The Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. Icons in the cathedral

The cathedral is usually referred to as the main temple of the city. In this case, in it, as a rule, there should be a department - an elevated place from which a bishop (clergyman of the highest, third degree of the priesthood) is performing during the divine service.

The history of the name

But Moscow is a very large city, and of course it has more than one cathedral church. That Elokhovsky Cathedral in Moscow, which has the second name Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhov, is one of the twenty religious buildings of this type. According to legend, in the place of the temple there used to be an alder forest in the 14th century, the Olkhovets stream flowed, and there was a village called Elokh (a word that was root with alder). Until now, the street and alley Olkhovye have been preserved in this region. These places are famous for the birth here in 1469 of the holy fool Basil the Blessed or Basil Nagoya, a figure so ambiguous and significant that the coffin with the body of a saint who died in 1552 (known even on August 2) was carried by Ivan the Terrible with the boyars, Makarii.

Rich story

Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow, located in the Basmanny district on Spartakovskaya Street, owned by the Central Administrative District, has its own glorious history. It baptized Alexander Pushkin (1799, on the 8th day of his birth). Since 1938 the cathedral has become a cathedral, and from 1945 to 1991 - the Patriarchal (now, after the transfer of the Patriarch of All Russia to the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, the Epiphany Cathedral remains the Moscow Patriarchate Department). It was here in 1943, 1945, 1971 and 1990 that the newly elected priests of the church (bishops) were erected to the pulpit. The rite of enthronement occurs during the Liturgy. The hierarch is dressed in clothes appropriate to his dignity. In 1925, on the Feast of the Meeting, the liturgy in the cathedral was served by Patriarch Tikhon. Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow is famous for the fact that in the northern Nikolsky side-chapel, after the burial service in May 1944, Patriarch Sergius. The place of his burial is adorned with a gravestone made of marble. The author is the famous AV Shchusev. Alexy II, 15 PM, is also buried in this cathedral - in the southern Annunciation chapel, in 2008.

Favorite Cathedral of Muscovites

Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow is not only famous, it is very loved by Muscovites, it is often called "the cathedral of my childhood". This is also because it never closed. The troubles of the dark years of persecution of the church bypassed its side, so many small residents of the capital, their grandmothers were taken here from afar, and for them the cathedral became a native.

It should be noted that during the war years the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow transferred to the defense 835.9 thousand rubles, and 535.1 to the soldiers for gifts. How much he had to bear! They wanted to demolish the Elokhin Square, to make it a rare book house or a cinema. But in times of any misfortunes, even in days of revolutions and wars, the Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow did not shut the doors. Baptism of the Lord or the feast of the Epiphany is the day when the church in Elokhov was consecrated. It is celebrated on January 18 and is for the cathedral's patron saint.

Causes

The history of the temple is traditional - first in 1698 Elohov built a wooden village church. Under Peter I (1717-1722) it is rebuilt into a stone church. In 1722-1731, under the tutelage of the princess Praskovia Ioannovna, a chapel was built in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. A great king is associated with many legends, one of them says that he personally donated a stone to erect this temple. And in 1790-1792 the church was expanded due to an attached refectory with two chapels (in honor of St. Nicholas chapel of the Annunciation is being altered) and bell towers. Moscow in the following years intensively expanded, and the temple, which was now close to the center of the city, again becomes small for the increased number of parishioners.

The founding period in the construction of the cathedral

And already in 1837, on the site of the disassembled Elohovskaya church, a new spacious church began to be erected on the project of the architect Yevgraf Tyurin (1796-1872). This architect is known for the fact that together with OI Bove completed work on the country residence of Count Yusupov in Arkhangelsk. He took part in the construction of the Moscow University on the Mokhovaya and the university church in the name of Martyr Tatiana. However, construction work due to lack of funds was conducted for a long time, but services in unfinished walls were always handled. By 1845 the traditional cube for the main building of the church was erected, crowned with five domes. The cathedral was built in the style of high late classicism and in Empire style. In order for the work to be completed, the merchant of the 2nd Guild VI Shchapov, who became an honorary citizen of Moscow, donated a very large amount of money - a third of the total cost of work. And only in 1853 the church was consecrated by Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna.

Subsequent Restorations

Construction work continued even further - in 1889 the dome and the attic (decorative wall, located above the cornice) were built above the refectory. According to the project Zykov, from the cathedral were to remain only it and the first tier of the bell tower. After reconstruction, the cathedral became one of the most monumental religious buildings in Moscow. The next renovation of the interiors occurred in 1912 - the cathedral was redecorated. The gilded iconostasis has survived to this day. The Bolshoi Theater bought the bell and replaced it with a crack.

Modern furnishing

Very serious restoration of the cathedral began in 1969, after the election of the head of the village Kapchuk NS, who headed the repair and restoration work, which lasted for 20 years. As a result, a lot has been done: the gold leaf has been completely replaced and bronze fences have been placed on the chair and more closely. All floors are replaced with marble. And under the altar and salt (in Christian churches - the elevation of the floor in front of the iconostasis or the altar barrier), the floor is raised. Wall paintings were washed , new stained-glass windows were painted, restoration workshops were built. Do not list all. The cathedral is beautiful and fit into the renovated center of Moscow. But opinions about the restoration are very different - from enthusiastic praise to evaluation of "samovarschina". Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow (photo fully conveys the extraordinary beauty and proportionality of one of the central religious buildings of the capital) is a national architectural monument.

Cathedral today

To this day, Matthew Stadnyuk, elevated to this rank in 1978, serves in the cathedral as Protopresbyter. Using the love of the servants and parishioners, he does everything to ensure that the glory of the cathedral does not decrease so that thousands of people gather for services, so that every guest of the capital aspires to visit Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow, whose icons make him famous throughout the Christian world. It is first of all the legendary revered icon of the Kazan Mother of God.

To the shrines of the cathedral are the relics and miraculous image of St. Nicholas. You can bow to the remains of the contemporary and like-minded Sergius of Radonezh - Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, who was one of the instructors of D. Donskoy. "The Execution of the Dead" - a venerable image of the Mother of God - is kept in the walls of the Elokhov Cathedral. From the rare lists, you can also call the Icon of the Mother of God "The Life-giving Spring", which is turned to for help in money matters. There is no Muscovite who does not know where this famous temple is, or he could not give his address. Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow is located on Spartakovskaya street, in the house number 15. Quite near is the station of the Moscow Metro Baumanovskaya.