Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious (on Pskov Hill).
Let's talk about the Orthodox capital. About our capital city of Moscow, about the churches of St. George...
On the Pskov Hill, on Varvarka Street
The statue of George was not the first work of art dedicated to the great martyr. Already in 1462, and according to some sources, at the end of the 14th century, not far from the Kremlin, in a place later called Pskovskaya Gorka, on Varvarka Street, there was the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God. This church was often called the church of St. George the Great Martyr (Passion-bearer) after the chapel.
It is very important to recall once again that almost all the churches of St. George built in Moscow before the 20th century were called that way: the Church of St. George the Great Martyr. Christians went to the Great Martyr, but not to the Victorious! because kind people people don't go to church to win...
In 1658, on the white stone foundation of the old church, the craftsmen erected new temple, to which the people gave the name "Egoriy stone". The place here was lively, as evidenced by “the conspicuous names of the church, very figurative in the Russian people, often in one word or expression giving a surprisingly accurate, memorable description of both the place and the time.
“Near the Barbarian Cross near the prisons,” they said about the location in the 16th century. Because Varvarka went out to the sacrum-crossroads of four streets, not far from which stood the Sovereign's prison yard.
"On the Pskov Hill". The hill has always been here, but it was called Pskovskaya after the Pskovites began to settle here. Here is the story. Grand Duke Moscow Vasily III(1479 - 1533) annexed Pskov to Moscow, overpowered the Pskov nobility in the capital city, to his side, half a kilometer from the Kremlin, so that they quickly got used to everything Moscow and forgot about the Pskov veche republic and did not rage. Pskovians lived, and now Muscovites, on the banks of the Moscow River, worked, gave birth to children, time passed - the time of veche republics and specific principalities gone in Russia.
Now you can hardly find “people from Pskov” among the inhabitants of the capital, but the Pskov Hill has remained. And on it stands the Church of St. George.
"What's in the streets" - they said in 1674. Or "At the old prisons." “On the five streets of Tregubov”… Owners, kings changed, life changed. The name of the church has not changed. That is what is important for our conversation. Even in the 18th century, when Russia won great victories, the temple was still called the Church of St. George the Great Martyr and Passion-Bearer! During the fire of 1812, the temple was badly damaged, but after 6 years, "depending on the Moscow merchant Pyotr Fedorovich Solovyov," the church was restored, a bell tower was attached to it. great victory won the Russian people in that war. It seemed that chance itself ordered to add to George the Great Martyr the second name of the Victorious. But no one had even thought about it. Because Moscow endured the greatest torment in that war? No, that's not the only reason. But mainly because wise people they don’t shout about victories - after all reverse side of any victory are great torments and equally great labor.
In the twentieth century in Russia, the churches were left out of work. Even those that were not blown away by the great human hurricane. This fate did not pass the Church of St. George the Great Martyr on the Pskov Hill.
For a long time she “was under state protection under number 61, and the state had a lot to do without her. It has not been repaired for many years. A tree sprouted on the roof, began to grow, the roof on the bell tower disappeared, as if it had been blown away by the wind, the domes made holes, the dome on the bell tower tilted. In 1964, on the banks of the Moskva River, a huge parallelepiped of glass and concrete was built - the Rossiya Hotel. Small old streets against its background were demolished. But the church was left, restored, it turned out beautifully! Along the strict glass-concrete hotel wall, opposite from the river bank, a "church street" stretches from St. Basil's Cathedral, on the edge of which stands the Church of St. George the Great Martyr, as if a guard stands at the entrance to the hotel territory. There is something to protect in Moscow! In 1967, when the builders began to build the northern ramp, not far from the church, at a depth of seven meters, an earthenware jar with a unique hoard of silver coins was discovered!
The church was restored under the leadership of E. A. Deistfeld in 1965 - 1972. People rejoiced, looking at the guards of "Russia".
In 1991, the church was returned to believers, and repair and restoration work began here.
