Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki. The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki in the 17th century was called St. Nicholas in Blinniki. Probably, bakers lived here, famous for making pancakes. Construction of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki
Holy Righteous ALEXIY MECHEV, Moscow Elder (†1923)
“Why did all the holy apostles, every single one of them, accept the crown of martyrdom, die on crosses, were beheaded by the sword, and the Apostle John the Theologian lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully? - Father Alexy once asked, - because the Apostle John had such unparalleled, great, irresistible Christian love that her tormentors submitted to her power, and she disarmed her persecutors, she extinguished their anger and turned it into love.” Father Alexy had just such a love for his neighbors, and all his instructions, sermons and words were about love. He was rich in this merciful love, and it seemed to everyone who came that Father Alexy loved him most of all.
Alexy Mechev born March 17, 1859 in Moscow in the pious family of the regent of the Chudovsky Cathedral Choir.
From birth, Father Alexy’s life is connected with the name of St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. He at one time saved Father Father from death in the cold and, seeing God’s providence in this, subsequently took care of the saved child, and subsequently of his family.
During the birth of Father Alexy (and the birth of his mother, Alexandra Dmitrievna, was difficult) he prayed together with Alexei Ivanovich Mechev for the successful delivery of his wife from the burden and predicted: “A boy will be born, name him Alexy in honor of the saint we celebrate today. Alexy, man of God."
Alexy grew up in a family where there was a living faith in God, love, and a kind-hearted attitude towards people.
All his life, Father Alexy recalled with reverence the selfless act of his mother, who took in her sister and three children after the death of her husband, despite the fact that he himself was close to his three children - sons Alexei and Tikhon and daughter Varvara. We had to build a bed for the children.
Alexey had a quiet, peace-loving character; he loved to cheer, console, and joke. But he retreated from the noisy fun, and in the midst of the games he suddenly became serious and ran away. For this they nicknamed him “blessed Alyoshenka.”
Alexy Mechev studied at the Zaikonospassky School, then at the Moscow Theological Seminary, after which he dreamed of going to university and becoming a doctor in order to serve people most fruitfully. But the mother opposed this: “You are so small, where should you be a doctor, you’d better be a priest.” It was hard for Alexy to leave his dream, but he did not go against the will of his beloved mother. Subsequently, he realized that he had found his true calling, and was very grateful to his mother.
After graduating from the seminary, Alexy was assigned to the Znamenskaya Church of the Prechistensky Forty. The rector of the church, Father George, was a tough and picky man. He demanded that the psalm-reader perform duties that were assigned to him, treated him rudely, and even beat him. But Alexy endured everything without complaint and made no complaints. Subsequently, he thanked the Lord for allowing him to go through such a school. Already being a priest, Father Alexy came to the funeral service of Father George, accompanying him to the grave with tears of gratitude and love.
“Such people should be loved as benefactors”, he later taught his spiritual children. They point out shortcomings that we ourselves do not notice, and help us fight our “yes”. We have two enemies: “okayashka” and “yashka” - that’s what the priest called pride, the human “I”.
In 1884, Alexy Mechev married the daughter of a psalm-reader, 18-year-old Anna Petrovna Molchanova, and was ordained a deacon. Seminary suitors approached Anna, but she refused them all. But as soon as she met Alexy, she firmly told her widowed mother: “I’ll go for this little one.” His marriage was happy. Anna Petrovna had a “character” and in photographs of her early youth she looked out from under frowned eyebrows. But mutual love significantly improved this character. In subsequent photographs, this look warmed up, the tension in the facial features smoothed out. Anna dearly loved her husband and deeply sympathized with him in everything. But she suffered from a serious heart disease, and her health became the subject of his constant concern. In his wife, Father Alexy saw a friend and first assistant on his path to Christ; he valued his wife’s friendly remarks and listened to them the way another listens to his elder; immediately sought to correct the shortcomings she noticed.
Children were born into the family: Alexandra (1888), Anna (1890), Alexey (1891), who died in the first year of his life, Sergei (1892) and Olga (1896).
On March 19, 1893, Deacon Alexy Mechev was ordained as a priest of the small one-person church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki Sretensky forty. Father Alexy introduced daily worship in his church, while usually in small Moscow churches it was performed only two or three times a week.
