapin.
Tragedy of the 20th century
In the summer of 1905, a fire broke out in the temple, in the fire of which the image of St. Basil the Blessed, highly revered by the parishioners, perished. And although this happened due to an oversight of the ministers, in subsequent years the fire was remembered as a kind of omen of the disasters that befell Russia after the Bolsheviks came to power.
After the October coup, the Nikitsky temple was destined to serve God and people for only a decade and a half. In 1933, according to the plan approved by the Moscow City Council, an administrative building was to be built in its place. In this regard, a decision was issued to close and demolish the temple. Services in it werestopped, and all property mercilessly plundered. At the same time, both representatives of the clergy and ordinary parishioners were subjected to terror by the authorities. Many of them died in those days at the infamous Butovo training ground.
Years of Total Atheism
Fortunately, the decision to demolish the temple was soon canceled, after which its premises were used for various household needs for many years. Having knocked down all the stucco decor that adorned them from the walls and destroyed part of the adjacent fence, the new owners of life set up an air defense service training center in it. Over time, it was replaced by the warehouse of the Ministry of Culture located within the walls of the temple, which then gave way to a working hostel.
In the 60s, despite the intensified anti-religious campaign in the country, the Nikitsky temple was included in the number of cultural heritage monuments under state protection. At the same time, the first attempt to restore it was made. However, no significant results were achieved as the building continued to be misused.
Restoring historical justice
Partly restoration work was resumed in the 80s, but they were fully completed only after the Church of Nikita the Martyr was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1994. Then it was re-consecrated.
Today it is part of the Bogoyavlensky deanery, which unites parishes located on the territory of Krasnoselsky,Basmanny and Central administrative district of the capital. This church-administrative entity was established in 1996. At present, the Epiphany deanery is headed by the rector of the St. Nicholas Church in Pokrovsky, Archimandrite Dionysius (Shishigin).
Return to spiritual roots
As throughout Russia, most of the churches of the Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church have now become educational and educational centers, whose task is to fill the gap in the field of religious knowledge that arose among the population during the years of Soviet power.
The Church of Nikita the Martyr is no exception, with a Sunday school. In it, not only children, but also their parents have the opportunity to learn the basics of Orthodoxy. A deeply thought-out teaching system allows students to join the origins of the spiritual life of their homeland.