On Bolshaya Dmitrovka
"Known as a stone church since 1462" the Church of St. George the Great Martyr on Bolshaya Dmitrovka. At the beginning of the 16th century, nobility settled in the old Dmitrovskaya Sloboda. The cozy slope of the sloping hill was occupied by Yu. Z. Koshkin-Kobylin, the uncle of Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna. His heavenly patron was Saint George. Perhaps that is why the maiden monastery, which was founded after his death by the aunt of the queen F. Yu. Romanova, was named Georgievsky. Later, the lane was called Georgievsky. In 1690, a new large church was erected on the site of the old one.
Moscow. Churches of Kazan and St. George (behind) the former St. George Monastery, on Bolshaya Dmitrovka. 1881 Naydenov N. A. Moscow. Cathedrals, monasteries and churches. Part II: White City. M., 1882, No. 15
Life in the maiden's monastery flowed according to its quiet laws, but in 1812 Napoleon's regiments entered Moscow, and everything turned upside down. On September 4, the French broke into Georgievsky - female! - the monastery, plundered the churches, grabbed everything that lay badly, and calmly went on to rob. The abbess of the monastery managed to bury valuable property the day before, besides, the soldiers did not dare to plunder the sacristy. And yet the consequences of the French invasion were sad for the monastery. The monastery was abolished, the churches became parish, and houses were built on the territory for the servants of the temples.
In 1930, the government issued a decree on the demolition of St. George's Cathedral. It was measured, photographed, handed over to a taxi depot for some time, then demolished and a school, also an important object for the city, was built on the slope. The icon of George the Great Martyr was handed over to the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on the Assumption Vrazhek, and recently Moscow accepted the cells of the monastery for state protection.
In 1990, archaeologists found a golden cross and two yarns dated to the 16th century in one of the coffins of the churchyard. Of course, it will not be possible to restore the Church of St. George on Bolshaya Dmitrovka, but something else pleases. Literally, before the eyes of Muscovites in short terms the building of the first city power plant, built according to the project of the architect V. Sher in 1883, was repaired on the former territory of the monastery. Few people remember the original purpose of this long house, but after restoration with the introduction of church building styling into the exterior, it attracts the attention of scurrying people. At the main entrance on the building there is the coat of arms of Moscow and the inscription: “Exhibition Hall. Small arena.
In the Old Archers
The Church of St. George the Great Martyr in Starye Luchniki has been known since the 1460s. Then there was the tract Archers, the inhabitants of which, according to some sources, made combat bows, and according to others, they traded onions. However, one does not interfere with the other, and the third - too! Here, on the meadows, Muscovites drove cows, and in the 17th century this place was called "the old Cow's platform." It was good for the cows here, because the meadows were located next to the church of George (“Egoria in Luzhki”), and he has long been considered a patron in Russia livestock. We talked about this quality of the saint, it emphasizes the peaceful nature of Egory, his predisposition to those who every day go out into the field, drive cattle into the meadows in the hope that Egory, if necessary, will help out, help out.
And, apparently, he helped if people drove their cows here for several centuries.
AT early XVII century masters erected a stone church. She has seen everything in three centuries. Not far from the tract Luchniki there was another "Old Prison Yard". No one has yet said that Yegoriy was the patron saint of criminals, but can even the greatest of the preachers of the faith be considered a Saint, if he even once turns his gaze away from the eyes of a person who has gone astray, lost in the whirlwind of life ?! No. This is not holiness. No wonder several churches of George the Great Martyr were placed next to the prison yards.
In the thirties of the XX century, people dismantled the completion of the church and the bell tower, but they did not completely destroy it. Large construction projects were not planned on this side of the street, and the building was useful for the workshop of a closed factory, which has been fulfilling the plan here for twenty years.
At present, people in overalls have appeared in the church, dilapidated, with front windows looking sadly at the strong building of the Polytechnic Museum. They dream of restoring the church in Old Luchniki. Of course, no one else will drive cows here, but parishioners will go to St. George with great joy.