“For eight years I served the liturgy every day in an empty church,- the father later said. “One archpriest told me: “No matter how much I pass by your church, everyone is calling you. I went into the church - it’s empty... Nothing will come of it, you’re calling in vain.”
But Father Alexy was not embarrassed by this and continued to serve. According to the then-current custom, Muscovites fasted once a year during Great Lent. In the St. Nicholas-Klenniki Church on Maroseyka Street one could confess and receive communion any day. Over time, this became known in Moscow.
Once, a policeman standing at his post seemed suspicious about the behavior of an unknown woman at a very early hour on the banks of the Moscow River. When he approached, he learned that the woman had become desperate from the hardships of life and wanted to drown herself. He convinced her to abandon this intention and go to Maroseyka to Father Alexy. After this incident, people grieving and burdened with the sorrows of life flocked to this temple. Father hurried to pay attention and comfort to everyone.
A small wooden house in which Fr.’s family lived. Alexia, was dilapidated, half-rotten; the apartment was always dark and damp. Soon Mother Anna Petrovna began to develop cardiac dropsy with swelling and painful shortness of breath. She suffered so much that she began to ask her husband to stop begging her and died on August 29, 1902, on the day of the beheading of the head of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John.
Father Alexy was inconsolable. The light had faded for him and he did not want to go out to people. At that time, the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt arrived in Moscow. O. Alexey had a meeting with him. “Have you come to share my grief with me?”- Fr. asked him. Alexy. “I did not come to share your grief, but your joy,- answered Fr. John. - Leave your cell and go out to people; only from now on will you begin to live... Enter into someone else’s grief, take it upon yourself and then you will see that your misfortune is small, insignificant in comparison with the general grief, and it will become easier for you.”
The grace of God, abundantly resting on the Kronstadt shepherd, illuminated the life path of Father Alexy in a new way. He entered upon the path of elderhood, for which he had already been prepared by many years of ascetic life.
Father Alexy greeted everyone who came with cordial friendliness, love and compassion. It seemed to everyone that they loved him the most, pitied him, and consoled him. Father never imposed the burden of heavy obedience, pointing out that first of all one should weigh one’s strengths and possibilities. But what you have already decided on, you must do at any cost, otherwise the goal will not be achieved.
"The path to salvation" Father Alexy constantly repeated, — lies in love for God and neighbors.” We need to oppress ourselves for the sake of the people close to us, rebuild our soul, break our character so that it is easy for our neighbors to live with us. “Be the sunshine for everyone,” he said.
Father Alexy is now never left alone, from morning to evening he gives himself to people; for them he is no longer only a shepherd, but a father and a caring mother. Soon all of Moscow was talking about the elder. The church can no longer accommodate everyone, “from early morning until late at night there is a crowd of people, among ordinary people, professors, doctors, teachers, writers, engineers, artists, performers appear.” At one time, Father Alexy began to visit the nearby Khitrov market, which was notorious. He held conversations there with regulars of the city bottom. But soon, due to the increasing workload, he had to give it up.
Extremely meager in funds, Father Alexy still did not ignore the needs and grief of his neighbor. Once on Christmas Eve, the priest, who himself had a large family, left the entire contents of his wallet with a sick woman whom he had come to give communion. Arriving home, he thought bitterly: “Here is poverty, and here is poverty, there are half-starved children, and here are half-starved children - did I do the right thing, that I gave everything to others, and left nothing for my own?” The Lord miraculously resolved the bewilderment of the righteous man. Unexpectedly, a benefactor appeared who donated a sufficient amount to Father Alexy.
He was never offended by any rudeness towards himself. “Am I... am I wretched...”- he used to say. The priest avoided showing signs of reverence and respect towards himself, avoided lavish services, and if he had to participate, he tried to stand behind everyone. He was burdened by awards, they burdened him, causing him deep, sincere sorrow.
The priest's sermons were simple, sincere, they were not distinguished by eloquence. Their main advantage was that they carried practical instructions - how to be and what to do.
When asked how to improve the life of the parish, he answered: "Pray!" He called on his spiritual children to pray during the funeral services: “Once again you will come into contact with the departed. When you appear before God, they will all raise their hands in prayer for you, and you will be saved.”
Father did not approve when parents, rushing to church, left their children alone without supervision. Blessing the mother and child, and pointing to the baby, he impressively told her: “Here are your Kyiv and Jerusalem.”
