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Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross"(also known as " Nikola Grand Cross”) is an Orthodox church in Moscow, built at the end of the 17th century and demolished in 1934. The main altar of the temple was consecrated in the name of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the chapel - in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Story

The temple was built at the expense of the Arkhangelsk merchants Filatyev not far from the Ilyinsky Gate. Construction began in 1680 and was completed in 1688. The temple is considered one of the first examples of the processing of the architectural type of the parish church, which developed in the middle of the 17th century. It is a tall, elongated quadruple on the basement, divided into four tiers horizontally. An architectural innovation was the separation of the bell tower (which was built on in 1819 in two tiers) from the quadrangle, the absence of a refectory (usually used to connect the quadrangle and the bell tower), and the reduction in the size of the apses and aisles. As in the Arkhangelsk Cathedral, in the segmentation of the facades, an order decoration was used that did not reflect the real structure of the building - the temple did not have floors, the interior space was solid. There was some eclecticism in the external design - the columns of the first tier used the Doric order, the second tier - Corinthian, and the third pilasters of complex shape, however, due to the well-chosen ratio of sizes and shapes, the integrity of the building was not violated. The windows, located according to the division into tiers, differed in size, shape and design. So, on the lower tiers, the windows had a rectangular shape and were framed with carved platbands with broken pediments. On the third, low tier, there were octagonal windows decorated with white stone patterned frames. The quarter ended with false zakomaras. The five domes of the temple were multifaceted, had twisted columns at the corners and were surrounded by kokoshniks.

The name "Nikola the Big Cross" was given to the people by the people because of the chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the relic of the temple - it contained a large (over two meters) wooden cross, made by order of the Filatievs. This cross was made on the model of a cross made by Patriarch Nikon in the Onega Cross Monastery of the Arkhangelsk province on the island of Kiye. In the cross were 156 relics with particles of the relics of various saints, in addition to the relics of St. Nicholas, located in the center of the cross. In addition to this wooden cross, the church kept an altar cross made in 1680 by clerk Andrei Gorodetsky and an icon of All Saints painted in 1700 by Kirill Ulanov. There was a custom to bring in this temple to the "kissing the cross" - the oath, people leading litigation.

In 1928 the temple was restored. After the release of the Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius, the community of the temple turned out to be one of the "non-commemorating", that is, they did not agree with the declaration and stopped commemorating the Soviet government and Metropolitan Sergius (Starogorodsky) in the service. The parish of the Church of St. Nicholas "Big Cross" became a kind of center for the Moscow community of "non-commemorators", maintained contact with other communities that did not recognize Metropolitan Sergius as the head of the Church, people from other cities came there to confess and take communion. The rector of the temple, father Mikhail Lyubimov, believed that " ... in no case should believers recognize the Sergian Church, since this leads to some reconciliation with the existing system ...". However, in 1935 he himself veered into renovationism controlled by the authorities.

In the autumn of 1931, the temple was closed, and after a while the community continued its liturgical life in small house churches. In 1932, most of the underground workers, led by the rector, were arrested and imprisoned.

In 1934, the temple was destroyed along with the bell tower, on the site of the temple is currently a wasteland.

Surviving elements

  • Before the destruction of the temple, its iconostasis was dismantled and for 15 years was in the museum's storerooms. In 1948, it was installed (in a reconstructed form) in the refectory of the St. Sergius Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. [[C:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[C:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]]
  • White-stone decor details - a baluster, columns, a fragment of an icon case and shells are on display at the Kolomenskoye Museum.

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 04.JPG

    Detail of the platband exhibited in Kolomenskoye

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 10.jpg

    Capital

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 11.jpg

    Capital

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 12.JPG

    Detail of floral decoration

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 16.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 17.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 18.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 19.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 20.jpg

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 25.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 26.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 24.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 28.JPG

    Church of Nikola Bolshoy Krest (Kolomenskoe) 35.JPG

    Foundation stone of the church

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Notes

Literature

  • Cherny V.D. Art of medieval Rus'. - M .: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 1997. - ISBN 5-691-00021-7.