On Vspolye ("In the Horde")
The Church of the Iberian Mother of God, along the chapel of "George the Great Martyr, which is on Vspole" ("in the Horde") is known for the fact that even before the accession of the Romanovs, she received a ruga, a salary from the treasury. AT late XVII century, a stone church rose on the site of a wooden one, and in 1802, at the expense of Captain Ivan Savinov, they erected main temple. Then the Iversky aisle was renamed into St. George's. But why did the battle-captain have such an idea? The fact is that Paul I did not recognize the “Imperial Military Order of the Great Martyr and Victorious” established by Catherine II, his mother, (we will talk about it later). Moreover, the new overlord wanted to introduce new system awards, in which the place for the Order of St. George was not intended. Any person, remembering the holders of the order, Russian commanders and warriors, as well as highest status awards, I would be surprised at such a decision. The officers couldn't deal with it. Captain Savinov spent his money on the restoration of the temple, and was the captain right? This question was answered by the parishioners of the church: in a few years they all called the temple by the name of George the Great Martyr.
The church was renovated several times, but at the beginning of the thirties of the 20th century it was closed, and so that the holy place would not be empty, a car repair factory club was placed in it, then the premises were given to contemporary artists, and only in 1992 worship resumed in the church.
On Vspolye, on Malaya Nikitskaya
On the other Vspolye, on Malaya Nikitskaya, at the beginning of the 17th century, there was the Church of St. George the Victorious. Another Georgievsky lane got its name from it. In 1655, a stone church was built, it was repeatedly restored, updated, last time in 1868.
In 1922, the lane was named Vspolny, and ten years later the church was demolished, and a massive building was built in its place for the Central House of Radio Broadcasting and Sound Recording. And not even a trace was left in the local landscape, carefully lined with brick buildings, from those times when Muscovites came to the church in Vspolye on Malaya Nikitskaya, where the boyar N. I. Romanov once lived in mansions, cousin Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.
He lived on a grand scale, loved foreign trifles. One of them played a role in history. Once, visiting a village that once belonged to an eccentric boyar, Peter I found an English boat in an old barn. Russian craftsmen copied two bots from it. One sailed along the Moscow River, amused the audience. On the other, the tsar and the first Russian sailors trained in seamanship on Lake Pleshcheyevo. The size of the lake is small, six by nine miles, the wave is not oceanic, but frequent, capricious. The sailors learned a lot from the English boat of N. I. Romanov, after whose death a stone church of St. George was built in his vast yard. A monument was erected to Botik on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo, the eccentric boyar is rarely remembered, and no one knows about the church of George, in which for more than three centuries many people have prayed to God. Because it is not customary to erect memorial plaques for churches.
On Red Hill, on Mokhovaya
The Church of St. George on Krasnaya Gorka, which is on Mokhovaya "is known from the incense book since 1619." It was founded by Marfa, the mother of Mikhail Fedorovich. She also appointed a circle for the servants. Ten years later, the church burned down. In 1657, a new one was erected in its place.
Here, in 1816, the "chapel of the martyr Tatiana" was consecrated, on the day of which, January 12 (25 - according to the new style), 1755, Moscow University was founded. In the 19th century, the church was rebuilt and renovated three times. It was demolished in the thirties of the XX century. In 1934, the architect I. Zholtovsky erected a residential building in its place. On the walls of his memorable inscriptions do not think to do. But Moscow students of all generations will always remember their holiday - Tatyana's Day.
In Yandov (on Osipenko street)
The Church of St. George the Great Martyr and the Victorious in Yandov (on modern Osipenko Street, 6) was built at the beginning of the 17th century before the Time of Troubles.
In ancient times, the Moskva River flowed along this street, its bed slowly moved from south to north to Borovitsky Hill. The place is wonderful for nature lovers. But for builders - troublesome. In the 16th-18th centuries, this area was completely flooded with water during spring floods; it did not subside for a long time, forming small lakes. Ozerkovskaya embankment and lane were named from them. The permanent swampiness of the area gave the name to another famous street - Balchug ("Bal-chek" in the Tatar swamp, mud). And Yandova - low, tinned copper brothers for beer, mash, honey. Drinks were served in them at feasts, as well as in taverns.
The first "Tsar's tavern" in Moscow appeared in this area by decree of Ivan the Terrible, who wanted his guardsmen to drink not far from the Sovereign's Garden, the gates of which overlooked Balchug, to the doors of the tavern. This place was very beneficial. There were Meat, Kalachny, Malt rows, shops with other products, and St. George at the intersection of Sadovnicheskaya Street and Balchug was simply necessary ...
