Church of Clement, Pope: description, history and interesting facts

After the October Revolution in 1917, many ancient churches in Moscow were, unfortunately, destroyed. However, some religious buildings were virtually miraculous, but they were still preserved. The church of Clement, the Pope of Rome, in Zamoskvorechye, on ul. Pyatnitskaya Street. Features of this ancient church are quite unusual for the Orthodox Church architecture and decoration. In another way, the church is also called the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

Minin and Pozharsky

Historians, unfortunately, know nothing about the exact time of the construction of the Clement temple. For the first time the mention of this church is found in the chronicle that tells about the battle of the troops of Minin and Pozharsky with the Poles that took place on August 24, 1612. Then the Russian Cossack troops repulsed this temple from Khodkevich and the nearby prison, thereby violating the plans of the hetman to prepare for the capture of the Moscow Kremlin .

Temple before the revolution

According to the annals, in those days this structure had a completely different appearance. It was built, like most other churches in Moscow, from wood. However, already 40 years after the battle, the church of Clement, the Pope, was completely transformed. In place of an old wooden structure built a stone. The first mention of the new church dates back to 1657. At the beginning of the XVIII century the church was completely rebuilt. Next to it were also built a refectory and a bell tower with two side-altars. The architects of the new church were supposedly A. Evlashov or K. Blank.

In the middle of the XVIII century. The church was again subjected to global reconstruction. The bulk of the old building was demolished, and by 1769 the builders had completed the construction of the five-domed baroque church. The Moscow merchant of the 1st Guild of Matveyev financed the reconstruction. The architect was supposedly Italian Pietro Antonio Trezzini. It is in this form that this church has reached even to this day.

Temple after the revolution

The decision to close the church of Clement, the Pope, on Pyatnitskaya authorities of Moscow was made in 1929. As the priests tell, dispersing believers came just on Good Friday. Parishioners were not even given the chance to celebrate Easter. Archpriest Mikhail Galunov, who was appointed to this post in 1925 and did much for the restoration of the church, was taken to the NKVD. In the camps in the future, he was 10 years old.

In 1934, the empty church of Clement on Pyatnitskaya was decided to destroy. Residents of a nearby house wrote a petition to the authorities about this. In it they asked to equip the playground on the site of the temple. However, for the church stood the restorers Igor Grabar and Peter Baranovsky, who at that time saved thousands of ancient religious buildings. Today the ROC calls them devotees and reveres it in every possible way, even though they were unbelievers.

The history of the church of Clement, the Pope: interesting facts

As it was in reality, no one knows for certain. But about the salvation of the church of Clement on Pyatnitskaya there is quite an interesting legend. It is believed that Baranovsky and Grabar went directly to Kliment Voroshilov. After all, it was this Soviet military commander and politician in childhood who was baptized in honor of St. Pope of Rome. According to rumors, according to Voroshilov's decree in 1934, the first full edition of Lenin's works, just published at that time, was brought to Pyatnitskaya church. In the temple they quickly built huge shelving and made them books, including the works of the leader of the revolution. That is, the library was created urgently.

Arrived to destroy the temple to the blasting workers of the book depository threatened with a call to the NKVD on sabotage. After seeing Lenin's books on the shelves, those, according to legend, retreated.

Thus, thanks to the intercession of the two restorers, the church of Clement, the Pope, during the Soviet years almost did not suffer. Until now, it has remained virtually intact.

It is connected with the church of Clement and one more interesting fact. Priests say that Archpriest Mikhail Galunov, who served the ten-year sentence, after liberation for a long time, together with his wife, secretly lived in the bell tower of the church. It is believed that this was possible due to the fact that the library librarians worked in the book depository, organized in the church.

The state of the temple at the beginning of the new millennium

The church of Clement, the Pope of Rome (Savior of Transfiguration) was destroyed, in Moscow in the 30s, like many others, was not. However, of course, no one paid any special attention to it later. By 2002, the library in the temple was still working, but it was in terrible condition. Most of the windows in the building were missing, and the roof was leaking.

Restoration of the temple

Of course, believers were the first to think about the repair of the church. A small reconstruction was carried out on their money. To save the building, the roof was closed first. The leak stopped. The believers also took care of most windows. Glasses were inserted into the apertures. After some time, the clergy managed to draw attention to the state of the temple of the authorities. In 2008, at the initiative of Luzhkov, the building was transferred to the ROC. Books were taken from him. In 2014, the restoration of the church of St. Clement was almost finished. The Moscow authorities financed the reconstruction of this important for the spiritual life of the country.