In the lower residential floor of the temple, Father opened a parochial school, set up a shelter for orphans and the poor, and for 13 years taught the Law of God at the E.V. girls’ gymnasium. Winkler; contributed to the revival of ancient Russian icon painting, which gave way to painting, by blessing his spiritual daughter Maria Nikolaevna Sokolova (later nun Juliania) to paint icons.
Father Alexy greatly revered the shrine of the temple, the miraculous Theodore Icon of the Mother of God, and often served prayer services in front of it. One day, on the eve of the events of 1917, during a prayer service, he saw tears rolling down from the eyes of the Queen of Heaven. The pilgrims present also saw this. The priest was so shocked that he could not continue the service, and the priest who served had to end it.
The number of worshipers in the temple increased. Especially after 1917, and among them there were many young people, students, disillusioned with revolutionary ideals. After the closure of the Kremlin, some of the parishioners and singers of the Chudov Monastery moved to the church of Father Alexy. Young educated priests began to serve in the church, helping Father Alexy in conducting lectures, conversations, and organizing courses on the study of divine services. Among them is the son of his father Alexy father Sergiy Mechev , ordained a priest on Maundy Thursday 1919, now also canonized as a hieromartyr.
In difficult years civil war and general devastation, many wanted to move to the grain-producing southern regions of the country, to Ukraine. Father Alexy did not give blessings for the moves, citing the words of the Lord spoken to the Jews through the prophet Jeremiah not to flee from Babylonian slavery to Egypt, where death awaits everyone. Those who remain will be shown God's mercy and deliverance.
Father Alexy created an amazing spiritual community in the world. One of the few, this community withstood the times of the most terrible persecution and raised a new generation of zealous servants of the Church and pious church people. Special attention deserves the tradition of agape in the community. On the night from Saturday to Sunday (from about 1919) it was served all-night vigil, then the liturgy, and after it, a meal was held in one of the premises of the temple with communication on spiritual topics and the reading of psalms. The meals were called agapes. Initially, Father Alexei himself organized the conversations using agapes, but gradually he began to transfer the situation into the hands of those gathered.
“Here in advance, whoever could, brought some vegetables, bread, sugar or caramel sweets for tea. Tables, benches, chairs were placed; the clergy and the priest came. Father took part in the common meal and, as at conversations on Wednesdays in his apartment, said something, touching on the most pressing issues of life and relationships. Someone from those present spoke out.”
O. Alexy also built interpersonal spiritual and emotional relationships. He began simply with an attentive, responsible, compassionate attitude towards his spiritual children, then he began to establish relationships between them, constantly working “to create a close spiritual family.” He sent one of the sisters to visit another who was sick; He gave her something edible to take away, and when they returned late, he blessed one sister to spend the night with the other. And I rejoiced when the evening was spent reading good spiritual literature, and always in joint prayer at night. I didn’t bless going to places where there were more stories about news and other chatter. He blessed us to periodically gather without him, indicating what to read and what to pay attention to. Gradually Fr. Alexy taught his spiritual children to serve each other in whatever way they could, to live in each other’s joys and sorrows.
Father Alexy's true spiritual friends were the Optina ascetics of his day - the elder Hieroschemamonk Anatoly (Potapov) and the monastery leader, Abbot Theodosius (Pomortsev). They were amazed at the feat of the Moscow elder “in a city as in a desert.” Elder Nektarios told someone: “Why are you coming to us? You have o. Alexy."
Archimandrite Arseny (Zhadanovsky) revered the priest as “a wise city elder, bringing no less benefit to people than any hermit”; and His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, always taking into account the recall of Father in cases of consecration.
Twice the priest was called for an interview at the OGPU. They were forbidden to receive people. The second time the conversation was short-lived, as they saw that he was seriously ill and suffered from very severe shortness of breath.
Bishop Arseny said: “But if prayer invigorates and refreshes a person, then taking on the suffering of others crushes the shepherd’s heart and makes him physically sick.” Father Alexy began to suffer from a heart disease from which he later died...
In the last days of May, Father Alexy left for Vereya, where he had rested the previous years. He had a presentiment that he was leaving forever. Before leaving, I served the last liturgy in my church, said goodbye to my spiritual children and to the church.