In 1653 a stone church was built. And in 1701 a fire broke out on Balchug. He destroyed the shops and yards, killed many people. A few years later, it began to seethe here again. People restored what had been destroyed by fire, but in 1730 the fire swept over Balchug again, and again people took up axes, saws, hammers. In 1783, in the spring, water took over, she demolished and destroyed wooden and stone buildings, including the bell tower of the Church of St. George. In 1806, the bell tower was restored at the expense of Demidov.
The church of George in Yandov was repaired and renovated regularly, until 1917, when it was closed, but, thank God, it was not broken. In the seventies, the temple was restored and painted black for some reason. This oversight, however, was quickly corrected, the church was repainted in a sunny yellow color scheme, and in this form it received parishioners.
In the village of Kolomenskoye on the Moscow River
The Church of the Great Martyr George in the village of Kolomenskoye on the Moskva River was built in the 16th century. On the outskirts of the modern capital, life in those centuries proceeded according to rural laws, although sometimes stormy winds brought militant people here, and were in the vicinity of the battle, blood was shed. In the XV-XVII centuries, there was a grand ducal, then royal estate. In 1606, I. I. Bolotnikov camped in the village. In 1662, the so-called "copper riot" broke out in Moscow. The rebels went to the village of Kolomenskoye, where Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich promised people to reduce taxes, to investigate the abuses that arose after the release in 1654 huge amount copper money, which dramatically worsened the situation of the people. The rebels turned back, met with a new party of disgruntled townspeople, and returned to the village. Now the tsar brought in troops. There were many victims. The "copper rebellion" was brutally suppressed, but copper money was still canceled.
Peter I spent his childhood in the village of Kolomenskoye. In the 18th century, Shtatnaya and Sadovaya settlements were set up here to cultivate the royal gardens...
The Church of the Great Martyr George was constantly updated, the last time in 1966-1967 under the guidance of architect N. N. Sveshnikov.
In Georgia
The Church of St. George the Great Martyr in Georgians was built at the request of the Georgian king Vakhtang Levanovich, who moved to Moscow in 1725 with his sons Bakar and George and a large retinue. Russian Tsar Peter II allocated funds from the treasury for the arrangement of new settlers. Tsarevich George built the Church of George. It was consecrated in 1760, but twenty years later the temple was destroyed by fire. In 1788, the construction of a stone church began at the expense of parishioners and S.P. Vasiliev. In 1793 she received parishioners. The chapel of George the Great Martyr was consecrated in 1800.
Construction and expansion of the temple continued until the early twentieth century. And in 1922 it was closed, the bell tower was destroyed, the building was given to the electrical technical school and only in 1991 was returned to believers.
On the Kadetsky parade ground (1 Krasnokursantsky proezd)
The Church of St. George the Victorious at the military paramedic school in the building on the Kadetsky parade ground (1 Krasnokursantsky proezd) was built in 1885. Over the course of a century, the house has grown to a floor, a medical service building was attached to it on the side, but for some reason not even a carnation, even a brick from the church of St. George was left here ...
Military Paramedic School
On the Khamovniki square
The Church of St. George the Victorious of the Sumy Regiment on the Khamovniki parade ground was built of wood in 1910 under the guidance of architect N. I. Boni. Probably, over time, a stone church would have been erected here, but the temple was unlucky, perhaps more than all Moscow churches: seven years later it was demolished.
Church of St. George the Victorious on the Khamovniki parade ground. CIGI archive
For a long time, Khamovnichesky (Frunzensky) parade ground was not of interest to city planners, but in 1958 Komsomolsky Prospekt was laid through it, along which hundreds of thousands of cars rush every day.