Links

An excerpt characterizing the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross"

True, tourists do not know one very funny detail... There is another monastery in Meteora, in which the "curious" are not allowed... It was built (and gave rise to the rest) by a gifted fanatic who once studied in real Meteora and expelled from her. Angry at the whole world, he decided to build "his own Meteora" in order to collect the same "offended" as he was and lead his solitary life. How he did it is unknown. But since then, Masons began to gather in his Meteora for secret meetings. What happens once a year to this day.
Monasteries: Grand Meteoron (big Meteoron); Russano; Agios Nicholas; Agia Trios; Agias Stefanos; Varlaam are located at a very close distance from each other.

Roman Tsekhansky

Kitai-gorod, the former Veliky Posad, the central part of historical Moscow, which could well have become a full-fledged tourist Old Town, but has become who knows what. For decades, various concepts for its reconstruction were discussed, none of which was brought to mind. In architectural terms, today's Kitay-gorod is a motley building with a considerable number of historical and cultural monuments of varying degrees of preservation, mainly located in courtyards or lanes. The exception is the even side of Varvarka, which has a more or less unified image, playing in a new way. But many churches in Kitay-gorod have disappeared or been distorted, and the whole district - Zaryadye - has disappeared altogether. Therefore, one has to study Kitai-gorod mainly from documents and photographs, where it appears as the disappeared Atlantis. Particular attention is drawn to the exceptionally high concentration of churches dedicated to St. Nicholas.

In Kitai-Gorod, the veneration of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was decisive in church construction. Of the 56 thrones that existed in Kitai-Gorod in 1917, 13 were dedicated to St. Nicholas (1). This is serious even for the nearby White City, also filled with a lot of St. Nicholas churches. If you take some old map, for example, the atlas of A. Khotev of 1852 (2), you can see almost all the St. Nicholas churches (except for the Nikolo-Irininsky church that disappeared in antiquity), Zaryadye, which has not yet been demolished, the line of the Kitai-Gorod walls, which encircled in the 16th century line of the oldest suburb of Moscow. The fortress was built by the Italian master Petrok Malaya, so a number of researchers believe that China stands for "city" ("chitta" in Italian, the Latin root, as in the English "city"). The name itself contains a transcript: "China" is a city, as well as Kitezh is a city (3). Therefore, we have the right to consider Kitay-gorod as a "city within a city", a completely independent unit in the urban structure of Moscow.

Nikolsky churches quite evenly filled the territory of Kitay-gorod. If we single out the main ones and connect them in plan with lines, we get a somewhat inclined spatial cross. The top of this cross is the Nikolsky Greek Monastery in the middle of Nikolskaya Street, the bottom is the Church of St. Nicholas Wet in Zaryadye. Both churches disappeared during the Soviet era. The right crossbar of the St. Nicholas Cross is also the disappeared church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross at the end of Ilyinka, the left one is the existing side chapel of St. Nicholas the Velikoretsky Church of the Intercession on the Moat. "Nikolin Cross" gives a spiritual and symbolic meaning to the abundance of St. Nicholas churches in Kitay-gorod.

Nikolsky churches largely determine the historical and urban structure of Kitai-gorod, each of whose parts has its own protector, Nikola. These are the Nikolo-Greek Monastery and the Church of Nikola Mokry near the walls washed by the rivers (respectively, the Neglinka and the Moscow River) and the Church of Nikola the Big Cross, protecting the long-curved, approachable eastern wall of the city. If you imagine in terms of a circle consisting of St. Nicholas churches, you get a real "Nikolin round dance". At the same time, the functional “specialization” of these churches was different. Traditionally helping people in difficult everyday situations, the saint helps Kitay-Gorodtsy in almost all spheres of their life.

