Излишне говорить, сколь большое значение для the revival of the spiritual life of Russia had the return of the church taken away from her in the previous years of temples. Even those who escaped destruction needed radical reconstruction and large-scale restoration work. One of them was a temple on the territory of the former Krasnoselsky Novo-Alekseevsky Monastery.
Abode in the roadside village
Согласно имеющимся архивным материалам, храм Alexy the Man of God in Red Selo near Moscow was built in 1853. The place of its construction was the Novo-Alekseevskiy convent. This monastery has a long history. Founded in 1360 on Ostozhenka near the Kremlin walls, during its long life it was repeatedly transferred to a new place, until in 1837 it finally became established in Krasnoe Selo.
The settlement in which the monastery is also locatedvery ancient. It was founded in the XII century, and the earliest chronicle mentioning it dates back to 1480. The village was located on an important trade route called the Stromynskaya road, thanks to which the majority of its inhabitants, who had private harnesses and inns, possessed wealth. It was called red by the name of a pond located nearby, so extensive that its size was equal to the area of the Moscow Kremlin.
The temple of Alexis the Man of God in Red Selo was notthe first unique building built on the territory of the monastery. More than two centuries before him, a temple was erected here, in honor of the same saint, who became one of the masterpieces of Russian church architecture of the 17th century.
The difficulties of the first years in a new place
In the first years after the resettlement of the monastery onThe new place of its nun felt an extreme lack of material resources. If earlier their abode, located in the very center of Moscow, was continuously visited by a large number of pilgrims who replenished the monastic treasury, now they have been deprived of these cash receipts.
Living solely on its meager incomefarms, sisters were forced to endure extreme inconvenience, and sometimes just to starve. The situation improved somewhat after, in 1867, they were allowed to create a cemetery at the monastery, where they could bury the surrounding inhabitants. Since that time, funeral services, memorial prayers and other similar services began to be performed in the monastery church. This has to some extent alleviated the position of the nuns.
The rise of the monastery in the XIX century
Over time, the cloister has become important inthe spiritual life of Russia. She enjoyed a special patronage of not only the Synodal leadership, but also many representatives of the reigning home. Of course, this had a very positive effect on her financial situation, and thanks to generous donations, she allowed for the reconstruction of former structures and the construction of new ones.
This period includes construction onthe territory of the monastery of the almshouse, which contained up to sixty elderly and sick women. Funds for its construction were donated by a wealthy Moscow patron, widow of a merchant of the first guild Prokhor Semyonovich Volkov.
The temple, which became an outstanding architectural work
The Temple of Alexius the Man, which has survived to the present day.God in the Red Selo became one of the most famous works, the project of which belongs to the outstanding Moscow architect M. D. Bykovsky. He also became the author of sketches of the monastery wall, decorated with towers. In addition to these works, the architect of the Marfino estate near Moscow brought fame to the architect.
He created the temple of Alexis the Man of God inRed Selo (photos are distributed in the article), was a spacious, somewhat elongated structure, completed with semicircular apses - volume protrusions, inside which there are altars. Its roof is crowned with a huge dome resting on a light drum, that is, a structure having vertical window slits on all sides.
Attracts attention and unusually rich externaldecoration of the building. When it was created, the architect was guided by motifs drawn from Russian church architecture of the XVI-XVII centuries. It is for buildings of this period that such elements as decorative columns with melons are characteristic - a kind of architectural element representing thickenings that resembled a melon in shape, as well as all sorts of arches having keel-shaped completion.
Temple of Alexis the Man of God in Red Seloconsistently famous for its interior decoration. In it were collected many valuables, donated to the monastery by its rich patrons. The icons and church plate were transferred here from the former Alekseevsky monastery.
Monastic life interrupted by the revolution
Until 1927, the monastery continued to operate, butthen it was closed, the nuns were expelled, and the territory and buildings located on it were placed at the disposal of the municipal utilities. At that time, the structure of the ruined monastery consisted of four temple buildings, of which only two have survived to this day.
In one of them - the former temple of All Saints wasthe state archive was arranged, and this saved it from destruction. The other building is the temple of Alexis the Man of God in Krasnoye Selo, whose address is: Moscow 2nd Krasnoselsky Lane, Building 3, was re-equipped, and it housed the House of Pioneers. In a rebuilt form, roughly distorting its original appearance, it also survived to this day.
The sad fate befell the monastery cemetery,on which many famous people were buried. After the revolution, it was razed to the ground, with most of the graves being the victim of robbers. Later, a park was set up at the cemetery site, and then a highway was built in this place, which still exists today.
The return of the shrine and the work of its revival
In the years of perestroika, the public of the Red Village andThe leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate appealed to government bodies for the transfer of the Alekseevsky temple to the property of the Church. In 1991, a positive decision was made, and immediately builders and restorers took up the task. Since the amount of work was very large, they ended only in 2002. Then his solemn consecration was accomplished.
В наши дни среди прочих святынь, некогда отнятых from the church, but returned to it in the years of perestroika, Alexey the Church of the Man of God took his place in the Red Selo. Schedule of services: daily, except Sundays, early services begin at 8:00, and evening services at 17:00; on holidays and weekends, the Liturgy is added to them, beginning at 9:00.