Alexander Toroptsev
Construction history
Russian church in Lvov
shrines
Monument in honor of the two thousandth anniversary of the Nativity of Christ and the century of the temple
Particles of the relics of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, the Reverend Fathers of the Kiev Caves, are preserved in the temple, Reverend Job(abbot of Pochaevsky), Joasaph of Belgorod, Kuksha of Odessa. The temple also contains a copy of the Tikhvin-Teary icon, written and consecrated on Athos, which was transferred from the Russian hermits to the Russian Imperial Consulate in Lvov. The icon located in the temple in the year by the decision Holy Synod Ukrainian Orthodox Church(of the Moscow Patriarchate) was recognized as miraculous.
Current position
The rector of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious was Protopresbyter Vasily Ostashevsky (he passed away to the Lord on May 15, 2007). Since a year, as before, it has become a cathedral and now the only Russian Orthodox church in Lviv. Since the same year, the Bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Augustine (Markevich) has been at the Lviv cathedra. Until the beginning of the year, Archpriest Andrey Tkachev, the host of TV programs on the all-Ukrainian TV channel " Kievan Rus» , .
At the church there is the editorial office of the diocesan newspaper "The Light of Orthodoxy", the Higher Theological Courses, the missionary department, the youth Orthodox brotherhood, the library are functioning. orthodox magazine for children "God's field" (Russian "God's meadow").
The service is performed daily, the language of the service is Church Slavonic; sermons are delivered in Russian and Ukrainian.
The territory of the temple is adjacent to the building of the Lviv Russian Cultural Center named after. Pushkin.
Notes
Links
- Official website of the Lviv diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
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Coordinates : 50°24′21″ s. sh. 24°04′07″ in. d. / 50.405833° N sh. 24.068611° E d.
This year marks 1701 years since the death of St. Great Martyr George the Victorious - one of the most revered saints in Russia, revered as the patron saint of Moscow. Many churches were built in his honor in the capital, long before the image of the saint appeared on the Moscow coat of arms - some survived the dark times and survived to this day, others died in the years Soviet power.
Saint George was born in the Lebanese city of Beirut (Berita) on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 3rd century AD. in an aristocratic, rich and pious family - the parents raised their son in the Christian faith. The young man entered military service under the emperor Diocletian, a zealot of Roman paganism and a fierce opponent of Christianity: it was under him that the most severe persecution of the confessors of Christ began. Emperor Diocletian noticed a young, strong and brave warrior, and Saint George, enlisted in the imperial guard, became his favorite.
And soon St. George became an eyewitness to the unjust trial of Christians, who sentenced them to death for true faith. Then the warrior, realizing that this fate awaited him as a Christian, completed his earthly affairs - he freed his slaves and distributed property to the poor - and he himself appeared to the emperor Diocletian. Before the formidable tyrant, St. George openly confessed the Christian faith and denounced his atrocities, speaking out against the imperial order to persecute Christians.
Diocletian ordered that the warrior be imprisoned and tortured most severely, and, not having obtained from him a renunciation of Christ, he sentenced him to death by beheading with a sword. Saint George was executed in Nicomedia in 303 - he did not live to be 30 years old. His holy relics were laid to rest in Palestine, in the city of Liddi, in a temple dedicated to him, and his head was laid in the same temple in Rome itself.
And after the death of the great martyr, the famous Miracle of St. George about the serpent, which not only strengthened the glorification of the saint, but also determined the subsequent iconography of his image, and then the Moscow Coat of Arms itself - the saint is depicted on a white horse with a spear in his hands, striking a serpent.
According to legend, in the homeland of St. George, in a lake near the city of Beirut, some giant snake really appeared - perhaps a crocodile or a boa constrictor. He posed a great danger to local residents, as they began to constantly bring him human sacrifices by lot, a young man or a girl, in order to “appease” the monster and satisfy his hunger, as in ancient pagan times. And one day the lot fell on the daughter of the ruler himself - the danger was such that even her father could not do anything for her. The girl was taken to the shore of the lake and tied to a tree. And when the monster got out of the water, suddenly a “bright young man” appeared on a white horse and killed the reptile with a blow of a spear. So he not only saved the girl and local residents from trouble and stopped terrible pagan sacrifices, but also converted the entire surrounding population to the Christian faith.