Turning prayers to St. Nicholas of Mozhaisky, people from time immemorial received God's help and deliverance from their troubles. “Saint Nicholas, as a patron, is given more prayers and bows to the earth alone than to all the other saints in the aggregate,” testified foreigners who were in Muscovy. Casanova, who expressed this idea in the 18th century, recorded the tradition of veneration of the saint, dating back to pre-Mongolian times (4). In the ancient Moscow texts, the saint is called "an irresistible visor and affirmation of our city" (5). There is an assumption that the mass baptism of Muscovites (like Kyiv and Novgorod) was performed on St. Nicholas Day, May 9 (shortly after the construction of the fortress was completed in 1156) at the mouth of the Chertory River. St. Nicholas churches, which arose in the ancient tracts adjacent to this place (at Lazy Torzhok, in Turygin, in Kievtsy), gave impetus to the construction of countless St. Nicholas churches both in Moscow and in all Russian cities (6).

Traditionally, the Nikolsky Gates of the Kremlin were decorated with the icon of St. Nikola, facing Kitay-gorod. The image was made in the image of Nikola Mozhaisky, who for the first time replaced the Gospel and blessed the gesture with a sword in one hand and a city in the other. The city protection aspect of worshiping the image of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisky is complemented by its spiritual content. "The name of St. Nicholas is derived from the Greek word "nike" - victory. But victory need not be military. The saint contributed to the victory of Christianity over paganism, the true worldview over the false, the spirit over the stomach, God over the devil" (7). This is the meaning of the image of the sword. The city in his hand is interpreted both as an image of the Heavenly City of Jerusalem (8) and as “an image of the Universal Church, of which the Savior is the Universal teacher” (9).

It is interesting that the Mozhaisk image (originally sculptural) was still on the tower of the white-stone Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoy. The tower was located to the west of the current one. During the restructuring and expansion of the Kremlin by Italian masters in the 15th century, the name of the tower was retained and the image above the gate was reproduced (though already in the fresco technique). There was, as it were, an exit of the veneration of the image to Kitai-Gorodsky Posad, where at different times 13 Nikolsky churches and aisles were built (10). Nicola, as it were, went out to serve ordinary people. Moving along the "Nikolin circle" of churches inside the Kitay-gorod walls, one can see how different his ministry was.

Looking at the image of St. Nikola, located on the Nikolsky gates of the Kremlin, we met with city ​​protection and symbolic function veneration of the saint. In a circle, clockwise, starting from the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin, there was the monastery of St. Nicholas the Old, in the middle part of Nikolskaya Street. Here traditionally, from the XVI-XVII centuries. Greeks lived, learned people, the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (at the affiliated Zaikonospassky Monastery) was opened on its territory in 1686. A lot of learned people came out of here in the 17th - 19th centuries. (eleven). This - educational function.

To the right, at the end of Nikolskaya, in the courtyards was the Nikolsky chapel of the Church of the Trinity in the Fields, which performed traditional liturgical function. The parish of the church was almost the entire Nikolskaya street. Nikolsky chapel, along with two others, was attached to the church of the 16th century. in 1657 boyar M. Saltykov, a relative of the tsar (12).

The five-altar Church of St. John the Evangelist under the Elm with the Nikolsky chapel in the 1st tier (13) is located south of the site of the Trinity Church in the Fields, along the line of the walls of Kitai city.

Below on Ilyinka Street stood the Church of St. Nicholas the Great Cross. In this most beautiful church of Kitay-Gorod there was a kissing cross, people were sent here to take oaths (14). Here we are dealing with legal function.

Even further south, somewhat deeper into the building, is the Church of the Trinity in Nikitniki, a bright temple of the 17th century. This multi-altar church also has a northern Nikolsky chapel (15).

Following further, you have to retreat into the depths of the settlement, where almost in the center of the "Nikolinoy round dance" stands the Church of St. Nicholas the Red Ring. Since at least the 16th century, the most beautiful-sounding bells have been brought to its belfry (16). The location of the church near the geometric center of Kitay-gorod contributed to the even distribution of the ringing, which reached the farthest corners of the fortress. This function is not only alarming, but rather public-church, cathedral. Bell ringing was the basis of the "sound of Moscow", had its own hierarchy, which is currently not yet studied for Kitay city.