Father, how hard it is to think that you will not be there.
Silly, I will always be with you...
Died Fr. Alexy on Friday 9/22 June 1923 . Death occurred immediately as soon as he went to bed.
The liturgy and funeral service were performed by Archbishop Theodore (Pozdeevsky), which the priest himself asked him to do in a letter shortly before his death. Vladyka Theodore was then in prison; on June 7/20 he was released and was able to fulfill his wish. Easter hymns were sung all the way to the Lazarevskoye cemetery. His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, who had just been released from prison and was greeted with delight by the people, came to see Father Alexy off on his final journey. Father’s words came true: “When I die, everyone will be happy.”
Ten years later, due to the closure of the Lazarevskoye cemetery, the remains of Father Alexy and his wife were transferred to the Vvedenskie Gory cemetery, popularly called German. Over his grave stood a marble monument with a small cross above it. In its lower part are carved the words of the Apostle Paul, so close to the heart of Father Alexy: “Bear one another’s burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ.”
At the Jubilee Council of Bishops in 2000, Archpriest Alexy Mechev was canonized for church-wide veneration. Father Alexy was canonized simultaneously with his son, Hieromartyr Sergius, and with many new martyrs and confessors of Russia. In 2001, the relics of the holy righteous Alexy of Moscow were found and transferred to the Church of St. Nicholas. Currently the relics of the holy righteous Alexy Mechev are in the Moscow Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki .
From the spiritual teachings of Elder Alexy Mechev
“In times of sorrow, one must not grumble or argue with God, but rather pray to Him with gratitude. The Lord is not like men; People, if they suffer something from someone, try to repay, but the Lord tries to correct us even in sorrows. If we knew how others suffer, we would not complain.”
* * *
“With tears, I ask and pray you, be the suns that warm those around you, if not everyone, then the family in which the Lord made you a member.”
* * *
“Be warmth and light to those around you; first try to warm your family with yourself, work on this, and then these works will attract you so much that for you the family circle will already be narrow, and these warm rays will over time capture more and more new people, and the circle illuminated by you will gradually become more and more increase and increase; so be careful to keep your lamp burning brightly.”
* * *
“The Lord says: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” by this He says that it is our duty to shine for others. Meanwhile, we ourselves walk in darkness, not only do we not shine for others, therefore we must turn to the Lord, ask Him for help, because no matter how strong we are, no matter what advantages we have, we are still without God is nothing; and then we have a great multitude of sins, and therefore we ourselves cannot achieve the goal of shining and warming others. And the Lord calls us to His Church and says: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Stop relying on your own self, seek help from Me. In such difficult times, can we say that death is far from us, no... to many of us [it] is very, very close. So hasten to fulfill your duty to which the Lord has called you, because, as He Himself said, when night comes, then no one can do; whatever we do, good or evil, is all over. Therefore, hasten to understand what your duty is, which we must fulfill with fear and trembling, what talent has been given to you from the Lord.
And I want to cry, and cry, and cry, seeing how many of you lived to see gray hair and they did not see their duty, as if there was no grace, nothing touched them, as if they were blind from birth. You can’t abuse God’s mercy endlessly, spend your time in arrogance, anger, hatred, and enmity. The Lord is calling: come to Me while you are alive, and I will give you rest.”
* * *
“There are moments when you really want to help some person, this, undoubtedly, is the Lord’s heart to save another; just be pure vessels, so that He can act through you and have you as an instrument in His hands.”
* * *
“The Lord is not angry even from the Cross, he stretches out his hands to us and calls us. Although we all crucify Him, He is love and is ready to forgive us everything. In our country, it is sometimes considered excusable when you get tired, get irritated or something else (allow yourself), but no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, no matter how tired or sick you are, you must do only as Christ commanded.”
.jpg)
Troparion, tone 5:
Help in troubles, comfort in sorrows, / good shepherd, Father Alexis. / By the feat of old age you shone forth to the world, / you confessed the faith and love of Christ in the darkness of lawlessness, / your heart ached for all those who flow to you // And now pray to God for us, I honor love Whoa.