Saint George is considered the patron of the army, livestock and protector from predators. In his spring holiday in Russia, for the first time, cattle were driven out into the field after wintering. But the autumn, November holiday of the saint entered the history of Russia as the famous "St. George's Day", celebrated on November 26 according to the old style. In medieval times he was last stronghold freedom of the Russian peasantry - on this day, once a year, they themselves were allowed to move from one landowner to another, when at the end of November a strong sledge track was established, which made it possible to move. And only under Ivan the Terrible, in 1581, this transition rule was abolished, which finally established until 1861 the most severe serfdom. Then it appeared famous saying: "Here you are, grandmother, and St. George's day."
In old, pre-revolutionary Moscow, there were several churches consecrated in the name of St. George. Some of them have survived to our time - on the Pskov Hill in Kitay-gorod on Varvarka, in Zamoskvorechye, in Luchniki on the Lubyanka. The Lubyanka church was opened in such a disfigured form that in the mid-1990s, when this church was returned to believers, it was hard to believe that these ruins could be restored at all. And then, after the fall of the USSR, St. George's Church was built on Poklonnaya Hill, showing a new direction in church architecture.
In the center of old Moscow, there was also a whole monastery dedicated to St. George - in the lane of the same name between Tverskaya and Bolshaya Dmitrovka, now only beautiful wall this monastery, and on the site of the monastery demolished by the Bolsheviks, a typical school building was built. There are also many destroyed parish churches of St. George - on Vspolya in the area of Bronnaya and Spiridonovka, in Khamovniki and on Krasnaya Gorka on Mokhovaya. This last church, which stood next to the main building of Moscow State University on Mokhovaya, was connected with the fate of Moscow University.
The church stood next to the National Hotel, on the site where Stalin's house No. 6 now stands. The name of the area - Mokhovaya - came, according to one of the versions of historians, from the shops that stood here, in which they traded dry moss for caulking wooden Moscow houses. Or maybe it was just a swamp, abundantly overgrown with moss.
St. George's Church on Mokhovaya was founded, according to legend, by the nun Martha herself, the mother of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich. However, in the historical literature there is news that the church was mentioned in the spiritual charter of the Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, and in 1462 it was listed as a stone church. It is possible that ancient church burned to the ground, and nun Martha built a new, wooden one in its place. And indeed, we find confirmation of this version in the annals when describing a fire in Moscow in 1493: the fire from the Arbat spread to “Neglina to the stone church to St. Yegoriy”. But already in 1629 there is a mention that the church "George the Passion-Bearer on Drevyan Hill" burned down - which means that at that time it really was already wooden. It is possible that it was she who founded or renewed the wooden nun Marfa in place of the stone one.
The temple was built on a hill, where, in all likelihood, in ancient times they celebrated folk holidays to Krasnaya Gorka - hence the name of this area on the banks of the Neglinka. They celebrated cheerfully - with round dances, games, festivities. By popular belief it was believed that those who married on Krasnaya Gorka would be happy all their lives. And since this holiday was in spring, on the first Sunday after Easter, according to tradition, it was celebrated where there was a lot of heat and sun.
The wooden church burned down in the 20s of the 17th century, and the parishioners built a stone church on the same place on their own - in 1652-1657. Then the temple was decorated and landscaped by local eminent and wealthy homeowners who lived in this privileged area of old Moscow: for example, on the second floor of the St. Archangel Michael. In 1817, it was in it that the temporary house church of Moscow University was opened - then this chapel was re-consecrated in the name of St. martyr Tatiana. Moscow University had to move under the canopy of St. George, as his own church in the left wing of the main building on Mokhovaya Street burned down in a fire in 1812.
And it was here, in the newly consecrated Tatianinsky aisle of St. George's Church, that students of Moscow University swore allegiance to Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, and then to his brother Nicholas I in December 1825.
And here, on Tatiana's Day in 1831, a solemn service was held after the terrible cholera epidemic in Moscow - when the disease had already subsided in the city. First, Bishop Dionysius served the Liturgy in the church, and then the students raised local icons and an image of St. martyr Tatiana and transferred them to a large university auditorium, where a thanksgiving service was performed and many years were proclaimed to the Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich and the August House. Then holy water was sprinkled on the students' rooms, dining room and lecture halls.