Reviews of the church of Clement, Pope

Of course, a few years after the opening and restoration of the temple visited many believers and lovers of history. Reviews on the works carried out in it there are only good. The church looks, in the opinion of many parishioners, just superb. Its interiors are unusual, but they are tuned to the right mood of the believer very well. Excellent reviews this church deserved and for the fact that next to it there is a clean garden. Here you can sit in the shade, relax and breathe the air of old Moscow.

Who is Saint Clement?

Actually, the patron himself of this church lived in Rome at the time of Christ and the Apostle Peter. The parents of St. Clement were called Faustus and Matthew. Both were of royal origin and were relatives of the Roman emperor. In addition to Clement, they had two more children - the twins Favstin and Faustinian. Faith, the saint's parents adhered to the pagan.

It so happened that because of the deed of a wicked man all this big family was lost. For a long time, its members considered each other dead. They reunited only 24 years after separation thanks to the apostle Peter. The twin brothers and Clement, independently of each other, believed in Christ and followed this saint.

The sad stories of his life were told to the revered apostle by many people. Clement and Mattidius did this. Peter quite by chance met her begging at the entrance to one of the cities through which he passed. Realizing that the woman and his disciple are each other's son and mother, the apostle organized their meeting. About this happy story in details learned and other followers of Peter, including the twins Favstin and Faustinian. Of course, they immediately realized who Clement and Matfidia were, and rushed to meet with them.

But miracles did not end there. Happy Matfidia believed that Christ helped her to find the children, and asked Peter to baptize her. But one old astrologer heard about the upcoming rite in his city. The scientist began to persuade Peter not to baptize a woman, since there is no God in heaven. Yes, if he was, then, according to the elder, would not allow the death of his wife and children many years ago. After hearing the history of the astrologer, Peter realized that he was facing the husband of Matthew and the father of his three disciples. So the family reunited finally.

Why the saint is called the Pope

The temple of the Holy Martyr Kliment, Pope of Rome, was built in honor of this saint, certainly not because of his miraculous reunion with his family, but in memory of his deeds. Having met, the parents of Clement returned to Rome and were showered with gifts and all sorts of blessings by their rejoiced relative - the Roman emperor. Of course, Matthew and Faust started actively preaching a new religion. After their death, this business was continued by Clement. During his life, this preacher was often persecuted and eventually drowned by pagans in the sea.

Today the church reveres Saint Clement, believing that it was he who first spread Christianity among the Roman nobility. Before him, this religion was the faith of the poor. As a noble person, Clement baptized a lot of rich Romans. As a result, Christianity became a religion, including the military, and the most revered citizens. That is why the priests, including the Orthodox, consider him a man worthy of the title of the first pre-Catholic Pope.

Features of architecture

Outwardly the church of Clement, the Pope, looks very unusual. It seems that this building is not likely to be an Orthodox church, but rather a Catholic one. The architecture of this building in style is very close to the West European one. However, the internal Orthodox essence of the church, in the opinion of its clergymen, has been preserved completely.

Interior decoration

The interiors of the Pope's temple are also made in the Rococo style, unusual for the Orthodox religious building. The interior of it is a bit like a Catholic. However, unlike the western churches, there are no images of chimeras and monsters in the church of St. Clement. Orthodox priests consider their presence in the design a sign of the departure of the Catholic Church from the true faith.

Of course, the basis of the interior decoration of the temple are icons. Old images in the church of Clement preserved five. The most revered is the icon of the Sovereign Mother of God. This image is considered even older than found in Kolomenskoye, which was used once in the abdication of Nicholas II.

This icon was created, like the four others, by Italian masters. In comparison with traditional Orthodox, all these images look quite unusual. In the church there is even the image of St. Catherine, on which she is represented not by herself, but by the Empress Catherine II. Such liberties sometimes allowed themselves icon painters of the XVIII century. The Modern Church does not approve of this. And yet the icon adorns the walls of the temple, and anyone can look at it.

How to find the temple

To reach the church of Clement, the Pope, in Moscow, labor will not be. It is located right in the center of the city, on the site of the former Cossack settlement. You can reach it by metro. This church is located right between two large stations - the Tretyakovskaya and Kuznetskaya - and occupies almost the entire Klimentovsky Lane. The exact address of the temple is as follows: Moscow, st. Pyatnitskaya, 26, building 1.

Church of Clement in Pskov and other cities

Of course, in honor of this revered saint in Russia, not only the church on Pyatnitskaya was built. There are such churches in other cities of Russia. You can visit the temple of the saint, for example, in Pskov. The church of Clement, Pope, in this city is on Olginskaya embankment, 16.

Such a temple was built in Veliky Novgorod. You can find it at: ul. Bolshaya Moskovskaya, 36. Another church of the saint operates in the village of Kosturino, Yaroslavl region.