Below along the line of walls was Zaryadye. Here, along the Moskva River, there were three Nikolsky churches. The first is Nikolo-Irininskaya, which disappeared in the 19th century. She stood at the walls of the fortress, to the east of the altars of the now existing Church of the Conception of St. Anna in the Corner. Perhaps it was another, along with Zachatievsky, a prayer temple for childbearing, only already of the Romanov dynasty. The church was erected in honor of the name day of the daughter of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. The king came here regularly on Irinin's day for worship to celebrate her name day (17). Here, St. Nikola, through his prayers, the princess was born. The initiation was double, the thrones were equivalent. Perhaps it was a parish church. Probably, any person could come to this church and pray for procreation. Here manifests itself prayer function about childbearing, about children.

Not only about children they asked St. Nicola. In 1674, Patriarch Joachim put into the hand of the deceased Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the traditional "letter of permission" - a letter addressed to St. Nicholas, testifying that the deceased was Russian, lived in the true Orthodox faith and that access to Paradise can be opened to him (18).

From the Church of the Conception in the direction of the Kremlin, on the parallel Moscow-river Velikaya street, in the middle of it was the Church of St. Nicholas Wet. The church has been known since the 15th century, the stone building of the 17th century. was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style (19). Nikola is the patron saint of travelers, especially on the waters, and since ancient times there was a pier nearby. Nearby there were trading rows, it was not for nothing that Zaryadye was called “behind the rows”. Wholesale transactions were made here, the risk of merchants was great, hence the function of the Mokrinsky temple - prayer for travelers and traders (20).

Close to the beginning of this street was the Nikolo-Moskvoretskaya Church. The miraculous icon of Nikola Velikoretsky from the Velikaya River was brought to it by water, where it was found in the 16th century. The church was erected on the spot where the icon had stopped and a moleben was served to St. Nicole (21).

Above in a circle rises the magnificent complex of the Church of the Intercession on the Moat. Its Nikolo-Velikoretsky chapel faces the river. The icon was transferred from the Kremlin to this chapel, called by the annals "miraculously found", which is a pillar-shaped church. The Nikolo-Moskvoretsky Church and the Nikolo-Velikyoretsky aisle have one function - votive, in memory of a miracle (22).

And there is one more function of all these temples - city-forming. "Nikolin round dance" formed a unique internal structure and shaped the life of Kitay-gorod (23). In the current, modern city, Nikolin Khorovod has lost its cross.

The cathedral of the Nikolo-Greek Monastery was destroyed in the 1930s, in its place is a public garden. Currently, the Town Planning Council decided to restore the cathedral. Now it is only a matter of time, and soon Nikolin's cross will regain its peak.

Church of the Trinity in the Fields with a chapel of St. Nikola was also destroyed in Soviet times, in its place we see a foundation museumified by archaeologists. If the foundation of the Nikolo-Irininsky Church has been preserved, then over time it will also become the object of an archaeological exposition.

The Church of St. Nicholas the Great Cross is the main loss of Kitay-gorod and one of the main ones in all of Moscow. The masterpiece of architecture died, in its place a public garden. Academician V. Vinogradov, architect S. Konev were engaged in the concept of restoration of the church, O. Braitseva and many others studied the temple. But the spatial Nikolin Cross of Kitay-Gorod is still without its most beautiful temple. I would like to believe that we will see the restored Nikolin temple in our life. There is an idea to put the famous Shumaevsky Cross (now in the storerooms of the Museum of Architecture) in it, attracting pilgrims and tourists to the church.

Zaryadsky Nikola died entirely. The restoration of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wet after the demolition of the remains of the Soviet hotel is a necessary and quite real thing (the archaeological measurements of P.N. Maksimov have been preserved). This will be the restoration of historical justice, as well as the restoration of the ancient street system on the site of the Rossiya Hotel.