However, divine services in the usual parish St. George's Church turned out to be inconvenient for most university parishioners - a steep staircase with large steps led upstairs, and not all elderly people could overcome it, especially in bad weather, and it was almost impossible to perform a funeral there. In addition, the second floor was not heated, and it was impossible to hold services during the cold season - which was the main university and patronal January feast of Tatyana's Day.
In addition, the premises of the chapel on the second floor were very small for holding crowded university celebrations - the priest of St. George's Church, Zakhary Yakovlev, who began to perform the duties of a university priest, served on big holidays and during Lent right in the main building of Moscow University.
Only in 1832, Emperor Nicholas I bought for the university the neighboring estate of the Pashkovs on Mokhovaya, located between Vozdvizhenka and Bolshaya Nikitskaya, and built, perhaps, by Vasily Bazhenov himself. (Now it is the Auditorium Building of Moscow State University). And in its left wing in 1837, a new house church of Moscow University was opened, which is still operating there. (for more details see our publication of January 25 this year)
Since that time, St. George's Church has again become an ordinary parish. Only in early Soviet years history again connected it with the fate of Moscow University, when its house church was closed by the Bolsheviks almost immediately after the revolution. In January 1920, Tatyana's Day was secretly served in St. George's Church, celebrating the 165th anniversary of Moscow University. Yes, and the first university services after the closure of his own church were again held in St. George's Church on Mokhovaya.
However, the revolution doomed this temple to destruction. In April 1932, the Moscow Council asked the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for permission to demolish St. George's Church and build an elite residential building in a new architectural style in its place. Permission was obtained, and in 1934 the famous architect I.V. Zholtovsky built on Mokhovaya multi-storey building, which became the very first example of the architecture of the "Stalinist Empire style" in Moscow, which quietly replaced revolutionary constructivism. And although this new style so they called it in the apt and sharp Moscow folk language, indeed, for the decorative design of the building, Zholtovsky again used elements of the classical order architecture, which was abandoned by the theorist of constructivism Le Corbusier himself. Sometimes they even wrote that Zholtovsky's work was built in Italian style"Palladio", but more often it was called Stalin's Empire style and bitterly ironized - "Empire during the plague."
This expression was not accidental - the house was clearly built for a high-ranking party and state elite. The well-known historian of Moscow, Sergei Romanyuk, provides data on polished details, on stucco on the ceiling, on parquet without a single knot, on polished doors, and on a room (alcove) for a housekeeper in each apartment of this “stone-cut monument to party politics.”
But it so happened that in our time, once again, the fate of Moscow University and its house church turned out to be invisibly linked with the memory of the ancient St. George's Church and the most holy patron of Moscow. It was on the day of the feast of St. George, May 6, 1995, on top of the Tatian Church of Moscow State University on Mokhovaya for the first time after October revolution a large wooden cross was erected again. It is now clearly visible from Manezhnaya Square.
The first mention of the temple dates back to 1460, when another, small and wooden, stood on the site of our temple. preserved in history different names the place where the temple was built - "in Luzhniki", "in Luzhki", "in Luchniki".
There are several versions of the origin of these names. According to the most common version, there were meadows for cattle pasture, whose patron was the Great Martyr George, and near which there was a Cow's platform, where merchants traded in cattle. According to other versions, the names originated from bow traders or bow and arrow makers.
In 1657, the stone St. George's Church was mentioned for the first time in the "Storelnaya Book" (a book about the construction of new and restoration of the fortifications of old cities in the 16th-17th centuries).
In the 17th century, on the site of a wooden church, at the expense of the merchant Gavrila Nikitich Romanov, a two-story stone church and a bell tower were erected, connected to the church by a gallery - a promenade. In 1693, the main, lower, temple was consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Adrian in the name of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious, and the upper one - in honor of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God. The bell tower of the same time, which was separated from the temple, was connected to it by a gallery - a promenade.
During its long history, the church of St. George endured many troubles and hardships. However, the Lord was merciful, and during the French invasion and the fire in Moscow in 1812, it burned, but survived and was little plundered. In the following years, 1825-29, the temple was repaired and repainted, and the iconostasis was gilded.
