There are many unique temples in Russia, but the temple in Tolmachy stands out even among them. He’s got a few faces:
● This Zamoskvoretsky temple serves at the same time as the hall of the Tretyakov Gallery.
● Is the home church of the museum
● In the aisle of the church is kept the ancient icon of the Mother of God Vladimirskaya
● Every year it becomes the place of temporary stay of the icon of Andrei Rublev “Trinity”
Sometimes small events bring a lot of information. Due to the fact that in 1625 the priest of St. Nicholas Church paid taxes, we know that in that year the church already existed and was wooden. 17th century — century of stone construction. Old wooden churches were replaced with stone churches. Already in 1697 there was a stone church with a chapel in honor of St. Nicholas. For almost a hundred years, the church was named in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on angels, but from the end of the 18th century, it again began to be called.
Nikolsky.
The church flourished, the decoration was constantly updated, a chapel was built in honor of the Intercession of the Virgin. It kept the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God. But it’s 1812. The French treated Orthodox churches without piety. For 5 months there were no worship services in St. Nicholas Church. The main values of the abbot managed to hide, but what remained — the French plundered. Interestingly, all the buildings around the temple burned down during the fire, and the church itself survived. But by the 30s of the 19th century, the belt and the fire experienced had an impact: the bell tower shaky, the walls of the refectory were covered with cracks. It was decided to build a new bell tower and repair the refectory.
The three-tier bell tower was completed in 1834. To the old bells added a large, 4 tons, new. The refectory was first finished with marble, but the tiles fell off all the time, so the marble was replaced by painting.
And in 1856 there was a significant event. But at the time, few people gave it meaning. The Tretyakov family moved to Tolmachevo.
The Tretyakovs provided great support to the temple. At the expense of donors, the iconostasis was updated, the altar and four were decorated with frescoes. Church utensils were constantly updated.
After the revolution, the temple functioned for some time, but in 1922 all gold and silver jewelry was removed from it, and in 1929 it was finally closed.
But he was lucky, the temple was not destroyed, like the Church of Christ the Savior, was not given to a warehouse or a cinema, like hundreds of churches throughout Russia. The building was used as the official premises of the Tretyakov Gallery.
In 1993, the church was returned to the Church, but only after 3 years it resumed services. Services are held daily and at this time the temple is open to parishioners, and between services it works as a museum hall of the Tretyakov Gallery.
Charitable Foundation Holy Land
Russian Temples and Monasteries