In 2010, after clearing the plaster, (together with Spas Smolensky on the neighboring Spasskaya Tower), the ancient Nikolin Icon was opened on the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin. The fresco has been carefully dated to the time of the tower's construction, despite losses and later records. It is said that the restorers were previously aware of the existence of these icons, but many Muscovites consider their appearance a real miracle. The icon of St. Nicholas on the wall of GUM has also been restored.

Thus, by recreating the spatial Nikolin Cross (the Cathedral of the Nikolo-Greek Monastery, the Church of St. Nicholas the "Big Cross" and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wet), we will partially restore the integrity of Kitai-Gorod as a historical component of Moscow, which can be considered a serious state and social task.

1. P. Palamarchuk, "Forty Forties", "Book and Business", "Krom", 1994, vol. 2, 11,
2. Now widely available on the Internet, http://retromap.ru/mapster.php?right=081852
3. This point of view is shared by the majority of researchers, for example, E. Murzaev. Information from: R. Rakhmatullin “Varvarka, back and forth”, Moscow Heritage magazine No. 3, 2007, p.51.
4. Many books have been written about the veneration of the saint in Rus', for example, the recently republished Life and Miracles of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra" by A. Voznesensky and F. Gusev in 1899 and others.
5. Quote from the “Word of Commendation at the Transfer of the Relics of St. Nicholas from the World of Lycia to Bargrad Presbyter Andrei, cleric of the Moscow Dormition Cathedral. (quoted by: G.Ya. Mokeev. “Mozhaisk is the sacred city of Russians.” M., KEDR Publishing House, 1992, p. 20, hereinafter Mokeev).
6. Mokeev, p.20.
7. Ibid., p.25.
8. Ibid., p.49.
9. A. Voznesensky and F. Gusev. UK. cit., pp.203-204.
10. There are practically no St. Nicholas churches in the Kremlin. Nikola Gostunsky was located to the east of the pillar of Ivan the Great, i.e. was located on Ivanovskaya, and not on the cathedral square.
11. ibid., v.1, p. 152,
12. It was overhauled in the 19th century. Ibid., v.2, p. 58,
13. ibid., v.2, p. 28,
14. ibid., v.2, p. 64,
15. The chapel, possibly, arose later than the main volume of the church. Ibid., v.2, p. 36,
16. Church of the XVI century. was extensively rebuilt in the 19th century. Ibid., v.2, p. 35,
17. ibid., v.4, p. 509,
18. Mokeev, p.11.
19. P. Palamarchuk. UK. Works, v.2, p. 71,
20. "Wet" St. Nikola was called because of a miracle that happened in May 1090 in Kyiv on the Dnieper. The drowned child was found by the parents alive and unharmed, not yet dried from the water in the church near the St. Nicholas Icon. Mokeev, p.15
21. The stone building of the 17th century was rebuilt in the 19th century. Ibid., v.2, p.74,
22. P. Palamarchuk, v.2, p.23,
23. Of course, one should not forget about other dominants of Kitay-Gorod, first of all, the Epiphany Monastery. This prominent baroque cathedral was erected in the end of the 17th century by the Golitsyns as a family tomb on the site of a 14th-century temple, and the foundation of the monastery dates back to the 13th century. It is assumed that water blessing took place here with access to the Neglinnaya River (L. Belyaev, Ancient Monasteries of Moscow according to archeology, M., 1995). In general, the monastery arose earlier than the settlement surrounding it.
The memorial function is carried out by the Kazan Cathedral at the beginning of Nikolskaya Street and the Vladimir Church at its end. These objects do not prevent us from considering separately St. Nicholas churches in the settlement as well as the veneration of St. Nicholas in the Church does not interfere with the veneration of other saints.

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Church of St. Nicholas the Great Cross on Ilyinka


The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross" (also known as "Nikola the Big Cross") is an Orthodox church in Moscow, built at the end of the 17th century and demolished in 1934.