In 1862, the temple acquired modern look. The gallery between it and the bell tower was demolished. Two symmetrical aisles appeared: the southern one - of St. Theodore Sikeot, erected by the dependent of the merchant Mazurina Alexandra Vasilyevna and the northern one - of St. Nil Stolobensky, built at the expense of the merchant Sadomov A.K.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 11 bells in the bell tower, two of which were cast in the 17th century. On one of them, weighing 56 pounds, there was an inscription that it was donated by the merchant Pyotr Nikitin.
There were many icons and utensils of the XVII-XVIII centuries in the temple: silver altar crosses and liturgical vessels, revered icons Mother of God Golubitskaya and Iverskaya, icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, martyr. George the Victorious and others. The Upper Annunciation Church was decorated with a silver-plated copper chandelier of the 17th century.
In 1932 the temple was closed and was under the jurisdiction of the NKVD. The tent of the bell tower, the completion of the temple, the domes above the aisles, the fence with the gate were lost.
The facade of the porch on the western side, facing the Polytechnic Museum, was rebuilt to complete unrecognizability, the openings of the bell tower ringing were laid, several new openings were punched, the western, main entrance was laid.
Many details of the exterior decoration were lost or damaged. 
Interfloor ceilings, many temporary partitions, a freight elevator, a bath, and toilets were erected inside the temple. The iconostases were lost, the wall paintings were completely destroyed.
At first, the NKVD hostel was located in the temple, and then the KGB shoe workshop. Machine tools were installed, from the work of which extensive cracks formed in the walls. 
During the construction of an electrical substation 2 meters from the walls of the temple, its foundation lost stability and shrunk, which increased the cracks in the walls and their destruction.
For half a century, the church building was not repaired and by the mid-1980s it was in a serious emergency condition. The church building was mutilated to such an extent that people passing by did not recognize it. Orthodox church. So it stood abandoned until in 1993 it was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
In the same 1993, a Orthodox community and repair work has begun. 
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the temple were removed machines, ceilings and their metal structures, partitions. The area around was cleared of reinforcement concreted into the ground, the foundation and walls were strengthened.
For the celebration of the 850th anniversary of the capital, the Moscow government allocated funds for the restoration of the western facade and the bell tower. All other restoration work is carried out mainly by the parish and volunteers, on charitable donations.
In 1996, regular services were resumed in the right aisle of St. Theodore Sykeot.
In the autumn of 1997, for the first time, a chime sounded from the bell tower of the temple, on which a set of bells of Kamensk-Ural casting was installed.
In 2000, a gilded cross was erected on the temple, which had been beheaded before, in 2000 - an exact copy of the historical cross.
In 2001, work was completed on the restoration of the upper church in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, and a majestic and magnificent iconostasis was erected. This is where regular worship began.
And in 2005, work was completed on the restoration of the main altar of the temple and the construction of the St. George iconostasis. And most of Divine services are now performed here.
Currently, work is underway to restore the southern aisle of St. Nil of Stolobensky and Theodore Sikeot - strengthening the foundation, plastering the walls, erecting an iconostasis, painting icons, etc.
From November 1884 to March 1893, a well-known Moscow elder, the holy righteous Alexei Mechev, served as a deacon in our church.
At the Jubilee Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, held in August 2000, the last rector of our church, Archpriest Vladimir Proferansov, was canonized as a holy martyr among the host of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Father Vladimir was the secretary of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and for refusing to cooperate with the NKVD he was convicted, exiled to Semipalatinsk Kazakhstan, then sentenced by the OGPU troika and shot on December 15, 1937 at the Butovo training ground near Moscow, along with tens of thousands of others martyrs.
The memory of Hieromartyr Vladimir Lubyansky (Proferansov) is celebrated in our church on December 15th. For the first time such a solemn service was held in December 2000, by the time of which his icon was painted. To the day of the 70th anniversary of the martyr's feat schmch. Vladimir Lubyansky, the northern aisle of the temple, dedicated to his name, was restored, an iconostasis was arranged and an altar was equipped. On December 15, 2007, the first festive divine service took place.