Kontakion, voice 2:
You have undertaken great labors of love and mercy, / the righteous elder than Alexie, / from the holy shepherd of Kronstadt the blessing to help the suffering has been received, / the troubles and sorrows of people are like faith Place your yokes on your frame. / We, leading you boldly to the Lord as a prayer book, call to you with tenderness: // pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Prayer to the holy righteous Alexy Mechev of Moscow:
Oh, our all-honorable and blessed Father Alexie, the wondrous elder of Moscow and praise and joy to the entire Russian Church! Having great love for the Lord, unwaveringly fulfilling the covenants of the Gospel, you laid down your soul for your flock, grieving with a merciful heart for everyone who asks for your help. Accept this little prayer of ours, and as in your earthly life you wiped away every tear, eased every sorrow, so now, merciful prayer book and our intercessor, take away our burdens, illnesses and sorrows, fill our suffering hearts with joy, beg the Lover of Mankind God for forgiveness our countless sins, so that having cleansed our souls through repentance, let us begin to do good. To her, good elder, be a good shepherd for us too, guiding us on the path of salvation, so that through your prayers we will immaculately cross the path of our life and find the Heavenly Fatherland, where you, with the angels and all the saints, stand before the Throne of the Holy Trinity, glorifying the Beginning Father with His Only Begotten Son and the Most Holy One , and His Good and Life-giving Spirit forever and ever. Ah min.
God's Law. Holy Righteous Alexy Mechev
Information about the temple is known from chronicles dating back to 1468. The original building of the temple was repeatedly subjected to fires and various reconstructions. By 1701, the temple was built on and acquired modern look, and in 1749 the formation of the architectural appearance of the building was completed with the construction of a bell tower.
In 1893-1923, the rector of the temple was the Moscow elder in the world, Archpriest Alexy Mechev. After his death, the leadership of the Maroseya community and abbot was taken over by his son, Archpriest Sergius Mechev, who was executed in 1942 for the faith of Christ after repeated arrests, exiles and camps. Both pastors were canonized as saints at the Jubilee Council of Bishops on August 20, 2000.
In 1932, after the Divine Liturgy on the day of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God the temple was closed for worship. In the autumn of the same year, the decoration of the temple was destroyed, the building was beheaded and partially rebuilt. The premises of the temple were used for the needs of various government agencies and the Komsomol Central Committee.
In 1990, the church building and the clergy house were transferred to the revived parish, which received legal registration. Repair and restoration work immediately began in the returned premises. The first Divine Liturgy after a half-century break was celebrated on December 17, 1990. Currently, the temple has been completely restored.
The main altar (in the upper church) was consecrated in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
The side chapel of the upper church is consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra.
In the lower church, one altar is consecrated in honor of All Saints who shone in the Russian land, and the other in honor of Righteous Alexy and Hieromartyr Sergius, presbyters of Moscow.
The shrines of the temple are the revered image of the Mother of God “Theodorovskaya” and the shrine with the relics of the holy righteous Alexis, presbyter of Moscow.
|
|
The small church on Maroseyka seems to be sandwiched between two bulky buildings, but at the same time it does not get lost against their background, standing out brightly with its red facade with white details. At the beginning of the twentieth century, this temple and its rector were known throughout Moscow.
The first church on this site was built in 1468: it owes its appearance to the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, who erected a wooden church in honor of Simeon Divnogorets - in gratitude for the fact that the fire that occurred in Moscow on the day of remembrance of this saint did not spread to Kremlin. However, later traces of the church are lost, and in the 17th century it is already mentioned as Nikolskaya, in Blinniki. The last name began to sound differently in the 18th century - “in Klenniki”. Now both options are used, but “in Blinniki” is considered more justified, since pancakes were sold in ancient times on the neighboring Ilyinsky Gate Square. No mention of maples was found in this place, but the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas is known, which appeared in the village of Klenniki near Moscow - perhaps this also influenced the popular nickname of the capital’s church.
The existing building consists of parts from different periods. It is based on a stone temple from 1657, but it was significantly rebuilt several times. Thus, in 1690, the second chapel was consecrated in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. After a major fire in 1701, the church became two-tiered, with the Kazan throne at the top and St. Nicholas's at the bottom, and acquired a single-domed finish. At the same time, its façade, facing Maroseyka, received platbands designed in the Naryshkin Baroque style, with ridges and torn pediments. Another fire occurred in 1748, after which a year later the refectory was rebuilt and a new three-tier bell tower was erected - with a rusticated arch below (later blocked and turned into a window) and a bell tier at the top. Subsequently, the church was renovated several more times; the platbands on the quadrangle were lost, but no more radical reconstructions were carried out.