The main throne of the temple was consecrated in the name of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the chapel - in the name of Nicholas the Wonderworker

A masterpiece of the Stroganov Baroque, one of the most beautiful temples in the city.

From the history:

  • The temple was built at the expense of the Arkhangelsk merchants Filatiev. Construction began in 1680 and was completed in 1688. The temple is considered one of the first examples of the reworking of the architectural type of a parish church that developed in the middle of the 17th century. It is a tall, elongated quadruple on the basement, divided into four tiers horizontally. An architectural innovation was the separation of the bell tower (which was built on in 1819 in two tiers) from the quadrangle, the absence of a refectory (usually used to connect the quadrangle and the bell tower), and the reduction in the size of the apses and aisles. As in the Archangel Cathedral, in the segmentation of the facades, an order decoration was used that did not reflect the real structure of the building - the temple did not have floors, the interior space was solid. There was some eclecticism in the external design - the Doric order was used in the columns of the first tier, the Corinthian order on the second tier, and the pilasters of complex shape in the third tier, however, thanks to the well-chosen ratio of sizes and shapes, the integrity of the building was not violated. The windows, located according to the division into tiers, differed in size, shape and design. So, on the lower tiers, the windows had a rectangular shape and were framed with carved architraves with broken pediments. On the third, low tier, there were octagonal windows decorated with white stone patterned frames. The quarter ended with false zakomars. The five domes of the temple were multifaceted, had twisted columns at the corners and were surrounded by kokoshniks.
  • The name "Nikola the Big Cross" was given to the people by the people because of the chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the relic of the temple - it contained a large (over two meters) wooden cross, made by order of the Filatievs. This cross was made on the model of the cross made by Patriarch Nikon in the Onega Cross Monastery of the Arkhangelsk province on the island of Kiye. In the cross were 156 relics with particles of the relics of various saints, in addition to the relics of St. Nicholas, located in the center of the cross. In addition to this wooden cross, the church kept an altar cross made in 1680 by clerk Andrei Gorodetsky and an icon of All Saints painted in 1700 by Kirill Ulanov. There was a custom to bring in this temple to the "kissing the cross" - the oath, people leading litigation.
  • In 1928 the temple was restored.
  • After the release of the Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius, the community of the temple turned out to be one of the "non-commemorating", that is, they did not agree with the declaration and stopped commemorating the Soviet government and Metropolitan Sergius (Starogorodsky) in the service. The parish of the Church of St. Nicholas "Big Cross" became a kind of center for the Moscow community of "non-commemorators", maintained contact with other communities that did not recognize Metropolitan Sergius as the head of the Church, people from other cities came there to confess and take communion. The rector of the temple, Father Mikhail Lyubimov, believed that "... in no case should believers recognize the Sergian Church, since this leads to some reconciliation with the existing system ...".
  • In the autumn of 1931, the temple was closed, and after a while the community continued its liturgical life in small house churches.
  • In 1932, most of the faithful parishioners, led by the rector, were arrested and imprisoned.
  • In 1934, the temple was destroyed for no reason, along with the bell tower, on the site of the temple is currently a wasteland.
  • Before the destruction of the temple, its iconostasis was dismantled and for 15 years was in the museum's storerooms. In 1948, it was installed (in a reconstructed form) in the refectory of the St. Sergius Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
  • White-stone decor details - a baluster, columns, a fragment of an icon case and shells are exhibited for viewing in the exposition of the Kolomenskoye Museum.
  • In 2017, there were plans to recreate the church

“Without any defects, the five-domed church of St. Nicholas "Big Cross" on Ilyinka. This echo of the old temple type was built by Arkhangelsk merchants brothers Filatyev in 1680-1697. Brilliant decoration makes this temple one of the most outstanding artistic monuments of Moscow.

F. Dietz. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross". Canvas, oil. Ser. XIX century.

“The church is called among the people St. Nicholas at the Big Cross after the big cross, arranged by the same Filatievs. This cross is wooden, 3 arshins high. The cross contains 156 particles of relics.


F. Alekseev. "View of the Church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross on Ilyinka". Canvas, oil. 1800

“The best craftsmen were invited by the Filatievs to decorate the temple. Built on a merchant scale, on several floors, on the basement, the five-domed pale blue temple, directed upwards, amazed with its carved white stone decoration. It seemed like a miracle to contemporaries of construction, and even in the 19th century they spoke of it with admiration: “The stone carvings of the Church of St. Nicholas the Big Cross are all showered with wonderful carvings: a high porch, window architraves, small lucarnes under the eaves, and finally, the necks of the domes - all this is dotted with thick patterns , the effect of which is complemented by domes strewn with stars and, like filigree, crosses.


N. Naydenov. Church of Nicolas Chud. them. "Big Cross" on Ilyinka. 1882

The interior decoration was not inferior to the exterior: “the window sills are lined with tafel with various images from the gospel story; the walls are decorated with carvings; choirs are figuratively carved from stone; floor of wild dark marble.


Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross". 1880s

In the basement of the church in the 19th century, a warehouse of merchant goods settled. At the same time, the temple finally secured the status of the main shrine of the Moscow merchants, which was associated with the location of the temple on Ilyinka, the main shopping street in Moscow.


Ilyinka street. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross". 1902

In 1928, the church building was carefully restored, but this did not save it from destruction. In 1931, they began to break down the southern porch, and in 1934 the temple was finally demolished along with the bell tower, under the pretext that it interfered with the passage along Ilyinka Street.


Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross". 1900s

At "Nikola" they knocked down the cross -
It became so light around!
Hello new Moscow
Moscow is new - crossless!
- wrote the proletarian poet Demyan Bedny ...


The beginning of the destruction of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker "Big Cross". 1933

The following materials were used to prepare the publication:
Guide to Moscow edited by I.P. Mashkov. / Moscow: Moscow Architectural Society, 1913
Kondratiev I.K. Gray-haired antiquity of Moscow: Historical review and complete index of sights (according to the 1893 edition). / Moscow: Military Publishing, 1996
Berkhina T.G. Lost shrines. Ilyinka through the centuries. / Moscow: Edition of the Church of Elijah the Prophet, 2011

The text is quoted from the book: Romanyuk S. K. Moscow. Losses. M .: Publishing house of PTO "Center", 1992. 336 p., ill.

Photo from Naydenov's album

Before the revolution, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker stood on Ilyinka and was nicknamed the “Big Cross” by the people.
It was erected in 1680-1688 by the rich merchants from Arkhangelsk, the Filatiev brothers, who ordered to build for themselves such magnificence that would glorify the temple builders themselves, their generosity and zeal for charitable deeds. Unfortunately, we do not know the names of the architects.
The lower floor served as a tomb, and two entrances led to the temple itself through a porch raised on three arches and beautifully decorated with carvings on white stone. The graceful building was almost square, the second and third tiers were decorated with capitals, and large windows were framed with lush platbands. The most unusual was located at the top of the building - here, unknown craftsmen in the lower tier of a two-tiered finish placed hexagonal windows of a magnificent and unusual shape for Moscow, and the upper one was filled with ribbed shells, which Russian craftsmen so loved after Fryazin Aleviz Novy, who built the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin.
The same shells were placed at the base of the elongated necks of all five domes, decorated with relief stars.

The interior of the church was to match its appearance. Its decoration was considered to be a majestic carved iconostasis, more like a piece of jewelry art. The landmark of the temple, from which it got its name, was a two-meter wooden cross standing at the kliros, arranged by the same Filatiev brothers, in which more than a hundred particles of the relics of various saints were enclosed.
Next to the church stood a bell tower, built at the same time as it, but crowned with a pseudo-Gothic completion after a fire in 1812.
The official reason for the demolition of the temple was that its porch went far to the sidewalk and interfered with traffic. First, in 1933, the porch was dismantled, and then the church itself.

More images of the church:

Photo from Barshchevsky's catalog

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