The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Maroseyka became universally known in the 1910s, when Archpriest Alexy Mechev began serving here. For his kindness, responsiveness and compassion for the grief of others, he received the nicknames “good shepherd” and “chief Moscow priest.” After his death in 1923, the parish was headed by his son, Sergius Mechev - he was subsequently arrested and died in the camps.
In the 1920s, the church continued to function; in 1927, as a result of restoration, the platbands on the quadrangle were recreated. But in 1931, worship services stopped, after which the building was used first as a warehouse, and then was converted into offices for the Komsomol Central Committee. The interior decoration was completely destroyed. Outside the church, the domes on the quadrangle and the bell tower were dismantled, but most of the restored decor remained intact. In 1990, the temple was transferred to a new Orthodox community, which resumed services. New iconostases were installed and the paintings were re-done. In 2000, Alexy and Sergiy Mechev were canonized and in honor of each of them chapels appeared in the lower tier of the church.
St. Nicholas Church in Klenniki
Address:Moscow, Maroseyka street, 5
Directions: metro Kitay-Gorod
Year of construction: 1657.
Architectural style: Naryshkinsky
Church. Valid.
Thrones: Nicholas the Wonderworker, All Saints who shone in the Russian land, Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Alexy, Elder of Moscow
Website:
Coordinates:55.75748, 37.63227
Basmanny, Moscow diocese (city) / Epiphany deanery
Stone Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in 1657 and was called “at the Lattice” in ancient times. In 1701, after a fire, it was rebuilt. On the south side a chapel of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was erected. The bell tower was built in 1748. Since 1771, in documents the church has been called “Nikola in Kleniki”. IN Soviet time it housed the institutions of the Komsomol Central Committee. The temple has been in operation since 1990.
On this site was the Church of Simeon Divnogorets, built according to the vow of Ivan III in 1468 in one day, in gratitude that the severe fire of Moscow did not spread to the Kremlin. This church was mentioned in 1625.
The current church was built in 1657 close to the Church of Simeon Divnogorets, which explains the fracture of the wall of the northern aisle.
In the 17th century, the church was called the Church of St. Nicholas “in Blinniki” (Sytin mentions that they actually sold pancakes here), but in the 18th century “Blinniki” somehow transformed into “Klenniki”. There is an assumption that this is connected with the appearance of the icon of St. Nicholas in the village of Klenniki near Moscow.
The church was significantly rebuilt after the fire of 1701: the upper part of the quadrangle was dismantled, and the lower part was turned into a basement, above which a new, double-height volume with an apse and a vestibule was erected, which acquired the features of the “Naryshkin style.”
After the fire of 1748, the church was significantly updated, and a bell tower was erected in 1749. Other renovations of the church are mentioned in 1853, 1868, 1894. In the 1920s, the external decor, lost during the reconstruction of the 18th-19th centuries, was restored.
The church was closed in 1931. In Soviet times, the chapter was demolished from the bell tower, and the chapter along with the octagonal drum from the quadrangle, so that it simply ended with a hipped roof. The premises of the temple housed the institutions of the Komsomol Central Committee: according to some sources, simply household warehouses (the Komsomol Central Committee itself was located in a neighboring building, closer to Novaya Square). The building was under state protection. After the temple was returned to believers on July 18, 1990, the destroyed domes were restored.
From 1893 to the 1920s, the priest of the church was the well-known Father Alexy (Mechev), who in 2000 was canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. The relics of the saint are in the church; a separate altar is dedicated to him. After the death of Fr. Alexy's son, Fr. Sergius Mechev, later shot by the Yaroslavl NKVD, and also canonized as a New Martyr in 2000.
Thrones of the temple: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (main); Kazan Icon of the Mother of God; All Saints who shone in the Russian land; Alexy, Elder of Moscow (Mechev).
The current church was built close to the Church of Simeon Divnogorets, which explains the fracture of the wall of the northern aisle. The church was rebuilt several times.
The temple was closed that year. The last Divine Liturgy was celebrated on the Annunciation. After her, the only priest of the temple remaining at large by that time was arrested. On October 6, the temple was finally closed and destroyed.